Chicken
Soup for the Rotarian Soul – January 2006
Happy
New Year 2006 to All Rotarians and their families as we continue to celebrate
Service Above Self!
January is Rotary
Awareness Month and with the New Year 2006, an opportunity to make some new
resolutions.
Some suggested
Resolutions for Rotarians:
February is, World
Understanding Month, International Assembly for Governor-Elect Kevin and Jen
Conway in
“The staring point
of achievement is desire.” - Napoleon Hill, American writer.
Thank you for all
you are doing in Rotary
Governor Sonia
What
is the VALUE OF ROTARY
If Rotary wasn’t valuable, organizations
such as the United Nations wouldn’t call on Rotarians to help end polio in the
world. Scholars from Rotary Countries
wouldn’t apply for scholarships to study their specialties in other countries,
and countries wouldn’t elect to appoint Rotarians or Rotary Scholars to
important positions.
What about “Intangible Assets”? Intangible assets are those unique elements
that make the organization different or more valuable. Two such assets are reputation and name recognition.
The tenets and symbols of Rotary are its “Intangible Assets”.
And, it is these elements,
philosophical and graphical, integral and spiritual, that comprise the basis of
what Rotary is and means today. It was
not always so. Between the late 1910’s
and the early 1930’s, Rotary underwent an evolution from a business-oriented
organization. The knowledge of Rotary’s
Tenets and Symbols will help when trying to understand Rotary’s Evolution.
Tenets and symbols are an important
part of our History. Many are those
things we see every week at meetings and maybe fail to remember. -the
original article written by Doug Rudman, Rotary Historian, Rotary First 100
website.
"The
vibrancy and viability of Rotary as the most important service club in the
history of the world will not depend on membership numbers and mentions in news
media. Rather, adherence to its core values will restore Rotary's standing in
the affairs of mankind, and the numbers and mentions will occur naturally.
There is an old saying, 'If you build a better mousetrap, the world will beat a
path to your door.' Rotary IS a better mousetrap. It's time that we started
treating it that way."- Doug Rudman
WILFRED J. WILKINSON – RI President 2007-2008
It has been confirmed! Wilfred
Wilkinson from Trenton,
Wilkinson was a founding partner of Wilkinson &
Company, Chartered Accountants. Since retiring in 2001, he has served as
executive director of the Quinte Ballet School of Canada and Canadian
coordinator for the National Association of Forensic Accountants.
Wilkinson,
a Rotarian since 1962 is currently PolioPlus National Advocacy Adviser, member
at large of the PolioPlus Partners Task Force, he has also held the following
positions:
§
The Rotary Foundation
Trustee 1997-2001 /2002-2003
§
Vice-President of
Rotary International 1993-94
§
Director of Rotary
International 1992-94
§
District Governor
1971-72
§
President of The Rotary
Foundation (
§
Chair of 2005
§
Vice Chair of RI’s
Afghan Refugee Relief Project
Wilkinson will be the 5th
RI President from
1917-18 Rev. E. Leslie Pidgeon,
1921-22 Dr. Crawford McCullough,
1933-34 John R. Nelson,
1950-51 Arthur Lagueux,
Quesnel Sunrise 2000 – Centennial Project
The
Now what is left in the project?. . . a wooden Rotary
wheel to be added to the peak of the sign.
Since
the sign is in the rail yard where the new Rocky Mountaineer Vacations Train
will start stopping in Quesnel in May of 2006, the club is planning to put a
welcome visitor’s message to their beautiful
Quesnel
Rotary Club turned 50th on Nov 2, 2005
Quesnel Rotary Club celebrated this milestone with
a weekend of fun, food and friendships on September 9 & 10.
25 Past Presidents turned up for breakfast and they
had a chance to recall the highlights (or low lights) of their year.
In the afternoon Quesnel’s version
of the Amazing Race the (“Not So Amazing Race”) took place as teams raced
around town looking for clues and performing some task at each check point
(from singing “Amazing Grace” to dribbling a soccer ball). Each checkpoint was at a place where their
club had been involved with a project.
D.G. Sonia was in time to join in
the race and attended the evening dinner along with nearly hundred Rotarians.
Highlights for the evening were PP Peter Gook received recognition for her 50th
years dedicated service to Rotary and a past president from each of the five
decades gave their vision of Rotary in that decade.
Other highlights of
the year besides the 50th celebration are: serving pancake breakfasts at Billy
Barker Days; annual trip to Barkerville for local seniors, construction of
“socialization pens” at the local SPCA; annual Night Golf tournament for CNIB;
first Guy Fawkes bonfire; Halloween Party; arrival of the Exchange student from
Japan and their 48th annual Rotary auction on Nov 28 to 30 carried both on
local radio and cable TV, raised a gross $32500.
A dedicated team of Rotarians from
When the ground settles properly, the concrete floor
will be installed in the spring of 2006. The final cost to their club will be
about $27,000 with the value of the structure being estimated at $45,000. The
picnic shelter will be used by the City during summer days to house their
children's programs and by other groups on weekends and in the evenings. The
project couldn't have been completed without the vision and support of the
William Lakes Rotary Club members.
To make the project possible:
§
Pioneer Log Homes did the design
and construction (and only charged about half their going rate);
§
The City of Williams Lake donated
the land at the entrance to
§
Other local construction firms
donated lumber, concrete and labour.
Williams
Daybreak Rotary continues to
provide its members with opportunities to demonstrate, “Service Above
self”. A particularly proud moment for
the Club was the completion of their Centennial
Project – a wishing well in front of Glen Arbor, the newest senior’s
housing project in the City of Williams Lake. The project provided members with
ample opportunity to wish for continued improvements in seniors’ services.
Among the many signature events
that raise funds for community projects, they partnered with the Williams Lake
Rotary Club for the 2005 Duck Race Event. This year, the Club added two new
partners - Interior Health and Success x 6.
They were able to combine the Duck Race with a Watershed Health Walk and
a Family Fun Day.
Another very successful Rotary
Project is the annual used book sale that is held every February in Boitanio
Mall. The mall gives them the space to
display and sell the used books that are collected at various retail outlets
throughout the year. Literally thousands
of books change hands every yea
Club members will be busy in the
New Year with a new community project –
Although small in number (17 active
members), the Club is action-oriented and community minded, pitching in when
needed to make
100
Miles House Rotary Club –Projects
The 100 Mile House Rotary Club has two main annual
projects and one stand-alone project.
Annual
The club sponsors and is solely responsible for this
major community “happening” in 100 Mile House. The fair attendance this year
was in excess of 5000, and there were 65 vendors booths in the
Annual Seniors Christmas Dinner:
In December, over 300 local senior citizens were
treated to a delicious turkey dinner completed with music and entertainment.
This was provided by the 100 Mile Club with assistance from local restaurants
and community volunteers.
The Rehabilitation and Conversion of the former
arena building into an Agriplex facility:
The Club has formed the Rotary Agriplex Society just
to handle this major project, funded mainly through various grant moneys and
bankrolled initially by the Club. Title
to the building was acquired from the Cariboo Regional District, and work has
been underway for some months. The
appropriate floor for equestrian use is essentially complete and will be usable
in the near future. Various user groups
are part of the advisory board to the Agriplex Society.
In addition to the major projects, the club also
supports other worthy local causes such as providing significant annual
scholarships to graduates of the
Membership is around 35 to 37, with some promising
prospects for new members.
Langara
Rotaract – True Christmas Spirit
December
17th ( Saturday) the Langara
Rotaract Club put on their third annual
Members
of the Langara Rotaract Club and The Rotary Club of
Vancouver Arbutus teamed up for the afternoon to personally hand out the items.
This year they were able to work with the BC Film Commission, who provides a
full Christmas banquet and bags of toiletries and clothing at no cost for the
people there. As always, it was a great opportunity to see the true Christmas
spirit in action.
RYLA
South – March 16-19, 2006
Theme:
‘What we feel inside we attract, and what we envision we become.”
It is only 2-1/2 months
away! IT IS TIME for the Rotary Clubs to submit their registrations. $375 per
participant. RYLA South is for age group 16 to 18.
Download interactive
application from in PDF format from:
http://www.clubrunner.ca/data/5040/html/7473/RYLA%20Application%20South.pdf
and submit completed application to Sue Smith, Registrar by fax: 604-244-2110
or by email: suesmith@ca.ibm.com or
call 604-244-2134.
RYLA event’s focus is on leadership, citizenship and
personal development, please visit District website event page to learn
programs and core curriculum:
http://www.clubrunner.ca/dprg/dxhome/_home.aspx?did=5040
Nominations
for the 2008-2009 District Governor
Know the best candidate for the 2008-2009 District
Governor nominee? Please submit nominations to PDG Ron
Neukomm, Nominating Committee Chair,
The Nominee must be a
Rotarian in good standing who has served as a club President for a full term or
be a Charter President of a club having served the full term from the date of
charter to June 30th, provided that this period is at least six
months. At the time of taking office on July 1, 2008 the Nominee must have
completed seven years in one or more clubs.
Please visit D5040 website for the procedure. Detailed information is
available in the Manual of Procedure.
International
Fellowships of Fishing Rotarians
Rotary Fellowships encourage
camaraderie and shared experience among Rotarians, and with fellowship at the
core, Rotary Fellowships unite Rotarians internationally through a common
activity.
Rotary's Fishing Fellowship
promotes friendship between Rotarians who enjoy recreational fishing.
Further, it encourages social activities among its members and supports
interaction between Rotarians and the youth of their respective communities so
that young men and women may learn more about Rotary, sport fishing, and the
value of protecting and conserving the fisheries of the world.
The International Fellowship of
Fishing Rotarians is open to all Rotarians. Our membership includes Rotarians
who fish inshore, offshore, fresh water, saltwater, fly fishing, bass fishing
and, in some cases, simply armchair fishing.
Check
out this Fellowship’s well done web site at: http://www.iffr.homestead.com/ and
learn how to broaden your Rotary horizons.
For
information about other Rotary Fellowships, visit web site:http://www.rotaryfellowships.org/
Let’s
hear about your experiences and adventures with Rotary Fellowships. Please
submit fellowship articles for publication to: PDG Dave Kirk (email: dbkirk@telus.net), District 5040 Fellowships
Chair, Member, International Travel and Hosting Fellowship
LITERACY
by PDG Leo
Reading is a skill essential to all
areas of achievement, and encouraging children to become – and remain – avid readers
is the single most important thing parents and families can do to help their
children succeed in school and in life. Here are some ideas to get started:
§
Read to your children -
Start reading to your children when
they’re babies and keep reading as they grow up. As you read, encourage your
child to ask questions and talk about the story. Ask them to predict what will
happen next.
§
Encourage your children
to read on their own -Children who spend at
least 30 minutes a day reading for fun to develop the skills to be better
readers in school.
§
Set aside quiet time
for family reading - Some families also
enjoy reading aloud, with each family member choosing a book, story, poem or
article.
§
Visit the library often
- Begin making weekly trips to the library
when your child is very young. See that your child gets his or her own library
card as soon as possible.
§
Buy a children’s
dictionary - and start a “let’s look it up”
habit.
§
Make writing materials
- such as crayons, pencils and paper
available.
§
Ask family members and
friends to consider giving your children books and magazine subscriptions - as gifts for birthdays or other special occasions. Set aside a special
place for your children to keep their own library books.
§ Get help for your children if they have a reading problem - If you think your children need extra help, ask their teachers about
special services such as after school or summer reading programs. Also ask your
local librarian for names of community organizations and local literacy
volunteer groups that offer tutoring services.
Soaring
Above the Clouds (May 19-21)
Come walk where the Olympians are going to tread
Come for the biking, the hiking, the gondola ride
Come for the golf, the rollerblading...come shop till you drop
Bring the family...come drive the beautiful Sea to Sky Highway.
It is a once in a lifetime
experience...when next do you think you will get to experience the sights and
sounds of Whistler plus the hustle and bustle of a District Conference with
Rotarians from both Canada and the United States?
Register
for the conference today, download Conference
Registration and Golf Tournament forms from the District website: http://www.clubrunner.ca/Data/5040/html/6210/ConferenceRegistration[2].pdf
http://www.clubrunner.ca/Data/5040/html/6211/GolfRegistration[2].pdf
To find
out what exciting programs are prepared for you; download the provisional
program: http://www.clubrunner.ca/Data/5040/html/6589/conference%20program%20rev%20Oct%2010.pdf
D.G.
Sonia’s January Reminders
§ Semi Annual Reports (SARS) are due
and payable January 1, 2006. This is the
most important duty of the Club Secretary to certify the names and details of members
of the club to RI and the District;
§ Club Officer Election results are
due to RI and District so that the Rotary International Directory will have the
correct information about your clubs president and secretary;
§ At the District level, we are
creating a Data Base of your ideas. Please have your Club Service Chair provide
your Fundraisers, Community and International projects to
District Directory
P.
115 - District Service Projects Chair Bud Fast email
should be fastbp@shaw.ca
P.
38 - Pres. Gordon Douglas,
Reminder
to all D5040 members: Have you updated your member
profile in D5040 website? First time user, check the NEW USER section on how to
login.
Chinese New Year Celebration
Vancouver Chinatown Rotary Club Annual Chinese New Year’s Dinner
Celebrating the year of the Dog, Friday, February 24, 2006
Cocktail: 6:00 pm No Host Bar
Dinner: 7:00 pm Gourmet Chinese Dinner
Place: Floata Chinese Seafood Restaurant,
Tickets: $65 per person, table of 10 $650.00
Contact: PDG Chris Offer at
604-434-5774 or offer@telus.net or any
member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver Chinatown
Proceeds: help fund Community Rotary Projects, Vancouver Crime
Prevention Society, q Villa Catha Society
Service Above Self Recognition
During Quesnel Rotary Club’s 50th celebration
dinner, PP Peter Gook was recognized by
his own club and District 5040 for his FIFTY YEARS of dedicated service to
Rotary. Peter is a charter member and honorary member.
Editor’s Note: To all club Presidents, I am still missing quite a few club’s Service Above
Self Recognition picture and listing, if your club is not posted under “Awards
and Recognition’, please forward picture and recipient names to