Sunday, February 27, 2011

Where are we going and how do we get there?


On Sunday a core group of district leaders met to complete our semi-annual review of our district strategic plan. Don Evans of the Rotary Club of Vancouver is our facilitator for the review.

The top challenge facing District 5040 is membership. A variety of strategies are being considered to reverse a decline in our membership. This will only occur if every club also takes steps to recruit new members and retain current members.

 Simply put, our District 5040 strategic planning determines where District 5040 is going over the next year or more, how we are going to get there and how we will know if we get there or not.

What is the current situation? Where are we going and how do we get there? These questions are at the heart of Strategic Planning. A complete Strategic Plan is the single best resource for a Rotary district or a Rotary club. Strategic Planning includes creating a plan from conception to completion, looking at the alternatives and implementing a plan of action, and conducting a strategy for your club.

Don Evans

While it needs to be comprehensive, a strategic plan should be sufficiently brief that it will be easily understood by every club member and will be used by the members. A plan that is too complex and long will only sit on a shelf and gather dust.
If your club does not have a strategic plan or it has not been reviewed for more than six months contact Don Evans or a member of his team for assistance.

The district strategic plan is on the district website – to view the plan click HERE.

Visit the RI website page on strategic planning.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Delta Clubs Celebrate Rotary Day

The three Rotary clubs in Delta celebrated Rotary's anniversary with a presentation at Delta City Hall to Mayor Lois Jackson. There are three Rotary clubs in Delta; Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta (D5050). Major Jackson was presented with the plaque and thanked for all the support she and members of council give to Rotary over many years. Mayor Jackson thanked the Rotarians in Delta for all they do for the community. The plaque was made by students from a local high school.

On 23 February 1905, Paul P. Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram E. Shorey gathered in Loehr's office for what would become known as the first Rotary club meeting.



Delta Rotarians

DG Penny & Mayor Jackson

Monday, February 21, 2011

PETS 2011

The 2011 Pacific North West PETS was held in Seattle this past weekend. The Presidents Elect from 9 districts in the Pacific North West came together to hear from Rotary greats such as Past RI Presidents Rick King and Cliff Dochterman.

 PDG and Regional Foundation Coordinator Chris and I travelled to Seattle for one day to do a session on Future Vision for the Presidents Elect in District 5040. We also took photos of all the incoming presidents in District 5040 for the annual district directory.

PETS is a motivational and exhilarating experience. It was great fun to be part of it for a few hours as our future club leaders prepare for next year.

D5040 Pres Elects, AG Chu Wu & PRIP Cliff Dochterman


Pres Elects & PRIP Rick King


Saturday, February 12, 2011

Social media tips for clubs


You may find this new download from RI helpful. Is your club using FaceBook or other social media to promote your club, service project or fundraising event?

Download a PDF copy at: http://rosnf.net/wp-content/uploads/social_media_tips.pdf

1. View websites and social media as part of your public relations and marketing budget. Your online presence should not be an isolated expense or something for the "techie" person of the club to work on alone. It should have the club's support, with several Rotarians involved.

2. Go online before you start your own social media page, and see what other clubs and organizations are doing. Note what you like and what you think would work well for communicating to the community and reaching your goals.

3. Develop a communications plan. This includes identifying an intended audience (e.g., prospective Rotarians, community leaders), goals (e.g., to let the community know what your club does, to find new members), and a message (e.g., "We're a club that has a signature project," "We're a club that offers fun fellowship and service opportunities").

4. Update your page regularly (but not too often) with photos, videos, and text. Plan to update your Facebook page at least once a week, but not five times a day. If you update too much, people will become overwhelmed and tune you out. If you don't update enough, people will think your club isn't active. Ask several club members (perhaps your committee chairs) to share the responsibility of updating your page.

5. Designate moderators. Check all social media sites for spam or other inappropriate comments nearly every day. Distribute the moderation duties among several people.

6. Look professional. Social media pages are a reflection of your club. Check your spelling, and use the Rotary emblem correctly. See http://www.rotary.org/graphics

7. Be genuine, conversational, and fun. Share items that will interest your audience.

8. Reach out to other community organizations, especially potential project partners. Also connect with the news media and with local business and government leaders on Twitter and Facebook. Social media is about building relationships.

9. Promote your social media pages. Include links to them on your club's website, in e-mails, and in print publications.

10. Be safe, but don't be afraid. You won't break the Internet! But remember that social media sites are public, so don't include personal information. Also, sites can frequently change their policies, so review privacy settings regularly.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

District Conference on FaceBook

Follow the District Confernce on FaceBook regular updates on speakers, program, registration deadlines, comment on agenda, video clips of speakers and much more.

This past weekend was a busy Rotary weekend.

learning to communicate & team building

On Saturday February 5th we held the District 5040 District Team Assembly for 2011-12 District Committee Chair and Assistant Governors. Organized by DG Penny and DGN Rebecca the assembly focussed on the new Rotary International logo and theme, the RI and District 5040 Strategic Plans, roles and responsibilities of members of the District team, building the team and planning as a team for the Rotary year ahead. 
 Saturday evening six members of the District leadership  team joined the Rotary Club of Ladner for a delicious 10 course dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year and the year of the rabbit. Gung Hei Fat Choi.

 Sunday we held the second of two days of training for Assistant Governors in District 5040 in 2010-11. The training focussed on the last six months of this year and what needs to be accomplished and on introducing the incoming Assistant Governors to their role and responsibilities. 

 A busy and successful Rotary weekend.

District Leadership Assembly

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Cariboo North membership workshop a success


The second district membership workshop was held on Sunday, January 30 in Quesnel with representation from six Rotary clubs in the Cariboo and Prince George.

This interactive workshop was organized and led by district membership chair Linda Coyle assisted by DG Penny Offer, PDG Chris Offer and DGN Rebecca McPherson. The workshop focused on building vibrant Rotary clubs. Sessions and participants discussed what makes Rotary clubs vibrant, membership development for clubs and demographics of district 5040. The proposals for new types of membership categories, satellite clubs, corporate membership, associate membership and innovative and flexible clubs were discussed. These are pilot projects that start July 1, 2011.

Participants were asked to write down at least one thing they will do in the next month to improve membership in their club. There were also asked to report back to their clubs on the discussion and new ideas they learned at the workshop.

Thanks to everyone who attended and made the day a great success.

Quesnel Rotary Fundation Dinner


Saturday, January 29 we attended The Rotary Foundation dinner put on by the Rotary clubs of Quesnel and Quesnel Sunrise. A beautifully decorated room with red roses and hearts greeted  just under 100 Rotarians and guests.

PDG Chris offer, Rotary Regional Foundation Coordinator was the keynote speaker for the evening.

Keith Corbett was the auctioneer for the evening, auctioning homemade desserts to finish off a delicious buffet, red rose table centerpieces and many auction items. The final auction of the night, the loony auction allowed participants to purchase numerous auction items with casino chips purchased for one dollar each. With each casino chip you purchased a numbered paddle to bid on the item. Numbers were drawn for each of the loony auction items. A unique and fun way to raise funds for international service and The Rotary Foundation.

Congratulations to all the club members who organized a  very successful event. The event raised approximately $11,000 to be divided between the two clubs. A great evening in Quesnel BC celebrating The Heart of Rotary.