2016 Speakers

Ed Kidd is the headmaster at Ridley College and spoke to us this month about the College which is celebrating 127 years in Niagara. Kidd came to Ridley five years ago, after a stint teaching at an international school in Shanghai for a number of years. Using a power point and video presentation to illustrate many aspects of student life...

Leon Evans, chief pilot for the Canadian Warplane Museum in Hamilton, Ontario presented to us this month on the flight of thier operational Lancaster bomber to the UK. We saw a short video clip from the Rick Mercer TV show of him flying with the Lancaster Bomber over the Niagara area and then Andy Redman introduced Leon Evans who gave an excellent...

Niagara College teaching winery has been an amazing success story Steve Gill from Niagara College’s teaching winery and brewing programs was our featured speaker this month. Steve gave us the history of the program from its launch in 2000 till present. Among the many highlights for the program, Steve said that half of the wine makers in Ontario now come...

Speaker offers advice about wills, estates and taxes Our guest speaker, David Willer, a partner in the law firm Sullivan Mahoney in St. Catharines delivered a spirited talk touching on many subjects related to wills and estates. David pointed out that the key goals in estate planning are to leave your assets to the proper person and to avoid, as...

Past President, Wayne Tester, who was introduced by Andy Redman, presented a 30-minute video/slide travelogue he produced from pictures taken by his daughter Lynn and son-in-law Jim Miller during their trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.Wayne, who had made a similar trip a few years ago, also brought several items and crafts collected during his trip and explained some...

Our monthly speaker for July was Lisa Thompson, Regional Marketing Planner – Toronto, Halton, Hamilton and Niagara Road Safety Marketing Office, talked about the “Senior Driver Licence Renewal Program” after being introduced by Art Currie. She spoke to the general road safety picture, and how good it was pointing out that, statistically, Ontario’s  roads are among the safest in North...

Guest speaker Terry Reardon talked about his book titled “Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King: so similar, so different.” Reardon, who was born in England and movedto Canada in 1968, spent most of his working life in the banking business but has been a member of the International Churchill Society Canada for 25 years including 15 as a director and has...

Our guest speaker, Lana Culley, Director Business Development at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, spoke to us on “Innovation and the Future of Food and Agriculture”. She began by pointing out a number of factors which shape our thinking and direction: population of 9 billion; productivity growth, more with less; technology changes needed; trust in food supply; demographic shift and...

Bill McMullen introduced Norm Kraft, the CEO of Niagara Recycling. Bill reviewed the history of recycling from its startup in the late 70’s and early 80’s. A board was set up to find a way to fund recycling from the proceeds of the work. From a 5,000 sq. foot building, the operation expanded and eventually responsibility was handed over to...

Brock University’s impact on Niagara Our speaker this month was Brian Hutchings, Vice President Administration and Finance of Brock University. Originally from Grimsby, Brian was accepted to play football at the university in Halifax where he met his future wife. Football brought him back to Hamilton where he played with the Tiger-Cats. He continued his studies and became a Chartered...

At our February meeting, Don Harris made an entertaining presentation on “Doing business In China”. Don was the former President and CEO of the Clayburn Industrial Group, a producer and supplier of clay based refractory products for the aluminum refining industry. He said that at first his company just had a sales representative in China but they quickly realized that they...

Guest Speaker: Jenny Shickluna, Outreach Services Manager, Niagara Region Seniors Community Programs, spoke at length about the programs for which she is responsible. Her topic was Niagara Gatekeepers, Helping Seniors to Stay Safe at Home. She said that providing care in the home is much more satisfactory and much less expensive than having someone spend time in a hospital. The...