As of the end of October, I’ve completed 32 out of my 47 club visits. It has been a truly amazing experience for me personally. I’ve learned so much about what our clubs are doing in our District to make a difference in their local communities and around the world. And, size doesn’t really seem to matter. I’ve seen first-hand Rotary’s brand image in several communities, thanks to the local Rotarians who have taken the time to tour me around. I’ve met many new faces and felt the passion of many caring Rotarians who want to make a difference, who want to make the world a better place, who want to help others less fortunate. I want to thank all of the club Presidents, their leadership teams and their members for making me feel so welcome during my recent visits and for sharing those things that their club is most proud of doing. I look forward to meeting the remaining 15 clubs in our District over the next month and a half and I am also excited about visiting the Rotaract clubs in Calgary, Lethbridge and Red Deer.
I’ve lost count as to the number of new Rotarians I’ve had the privilege of inducting during my first four months as your District Governor, yet we are still challenged with declining numbers. More on membership later. I’ve experienced several firsts during my travels, but the one that stands out for me the most is a recent visit to the Rotary Club of Drumheller. My wife and I were invited to join them for a potluck dinner event, but soon after our arrival, we quickly learned that it was a social gathering focused on doing one thing - recognizing and thanking their Rotarian partners. Thanks to President Ian and the members of the Drumheller club for inviting Pat and me to join them and help them celebrate. I hope you agree that we Rotarians can’t do we what we do without the support of our partners - a big thank you goes out to all of our partners!
Like many Districts in North America, our District has been seeing a steady decline in our numbers.
July 1, 2013
July 1, 2014
July 1, 2015
July 1, 2016
July 1, 2017
Nov 1, 2017
2,038
1,983
1,946
1,889
1,845
1,820
When one looks at our numbers over the past 4 years, we’re actually pretty darn good at attracting new members; we just can’t seem to keep them! We’re losing almost 50 Rotarians each year. Membership is Rotary International’s and our District’s #1 internal priority. We need all Rotarians to ask themselves what they think needs to be done to retain members in their clubs – is your club attractive to the non-Rotarians in your community, is your club representative of your community’s demographics and for your members, is your club welcoming, engaging, fun, appreciative, irresistible? Fellow Rotarians, we need to stop the downward slide. Membership is not just the Membership Attraction & Engagement Committee’s responsibility, it’s every Rotarian in our District’s responsibility!
And speaking of membership, please register for our Membership: Priority #1 Workshop coming up on Saturday, November 18th. This 3-hour workshop will introduce you to simple tools that Club and District Leaders can adopt immediately to improve their Rotary brand experience to both attract and retain members. The program will be live streamed from Calgary to our other centres, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer. Registration is quick and easy - just go the Events Calendar on our District website.
And finally, a friendly reminder - November is Rotary Foundation month. If the Rotary Foundation is the engine that drives our “doing good in the world”, either locally or globally, we cannot forget about the importance of fueling that engine. I know that giving is a personal and private choice, but if you have a giving heart, please think about giving what you can to the Rotary Foundation. Charity Navigator, an internationally recognized charity ratings organization named the Rotary Foundation the number one Foundation in the world in 2016 and has given it the top rating of 4 stars for the past 8 consecutive years. Did you know that during the past 100 years, the Foundation has invested more than $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects? Did you know that more than 90% of all donations go directly to supporting service projects where the need is deemed the greatest? Please consider making the Rotary Foundation your “charity of choice”. Every dollar given is making a difference somewhere!
Membership growth is a primary focus of every service organization. In Rotary, the challenge is to stimulate sustainable growth fueled by members who are motivated, passionate and fully engaged. But, the discussion is about more than just growth. If your club experiences an influx of new members, will they stay and remain involved?
At the bottom of the post is a place for comments. Let’s start a conversation. What do you think? What has worked for your club?
Welcome to the Rotary Community Corps "Fuerza Mexico Alberta"
Organized to work with Canadian a nd Mexican Rotarians in partnership to aid in disaster relief and long-term economic recovery in southern Mexico after the disastrous earthquakes of Sept 19. A big thanks to the Rotary Clubs of Calgary, Sylvan Lake in Alberta and Clubes Rotarios de Bahia de Huatulco (Oaxaca), Cuernavaca (Morelos) y Tehuacan Manatiales (Puebla) en Mexíco for their help in getting this project off the ground as well as all the Canadian Mexican organizations of High River, Calgary and Edmonton.
Rotary Clubs within District 5360 are partnering with local Mexican organizations to fundraise and plan relief projects in conjunction with Mexican Rotarians and community members. A Rotary Community Corp (RCC)normally does local projects in their own country with a local sponsoring Rotary Club as a host Club and possible funding from a Club in Canada. This is the first time an RCC has been formed to do international projects between Rotarians and community members in two countries. A first for Rotary High River, District 5360 and a historic first for the Rotary Foundation that is moving quickly to aid in this humanitarian crisis.
If your Club would like to help with grant writing, can sponsor a CIP or DDF application, has a donation to fund the cause or can aid in a Global Grant please email us at FuerzaMexicoAlberta@gmail.com
We had an article in our local Lethbridge Herald to raise awareness about World Polio Day.
Also, we held a Worlds Greatest Meal event called "Fall Potluck to end Polio" on Saturday, Oct 21st. Each couple was asked to bring a donation for Polio and their favourite fall dish. For members who couldn't attend, they were encouraged to donate.
The Rotary Club of High River held two successful fundraising events in October.
On Oct. 20, the High River Rotarians brought food for a pot-luck End-Polio meal, saving money on a caterer that evening. They still paid a $20 meeting fee, but this went to Rotary International’s polio-eradication campaign. Also, fun games followed to raise more funds. The total for Polio Plus was $2,680.
The guest speaker was Dan Doherty, a past president of the Rotary Club of Calgary West and incoming District 5360 Governor. He gave a presentation on volunteering with a polio-immunization team in Ethiopia, East Africa.
Dan was emotional when he showed a photo of him immunizing a young child against polio with the oral vaccine developed by Albert Sabin. With two of Rotary’s partners, UNICEF and the World Health Organization, the team vaccinated 10,000 children in two days.
Dan said, when Rotary first became involved in polio eradication in the 1980s, there were 380,000 polio cases reported. Now the number is down to about 10 in the remaining endemic countries that are Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dan’s challenge to all Rotarians is to find a way to get to zero.
I Love Art show and sale
The Rotary Club of High River held its 4th biennial I Love Art gala event at the High River Autoplex and RV showroom on Oct. 20. The location was courtesy of the business owner, Rotarian Doug McLaughlin. Entrance fees, as well as a portion of the art sales, benefited Foothills Search and Rescue, High River Handi-Bus and the High River District Health Care Foundation for the renovation of the maternity ward at High River Hospital. This fun event raised approximately $15,000.
The Rotary club’s I Love Art show was featured on the front page of the Oct. 24 edition of the High River Times with “Art Expression” being the headline over the large photograph. There were more photos of the gala event on page 10.
Rotarian Bill Ptacek worked with the Rotary Employment Partnership to open up job opportunities at the Calgary Public Library for people with developmental disabilities. Our October Newsletter (click to read) highlights the success of inclusive hiring at the Library.
As CEO of the Library, Bill Ptacek opened the door to discussions about inclusive hiring two years ago, and the Partnership worked with the Library every step of the way to make sure they have the right people for the right job. Bill said this week that "The Calgary Public Library wanted this to be a model for other public sector employers. We would like our very positive experience to translate to more opportunities at municipal, provincial and even federal levels of government."
If you think you can arrange a meeting with a potential employer, please contact Rotarians Mike Colborne (mjc@corp.pwt.ca) or Al McMillan (al.mcmillan@redside.ca). Inclusive hiring starts with a discussion.
Since August, religious conflict and increased violence have forced thousands of Rohingyas to flee Myanmar. To date, over 500,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh. But after the worst flooding seen in decades in Bangladesh, these families are being forced to set up makeshift camps in a sea of mud.
The International Organization for Migration and the government of Bangladesh are working together to set up a 2,000 Acre site to shelter families. ShelterBox aims to identify shelter gaps, assess needs and provide the most appropriate response. We currently have a team in the Cox’s Bazar area working closely with Rotarians from District 3282.
Response Team Volunteer and Rotarian Liz Odell (Past President Nailsworth Rotary Club) is meeting with families in Cox Bazar and has this to say about the current situation:
“This camp contains about 50,000 people. They are crammed together in really small, flimsy shelters built of very thin black plastic. Most of them fled just carrying what they could, they had a three or four-hour journey across the river just coming in the clothes they stood up in. They are in desperate need of better shelter. They need cooking pots, they need water carriers, they need blankets and above all, they need a bit more space and more shelter.”
With more Rohingya families fleeing for their lives, we’re impatient to send aid, but we need your help.
SHINE FOR SHELTERBOX: Make a difference this winter
Is your Rotary Club looking for a way to support ShelterBox and engage your local community? Join communities and Rotary Clubs all over the country this winter and get together to brighten lives by hosting a fundraising candlelit dinner for ShelterBox Canada.
Shine for ShelterBox is the perfect way to not only raise funds and awareness about ShelterBox Canada and our partnership with Rotary but to also introduce your community to the amazing work Rotary does to support disaster relief. Learn more and register your club at shelterboxcanada.org/shine
CURRENT DEPLOYMENT UPDATE
ShelterBox is currently assisting families in Niger, Cameroon and Chad due to the Lake Chad Basin crisis, Iraq and the Syrian Region due to the ongoing conflict, Somaliland as a result of the ongoing drought and famine, the Caribbean after Hurricane Irma, Nepal and Bangladesh due to flash flooding and Cameroon due to flooding. ShelterBox is also monitoring Hurricane Talim, Mexico, Hurricane Katia, Venezuela, Sudan and Nigeria.
ShelterBox Canada – 159 Jane Street, Office 2, Toronto, ON M6S 3Y8
ShelterBox and Rotary are official project partners in international disaster relief. ShelterBox is a registered charity independent of Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation
Refer a potential member and we’ll help connect them to the right club. Only current members can refer new members. To refer someone to your own club, contact your club secretary.
The Speakers Database is making a return appearance and needs your input!!
Anyone needing to book speakers for their club knows it's sometimes a challenge to come up with ideas and then to source the speaker contact information. By sharing the speaker's details, the information will be timely and relevant to assist each other in finding great speakers for your next meeting.
To make it a great resource for Clubs to share, download the excel spreadsheet, contribute to the list and upload the new version. Use your regular ClubRunner username and password to login to the District website and find the Speakers Database resource by clicking here.
With the recent success of the Club Charter Documents Archive, copies of Club Bylaws are being solicited for the next edition of the Documents Archive.
Not only will this be a repository of information for the respective club but also to share information between clubs as some have already completed updating their Bylaws but information sharing between the clubs for improving Bylaws will be beneficial for all clubs.
Please email a PDF copy with the following naming convention: Club Name Bylaws YearRegistered (E.G. Airdrie Bylaws 2015)
In many ways, The Rotary Foundation is an invisible presence in our clubs. Most of what we do in our clubs and our districts, on a weekly basis, we do without the active involvement of the Foundation. But our Foundation is invisible in our clubs in the same way the foundation of a building is invisible when you're in it: Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not holding you up.
The Foundation that enabled Rotary to take on polio is, in many ways, the foundation upon which our Rotary service is built. For 100 years, since it came into existence with a first donation of $26.50, the Foundation has supported and strengthened our service, enabled our ambitions, and allowed us to be the organization that we are. Because of the Foundation, Rotarians know that if we have the ambition and put in the work, very little is truly beyond us.
It is an incredibly effective model that we have here in Rotary, one that no other organization can match. We are completely local and completely global: We have local skills, connections, and knowledge in over 35,000 clubs, in nearly every country of the world. We have a deserved reputation for transparency, effectiveness, and good business practices, and because we are highly skilled professionals as well as volunteers, we achieve a level of efficiency that very few other organizations can approach.
To put it simply, a dollar given to The Rotary Foundation has a great deal more muscle than a dollar given to most charities. If you want to spend a dollar on Doing Good in the World, you can't do better than to spend it with the Foundation. That is not just me speaking out of pride; it is verifiably true and is reflected in our rankings by independent organizations.
In the Foundation's centennial year, Rotarians surpassed our goal of raising $300 million. If you were part of that achievement, you have been part of something tremendous. Somewhere in the world, someplace you have probably never been, people you may never meet will lead better lives because of you. Ultimately, it is our Foundation that lets us make good on our core beliefs: that we can make a difference, that we have an obligation to do so, and that working together, as well and as efficiently as we can, is the only way to effect real and lasting change.
October has been a very busy month for us all. So many of you were involved with the Zone 24/32 Institute held in Hartford. It was a great event with so many moments that made us celebrate our friendships and humanitarian service and other moments that made us reflect on the needs that need our service and commitment.
I want to once again thank the 2017 Hartford Zone Institute Committee lead by General Chair Eileen Rau and her team. They did a truly brilliant job. My thanks also to the PreInstitute Chair Alan Hurst and his team who have prepared our Governor and District Leadership teams for the year ahead.
PDG Drew Kessler shared time with a group of young Rotarians as they discussed what Rotary should look like to make it relevant to the younger generations. President Ian Riseley and General Secretary John Hewko also spent time with this group of innovators and now really understand just how critical the changes are that are needed.
Thank you to all who joined us in Hartford. Perhaps this will be the last Institute presented in the format we have become familiar with. It is becoming more and more obvious that as the event for connecting and informing the Past Leadership of the Zones, the existing Institute format is not succeeding. So few of the PDGs attend — and understandably so, citing costs and time as factors. Now that training and education and updates are so freely available via other means than face to face meetings, it is time for us to re-consider the Zone Institute concept — and this is exactly what Director-elect Jeffry and his team are doing for next year’s gathering in Montreal.
October the 24th was World Polio Day! The Livestream event was hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle. I was greatly honoured to have a few moments during the broadcast to speak about Rotary. It was a great experience to share the stage with all those professionals. And, a record amount of money was raised for Polio Eradication. Thank you to all that tuned in and donated. It's hard to believe that we are nearing the end of 2017.! Happy Thanksgiving to all our America
H. Dean Rohrs
RI Vice President 2017-18
RI Director 2016-18
Rotary Club of Langley Central, BC
dean@cbrplus.com
As of the end of October, I’ve completed 32 out of my 47 club visits. It has been a truly amazing experience for me personally. I’ve learned so much about what our clubs are doing in our District to make a difference in their local communities and around the world. And, size doesn’t really seem to matter. I’ve seen first-hand Rotary’s brand image in several communities, thanks to the local Rotarians who have taken the time to tour me around. I’ve met many new faces and felt the passion of many caring Rotarians who want to make a difference, who want to make the world a better place, who want to help others less fortunate. I want to thank all of the club Presidents, their leadership teams and their members for making me feel so welcome during my recent visits and for sharing those things that their club is most proud of doing. I look forward to meeting the remaining 15 clubs in our District over the next month and a half and I am also excited about visiting the Rotaract clubs in Calgary, Lethbridge and Red Deer.
If the Rotary Foundation is the engine that drives our “doing good in the world”, either locally or globally, we cannot forget about the importance of fueling that engine. I know that giving is a personal and private choice, but if you have a giving heart, please think about giving what you can to the Rotary Foundation. Charity Navigator, an internationally recognized charity ratings organization named the Rotary Foundation the number one Foundation in the world in 2016 and has given it the top rating of 4 stars for the past 8 consecutive years. Did you know that during the past 100 years, the Foundation has invested more than $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects? Did you know that more than 90% of all donations go directly to supporting service projects where the need is deemed the greatest? Please consider making the Rotary Foundation your “charity of choice”. Every dollar given is making a difference somewhere!
nd Mexican Rotarians in partnership to aid in disaster relief and long-term economic recovery in southern Mexico after the disastrous earthquakes of Sept 19. A big thanks to the Rotary Clubs of Calgary, Sylvan Lake in Alberta and Clubes Rotarios de Bahia de Huatulco (Oaxaca), Cuernavaca (Morelos) y Tehuacan Manatiales (Puebla) en Mexíco for their help in getting this project off the ground as well as all the Canadian Mexican organizations of High River, Calgary and Edmonton.
On Oct. 20, the High River Rotarians brought food for a pot-luck End-Polio meal, saving money on a caterer that evening. They still paid a $20 meeting fee, but this went to Rotary International’s polio-eradication campaign. Also, fun games followed to raise more funds. The total for Polio Plus was $2,680.
over the large photograph. There were more photos of the gala event on page 10.
THOUSANDS IN DANGER: Rohingya Crisis
