Danny Cassidy "Ride to Conquer Cancer"

 
Chairperson: President Gerd Wengler
National Anthem: Dave Hardy
Grace: Carolyn Nicholson
Attendance: 13, no guests
 
Announcements:
Basil - thanked all those who participated in the Ribfest last weekend; this was a success!
Dave – during Ribfest ten people expressed interest in potentially joining Rotary, one attending
Scarborough Twilight’s meeting tonight; we also had three Rotarians from Belleville who were
interested in the Renewal Campaign.
Gordon – Group 1 meeting later this week
Gerd - The President’s party will be held on August 22. Please respond to the invite if you have not yet done so.
Gerd - Our meeting on September 9th will be a dinner meeting starting at 7pm.
Gerd - The Foundation Walk will be held on September 20th; we still need sponsors & support.
 
Marbelous Draw: Jim had the winning ticket, however the lucky marble eluded him; the consolation
prize was donated back to the pot.
 
SAA – Peter Masson gave the group a brief overview of the Civic Holiday; August 1, 1834 is also known
as “Emancipation Day”, the day when slavery was ended in the British Empire; this holiday is celebrated
in many former British colonies in the Caribbean. Peter then proceeded to collect happy bucks as
follows:
        - Danny: celebrating his son’s recent wedding
        - Danny: recently selected to join the Regional Advisory Council for the Rouge Valley Hospital
        - Jack: appreciated the article on the front page of the Sun, regarding a previous co-worker
        - Carolyn: on successfully passing an exam and is now a member of the Canadian Academy of Floral Art.
        - Basil: appreciating his great grand-father’s trip from Africa to St. Kitts, allowing Basil to ultimately migrate to Canada
 
Program:
Gordon introduced Danny Cassidy, our guest speaker this week. Danny shared his experiences
regarding the Ride to Conquer Cancer, proceeds of which go to the Princess Margaret Hospital. The first ride in
Toronto in 2008 raised $14.0M, in 2015 this increased to $19.6M; Danny estimates that he has cycled
over 224K KM during these rides.
 
Statistically Cancer is the leading cause of death amongst Canadian men and women. In 2015 it is
estimated that 41K men and 37K women will get cancer, with lung cancer being most prevalent form of
the disease for both sexes. The focus at Princess Margaret is on individual therapies versus “generic”
treatments. Danny then entertained the group with details of his 2015 ride, which included being stung
by a hornet, falling off his bike and ending up soaking wet in the rain.
 
Gerd thanked Danny for an entertaining presentation and presented him with a token of our appreciation.
He then concluded the meeting by wishing everyone a happy week.
 
Here are the links to listen to Danny's presentation
 
Next Week’s Program: The Blackhawk Air Cadets, Speaker: Cecile Thompson
 
 
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