Membership Workshop a Success

On Saturday January 15, 2011 Rotarians from 16 clubs in Metro Vancouver attend the first of two District membership workshops under the leadership of district membership chair, Linda Coyle.

I welcomed everyone to the seminar and stressed the importance of membership retention and growth to every Rotary clubs. Many clubs in the district have had sustained growth over a number of years, unfortunately some club's membership has declined. The district has new clubs starting in Powell River and Bowen Island.

Rotary Coordinator Dean Rohrs led the group through a discussion on what makes a vibrant Rotary club. The list of ideas included fellowship, fun, service projects, spirit, and diversity of membership including classifications, gender, age and ethnicity.

PDG Del Paterson the district club extension chair discussed the current demographics of the districts membership and the challenges faced by some clubs.

Karen Harrison led a discussion on how we can retain members. Ideas included keeping members active and engaged fellowship activities, regular education, good leadership and communications.

The next membership workshop will be held in Quesnel on January 30, 2011. For more information click HERE

Why does Polio Eradication Cost so Much?

Rotarians often ask why polio eradication costs so much. This is a valid question. This short news story from Angola is a good example of where the funds go. More than 600,000 children and young adults are being vaccinated over three days. This requires a staff of 2000. The majority of the 2000 are paid health care workers. They may only earn a few dollars a day but there is significant cost. The vaccine cost is more than half a million dollars, plus transportation, coolers for the vaccine, yellow vests for the works, meals, advertising and accommodation.

Polio vaccination campaign this weekend in Cabinda

Cabinda - The third stage of vaccination against poliomyelitis is to take place on January 14-16, this year, in the northern Cabinda Province, says a source of the sector.

The official in charge of the department of public health and control of endemic illnesses, António Gomes Tati, said the campaign is intended to vaccinate 618,000 citizens, among adults and children.

About 2,000 people will participate in the door-to-door campaign, meant to reduce the propagation of the illness that affects not only children, but also adults.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, last year, were recorded 38 cases of the illness, out of them 34 adults, causing five deaths.

It has not been recorded any case of this illness in Cabinda Province, since December 2010.

See: http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/saude/2011/0/2/Polio-vaccination-campaign-this-weekend-Cabinda,80fb1b4c-c638-42b3-9535-cd370e168373.html

FIVE TIPS FOR SPEAKING IN MEETINGS

I thought this post in the blog by Rick Stevens (www.mediacoach.co.uk) was worth sharing.

"Even though you may not be delivering set-piece speeches or presentations on a regular basis, it's likely that you will be speaking in meetings more often. For some people, it can be quite daunting, especially if other attendees are more senior in the organisation. Even the "this is my name and this is what I do" introduction can make people nervous, causing them to give a poor impression right at the start. So here are a few tips to help you to be more confident in those small gatherings.

1) In small groups, being a good listener is as important as being a good speaker. Show interest in others' comments, both by your expression and body language. Never interrupt, but make notes if you wish to refer back to a point when it's your turn to speak.

2) Talk to everyone. Don't just address your comments to the meeting chair or the last person to speak. In a small group it's easy to make eye contact with everyone in turn as you make your remarks. Making everyone feel included will help to lighten the atmosphere.

3) Ask, don't tell. Encourage feedback from the rest of the group, and actively seek their participation. That's the point of a meeting, to ensure that everyone's views are heard. Otherwise, you could just send the information by email.

4) Keep your language simple, and try to avoid any business jargon (don't mention "out of the box thinking" or "rocket science"). For example, look at the editorial in any national newspaper. That always has a strong message, in simple language.

5) Be positive, and focus on things that need to be done, rather than things that went wrong. When referring to comments from others, find the positives to agree with. Summarise the points of agreement often.

Of course, there's always the other option - don't have meetings. But that's another debate."

Annual Christmas Lunch in Chinatown



Harbour Light Brass Band

On December 15^th I attended my own club's, RC of Vancouver Chinatown, annual Christmas dinner with the Salvation Army Harbour Light. We were joined by 200 Rotarians and friends of Rotary for this great event. PDG David and Lis Kerr (5040), PDG Dave and Bev Robinson (5050) and AG Rob Goodell.

DG Penny & Henry Fetigan

Sienna Fetigan made her first public appearance and lead us in singing the National Anthem. No big deal except Sienna is just 2 years and 5 months old and really enjoys singing our Anthem. We understand she started while watching this year's Olympics on TV with her father!  

DG Penny, Tung Chan, Chris Offer

 I presented PP Henry Fetigan with an eight multiple Paul Harris Pin, who continues to maintain his commitment to District 5040 Paul Harris Society. This was followed by PDG Chris presenting a Paul Harris Award from our Club to Tung Chan, who recently retired as CEO of SUCCESS. Tung, as an Honorary Captain in the Canadian Navy, appeared in his full dress uniform of a Naval Officer. Tung has been a strong supporter of Community Service and served as a member of Vancouver City Council. He retired from a career in banking before serving SUCCESS in the CEO role. He would make an excellent addition to our Club.



Music was provided by Salvation Army brass band along with the Harbour Light Joyful Noise Singers. A couple of the male singers told their experiences of how the Army and Harbour Light in particular, has saved them and changed their lives. This is always a moving time to hear of the successes experienced at SAHL, particularly at this time of the year.

At last count we heard that we raised $4,540.00 with more still coming in.

Great job by one and all with a very special "Thank You" to Linda Wong for all her hard work taking care of registrations etc.

West Van Seniors Lunch

On Saturday, December 11^th I attended the annual seniors Christmas lunch sponsored by the RC of West Vancouver Sunrise. More than 100 seniors from the community were served a full Christmas, turkey dinner. The local MP, MLAs and acting mayor joined the lunch. They thanked Rotary for all the work they do in the community locally and internationally. MP John Weston thanked the RC of West Vancouver Sunrise and all of Rotary for the work that is being done to eradicate polio. He described Rotary's work as a remarkable accomplishment.



The assembly line



Club members served lunch to the seniors.





The grade 4 class from Mulgrave School entertained the seniors with Christmas carols and then everyone joined in to sing traditional Christmas songs.

Mulgrave School

Bowen Island

I shared two days on Bowen Island on December 9th and 10^th with the members of the Provisional Rotary club of Bowen Island. Bowen has a unique history in our community. From the early days of the Union Steam Ships to today's travel on BC Ferries people have gone to Bowen for the tranquility and beauty of the island. The tranquility is preserved even with the pressures of development.
 


Penny & Prov Pres Piers Hayes

 Provisional Club President Piers Hayes and other club members took Chris and me on a tour of Rivendell Retreat Centre. Rivendell is located on 6 1/2 acres atop Cates Hill on Bowen Island. This is truly a unique place for quiet reflection.

I learned the difference between a maze and a labyrinth. Bowen has a labyrinth designed and built by a member of the Bowen Rotary club. We walked the labyrinth. The labyrinth does not have a hedge rather it has a stone path to follow in an intricate pattern. 

The centre of the Bowen Labyrinth



In the evening the 15 members of the provisional club were joined by eight members of the sponsoring club, West Vancouver Sunrise, led by President Jason Bowman and 10 local residents interested in learning more about Rotary. The club meets at 7:30 PM on Thursday at the "Snug" in Snug Cove.

I had the opportunity to explain the basic principles of Rotary to the group; Jason Bowman gave an outline of the 4-Way Test and Rotary's commitment to high ethical standards. RRFC Chris gave an overview of The Rotary Foundation.
I am looking forward to the Charter night of the new Rotary Club of Bowen Island. I know they will charter in the near future.

London-Steveston Interact Club



Ms Donovan, DG Penny,
James Westmacott



 On December 1st, I had the opportunity to attend the annual installation dinner of the Steveston-London Interact Club at the Quilchena Golf and Country in Richmond. The Interact club is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunset and has over 100 members.

President James Westmacott and I, presented Interact pins and the 2010-11 Rotary theme pins to this enthusiastic group of grade 11 and 12 students. Many thanks to Ms. Donovan the teacher sponsor and to Adriana Zylmans the Rotary club representative.
The future of Rotary and the future of our community are in good hands when you meet with these wonderful young adults. Rotary is helping them to learn the importance of volunteer service and giving them the opportunity to take on leadership positions.

We have 20 Interact clubs in District 5040. This is excellent but the majority of high schools in our district do not have an Interact club. This is a great place for clubs to practice our new 5th Avenue of Service.

Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young people. Made up of middle school to high school age members, Interact gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects. The word “Interact ”stands for“ international action and today nearly 200,000 young people in more than 110 countries belong to some 8,700 clubs, making Interact a truly international phenomenon.

Interact clubs organize a variety of projects and activities, depending primarily on the interests of the club members. The projects enhance leadership skills, serve the local community, and expand international understanding. An Interact club’s service projects are designed to improve the quality of life at home and abroad.

New Class of Rotary Peace Fellows selected

This year 264 applications were received by The Rotary Foundation for Rotary World Peace Fellow scholarships. The district 5040 candidate was not selected. We feel we put forward a very good candidate but the scholarship is very competitive.

Each application was read and scored by two of the Rotary Foundation committee members or advisors. The selected Class 10 fellows represent the most promising peace builders from across the globe. The average age is 32 years old with an average of 7 years of professional experience. A third of the selected Fellows are coming from work with an NGO and another 20 percent come from backgrounds in education or peace building. Class 10 Fellows are from 44 different countries. 44% of the Class 10 Peace Fellows are from low-income countries.

For applicants and clubs interested in reapplying, the 2012 Rotary Peace Center application will be available on line in mid-December 2010 on the Rotary website. 2012 Rotary Peace Fellowship applications are due 1 July 2011. I encourage every club in District 5040 to look in their community for the best possible person to put forward. District 5040 has had three successful candidates since the program started.

Just because

Polio on Ice

On Friday night I attended the Giants Hockey game in Vancouver at the Pacific Coliseum. Attending a hockey game is a rarity for me. The RC of Tsawwassen partnered with the Giants to promote polio and raise some funds for polio. The club sold 400 tickets to Rotarians and friends of Rotary.

Many of the Rotarians and their families met together prior to the game for a hot dog and a drink. It was good to see so many Rotarians out with their families. There was a net for the children to practice their slap shot. 

Graham Witcher & DG Penny



The kids and a few adults took advantage of the face painting. Graham Witcher of the RC of Tsawwassen took his enthusiasm to new heights and had the Rotary logo painted on his head. I am not sure if it met Rotary’s correct use of the Rotary mark but it did meet Rotary’s sixth avenue of service, “Have Fun.”

Rotary and the polio campaign were announced several times during the game. I accepted a community award on behalf of District 5040 Rotarians from the Giants and got to meet the Giants mascot “Jack”.

Penny & Jack



Special thanks to president Rick Lewall and Leslie Abramson for all the work they did in making this happen. 



The bonus was that the Giants beat the Regina Pats 5 to 4 in over time.

Winter Wonderland

Regional Foundation Coordinator Chris Offer

Chris and I attended the press conference today at Richmond City Hall. The RC of Richmond Sunset were announcing their annual Winter Wonderland Christmas tree display at City Hall and raising funds for the $200 million polio challenge. The club sells 30 decorated Christmas trees that are displayed in the City Hall atrium. The trees sell for $1500.00 each. A variety of Christmas events are held with the background of the trees. It is a very magical display for the Christmas season.

If you are in metro Vancouver the display will open on Nov. 27 – it is well worth the time to take your family to Richmond City Hall to see the trees.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie

Chris spoke during the press conference about his personal experience with polio when his sister contracted polio at age 14. Chris was 5 years old at the time and has memories of being treated like a pariah by neighbours and recalls the quarantine notice on their front door. His sister was lucky. She was never in an iron lung.

Mayor Malcolm Brodie of Richmond thanked Rotary for what we are doing locally and internationally to eradicate polio. Mayor Brodie said, “We are so close, it’s time to put this matter to rest and finally eradicate polio from the face of the earth.”

Zone Institute London Ontario

From November 8 to 13, I was at the Zone 24-32 Institute in London, Ontario. This is a combination of a series of training seminars and a  national conference for DGNs, DGEs, DGs and PDGs.

Seminars are held to train new Governors, district Foundation chairs and for district trainers. Zone 24 includes most of Canada, parts of the northern USA, Alaska and eastern Russia. Zone 32 is the north east USA including New York, Maine, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Vermont and Pennsylvania. This is the first time the two zones have been combined into one institute. It was a great opportunity to meet new Rotary leaders. 

DGE Hans & Carol-Ann Doge



Chris was involved in training the Governor Elects and District Foundation chairs. He was also a keynote speaker during the institute.

I had the opportunity to be on a panel on strategic planning for clubs and districts and be a discussion leader during the Rotary Leadership Forum.

We heard a very positive report on polio from PRIVP Bob Scott the chair of Rotary’s polio committee. We really are very close to total eradication. A report on the work that Rotary is doing to rebuild Haiti from Past RI Director Barry Rassin who is from the district that includes Haiti was very sobering. The devastation in Haiti cannot be exaggerated. The work that Rotarians are doing is making a difference but there is a lot more to do. Take a look at Barry’s blog: http://www.haiti-task-force.blogspot.com/.



New DGEs from Zones 24-32



RI President Ray Klinginsmith was a keynote speaker. He talked about recent changes the RI board is making in the organization of Rotarian Action Groups (RAGs). The RAGs will take on a greater role in being the resource groups for Rotary clubs in the six areas of focus of the new Rotary Foundation future vision plan.

Our own DGE Hans Doge and DGN Rebecca MacPherson participated in training seminars with their governor classes. They are well on the way to getting prepared to lead District 5040. Rotary does organize continuity and transition well. The new DGEs were presented at the Gala dinner to RI President Ray Klinginsmith.

Winnipeg Rotary Anniversary Dinner

On November 6th Chris and I had the pleasure to attend the 100th Anniversary of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg and the celebration of 100 years of Rotary in Canada. We were on our way to London, Ontario for a Rotary Zone Institute; this is a sort of national conference for DGNs, DGEs, DGs and PDGs.

PRIP Wilf Wilkinson

About 285 Rotarians and friends of Rotary attended the Winnipeg Anniversary dinner. It is remarkable that a chance meeting by a business man from Winnipeg in Chicago with Paul Harris started this club in 1910. Today there are more than 700 clubs in Canada. Think of all the service projects and all the friendships that the formation of this club has been the catalyst for in over 100 years.

The Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, the Honourable Philip Lee spoke at the dinner and thanked Rotary for all they do in their communities. The keynote speaker was Past RI President Wilf Wilkinson. Wilf talked about the contribution Canadian Rotarians have made to the world in the past 100 years.

A video on the history of the Winnipeg club was shown and a book on the history of the club was available.

The Rotary Club of Vancouver celebrates its 100 years in 2013. This is the first club in BC. The RC of Vancouver has formed a centennial committee and is planning for the celebration.

And the pennies keep coming

WOW! The Rotary Club of Tsawwassen in District 5040 really rose to the challenge to raise Pennies for Polio for DG Penny. The club raised piles and piles of pennies and presented them to DG Penny during her official visit October 28th. They collected pennies from club members for 3 weeks and salvaged the change from the fountain at Rotary Square. A couple of pictures from the penny collection in Rotary Square appeared in the South Delta Leader - great PR for the club and for the Polio campaign.

There is no final count at this point but they expect at least $800. Thanks to President Elect Leslie Abramson for rolling many of the pennies. Thanks to all the members of the RC of Tsawwassen for their efforts to meet the challenge and support the Polio Campaign.

RC of Arbutus Roll Pennies

I had the opportunity on Saturday, October 23 to spend time with the members of the RC of Vancouver Arbutus rolling pennies for polio at Vancouver’s Arbutus shopping mall. The club members asked the community to bring in the jars, bags and boxes of coins and drop them off with the club members. The community responded not just with pennies but lots of nickels, dimes, loonies and toonies as well.

BC Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid stopped by the Rotary “counting table” and donated her change.

The club members by the end of the day were experts on rolling 50 pennies. They could grab a handful and have the exact number for a roll.

Thank you RC of Arbutus!!

Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid  & DG Penny Offer



The pennies pour in!!





Interview with RI President Ray Klinginsmith about District 5040 conference

Rotary on the Buses

Rotary bus ads are rolling on the streets of Metro Vancouver.

The Bus ads were officially announced at the Rotary Foundation Dinner
( L to R) Terry Miller, Pres RC of Vancouver, Rhino Rohrs, Pres RC of Burnaby
RI Pres Ray Klinginsmith, DG Penny Offer

The Rotary clubs of Metro Vancouver are running a 4 week advertising campaign in October.

The campaign is funded with the support of a Rotary International public relations grant, a donation from each of 22 District 5040 clubs in Metro Vancouver (based on a formula of $5 per member) and a 50% reduction in the cost of space by Lamar Advertising and BC transit. Rotary ads will be displayed on the outside of 50 metro Vancouver buses for 4 weeks.

The ads will display the district web site and an e-mail address. Please let DG Penny Offer (pennyoffer@dccnet.com) if you spot a Rotary bus ad, even better send a photo.

Visit by RI President Ray Klinginsmith

Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith and Judie visited District 5040 as the keynote speaker for the Annual Foundation Dinner in the Vancouver area. Definitely a highlight of my Governor's year.

The visit started with a quick stop in Steveston to view the Rotary summer banners along the main street of the City. This was the Rotary Club of Steveston's plan to promote Rotary's continuing presence in the Community for the past 15 years. Accompanying President Ray were Club President Peter Mitchell, PDG Bob Blacker, Rtn Bob Jones, PP's Albert Wong and Wilbur Walrond, DG Penny and PDG Chris Offer.

Followed quickly with a visit to the Salvation Army Rotary Hospice House and a tour by Rotarian Major Margaret Evans. President Ray was accompanied by DG Penny Offer, PDG Chris Offer, Richmond Rotary Club President Mahase, and Richmond Rotarians Tony and Chuck.

The dinner brought 365 Rotarians and guests together from 4 districts to hear President Ray, celebrate our Rotary Foundation and recognize generous donors. DG Wayne Wiebe District 5050 presented President Ray with a soccer ball with donations of $107,000 to the Foundation.

Six Rotary couples were presented with Major Donor recognition by President Ray.

Two District 5040 Rotarians were recognized for their service to the Rotary Foundation - Magdalen Leung of the Richmond Sunset Club received the Rotary Foundation Meritorious Service Award and Jan Gisborne of the Powell River Club, the Service Award for a Polio-Free World. Congratulations to both award recipients.

A very special visit with President Ray and Judie who enjoyed meeting many Rotarians.

Pennies for Polio

Pennies for Polio. The Rotary clubs in District 5040 continue to support the Pennies for Polio challenge from the Rotary Club of Vancouver Quadra to collect PennyWeights to match the weight of DG Penny.

The Rotary Club of Richmond presented me with 129 pounds or 58.5 kg of coins and bills. The bills and loonies and toonies added up to $408 for the eradication of polio. We still have to count the majority of that weight of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters! Thank you to all the Rotarians for their wonderful response to the Polio challenge in District 5040.

Governor's Road Trip

How time flies in the life of a Rotary District Governor doing official club visits. In the last four weeks from Smithers to Vancouver to Pender Harbour and back to the Cariboo with visits to Quesnel Sunrise and 100 Mile House we have made 12 more of my official club visits. Each club is different but each demonstrates the efforts of Rotarians to Build Communities and Bridge Continents in 2010-11.

Rotarians in Smithers and Burns Lake showed us their local Rotary projects which help to build their communities including a new ski run right into the town of Smithers. In Burns Lake the community is well branded with the Rotary logo every where you look.

Rotarians in Vancouver, New Westminster, Richmond and North Vancouver continue to do the work of Rotary locally and Internationally. These clubs are actively engaged with varying degrees in the 5 Avenues of Service, raising funds and promoting Rotary in their local media. These clubs represent the ethnic diversity of the Vancouver area including a largely east Indian club and a Korean club.

Rotarians in Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast hosted a progressive diner for the DG visit - a great opportunity to get to know a group of enthusiastic Rotarians doing great work in their beautiful community. A picnic table service project has unexpectedly generated funds for the club for other projects with the sale of additional tables.

Back in the Cariboo- the forest fires no longer smoking out these communities- we enjoyed meeting the Rotarians and hearing about their work for Rotary. Both are small but active clubs. 100 Mile House had just finished the Rotary Fall Fair and Quesnel Sunrise was gearing up for the annual Terry For Run.

This completes half of the club visits in District 5040. We have travelled a total of 7847 km to the visits outside the lower mainland and spent 28 nights away from home since the beginning of August.