Easter Lunch in Richmond

On April 23 The RC of Richmond Sunset hosted more than 200 seniors from across the city at their annual Easter Lunch at the Marriott Hotel. The event has become very popular with a waiting list for tickets. I had the opportunity to speak to the seniors along with MLA and Rotarian John Yap. Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie played the piano while the seniors sang many old favourites.

Easter bonnets were the prizes for a number of quiz questions. Everyone had a great lunch and went away with a goodie bag full of treats.

Congratulations to President James Westmacott, Magdalen Leung and Michael Chiu and all the members of the club for this great community event.

Rotary WaterWorks project

 On Thursday, April 14^th I had the pleasure to join members of the RC of Tsawwassen at the ground breaking of the Rotary WaterWorks project. I joined Delta Council representatives and Rotary club members at the ceremony.

The RC of Tsawwassen, in partnership with the Corporation of Delta, plans to build a children's water play area, wading pond, meandering stream with bridge and pathways to enhance the existing facilities at Diefenbaker Park in Tsawwassen at 56 St. and 1^st Ave. This natural area will be one to be enjoyed by all ages, whilst reflecting on the history of the site and the effects of Rotary's worldwide commitment to clean water for all. The club hopes to complete this project in the summer of 2011.

The club has raised $200,000 in cash and donations in kind. Included is a $10,000 Rotary Foundation District Grant.

Their vision is to not only provide a wonderful new addition to Diefenbaker Park in the form of a stream and children's water play area, but also to incorporate aspects of Rotary and it's participation in World Water programs, particularly in third world countries, as an educational component of the project.

They intend to include a working model of a hand pump commonly found in underdeveloped nations and a working model of a BioSand water filter, invented in Calgary and used extensively throughout the third world by Rotary and other humanitarian organizations in order to provide clean filtered water to the people. Photos of women & children carrying water in plastic jerry cans will correspond to an actual jerry can attached to the display, enabling all to fill it and experience the heavy weight that people have to carry and walk long distances each day. Storyboards relating to these endeavours will be featured in the Rotary WaterWorks project. They plan to include some historical information about the park site as well, using photos from the Delta Museum & Archives which relate to the park components.

A week in the Cariboo

A week in the Cariboo and Prince George while PDG Chris was in South Sudan representing RI on a Polio Surveillance Team. 

Last week I had the opportunity to return to this area for a third visit and a second visit to several Rotary Clubs. At the Rotary Club of Williams Lake  I had the pleasure to induct a new member. The club has many activities on the go and is building club leadership. At the Rotary Club of Quesnel I presented a PHF to Linda Turner for her work on the newly released cookbook – Potluck Cookbook. It looks fabulous. I also presented a Major Donor crystal and pins to DGN Rebecca MacPherson and Ted Cryderman. 

During the weekend I was in Prince George to participate in the regional District Assembly on Saturday and the Future Vision Grant management Seminar on Sunday. But we also found some time to have fun. On the Friday evening Bob and Linda Hlina of the Rotary Club of Prince George hosted a delicious dinner and great evening of  friendship in their home for Rotary club leaders. And on Saturday evening their club held their annual Charter Night Lobster Dinner. Wonderful lobster flown in specially from eastern Canada! 

Before flying home on Tuesday I visited the Rotary Club of Quesnel Sunrise and a presentation on Operation Red Nose by Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Prince George Nechako. 

A wonderful Rotary week in the interior of Rotary District 5040. Thanks to everyone for their great Rotary hospitality.

Charter Night Powell River Sunrise

On Saturday, March 26 more than 75 Rotarians and friends of Rotary gathered in Powell River for the charter dinner and celebration of the Rotary Club of Powell River Sunrise.
Governor Penny Offer presented the charter on half of RI President Ray Klinginsmith and the board of directors of Rotary International. Also present were DGE Hans Doge, PDGs William Mitchell-Banks, Gordon Dalglish and Chris Offer.  Representatives from clubs on the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

In her keynote address to the charter members of the club DG Penny said, “I challenge you to be a vibrant club. What will your club be like? Will it be fun and energetic? Will it stand out in your community and make you proud to be a member? Will you be known for a signature activity? What traditions will you establish for your club?”

She stressed to the club members, “You are starting out with a very strong foundation for a vibrant club with strong support from your sponsoring club. You must continue to bring in new members to your club to be vibrant and strong. Strong clubs are innovative and flexible.”

DG Penny also told stated, “In Rotary we have five avenues of service – service to our club, and our local community, international service, vocational service and new generations or youth service. I encourage you to get involved in all five avenues of service.  Each type of service offers its own rewards as we use our own skills and talents to help others in our own communities and around the world.”

President Scott Randolph of the Rotary Club of Powell River presented a bell to the new club.  A variety of other gifts and gifts of cash were sent by clubs from across District 5040.  DG Penny presented the new club with an engraved gavel on behalf of all Rotarians in District 5040.

The charter members were inducted by DG Penny and presented with charter pins by PDG William Mitchell-Banks and DGE Hans Doge.

Charter President Doug Nauer thanked all the guests and expressed his appreciation to the members of the Rotary Club of Powell River for their guidance and support.

A Starry Stary Night at Conference 2011

Foundation Supporters Honoured

President Scot McNair Linda Hamilton
DG Penny Clark Hamilton

Rotarians in District 5040 continue to be generous in giving to our Foundation. This past week I had the distinct pleasure to present Paul Harris recognition pins to three members of the Rotary Club of Powell River – Carol Brown, David Morris and Frieda Hamoline. The last PHF was presented by the Rotary Club to Frieda in memory of her husband Perry.

On Thursday I was honoured to present a Major Donor crystal and pins to Linda and Clark Hamilton from the Rotary Club of Sunshine Coast Sechelt. These generous Rotarians are strong active members of their club and their community.

Shirley Robertson DG Penny Jim Thompson

On Friday at the Rotary Club of Lions Gate North Vancouver I presented PHF pins to Shirley Robertson and Jim Thompson for their continuing support of the work of the Foundation to make our world a better place.

Thank you to all these generous Rotarians and others in District 5040 for their donations to The Rotary Foundation

Allow Me To Introduce

I saw this in the blog by Allan Stevens. It is good advice for Rotarians when we introduce our weekly speaker.

 Introducing a speaker sounds the easiest thing in the world. However, there are some simple guidelines which make things much more professional and efficient for everyone concerned. Here are some do's and don'ts if you are called on to make an introduction.
Don't:

• Mention their name until the very end
• Give away their best story
• Use slides
• Mis-pronounce their name or title
• Read out a long. rambling introduction
• Act as though you've never heard of them

Do:

• Ask the speaker in advance how they would like to be introduced
• Let the speaker know who you are
• Prepare a brief note, on a card, of the key points
• Organise a technical rehearsal
• Walk through the movements on stage
• Smile
• Make sure that the last thing you say is the speaker's name. e.g. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to our main speaker - Alan Stevens"

A good introduction is brief, gains the attention of the audience, and prepares them to listen. Your job as introducer is to be a catalyst, not a performer.

Rotary Club of Powell River Sunrise

On March 1^st Chris and I had the opportunity to speak to the newest Rotary club in District 5040, the Rotary Club of Powell River Sunrise. The club was chartered on December 1, 2010 and will hold their charter night on March 26^th. A number of clubs from across District 5040 and from District 5020 (Vancouver Island) are sending representatives to the club's charter night.

RRFC Chris Offer spoke to the club about The Rotary Foundation programs the types of grants available to the club, the importance of international service and how the club members can financially support The Rotary Foundation.

The new club is building their own traditions and Rotary identity. They have received outstanding support from the Rotary Club of Powell River and plan to work closely on future projects and fundraising and hold joint social and friendship events.

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.

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

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



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.

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

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.

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.