“There’s very few (veterans) left. That affects
the membership too. Basically the veterans have
passed on and there are very few of them left,”
Bremner said.
The local Rotary Club, however, is having quite a
different experience when it comes to participation
and growth. The Rotary 1918 branch in Windsor was
created 97 years ago and has been involved in many
charities and initiatives both locally and
internationally. Mike Drake is the president for the
2015-2016 year and has been a volunteer for the past
14 years.
“I liked the fact that there was a club where I’d
get to meet people from every different walk of life,
different profession, different backgrounds, that I
would never meet in my normal work, all with a
common cause and purpose to help out in the
community and do projects that help around the
world,” Drake said.
Originally created in Chicago in 1905, the Rotary
Club International has worked with organizations
such as the World Health Organization and the
United Nations. Their main mission for the past 30
years has been to end polio around the world.
On a local level, the club has been involved with
projects such as the creation of Metropolitan Hospital
back in 1922, The Safety Village, Maryvale, the
Ganatchio Trail and The John McGivney Centre,
which was named after a former Rotarian.
Volunteers in the club come from all different
backgrounds and different age ranges. “I’d say the
demographic is very wide,” said Drake. “Rotary is
non-political and non-religious so we have people
from every background and we have no age limits in
terms of supporters…We literally have, at the same
table selling tickets, an 18-year-old with an
88-year-old,” he said.
The Rotary Club didn’t always have such a wide
range in its membership. Over his 14 years of
Legion 255 members observe Legion Week by
hosting an annual service at the Windsor
Memorial Gardens in September
involvement, Drake said the biggest change he has
seen is the change in members.
“When I first started, The Rotary Club was made
up of more high-end professionals, executives,
high-end management, CEOs and people who had
more flexibility and time to come out to a lunch
meeting,” Drake said. “I think over time…what I’ve
seen is that the club is much more inclusive with
regards to all professionals.”
Rotary 1918 currently has 30 people on the
organizing committee, more than 300 volunteers and