Events

Our October 14th meeting will be at the Granite Club but our Guest Speaker will be joining us by Zoom.

5:30 - 6:00 - Gather and Mingle

6:00 - 6:30 - Welcome and Dinner!

6:30 - Meeting Begins

Our Meeting will have three parts:

1 - We will be joined via Zoom by Ben Davidson.  He will be telling us about Shark Pond, an organization that assist aspiring entrepreneurs in developing countries.

2 - We will be welcoming Scott Baker into Rotary Waterloo

3 - There will be a special vote of the Membership.  You will be receiving more information about this from the Board.

If you can join us in person for this presentation and special vote, that would be FANTASTIC

If you are not able to join us but would like to join the zoom presentation remotely, please let me know and I will send you the link.

October 28th we will be visited by our Mayor Dorothy McCabe who will be telling us about what is happening in Waterloo

Dana Zummach and Shira Ginsler - Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging
“Members for Life: Supporting Club Members Through Memory Changes.

November is Rotary Foundation Month
Our guest speaker is Tom Mennill, a long-time member of the Rotary Club of Kitchener, and the District 7080 Rotary Foundation Chair

We are starting 2026 with a Rotary Field Trip!  Nick has arranged for our January 13 Meeting to be held at the Velocity Incubator in Downtown Kitchener.  We will be hearing from a number of Velocity Founders (just like Nick) that are tackling problems and creating real solutions.  It should be an exciting time to learn what is being created right here in KW.

Here is an updated timeline for Tuesday's Meeting:

4:30-5pm: Arrivals

5-6:00pm: Dinner, networking, tours

• Tours will start at 5:00 and 5:15.  They will take about 10 minutes to explore the space

6:00-6:10pm: Rotary introduction and welcome (O Canada etc.)

6:10-6:20pm: Introduction from Moazam Khan, Director of Velocity

6:20-6:50: Meet the Founders, hear pitches from 3-4 founders developing game-changing innovations 

• opportunity to ask questions to each. 7-10 minutes per founder (3 min of demo/pitch presentation followed by questions from the audience)

Should be an exciting night! 

Here are some details about the location and parking:

Velocity is located at 280 Joseph St in Kitchener (right across from Communitech) and 1 block away from the Ion’s Central Station stop (corner of King and Victoria). Our parking lot is the 2nd entrance on the right after turning onto Joseph St from Victoria St. Anyone parking in our lot must pay using the AMP app ($7.25 flat rate per day). After entering through the front door, go up the stairs/elevator on the right. The Stork Family Conference Room (2020) will be to the left of Reception. 

On February 10 Edwin Santhosh and Irene Theratil from More Than Circumstance will be explaining what More than Circumstance does as an advocacy and service organization for those experiencing homelessness in Kitchener/Waterloo and beyond, their impact in K/W to date, current organizational challenges, opportunities for Rotary support, and will have an open Q&A.

Edwin Santhosh is the Founder and Executive Director of More Than Circumstance, a national nonprofit advocating for and serving those experiencing homelessness. Irene Theratil is the Waterloo Chapter Lead of More Than Circumstance, where she oversees a team of seven individuals to deliver community-based initiatives supporting individuals experiencing homelessness across Kitchener/Waterloo.

Rotary’s Theme for February is Peacebuilding!

Eric Lepp from Conrad Grebel University College will be our featured speaker on February 24 presenting Building Peace in Landscapes of Violence. This talk explores how peace is built and situated within landscapes shaped by violence, using contemporary Northern Ireland as a central case study. Drawing on examples from Belfast, Eric will talk about how physical spaces, institutions, and everyday practices enable people to live side-by-side with difference.

Eric Lepp is an Assistant Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo. His work focuses on how people build peace in places shaped by long histories of violence. He is especially interested in everyday life after conflict - how communities remember the past, share space, and find ways to live together despite deep divisions. Eric explores how peace is not just made through agreements and institutions, but through daily actions, local initiatives, and ongoing conversations (even those conversations graffitied on 

we will welcome Richard Elmes Employment Placement Specialist with the March of Dimes Employment Services, He will join us to discuss Building Inclusive Workplace Communities. Following that we are very excited to induct a new member to our group.

will be our club assembly. Fred Brandenburg will give his annual update on what it is to be a Rotarian . This is especially valuable for new members and will serve as a reminder to the existing members. Following Fred we will have a short presentation by a young student who has just returned from a school exchange in Japan. We will end the evening with an update from our executive.