Anniversary Meeting ~ April 2nd, 2009

The Royal City Men's Club met in the Trinity United Church Gymnasium on the above date. There were 45 members and no guests present. President Tom Beale called the meeting to order at 9:50 a.m. and read out a few interesting historical facts. Don McCombie got a good laugh from his joke-of-the-day. Ron Durst reminded members of the following activities, emphasizing the deadlines for paying for tickets. May 12 Yankees - Blue Jays baseball game at the Skydome. Please pay for your tickets no later than April 16 (next meeting). Cost: $48 per ticket. Drayton Theatre play The Odd Couple, June 13. Sign up, and pay by April 30. Cost: $32 per ticket. Hiking starts May 7th. A car rally is being planned for May 9th. He was circulating the sign-up and expression-of-interest sheets and invited members to sign up, or to alter their information if plans had changed. Bill Laidlaw spoke enthusiastically about the plans for biking - to start in April, in conjunction with the Village by the Arboretum. He said they were “fair weather riders” and encouraged members to come out for some exercise and a good time. Sign up and he will keep you informed of ride details by email. Dave Paterson advised that the Guelph Junction Express Dinner Train event was planned for Saturday May 16. It leaves Guelph at 6:00 p.m. and is approximately a 2 hour, 20 minute trip. The cost is $57 per person. Tom Beale advised that membership fees were now due for the upcoming year, April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010. The membership fee is $80 for the year. Ed Herold introduced guest speaker, Richard (Rich) Moccia, Associate VP of Research at the University of Guelph, who was standing in for U of G President, Alastair Summerlee, who had to cancel on short notice. Rich focused his presentation on the value of the research partnership between the University of Guelph and the Province of Ontario. Agriculture is second only to the automotive industry in the magnitude of contribution to the Provincial economy. Through a 1997 agreement, the Laboratory Services and Agricultural Colleges, including 400 staff, were transferred from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food to the University of Guelph. This agreement was renewed in 2002 and in 2008 extended for a further 10 years. A Deloitte & Touche study commissioned by the University of Guelph in 2007 found that the annual investment of $54.8 million under this agreement had a total impact of more than one billion dollars on the provincial economy for that one year. He highlighted some of the health and environmental aspects of the research program, including food for health and a major environmental sustainability project for the Elora area research facilities. Direct connection to the economy was also present with product development and enhancement through the value chain, and industrial uses of bio-products. The biological life support for the exploration of space was another strong niche area of the program. Rich indicated that the Agri-food labs were being repositioned to provide food safety support to the public health system, and offered to organize a tour of the Agri-food Labs for the RCMC should members be interested. He also offered a tour of the Veterinary School - for which a total rebuild is being planned to keep it a world class facility - and a tour of the Vineland Research Station, with the possibility of including the wine research facility. Following his formal presentation, Rich engaged in an active dialogue with members - with most of the discussion relating to health aspects of food and the role of research in providing reliable information. Dave Paterson thanked Rich on behalf of the RCMC. President Tom Beale announced that Bruce Folkard would be participating in the provincial curling championships next week. [Bruce advised later that it is a championship for “stick curlers”.] Ron Durst gave instructions on setting up the tables for the RCMC Anniversary Luncheon that was to follow the meeting. President Beale adjourned the meeting at 11:06 a.m. Following the formal meeting, Tom Beale gave a brief review of the organization of the club and summarized the functions of the various committees. Murray Mathieson then took over as Master of Ceremonies for the Anniversary Luncheon to celebrate three years of success and kick off the fourth year of the RCMC. Photo by John Newstead Photo by John Newstead Photo by John Newstead The next meeting will be April 16, 2009 in the Trinity United Church gymnasium. Gordon Framst Secretary