The concept of a Rotary Club of Dunnville was discussed by three local business men in 1990  on a cold Dec 3^rd in the bowling alley at Grimm's (now Mudcat Alley). They decided that Rotary was needed in Dunnville and that Des Rasch would be Secretary, the late Leo Brown would be Treasurer, and Archie Merigold would be the new Chartering President. The three continued to meet at Grimm's, recruiting members one by one until enough existed to satisfy the criterion to formally charter a new Rotary Club.

 

New first members included Marjorie Ettinger, Jane Smith and Ton Dicke.  We started to look like a club and moved to a newly built section of the restaurant. Rob Merigold at the tender age of 14 years stayed up late to help his dad write a monthly club bulletin. This bulletin kept us together and on track. It provided us with the believability and continuity that made our club credible. Later Rob started the new club web site and an Interact Club at Dunnville Secondary School. 

 

The Club’s first fundraiser before even being chartered was in support of Susie Haines, a young girl who was dying of cancer. There were only 10 members at the time.  Together they raised $3,200.00 and proved that they had the power of Rotary.  They gathered new members to make up for those lost along the way.  They went on to send food and clothing to Bosnia. They gathered a huge amount of dental equipment that was categorized and loaded into shipping containers sent to South America and St Lucia. 

 

After nearly three years of hard work and preparation during a difficult recession-riddled economy, "The Rotary Club of Dunnville", was chartered June 28, 1993 with 27 Charter Members.  (Robert Blake, Leo Brown, Duncan Currie, Larry Davidson, Mary Davidson, Ton Dicke, Kevin Duliban, Marv Ens, Karen Ettinger, Marjorie Ettinger, Christopher George, Dean Glenney, Marilyn Hyatt, Ian Kirby-Smith, Michael Laverty, Richard McLagan, Archie Merigold, Mary Ann Postma, Pam Prest, Desmond Rasch, Dorothy Richardson, Elaine Ricker, Angus Scott, Jane Smith, Jackie Swords, David Timms, and Conrad Van Viegan)          The Rotary club of Port Colborne was our sponsoring club.  In an interesting twist of fate, in 1998 the Rotary Club of Port Colborne dissolved.

 

In our Rotary district, Dunnville was the first club to simultaneously Charter both a Rotary Club an Interact Club. Dunnville Secondary School was the source of most Interact students who themselves were respected young members of the community. Robin Merigold and Rob Davidson raised money from sleep-athons to gathering coats for kids. Keeping a young club going was difficult.  Interact disintegrated over the next three years. 

 

In the mid 1990’s through the efforts of members like Marjorie Ettinger, Des Rasch and Archie Merigold, Rotary in Dunnville helped sponsor a new Rotary Club in the growing community of Caledonia. The Rotary Club of Caledonia was chartered in 1995. 

 

It was at a Dunnville Rotary meeting that discussion took place to restart Rotary in Port Colborne. Many members thought the old very positive community organization should be revived. The former club was a respected beneficial community contributor that deserved to be back on its feet. The Rotary Club of Rotary Club in Dunnville only had 20 members at the time. A club needs 25 members to sponsor a new club, so Welland Rotary agreed to co-sponsor Port Colborne Rotary. And in February 2005, 7 years after its dissolution, The Rotary Club in Port Colborne was rechartered. Archie Merigold was asked to act as Master of ceremonies. It was a grand night attended by many past district Governors and dignitaries from Rotary. 

 

The Mission of the Rotary Club of Dunnville is to enrich the local and world community by providing humanitarian service and youth development. Our policy of spending at least 60% of the annual Disbursements Committee budget on youth is evidence of our commitment to our young people. However, to assure widespread support in the community, no one recipient may receive more than 25% of the annual budget. Originally 75% of our annual budget was spent on local and district needs, with 25% being given to international development.

 

Support for youth has included: the DREAM program originated by Rotary members, the Youth Impact Centre, the 611 Harvard Air Cadet Squadron, the DSS Suicide Prevention Program, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Teen Reading Program, the Child Nutrition Apple Program, the Fresh Air Fund to bring inner city children out to the country, and annual DSS scholarships.  For years we ran a Fishing Derby for children with prizes provided by local businesses.  Through two separate Trillium Grants for our Aqua Kids Program, we sponsored over 150 children who wanted to learn how to swim.  For a 17-week period over two winters, we bussed 40 students on Saturday afternoons to an indoor pool in Hamilton. Dunnville Rotarians acted as chaperons both on the school buses transporting the kids as well as at the pool. 

 

In 2008 we were instrumental in obtaining a $25,000.00 Trillium Grant towards the purchase of band instruments for the 611 Harvard Air Cadet Squadron band.  Club members donated the remaining funds to reach $ 35,000.00 to purchase these new musical instruments.  Organizing a band proved to be a major boost in recruiting young people to the Squadron.  Dunnville Rotary has also provided financial support to the Harvard 611 Air Cadet Squadron and assistance to their members to travel to international conventions.

 

Helping young people develop their leadership skills is a long-standing tradition in Rotary.  Dunnville Rotary sponsored 40 students per year for 5 years at the Maple Creek Church Leadership Seminar.  For the last three years the Club has sent 7 students from Dunnville Secondary School to the Rotary District weekend Slap Shot Program (Student Leadership Award Program for Students High on Training) in Ancaster.  We have sponsored young adults with leadership experience to the weeklong district RYLA program (Rotary Youth Leadership Award).  We have sent students to Ottawa to build their civic knowledge. 

 

Community projects have been an important part of Rotary activities from the beginning. 

Dunnville Rotary jumped in when the Optimist Club needed a partner to keep the Mudcat Festival going. For nearly 15 years Dunnville Rotary participated with floats in the Mudcat Festival and held an annual Mud Duck Race that was a major Festival event and effective fundraiser.  Dunnville Rotary contributed over $2,500.00 each year to the festival, to the Salvation Army Food Bank, and to The Dunnville Youth Impact Centre.  Rotarian Jack Hoogheim was the driving force behind keeping the Festival alive.  It was also Jack’s vision to create "Muddy the Mudcat;" the largest fish statue in the world, to attract visitors to Dunnville.  Muddy stands on the south end of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Centennial <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park (aka <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Thompson <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Creek <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Park) to welcome visitors to Dunnville. 

 

In 1994 a group of community leaders nearly completed raising funds for a new “Dunnville” sign on the west end of town, complete with stone pillars and gold leaf lettering.  Dunnville Rotary came on board early in this project and took over fund raising to complete the sign project.  The Club erected a similar sign on the east side of town in 1995, and refurbished both signs in 2007.  

 

In 2009, we completed equipping the inside of the Salvation Army Mobile Outreach Vehicle.  The project was made possible by a $2,000 District Simplified Grant and donation of major appliances by a Dunnville Rotarian.  

 

On June 11, 2009, President Kim presented a cheque for $6,050 to Don Edwards representing the Haldimand County Flood Relief effort for victims of the 2009 <st1:place w:st="on">Grand River flood.  This amount was matched by government grants for a total of $18,150.  Rotarian Roy Schofield spearheaded this project. 

 

In 2010 Rotary was the major sponsor of the Sesquicentennial Mosaic Mural mounted across from the Post Office.  The Fall of 2010 also saw the creation and erection of a new service club sign on the west end of town.  Rotary led this joint effort of all the service clubs in town. 

 

Not all of our community projects came to fruition as expected.  Extensive planning and fundraising for the enhancement of Wingfield  Park, and building the Leisureplex complex on Ramsey Drive were shelved with the change in government from the Town of Dunnville to the County of Haldimand.  Priorities changed and Rotary did not receive the support needed for implementation.  However, Dunnville Rotary financially supported the new Dunnville Soccer Park on Logan Road.  We also supported building the new Community Center and Arena on Ramsey Drive Extension. Both projects were two of the original goals of the Leisureplex complex. 

 

Dunnville Rotarians contribute $ 100.00 each year to support the Rotary International Foundation.  One of the main goals of the Foundation is to eradicate polio worldwide.  As a Club we also have contributed $5,000 to match contributions from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  At a personal level, Rotarians Ton & Laura Dicke traveled to Africa and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> to immunize children against Polio. Ton also ran a program for our Rotary District to fund operations for children in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> afflicted with polio.  Reza and Barbara Kazemi also traveled to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:country-region> to help with immunizing children against polio.

 

The Club has partnered with other Rotary Clubs in providing wells in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Haiti</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Uganda</st1:country-region>.  Our Club, and one of our members, jointly funded 2 ½ shelterboxes for the people in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Haiti</st1:country-region> left homeless by the January 2010 earthquake.   

 

Roy Schofield, lead a Group Study Exchange of Rotarians and private citizens to the Australian outback. 

 

 

For over 75 years, students and host families have broadened their horizons through the Rotary Youth Exchange.  In our early years, the Youth Exchange Program in our district was run at the executive level by Ton & Laura Dicke. Our Club has been active in sending as many as two students a year abroad. One sign of the success of the Program is that over the years several of our exchange students have come back to Dunnville to visit.  Part of the Program for both outgoing and incoming students in our Rotary District is two weeks of winter training in Temagami.  This program was seen as a valuable experience by participants, but was having difficulties.  Rotarians Ton & Laura Dicke stepped in, reorganized it and rebuilt it financially.   

 

Every year Rotary raises thousands of dollars to fund our service projects.  The mix has changed over time.  For years we sold tickets for the Mud Duck Race during the Mud Cat Festival in June.  Sales of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nevada tickets at the Giant Tiger was a major contributor until the corporate office made a policy decision to stop those types of sales.  Sales of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nevada tickets continues, but at a lower rate.  Sales of Entertainment Books was another significant contributor until the content of the books changed so they were no longer attractive to local purchasers.  The first Golf Tournament in 2007 has become a major annual fundraiser.  Over the years the Dunnville Rotary Club has taken more than our share of prize money from the Annual Haldimand Motors Trike Race thanks in part to the artistic talents of staff from the Dunnville Youth Impact Centre.   

All of our administrative costs are covered by members’ dues and proceeds of the weekly 50-50 and Sgt.-at-Arms fines.