In 2014 Past District Governor (5360) Pat Killoran asked me to help generate media attention around Alberta Rotarians triggering a 2.1 million dollar donation to Polio Plus. Rotary International helped distribute the story and it was picked up by various media in different parts of the world.
Through the process of developing that event we started a conversation about writing a monthly column in the District 5360 Newsletter about branding and marketing Rotary Clubs. That was followed by a "DUH" moment when we realized it was a natural evolution to publish a blog. That is how Building the Rotary Brand came into being.
Within this site you will find 53 posts packed full of ideas to help grow local clubs. I have created an index that lists the titles and links to the various posts. I have grouped them by theme which means some recent posts are grouped with
Sarah Pousette, Global Grant Scholarship recipient from District 5360, doing her MA in International Economics with a concentration in Development Economics at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland, writes about her semester. She is supported by the Rotary Club of Calgary-Heritage Park and Genève-Internationale).
Rotary Update: Thesis, Upcoming Graduation and the Future!
Dear Rotarians in District 5360,
The past semester has been going by very quickly as I took the final 2 courses (Econometrics III and International Political Economy) of my Masters program and prepared my graduate thesis, which is due in exactly one week today! My thesis, using a survey of return migrants to the Maghreb, has looked at the remittance, savings and investment decisions of these temporary migrants and the impact of their decisions on development in the Maghreb region.
Barry Rassin earned an MBA in health and hospital administration from the University of Florida, and is the first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas. He recently retired after 37 years as president of Doctors Hospital Health System and continues as an adviser. He is a lifetime member of the American Hospital Association and has served on several boards, including the Quality Council of the Bahamas, Health Education Council, and Employer’s Confederation.
A Rotarian since 1980, Rassin has served Rotary as director and is vice chair of The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees. He was an RI training leader and the aide to 2015-16 RI President K.R. Ravindran.
Rassin received Rotary's highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, as well as other humanitarian awards for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake there. He and his wife, Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.