A record number of Past Presidents attended the Celebration of Life for Mel Rogers held 13 May at the Viscount Gort. The Purple Patch definitely stood out in the rather large crowd receiving many compliments about the blazers and the excellent turn out. The family was particularly appreciative of this overwhelming display of respect for Mel and made a point of including his club blazer on the table of memories.
In his remarks, on behalf of the Board of Directors and all members, Paul noted that Mel was a relatively young President in 1974-75 at a time when the club was being rebuilt, membership was flourishing, impressive bar revenues made up for the opportunity to apply for Financial Grants, the club rooms were blue with smoke and Minutes of meetings were either handwritten or documented on a (manual) typewriter and copied for distribution. Paul further recognized the efforts of all Past Presidents and many other AMCC folks in attendance for their untiring work in making our Club one of the best in the City, if not the entire Province, while lamenting the fact that volunteerism is undergoing a significant downturn.
Given the large crowd and many (mostly humorous) stories it was quite obvious that Mel led a full life and touched many people during his 72 years on this side of the grass.