Our own Charlie Barnes was honoured as one of the 7 recipients of the United Way's “Top 7 over 70” award for 2026.   At 89, Charlie Barnes continues to redefine what aging can look like. An accomplished triathlete, cyclist, fundraiser, and community volunteer, he has raised more than $150,000 through Tour de Guelph in support of local healthcare and community programs. Whether competing internationally, mentoring athletes, or inspiring others to give back, Charlie demonstrates that passion, purpose, and community service have no age limit.

Enjoy this video that was made featuring Charlie as one of the recipients of the 2026 awards:

Thanks to all for supporting our Hawaiian-themed 4th Annual “Lunch at the Arboretum” fundraiser on October 4^th.

Grateful to the generous sponsors, donors and attendees who helped us raise almost $31,000 for our partner charities.

   • Chalmers Community Services Centre (Guelph poverty/food insecurity relief)
   • Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis (supporting women impacted by violence)
   • The Bench (Guelph poverty/food insecurity relief)
   • Guelph Food Bank (food insecurity relief)
   • Mexico Shoebox Project (sustainable community development, Nogales Mexico)

We will be presenting cheques to the five charities at a special breakfast celebration on November 5 2026.

The International Week of Deaf People 2026 is September 21-27 and we marked that upcoming week by having a presentation this morning by representatives of DeafBlind Ontario.  This organization supports people who are deafblind, as well as those living with a developmental disability who are Deaf, hard of hearing, or use non-traditional forms of communication.

Their slideshow DeafBlind Ontario presentation Sept 17 2026  detailed the services that they provide including residential living for adults in various locations throughout Ontario.
 

Sadly the Guelph Trillium Rotarian who was the driving force behind the creation of a new Rotary club in the south end of Guelph - that turned out to be what is now Rotary Club of Guelph South - has passed away.  

Ralph Marziano not only championed and fought for the formation of another Guelph Rotary club, he was a constant presence and support to the new club whose membership included only one who had been a Rotarian previously….the rest all new to Rotary.  He hosted and attended our Board meetings in his office for the first couple of years and mentored the new Board of Directors.  He also attended as many weekly meetings as he could when we were meeting in person at Springfield.  Subsequently his wife Jane would join our club (2003-2006) as would his son Bruno (I2012-2019) who would eventually serve as 2017-2018 club President.  Our successfully reaching our 25th anniversary recently can very much be attributed to the support, encouragement and strong base for moving forward that he provided in our early years.