April 27, 2017:  Ron Shaw “Driverless Car Project Stratford”.  Clark Mitchell will introduce our speaker and Roger Black will thank our speaker.

Head Table:  Our President Kevin Silver, invites, Clark Mitchell, Andrea Page, Doug Page, Craig Pearce, Arlene Pol and Mimi Price, to join him at the head table.
 
 
Club members celebrating success of Canadian Hockey Teams
 
This Week:  Our speaker to-day was Dan Mathieson, the Mayor of Stratford. Dan was first elected to City Council in 1995 and is now serving his fourth term as Mayor. He reviewed recent developments in the City and outlined current and future projects.
 
Guest speaker the Honourable Dan Mathieson introduced by Sarah Hanza
 
He talked about the social sector first. There are three areas of focus, widening access to childcare, trying to meet the demand for affordable housing and connecting those seeking employment with employers looking to fill new or vacant positions. Council has decided to invest in expanding the Anne Hatheway Day Care Centre and the City's Childcare Division will start offering subsidised childcare to lower income families. To address homelessness 48 new housing units had have been built and an additional development is planned for part of the old Fairgrounds.
 
To address the shortage of skilled  labour the City is funding partnerships that connect employers with the training services to recruit and advance worker skills. The rate of youth unemployment was high, especially among those who had left school too early.
 
The Mayor talked about infrastructure development and the streets, and ah, those potholes. The past winter had been brutal (especially for Glendon Road) with frequent periods of warm temperatures followed by freezing ones. Unfortunately, funds for re-paving were limited and the City could only do so much each year.
 
Turning to economic development a number of plants, including Samsonite and Stackpole, had plans to expand their operations (and their employment) in Stratford. In the energy sector Festival Hydro is working on a battery storage project and RBC is considering a solar project for its building. Enrolment at the University of Waterloo is increasing from 15 students in 2011 to 400 now. An increasing number of students live here during the school year and projects to provide housing for them are under consideration.
 
The tourism sector thrives and the Festival had another strong and successful year. The re imagination of the Patterson is high on the list of priorities, but will require the involvement of the senior levels of government if it is to proceed. The Mayor concluded by noting that Stratford was the envy of many surrounding communities for the diversity and strength of its economy. If there was concern here about the number of parking spaces downtown, in other communities the worry was how to keep stores open downtown.
 
The Mayor was introduced by Sarah Hamza and thanked by Roger Black.
 
Our newest Paul Harris Fellow Tom Orr presented by son Rick
 
 
Orr Family at the meeting to help celebrate Tom’s award
 
 
 
Congratulations to Tom Orr on receiving a Paul Harris Fellowship.
 
 
 
Jim Young introducing new member Kelly Williams classification Banking
 
 
 
New member Montana Wilson classification Engineering introduced by Mimi Price
 
 
 
A warm welcome to our newest members, Kelley Williams and Montana Wilson.
 
Scribe : David Rose
 
Guests: Today we welcomed Brock Chishom, Sarah Lingard, Gerry James, Harold Holland, Kelly Williams, Tom Orr, Dianne Yundt (Assistant Governor) and Geoff Love.
 
Draw: The draw prize today was donated by Peter Maranger and was won by Reg White.
 
Make-ups: No report
 
April’s Attendance Committee:  Patty Riehl (I/C),  Geza Wordofa, Sarah Hamza, Gary Morris, Pat Shewen, Ron Shaw, Roger Black, Mark Smith, Tony Carter.
 
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