Our meeting was called to order at 18:15 by President Jim Richards. The house was full to capacity as we sang O Canada, toasted Queen and Country and sang Rotary Grace. There were several guests, including our summer regulars Don Downee, Moran Woods and Diane and Dick Smith. Songmaster Art Ward led us without books in singing The More We Get Together (the smaller the room gets).

The Sergeant at Arms tonight was Brian Black. The first order of business was to follow-up on a previous fine regarding Derek Knowles’ condition one evening – the latest identified culprit is Art Dawson – the snitch line is a wonderful thing. Don Popple was cited for not recognizing a gas line problem on his boat and Peter Forgrave was reminded that where there is smoke there may not always be a fire. An "on your honour" fine was then levied for all who said they would help take down the tent last week, but didn’t. On the giving end, Art Ward received an old football memento courtesy of Sean Hawley. Final order of business – the Memories of the West Indies Draw – tonight’s happy winner was Sean Hawley.

President Jim read a thank-you note from our young friend Ryan Hreljac for our contribution to his cause and showed us a plaque received from the Canadian Landmine Foundation. DG Sue Cook also sent us a note thanking us for our hospitality on her recent visit.

New member Jamie Cowan was inducted by Past President Andy Salvatori. Andy welcomed Jamie to the growing ranks of Rotarians worldwide (1.2 million). Jamie received the usual stack of stuff plus a bonus – a thick stack of Car Draw Tickets. With his experience in retail lumber selling stacks of boards, a little pile of tickets should be no challenge at all. Jamie thanked us for the welcome and said it was Andy’s persistence over a five year period that got him to join.

President Jim reported on the Car Draw on behalf of Lynda Porter. Ticket sales are now at about 1900, about the same as this time last year. The earlybird prize went to Penny Vanson from Bowmanville. The matter of ticket sales was discussed at the Board Meeting following the club meeting. Given the number of tickets that remained unsold last year and the similar numbers having been sold this year, the Board approved "hiring" a ticket seller to help sell the roughly 1000 tickets that will otherwise remain unsold. Any member who has a comment or concern regarding this decision should get in touch with President Jim.

Andy Glecoff gave a brief report on next week’s golf tournament. If you haven’t already talked to Andy or Dale Walker about donating a prize or auction item, do so soon. If you’re volunteering, don’t forget to be there on time – check with Dale if you’re not certain about the time. And, if you’re golfing – good luck.

The next incoming Group Study Exchange will be coming from Africa – a variety of professionals will join us, according to John Tomlinson.

Nancy Bishop circulated her duty roster and asked that anyone not listed get in touch with her. Jerry Walker volunteered his boat as the pick-up boat for the canoe races, but he can’t be there to drive – talk to Nancy if you can.

Steve Roberts mentioned that the food booth will need a BBQ due to the condition of the one we’ve previously used – the Butcher Block offers theirs, with a hope that supplies will be purchased at the same time.

Ted Brandon began his introduction of our guest speaker by saying she just happened to be in the right place (his office) at the right time (when the last minute speaker needed call came in) with the right stuff (a presentation complete with video). With that said, he turned the floor over to Dar Lazlins, a veteran instructor at the Haliburton School of the Arts.

Dar told us that she is no newcomer to Haliburton, having first come to a local cottage 30 years ago and teaching here each summer for the past ten years. She spoke of her combined loves of art and teaching, making her summer job pretty ideal. Although she enjoys working with beginners and helping them to find their hidden artist, she also likes to experiment and go where few if any artists have gone before.

The video demonstrated this last point well – the outcome of a three and a half year "experiment" is a show that includes 1000 pieces of paper covered in printer’s ink. If you have the right wall, Dar might be willing to loan them to you for a while – she seems intent on keeping them together as a set.

Although Dar has had her own animation school in Toronto, she is also heading the Animation Department at Durham College. You can also spot one of her pieces on display at the Rails End Gallery in the ongoing Faculty Show.

In responding to questions, Dar spoke about how an artist sees colour and how that translates into technique. After hearing it described, it seems as though an important part of being an artist is learning to see more than what your eyes might tell your brain initially. Clearly for Dar, art is more about process than product, and more about the journey than the destination. Perhaps we should all sign up now for next summer’s "Art for Rotarians".

Maureen O’Hara said thanks.

Upcoming meetings:

July 25 – Golf at the Delta Pinestone

August 1 – Farewell to Sabrina Lemme

August 8 – The Rotary Carnival and Parade