July 26, 2018: Christine Jones and Kathrin Delutis, “Stratford Perth Humane Society update”, Pat Shewen will introduce, and Rena Orr will thank our speaker.
Head Table: Our President Paul Roulston, invites Pat Shewen, Dan Scarborough, George Schroeder, Philip Schroeder, Dave Scott and Jim Scott, to join him at the head table.
Today at Rotary – Doug Brown, Classification Talk - Electrical.
New Rotarian Doug Brown was introduced by Ken Nesbitt, who congratulated Doug on his readiness to become involved in Rotary Activities, notably Catch-the-Ace and Scotch Mist.
Doug Brown with his wife Cindy giving his classification talk. Classification Electrical Engineering.
Doug is a semi-retired electrical engineer and a native of the true “Centre of Canada”- Winnipeg. A 5th generation Canadian, he has Scottish, French Canadian, Metis, Ukrainian and Polish heritage. His multi-great grandfather emigrated from Stromness Scotland in 1816 to work for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Two hundred years later, in 2016, Doug and his family visited Stromness and were photographed on the street where his ancestor once lived, a site largely unchanged from that time. While growing up in Winnipeg, Doug played hockey (outdoors!) and baseball, enjoyed summers on Lake Manitoba, had a paper route and did snow removal and lawn mowing for his customers, and worked as an usher at the Arena and Stadium. He also helped his Dad and Uncle repair small aircraft. The latter activity helped him secure ongoing summer employment at Midwest Helicopter, where he apprenticed as an aircraft mechanic. During that time he experienced firefighting with Manitoba Forestry and spent time along the Nelson River and in York Factory with Manitoba Hydro. He also worked with Defense Research in Shirleys Bay (Ottawa) and with the National Engineering Standards Conference in Sherbrooke PQ. He graduated with a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering. At graduation, Doug was particularly impacted by the Iron Ring Ceremony – the ritual Calling of an Engineer – which dates back to 1922 and is unique to Canada. The ceremony welcomes and orients new engineers while reminding them of the ethical and professional obligations of the profession. The ring is worn on the little finger of the engineer’s working hand.
After graduation, Doug joined General Electric’s Graduate Engineer Development Program. Though based in Peterborough, the program involved 3-month assignments at various locations across Canada. From 1979-86 he was employed permanently in Peterborough in GE financial management and marketing management and traveled frequently. In Peterborough, he met and married Cindy, in 1982. There, daughter Amanda was born in 1986, while son Ian was born in 1987 in Oakville, where Doug worked during his last year with GE. Recognizing that GE operations were being phased out Doug joined Reliance Electric working out of Mississauga initially, then moving to their headquarters in Stratford in 1990. As Drive Systems Marketing Manager he traveled extensively visiting pulp and paper and steel mills across North America. When Rockwell Automation acquired Reliance in 1995, the culture changed, so Doug moved to Powerhouse Controls in 1997, where he also has an ownership stake. Powerhouse sells large custom drive and automation systems for a variety of applications. Currently headquartered in Stratford, with offices in Nashville, the company has a strategic partnership with Siemens that gives global reach. They have completed projects in the USA, Mexico, China, Japan, Europe and South America, affording Doug the opportunity to travel extensively. With 50+ employees and >$15million in sales, their headquarters will soon move to a new facility in Cambridge, although a local satellite office will remain in Stratford. Doug semi-retired (3 days per week) last year.
Doug and Cindy have made Stratford their home. Their daughter Amanda, a family physician in Tavistock, lives here with son-in-law David and grandson Carter. Son Ian and his wife are moving here also. Doug was especially proud to bestow the Iron Ring on Ian when he was called as an engineer. Doug’s commitment to give back to this community motivated his becoming a Rotarian and he is pleased to be able to participate in the variety of local initiatives that our club supports.
Pat Redshaw thanked Doug for sharing his life experiences with us and for his contributions as a new member.
Scribe: Pat Shewen
Guests: Today we welcomed Karina Rasmussen (Past NGE, Denmark), Jonathan Nesbitt and Cindy Brown.
Draw: The draw prizes today were donated by Montana Wilson and the Anonymous and the winners were John Fisher and Rob Russell.
Rotary Announcements
- We have been approved for a R. I. Grant to partner with the Butembo Semuliki Rotary Club in The Congo on a project involving solar panels.
- The Board approved the purchase of a temporary shade shelter for the Splash Pad. City employees have already installed the shelter.
- The Ace is still alive ! We have decided to continue beyond week 40. To this point we have raised $14,000 for the Club and are currently make close to $1,000 per week.
Make-ups: no report
July’s Attendance Committee: Bill Braun (I/C), Rheo Thompson, Dan Vito, Steve Lichty, Bill Lemmon, Bob Lightfoot, Pat Redshaw, Jim Snider, Carolyn Drummond
August’s Attendance Committee: Bob Gulliford (I/C), Nick Aroutzidis, Mike Gruszcynski, Bryan Lapier, Arlene Pol, Steve Monteith, Dan Scarborough, Josef Frank, Norm Bird
