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.