Our Fourth Season of Providing Keynote Speakers!

A fourth season of the Land O’ Lakes Speakers’ Forum will commence on April 22nd and run for six months, with the fourth Wednesday of each month featuring a speaker on a wide array of topics. This is a project built jointly between the Cloyne and District Historical Society and the Lions Club of Land O’ Lakes and takes place at the Lions Hall in Northbrook at 7 pm, followed by a Questions and Answers session ending at 8 pm. Attendance is free of charge, and a light snack is provided, along with a cash bar.

	April 22, 2026: Adam Shoalts- Explorer, Canoeist and Writer	This year’s round of speakers will start with Writer and Canoeist Adam Shoalts, who wrote the famous Where the Falcons Fly, a book that follows his journey in a solo canoe across 3,400km from Lake Erie to the Arctic over a period of three months. Shoalts will show pictures and tell stories of his wild, adventurous travels.
	May 27, 2026: Bruce Lounsbury- Engineer, Environmental Cleanup	May will take us into the world of Environmental Clean-up with Engineer Bruce Lounsbury, renowned for his expertise on environmental remediation, water treatment and sustainability. This is a topic of high importance to everyone living around our lakes eco-systems. Lounsbury, as a speaker, is very approachable and interesting to chat with, making the question-and-answer session highly relevant to concurrent issues of lakes' robustness.
	June 24, 2026: Dr. Joel Sokolosky- Canadian/American Relations	Dr. Joel Sokolosky from the Royal Military College (RMC), Professor Emeritus, is an expert on Canadian/American Relations and will be the speaker for June. At a time of estrangement across our borders, when focus on the economy, trade, and politics is paramount, the opportunity to listen to a speaker of this calibre and expertise on the topic would be of great value to our communities.
	July 22, 2026: Amy Kay - Wildlife Photographer, Entrepreneur	On a lighter, less intense world of birds, Amy Kay, the outstanding bird photographer and owner of the Tweet Boutique and Gallery, will be presenting in July, featuring her own life, and pictures she took in a fun, titled topic of “Wildlife Photographer, with a Slight Bird Obsession”.
	August 26, 2026: Steven Blight- Environmentalist	August takes us on the journey of the Mississippi – Madawaska Land Trust that saw the saving of thousands of acres of wetlands and ponds across the area with the Chair of the Property Acquisition and Stewardship Committee, Steven Blight. This will be a first-hand description, a learning experience, on the process that led to local communities’ involvement in protecting individual ponds and rivers.
	September 23, 2026: Rick Revelle- Author, Storytelling & Publishing	The season ends in September with author and storyteller Rick Revelle, who, through the art of historical fiction such as I Am Algonquin, Algonquin Spring and Algonquin Legacy, has acted as a knowledge keeper of the indigenous culture and heritage. Revelle will be approaching the subject of storytelling and publishing.

Over the past four years, speakers have engaged our communities with meaningful dialogue, and both the Lions Club and the Historical Society would like to extend their thanks and appreciation for the time, effort and interest in being part of The Land O’ Lakes Speakers series.

The committee working on this would like, in addition to inviting the community to attend the different speakers, to ask what topics the community would like to see next year (2027), as the line-up for the year has started. To reach out to the committee, contact Doug Galt (Committee Chair), Red Emond, Mike & Nawar Hage from the Lions Club or Ken Hook and Ian Brumell from the Historical Society. ■