By-Town Heritage Club

It was a disappointment that April’s lunch was cancelled but after the 18 cm of snow that fell, it was the best decision. It seems that April’s lunches are a bit jinxed, it was April 2023 when we had to cancel the lunch because of the widespread power outages in the area. Hopefully April 2025’s lunch will break the April curse!
 
Join us in May for lunch (Thursday, May 2) at Summerhays Grill on Baseline (at Woodroffe) Road. Please note, this lunch is limited to a maximum of 42 people. Please register your attendance via email. For this lunch only, your registration will be confirmed via return email. You are registered when you receive your email from the organizer. And, as always, if you are unable to attend, please let us know…
 
Our June lunch (Thursday, June 6) will be held at the Bella Vista Restaurant on Alta Vista Drive. Our lunch will be a pizza // pasta // salad buffet. The cost for the all-you-can-eat buffet will be $24.95 per person (individually billed, with your drinks). There will be two pizza, two salad and two pasta selections. Please register your attendance via email.
 
The July lunch will be our annual picnic and it will be held on Wednesday, July 10 – just to be different. More details in the next newsletter.

This will be the final call for dues payment. A reminder that membership runs from January 1 to December 31 for all members. If you haven’t renewed your membership for 2024, please do so by May 15. If you have not renewed by May 15, you will be removed from the newsletter distribution lists and insurance/Goodlife discount lists in June. Thank you for your continued support of the club’s work by paying your dues. Payment information is here. Thank you!

As you may know, the car and home division of Johnson Insurance has rebranded to belairdirect. In the not too distant future, the Group Benefits and Travel Division will also be rebranded. If you have insurance (including travel insurance) with Johnson, you do not need to take any action at the moment. Your existing policy with Johnson Insurance will remain in effect and all contacts will remain in place. You will hear from Johnson if, and when, you need to do anything.

TOMORROW’S LUNCH IS CANCELLED…

Due to the winter weather forecasted for tomorrow, Thursday, April 4, we are cancelling our Heritage Club lunch at Hometown Sports Grill. We attempted to re-schedule this lunch but are unable to do so.

An email has been sent to those who registered but please share this message with anyone you may know who was planning to attend. We apologize for the short notice but the safety of our members is very important to us. Thank you!

We hope to see you at our next lunch in May.

We enjoyed another great afternoon of bowling fun! This annual event continues to bring us lots of laughs… thanks to Karen for organizing a fun afternoon. 

Good friends!

Good times!

Good memories!

Fun day!

Our March lunch will be held at Big Rig Kitchen & Brewery (Gloucester) (1980 Ogilvie Rd) on Thursday, March 7, starting at 11:30 a.m. Please register, via email, if you plan to attend.
 
Our April lunch will be held on Thursday, April 4 at the Hometown Sports Grill (1525 Bank Street). We’ll gather at 11:30 a.m. Please register, via email, if you plan to attend.
 
As always, we appreciate your diligence in both registering if you plan to attend, so the restaurants can plan accordingly, and being mindful of your health on the day of the event. We have, so far (yeah for us!), managed to avoid having any of our events turn into COVID spreader events and we thank you for your help with keeping all of us (and our loved ones…) safe and healthy!

This will be the final reminder for members who have not paid their 2024 dues. Our newsletter list will be cleaned next month and those who have not renewed their dues will be removed from the distribution list and your membership number will be cancelled. If you have not done so yet (and a HUGE thank you to those of you who have!), please renew your dues now. Payment information is here. Thank you!
 

Mark your calendar… On Thursday, June 20 (revised date), we’ll be heading to Upper Canada Playhouse for a matinee performance of Perfect Wedding. Then we’ll head to a local brewery for a tour and dinner. Details are being confirmed, registration is not yet open for this event…

We had four great gatherings in December and January, as we set out to help Santa with his mail. Congratulations to our special Santa elves as we helped with more than 15,200 individual letters and almost 400 school letters! Thank you (from your chapter executive, from the program’s team at head office, from Santa and, especially, from all the kids who received those wonderful replies from Santa…) to everyone who turned out to help, share a few laughs, and enjoy a free lunch! We hope to see even more of you join in the fun come December.

Always a crowd favourite, we’re heading back to Mandarin Restaurant (Hunt Club location) for our February lunch on Thursday, February 1, doors open at 11:30 a.m. Thanks to member Raj Mediratta for organizing this lunch for us. While members always enjoy a Mandarin lunch, we’ve received complaints about the seating arrangements (long, crowded tables that make both visiting and making trips to the buffet difficult). Raj spoke with the manager, and they have agreed to seat us in one room (if we have the registration to warrant the room) and keep the tables in the usual seating arrangement. This will be much easier to sit with friends and make our way to the buffet table. Raj also had them add in free coffee or tea to our meals! Please register, via email, by January 25, if you will be attending the lunch. Thank you, Raj, for taking this on for the executive…

A reminder that everyone’s membership in the Heritage Club runs from January 1 to December 31 of each year. If you haven’t yet paid your dues, please do so soon. Paid membership (as reported in the Annual Report – see below) directly affects the seed money we receive from national. So… now is the time to pay your dues! Your $20 membership gives you (and your partner/spouse) access to the member price on all our events, front of the line access to the events, voting privileges at the AGM and for our charity support, and access to discounts at Goodlife gym, Johnson Insurance, and others. Learn more about membership benefits and how to pay here (and in the payment box at the end of the newsletter). A reminder, the discount membership at Goodlife, requires your paid membership status be on a list we provide to Goodlife the first week of each month. If you wish to receive your GoodLife discount you must pay your dues well in advance of your Goodlife renewal date.

The December dues-renewal contest (of $100 each) winners were: Denis Lalonde, Lorraine Longpre and Gilles Plouffe. Congratulations!

Members who have not renewed by the end of the month will be removed from the newsletter distribution list.

Our annual bowling fun afternoon returns at Merivale Bowling Centre on Thursday, February 15. We’ll bowl two games and then stay for dinner (participants pay for their own dinner). The full cost for bowling is $17 (two games and shoe rental), but we will charge members $10 per bowler. There will also be a 50/50 draw with the proceeds going to support the Canada Post Community Foundation for Children. Tickets for the 50/50 draw will be $2 each or three tickets for $5. And, of course, door prizes! To register for this event, send an email to organizer Karen Casselman before January 31. In the email, please let us know if you are bowling and staying for dinner, or just bowling, or just joining us for dinner. Bowlers can pay their $10 in cash at the event or by e-transfer (see payment box below). Bowling will start at 3:00 p.m., with dinner around 5:00 p.m.

Each local Heritage Club chapter must submit, in January of each year, an annual and financial report to the National Executive. The report covers member communication, events, charitable support, etc. This ‘report card’ is used by the national executive to decide awards and distribute the seed money they receive from Canada Post. One of the accomplishments we’re graded on is member volunteer activity. If you volunteer in your community, please send an email, by January 26, with information (organization(s), hours, etc.) about your volunteer activities. Please let us know how you are making a difference in your community.

Speaking of volunteer hours… We have received a request from the Rural Ottawa South Support Services (ROSSS) and The Olde Forge, organizations that provide support to older adults in Rural Ottawa South and Western Ottawa, for volunteer drivers. If this volunteer opportunity would be of interest to you, please reach out to Jennifer Zeinstra for details. Please note, the Heritage Club is not affiliated with either group and you should discuss all questions (hours, insurance coverage, etc.) with Jennifer.

We’re gathering again to help Santa on December 14. December 14 is blitz day, and we will be in the main building (just like pre-COVID times!). Canada Post will serve lunch that day, and we need to confirm numbers with them. Full details and confirmations will be sent to you when you register. Join us… Santa will thank you!
 
We will also help Santa with the after-Christmas mail task. Details on that will be sent separately or in the next newsletter.