The Niagara-on-the-Lake Rotary Club had some help from anĀ American counterpartĀ for its annual End Polio Now tulip planting on Friday.
Tom Gerbasi, assistant district governor for the Lewiston, N.Y., and NOTL clubs, crossed the border early Friday morning to help out with the planting.
āItās been a real pain-in-the-butt to get over the border,ā Gerbasi said as he helped his fellow Rotarians plant tulip bulbs at Simcoe Park.
āEight oāclock in the morning I had to go get a COVID test on Wednesday. They sent me the results at 11 oāclock (Thursday evening).ā
Gerbasi,Ā a retired pediatrician,Ā said being a member of the Rotary Club gives him the chance to be somebody else.
āI was locked into this role (as a pediatrician). I was the grandfatherly teddy bear kind of guy,ā he said.
āRotary allowed me to do something different. They sent me to Brazil to check out medical missions ā Iāve been all over.ā
He said the international community of Rotary Clubs is one of its biggest draws.
āI get to meet people I would never have known. I know people from Jamestown in New York up to Hamilton,ā he said.
āAnd the best thing is I can go anywhere in the world, from Brazil to South Carolina, or where my daughters live in Boston and Iāll always meet a bunch of friends if I show up at a Rotary meeting.ā
Gerbasi said one of his biggest passions is advocating for autism education.
āJust a little bit of understanding would help. Itās the whole business of educating about people with developmental disabilities and getting them accepted into the whole diversity and inclusiveness conversation.ā
As a dad of two hardworking professional women, he said heĀ is always fighting to break the glass ceiling for women.
āWith Rotary, thereās really no glass ceiling. (District president) Patricia (Murenbeeld) is a great leader and sheās a big contributorĀ to the Niagara-on-the-Lake community.ā
Some 15 Rotarians gathered at Simcoe Park on FridayĀ to plant tulip bulbs to raise money for the fight against polio.
Lord Mayor Betty Disero was among the planters and presented the club with a plaque commemorating Oct. 24 as World Polio Day.
She said she was proud to be a member of the organization.
ā(Rotary) means friendship, it means charity, it means service above self ā the Rotary motto,ā Disero said.
āAnd it means making sure that everything we do is fair for everyone concerned and in the best interest of the community.ā
NOTL business owner Laurie Gunton said the work Rotary is doing to eradicate polio is even more important in the face of theĀ global pandemic.
āWith COVID around right now we can sort of relate how serious polio could be without vaccines,ā Gunton said.
The tulips being planted wereĀ bred specifically in the Netherlands for the End Polio Now campaign, Murenbeeld said.
About 600 tulips were planted in the garden beds inĀ the corner of Simcoe Park atĀ Queen Street.
More tulips will be available for purchase next summer, said Rotary spokesperson Jolanta Janny.