like many of you i too was shocked and saddened by the news of rod chambers passing he was our friend mentor and the very first president of pmut i requested actually i was honored i wanted the honor to celebrate his his life and acknowledge his contributions to our club but that's not enough as we continue integrations of club officers and as our membership grows in my heart i feel it's vital to solidify actually crystallize rod's legacy mr toastmaster fellow members and guests before i honor rod i'd like you to consider two questions outside of pmut how many project managers do you know second question within your network how many toastmasters do you know i can imagine even less people being both we are unique people we combine both worlds but rod was uncommon amongst uncommon people he would have he was an example of a gold standard a true archetype a pmut president mentor a unique character and toastmaster ah in the beginning there are seven founders who found the need to create pmut the six of us looked at rod because we knew he had the most experience and the connections and he had his people skills and he could help create the infrastructure for the club before you know it rod connected us with the city of toronto we found a home established our toastmasters club status and our pdus are recognized by project management international so if you're enjoying those two pdus you have rod chambers to thank he shared his network of friends and colleagues which guaranteed a steady stream of pm farm presenters who not only shared their knowledge and insight but sparked debate thought and inspiration rod was a proud club president and a club ambassador and he spoke to everyone about pmut at colleges universities pm pmi events and even in coffee shops he expanded his network extended an invitation and encouragement membership rod took mentorship seriously when i spoke to dr jeffrey thompson the president of pmi toronto he spoke fondly of rod's contributions to their membership mentorship program many of you are pmps and pmu team members because of him he loved the opportunity to share lessons learned from his career and impart knowledge he never wavered from being a formal or informal mentor he sets pmi standards when it was suggested we take the summer off rod and found and fannically said no we're going to lose momentum rod was right during our bi-weekly club officer meetings he would say stop using um's and oz we're still in the toastmasters meeting rod was right in the early days rod often was a toastmaster and he always had a speech in his back pocket rod was a unique character he had a quirky sense of humor and a wonderful boyish giggle but it begs the question how old was he i heard 58 68 70. i don't know we were blessed to know to have him at the end of his life i know he's raised by a single mother who he absolutely adored he described his upbringing as unpleasant the confident man that we know grew up as a very shy boy he found an interest in computers got a degree in psychology and started a career as a computer programmer and then retired as a management consultant he advised companies from bay street to wall street and even the un he he had the opportunity to travel the world rod had a soft side when he spoke of his pride and love for his spouse tycoon his daughters and grandchildren but rod had a tough side he was a fighter and a defender of people of color and the handicap very few people know that our club was threatened there were people that tried to undermine us once rod got wind of this he was fired up he didn't use brutal words like fists what he did was he used his toastmasters training and his vast vocabulary and reeled the words like a fine swordsman he defended us and stood strong he was resilient what does a seasoned toastmaster and project manager do in retirement well if you're wrong you can start a blog you could entertain speaking engagements but rod took it further he started hot rod the rod chambers show where he shared his network with a broader audience he we met with alex bodner award-winning author and anita pethek international speaker and she's also well steeped in toastmasters deb ramshran and jeff crane who are pm forum speakers we're all familiar with them and thank you deb for joining us tonight and sherman sukel who's award-winning playwright we're very fortunate to meet him rod exemplified connection mentorship continuous learning when we emulate his legacy we honor him more and more i know rod is beaming with pride for each of us we are better for knowing him and we are the beneficiaries of his example and hard work please raise your glasses with me as i like to propose a toast death ends a mortal life not a memory let us remember rod for the president mentor unique character and toastmaster he was let his memory guide us paraphrasing abraham lincoln's words in the gettysburg address it is not for the it is for the living to take increased devotion from those who gave full measure of their devotion here's to rod chambers legacy pmut tourod chambers cheers rod thank you