Spring Events Report
Pancake Breakfast
On Saturday March 30th, an enthusiastic group of Men’s Club members came out early to prepare for our annual pancake and sausage breakfast. Preparation actually began on Friday to pre-cook sausages,
slice melons, butter and set up the hall for Saturday.
At 7 a.m. sharp the sausages went into the oven, coffee and tea were turned on and pancake batter was mixed, along with the many other tasks needed to run this fun event.​
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Doors opened at 8 a.m. and by 9 a.m. things were in full swing with folks lining up for pancakes, sausages, and syrup. By closing we had served 126 hungry adults and 7 children.
The Club netted $912.73 which will be donated to Community Outreach projects and charities. An additional $241 in pie sales were generated in support of the Church.
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Once again, a big thanks goes out to all the club members who volunteered at this event in support of the community and our Men’s Club.
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Next year Easter is later in the season so our pancake breakfast will be on Saturday, April 19th, 2025. Mark your calendar and plan to volunteer or attend.
April 23rd Dinner Meeting – Fred Wallace
Our April 23rd dinner meeting for the Sauble & Area Men's Club, hosted by the Allenford Community Centre (Curling Club) was attended by 58 men enjoying the opportunity to sit and mingle while sipping on a cool beverage prior to the business portion of the meeting.​
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President Dennis began the meeting by welcoming everyone in
attendance. After the introduction of several guests, we welcomed one new member and one returning member to our club.​
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We also welcomed Vic Weitendorf, our newest Member to the Men’s Club executive taking over the position on our board held by Lloyd Sheridan after his retirement from the committee last fall. Vic, Welcome Aboard!
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Reports were then given on various Men’s Club updates since our last meeting, followed by a list of some upcoming activities beginning in May, with golf and horseshoes. Future event details including the Sauble Parkway Road Cleanup, our Spring Trip to the Toyota Plant in Cambridge, the Touch-A-Truck & BBQ event in July, the Bocce Ball & Corn Roast event in August, the Annual Chesley Lake Golf Tournament and the Annual “Harvey Brush Memorial” shuffleboard tournament were provided.
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Dave Corbett is once again managing our Salvation Army Christmas Kettle Campaign and will be looking for 60 time slots to be filled this December.
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We also received an update from member Bob Hopton on the status of the proposed reconstruction of the Hepworth/Shallow Lake Legion building potentially being completed this fall.​
Following the blessing we all enjoyed a delicious dinner of Beef Stew, fresh baked biscuits and Caesar Salad along with Dessert and Coffee prepared by the Allenford Curling Club.​
Following dinner Vic thanked the kitchen crew for a job well done!
Our guest speaker, Fred Wallace was introduced by Ken Frook, although he really needed no introduction to this group given his 40 years on the radio.
Following Fred’s Presentation, he was thanked by President Dennis for sharing his amazing career stories with us.
Fred began his career in 1982 at 1230 CKMP in Midland. In December 1984 Fred moved to Owen Sound and has been at 560 CFOS spending his first few years as disc jockey before taking over sports in 1988. Fred thrilled Ontario Hockey Fans for decades as the play-by-play voice of the Platers and the Attack starting in their inaugural season for the franchise in 1989.
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Fred shared with us many amusing and entertaining stories of “What could possibly go wrong” over his many years on radio and his hockey adventures travelling across the province and into Michigan.
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Spring Day Trip - Toyota Plant
Thirty members of the Sauble and Area Men’s Club enjoyed an amazing spring tour to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC) in Cambridge on Tuesday, May 7th. Prior to the plant tour we were taken to their on site showroom for a brief orientation of the safety protocol at the plant and instructions to follow during the tour in addition to a brief history of Toyota in Cambridge.
The showroom was filled with numerous vehicles beginning with the very first Toyota Corrolla to come off the production line in 1988 in pristine, never driven condition. The very first Lexus SUV to be produced outside of Japan in 2006 was also built here in Cambridge. They also displayed their state-of-the-art vehicles including the RAV 4 and Lexus SUVs ranging in price from $30,000 to $90,000.
The Cambridge facility is comprised of three plants. The North Plant opened for business in 1997 and was where the award-winning Corolla was produced for over 20 years.
The South Plant is the original production line at TMMC, breaking ground in 1986 and producing it’s first vehicle, a Corolla, in 1988. In it’s first year of production it manufactured just 153 vehicles. Today, the South Plant produces the Lexus RX 350 and the Lexus RX 350h and 500h, featuring Lexus Hybrid Drive producing more than 110,000 vehicles annually or about 480 RX vehicles per day.
The West Plant, located in Woodstock, west of TMMC’s Cambridge plants is the newest of the three plants. At the Toyota Woodstock plant, production of the RAV4 started in 2009 and the RAV4 Hybrid was added in 2019. TMMC’s North and West Plants produce approximately 350,000 RAV4 vehicles annually. That’s over 1400 RAV4 vehicles per day. Up to 90% of those vehicles are exported to the US market.
Our tour covered a vast area of the plant as we were taken on a lengthy excursion utilizing their tram system where we were given a detailed narrative of the many processes along our route over individual headsets provided for each participant. We had a close-up view of the robots operating with amazing precision to weld the many unibody frame and body panels through to the installation of the fully assembled dashboard that simply snapped into place. Robots were even utilized to transport parts to various locations throughout the plant. The engineering and thought processes that go into building such a facility is truly mind boggling.
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Our tour would not be complete without the group going out to enjoy a great meal and conversation of the day’s events and more. Lunch at the Crowsfoot Restaurant in Conostogo was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Thanks to All the drivers for taking our members safely to and from Cambridge. Looking forward to our next excursion, hopefully in October.
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Special thanks are extended to Rick Schott for all he did to make this spring trip a complete success.
Sauble Parkway Road Cleanup
On Wednesday May 22nd, we held our annual cleanup of trash along the Sauble Falls Parkway from Main Street to the Falls.
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This is one of our many community service projects which helps to keep the area clean and respectable for our local residents and tourists.
Many thanks to the 16 members of the Men’s Club who volunteered to come out and walk the route on this warm summer like day.
During the morning, we collected 28 bags of garbage and 3 large items (car parts) for a total of 130 kilograms of trash removed from the Parkway and taken to the landfill – great work guys!​
Following the clean-up, coffee and muffins were enjoyed by all at Laszlo's Bistro & Pizza.
Special thanks go to Rick Schott for organizing this event.
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Well done everyone!
