Presidential Address 2026-2027 - Pauline Lyons

Fellow Rotarians, Guests, and Friends of Rotary,

 

It is an honour and a privilege to stand before you today as President of The Rotary Club of Toronto. I am grateful for your confidence, inspired by your commitment, and humbled to serve alongside individuals whose generosity continues to improve lives across our city and around the world.

 

Thank you to the members of the 2025 -2026 Club Board and Executive Committee who supported Dauna’s vision.

 

Mark McQuitty

Lorraine Lloyd

Brinda Luckoo

Mitra Goodarzi

Peter Simmie

Neisely Eugene

Jay Llave

Brent Thomas

 

I also wish to acknowledge the 2025/26 members of The Rotary Club of Toronto Charitable Foundation Board.

 

Richard White

Susan Hunter

David Hetherington

Jeff Dobson

Jeff Pollock

Blair Spinney

Brian Westlake

 

Both Boards were supported by our Executive Director Carol Hutchinson.

I look forward to working with the new board.

 

For more than a century, our Club has embraced the principle of Service Above Self. Those words are not merely a motto—they are a call to action. They remind us that leadership is measured not by what we receive, but by what we give to bring about change and to ensure that the effects endure.

 

The Rotary Club of Toronto has strong roots in our city. Our members worked with community partners to develop service projects that benefit men, women and children.

 

Participation in these philanthropic endeavours relies on active participation from our fellow members. Not yet engaged?   Join a committee, a working group, or become a friend of Rotary.  Your skills and experience are essential to the success of the projects.

 

RI President 2026-2027 Olayinka Babalola’s words:

“As members of Rotary, we are all united across cultures, languages, and communities. Together, we share a responsibility not only to bring change but also to ensure that the effects endure.

That is why this year, we are called to “CREATE LASTING IMPACT”.

 

Over the next year, I would like to focus on one of the defining challenges of our time: poverty.

Food insecurity, mental illness and housing insecurity result in poverty.

 

Poverty is not simply the absence of income. It is the absence of opportunity. It limits access to quality education, healthcare, nutritious food, secure housing, meaningful employment, and hope for the future. Poverty affects children trying to learn on an empty stomach, seniors choosing between food and medication, newcomers seeking a chance to build a new life, and families working hard yet struggling to make ends meet. 

 

Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington reported just this year, “One in ten Torontonians now rely on food banks”

 

In a city as prosperous and innovative as Toronto, these realities remind us that economic growth alone is not enough. Growth must be inclusive. Opportunity must be shared.

Rotary has never believed that charity alone is the answer. Our strength lies in creating lasting impact.

We invest in people – Camp Scugog

We build partnerships – St Mike’s Hospital

We support organizations that strengthen communities – Sprint Senior Care

We promote education – yearly $60,000 tuition-only scholarship provided to a financially challenged Grade 12 student

We respect nature – Toronto Wildlife

During the coming year, our Club will continue to deepen its commitment to poverty reduction by focusing on three priorities – food insecurity, mental illness and housing insecurity.

 

First, we will strengthen partnerships with organizations that are already making a measurable difference. Collaboration multiplies impact. When Rotary joins forces with community agencies, businesses, educational institutions, and governments, we can achieve outcomes that none of us could accomplish alone.

 

I would request our Past Presidents and our long-standing members to help us rekindle some of the relationships that our club forged years ago. The Research & Appeals and the Community Outreach Committees will benefit from more meaningful connections with grant requesters. They will also be able to work more closely with organizations that are aligned with our focus of action to reduce poverty in Toronto.

 

Second, we will invest in pathways to opportunity. We will continue to support organizations that provide education, skills training, and youth development, which are the most powerful tools for breaking the cycle of poverty. Every scholarship awarded, every student mentored, represents an investment in a stronger community.

Third, we will continue to serve with compassion and dignity. Those experiencing hardship are not defined by their circumstances. Every individual deserves respect, encouragement, and the opportunity to thrive. Our work should always reflect empathy, inclusion, and hope.

Sweat equity projects such as Holiday Hampers and volunteering at Toronto Food Banks have proven to have a measurable impact on food insecurity.

 

Rotary members understand that meaningful change does not happen overnight. It happens through consistent service, thoughtful leadership, and thousands of individual acts of generosity. It happens when members volunteer on weekends, contribute to local charities, mentor young people, raise funds, and advocate for stronger communities.

 

Each of us bring unique talents, professional experience, and personal networks. Imagine what we can accomplish if we intentionally connect those strengths around a common purpose: reducing poverty and expanding opportunity.

 

This is not only a moral responsibility; it is an investment in the future of our city. Communities flourish when every child can learn, every family has stability, every senior is treated with dignity, and every person can contribute.

 

Support for community partners in the overwhelming work to reduce poverty is important.

 

I also wish to focus on the growth of our club’s membership. President Yinka issued a challenge to the 2026 – 2027 Presidents to set goals for acquiring new members and retaining existing members.

 

He cited the decline of membership in the West and he encouraged us to take action to reverse this trend.

By 2030, Rotary’s 125^th year, it is anticipated that RI will have 1.25 million Rotarians and 125,000 Rotaractors.

His suggestion was that all clubs should take the approach of engaging their members where they can fit within Rotary.  Replace barriers to assimilation – meeting times, meeting places, online vs in person and varied service offerings.  In other words, consider all members when creating a plan for the Rotary year.

 

The Rotary Club of Toronto’s Member Engagement Committee has streamlined a process to move enquiries to membership quickly and seamlessly. I will put my full support behind this process.

 

 The focus will be on encouraging active participation for new members.  Both new and existing members will benefit from training and development.

 

Training supported by Past Presidents, Board directors and long-term members last Spring was very well received.  We will therefore continue with learning events intended to provide comprehensive training on our club’s history, processes and, of course, the use of Clubrunner.

 

I also plan to encourage attendance at the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI)

 

You will grow your knowledge of not only your club, but Rotary as a respected worldwide organization.  

 

Our members must keep abreast of all club activities.  

We currently have the following communication tools, which we encourage you to use.

The Voice newsletter delivers club event details as well as other pertinent information members should find necessary to stay on track.

 

Announcements from the lectern at lunch and dinner meetings regarding important events.

What’s APP chat provides an opportunity to communicate as new details become available to share.  It is LIVE just in time information, so you will not miss the most recent news.

 

The Rotary Club of Toronto website, which can be used to obtain resources, committee and working group minutes, forms and other administrative tools.

 

And of course, email messages.  Though they may seem overwhelming at times, they are an essential form of communication for all organizations.

 

I strongly request that you make use of these resources to your benefit.

We cannot forget that our service must always include FUN.

The Events Committee will continue to serve up a variety of fellowship events for your enjoyment.

Summer cocktails on the rooftop here at The National Club will provide an atmosphere for new and existing members to get to know each other.

 

This year, members will continue their culinary trip around the world  via The International Dinner Series. We will figuratively be transported to distant lands – Eritrea, Ethiopia, Thailand and more for a gastronomic experience not to be missed.

 

Sweat equity weekend at Camp Scugog every year in May is a member favourite activity for the following reasons:  learning new skills (carpentry, landscaping, painting), all in preparation for the children’s visit, exceptional Signature dishes prepared by our member chefs and of course the sing-along and secret sharing at the fireside.

 

As your President, I invite every member to become an ambassador for this vision. Attend a service project. Join a committee or working group. Introduce a prospective member. Share your expertise. Support a community partner. Every contribution matters.

Share Rotary with others.  Together, we can demonstrate that Rotary remains one of the world's most effective forces for positive change—not because of what we say, but because of what we do.

 

Let this be a year in which our compassion becomes action, our partnerships become stronger, and our collective efforts create lasting opportunities for those who need them most.

 

I thank you for your friendship, your leadership, and your unwavering commitment to Service Above Self.

Together, let us build a future where opportunity is within everyone's reach. Let us CREATE LASTING IMPACT.

 

Thank you.

Pauline Lyons, CPCA

President 2026-2027

The Rotary Club of Toronto