We
learn so much from Mother Nature and the cycle of change. Each season of each
year is different, as every leader and the vision they hold are different.
In
this season around the Rotary world, we are changing our leaders, Club
Presidents, District Governors, Directors, and the International President of
Rotary. Let us applaud all those people who have stepped forward to lead us
into this first year of the second century of Rotary service.
Sonia’s
Chicken Soup for the Rotarian is a wonderful title for a year when we focus on
stories of Service Above Self! This title suggestion
comes from our new Newsletter Editor, Becky Tsukishima. Thank you for this
appropriate title for the 2005-2006.
The
year will focus on Service Stories in
the Rotarians life, their community, business and professions, with youth,
and internationally. Please share stories so we can tell others in the district
about special incidence of service. Who knows, at the end of the year, we may
have an entire book of special stories.
While
at the 2005 International Convention in
Membership, public
image, literacy, and the global water crisis will continue to be a big focus for 2005
– 2006. These concerns will be promoted throughout the district for the coming
year and clubs will be encouraged to consider a project related to these
issues.
Each
person who brings a new member into Rotary will receive a special Rotary pin, designed by the 10 District
Governors who are part of the PETS in
The
District Governor is required to make an official visit to each club during the
year. What an honour it will be to visit your clubs and serve as an officer of
Rotary International, hearing about your service to mankind. Each president will
be asked to put forth the name of someone who has demonstrated exceptional “Service Above
Self”. That person will be given a special gift.
“I expect to pass
through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness
I can show to any fellow creature let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect
it, for I shall not pass this way again.” -Stephan Grellet,
1773-1855
Thank
you for what you are doing for Rotary.
Sonia
Wolowidnyk, District Governor
What is DG Sonia all about?
Her Goals for
2005-2006 Rotary Year
§
Share RI President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar’s
goals:
1. Promote literacy and
education programs.
2.
Address the global water crisis to improve health and alleviate
poverty. Promote the membership goal of ONE net member per club.
3.
Support youth services programs.
4.
Give a renewed focus to ethics in the district.
5.
Assist clubs to enhance the Rotary public image
6.
Encourage each member to contribute to our charity, The Rotary
Foundation, as to his or her ability; suggested by RI, “Each member, Each year”.
§
Develop a District 5040 strategic Plan.
§
Develop a succession plan in all District Committees.
§
Present a special award at each club to the person identified by
the board to exemplify Service Above Self.
Her active Rotary Life
§
1992 joined the
Kelowna Rutland Rotary Club.
§
1994 served as
District Public Relations Chair.
§
1995 Conference
Promotions Chair.
§
1997 GSE Leader
to
§
1998 Promotions
Chair for Conference 2000.
§
2000-2001
President of
§
2002-2004 ADG
for 7 clubs in
§
Perfect
attendance for 13 years making up in 16 countries.
§
Paul Harris
Fellow and a Benefactor.
Her Family Life
§
Born and raised
in
§
Married and
moved to
§
Divorced and a
family with six adult children, 3 girls, 3 boys and the proud grandma of 4
grand children.
Her Colorful Career
§
Researcher with
§
8-1/2 years with
Correctional Service of Canada, providing academic and vocational assessment of
in-coming prisoners.
§
Academic Advisor
with Open Learning Institute for social and geographically isolated persons.
§
3 years as
financial advisor.
§
15 years in
public and community relations management with the ICBC.
Her Life besides Rotary
§
Reading . . . emails and material from Rotarians,
gardening, travel . . . to visit all the
Rotary Clubs in D5040, dancing, painting and entertaining . . . fellow Rotarians.
§
Served on
Chamber of Commerce Boards, Community Foundation Boards, Crime Prevention Board
and various Society Boards.
The Dream Team - Assistant Governors 2005-2006
PHIL CLAXTON, SUNSHINE COAST - Rotary Clubs of
Sechelt, Powell River, Sunshine Coast-Sechelt, Gibsons,
Pender Harbour Madeira Park
pclaxton@shaw.ca
H: 604-483-9411 C: 604-483-8320
ALEX COFFEY, CARIBOO -Rotary Clubs of 100 Mile House, Quesnel, Quesnel Sunrise,
Williams Lake, Williams Lake Daybreak
1235 Yorston
Avenue, Quesnel, BC V2J 3B6
Bus:
250-992-8317 Res: 250-992-5495 Fax: 250-992-3224 acoffey7@shaw.ca
GORDON DALGLISH, RICHMOND/DELTA - Rotary Clubs of Ladner,
gdalglis@shaw.ca B: 604-244-2131 H: 604-241-7602 F:
604-244-2110 C: 604-861-1625
RANDALL FOWLE, NORTH SHORE
- Rotary Clubs of North Vancouver, North Vancouver Lionsgate,
West Vancouver, West Vancouver Sunrise
cnffowle@shaw.ca B: 604-922-6310 H: 604-926-2210 F: 604-926-1588
BERNIE LABOR-MORTON, SEA-TO-SKY - Rotary Clubs of
Pemberton, Squamish, Whistler, Whistler Millennium
bernie@focusforward.ca B: 604-932-0306 H:
604-932-0306 F: 604-932-0396
NANCY NIKOLAI, BURNABY/NEW WEST - Rotary Clubs of
#403, 12K de K Court,
New West. BC V3M 6C5
nico@telus.net
H: 604-524-2144
F: 604-524-2713 C:
604-813-7067
PENNY OFFER,
pennyoffer@telus.net B: 604-434-5774 H:
604-434-5774 F: 604-454-0273
PHIL RAMAGE, PRINCE GEORGE/NORTH - Rotary Clubs of Burns
Lake, Ft. St. James, Mackenzie, Pr. George, Pr. George Nechako, Pr. George New
Caledonia, Pr. George Yellowhead, Vanderhoof
philramage@telus.net B: 250-614-7712 H: 250-964-4085 F: 250-563-6187 C: 250-960-9692
BILL SAUER, NORTHWEST - Rotary Clubs of Kitimat, Prince Rupert, Prince Rupert Hecate Strait Smithers, Smithers, Alpine,
Terrace, Terrace Skeena Valley
bsauer@telus.net
B: 250-635-6166
H: 250-635-4613 F: 250-635-3539
Welcome to the ROTARY FAMILY – June 2005
Her Honourable
“An
Good On Ya GSE
!
“A special
thanks to District 5040 for sponsoring our amazing Group Study Exchange
to
Bob
Blacker from New Westminster
Royal City Club (top left) is a one-man riot who sometimes needs supervision.
Thank you Bob for your devotion to and belief in our team.
Your diligent organizing, eruptive laughter and "bring-it-on"
attitude set the tone for us. You da man!
Big hugs from Kookamundi, Dan the
Man, Hawkeye, and the Sergeant at Arms.
Thanks,
Kim Zieglgansberger 2005 GSE Team of Australia, http://www.gse5040.org/
2005 RI
convention in
"Rotary gives so
much to so many, but as much as it gives to the world,
it gives back to us," RI President Glen Estess
said. "As we begin our next 100 years of fellowship...let us continue to Celebrate Rotary by putting Service Above Self."
As
the nostalgic refrain of thousands singing Auld Lang Syne
echoed in the hall, Rotarians began pouring out of the plenary, bringing with
them not just souvenirs in their bags but also new friendships and memories of
Rotary's greatest celebration in their hearts.
To
view Convention photos and events, visit:
http://www.rotary.org/events/conventions/2005coverage/2005.06.23.coverage.html
RI President
Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar 2005-2006
RI
President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar needs no introduction. We can find detailed coverage in the July
Rotarian magazine as well as the RI website. There is ONE thing he said that
sticks in my mind;
Why did he join Rotary? His reason was simple. . .
"I've always had food on the
table, my whole education was paid for, I have never suffered anything, and I
thought this maybe was an opportunity to give back,"
Each
individual has their own reason when joining a gym, a sports team or this case
it is Rotary, a service club. What type of Rotarian are we, a passionate one, a
causal one . . .? It all relates to “why
we joined Rotary”. It is inspiring to read the collection of reasons “why
people like you joined Rotary” in Frank Talk.
I
joined because it gives me an opportunity to do what I enjoy doing. What about
you? We love to hear your reason why you joined Rotary, may be we can start our
own library in District 5040.
- Becky Tsukishima, District Newsletter
“The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass
through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no
monuments created in our honor. But that
does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for
someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion,
our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life
merely because we took the time to share what we had to give”. - Author:
Leo Buscaglia
July is Literacy
Month
Can you believe that 40% of Canadians are
functionally illiterate? They cannot read or write well enough to fill out a
job application. This is in a very highly developed country.
Just think how much worse it is in the
developing world. This is why Rotary International over many years has had
literacy as a major program.
What can you and your club do
to help?
Each club could have a literacy liaison person
who could gather information on the state of literacy in their area.
§
Rotarians could form an area advisory committee with other experts
from their area or district.
§
Rotarians in clubs should be made aware of the problems of
illiteracy.
§
Rotarians could establish which institutions offer teaching in
literacy.
§
Rotary clubs could sponsor needy students to learning
institutions.
§
Rotary clubs could support learning centres with equipment or
materials.
§
Rotary clubs could adopt a school.
§
Rotarians could volunteer as a story reader at schools or
libraries.
§
A great project is known as DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) for an hour or so in schools – particularly, but
not only, for the early learners.
§
In developing countries with large illiterate populations, Rotarians
should identify groups who want to become literate and provide help.
§
Rotary Clubs could promote literacy through churches, community
centres, the workplace and in any other way.
§
Rotarians in developed countries could help clubs in developing
countries with literacy projects.
If you have some projects or ideas for literacy
please share it with me and others so we can move forward in our clubs, our
district and our world.
PDG Leo Nimsick, District
Literacy Resource
Ph: 604-542-0989 E-mail: nimsick@telus.net
“A
dictionary is perhaps the first and most powerful reference tool that a child
should own, consider a dictionary project
like many other Rotary Clubs, for details, and visit: http://www.dictionaryproject.org/
Last of the Leo’s Membership Page . . . .
We have come to the end of the 2004-05 Rotary year
and I am moving on to other Rotary matters. I have completed my fourth year as
your Membership Coordinator.
My replacement will be Henry Fetigan of the Rotary Club of
Vancouver Chinatown. You can reach him at hfetigan@shaw.ca.
I want to thank the Assistant Governors, Club Membership Contacts,
Club Presidents and Club Secretaries for cooperation over the past four years.
It hasn’t been perfect but then what is perfect.
We started the year with District Governor Ron setting the goal of
100 net new members. My hard numbers as of to-day are 235 new members with 131
members leaving. A net of 103 new members has met the goal.
A special thank you to Gordon Dalglish, the Newsletter editor for
making sure “Leo’s Membership Page” was there each month.
Congratulations Governor Ron and thank you all.
PDG Leo Nimsick, District 5040
Membership Coordinator
Many
ways of celebrating ROTARY CENTENNIAL
ROTARY
CLUB OF GIBSONS
On
the fine day of July 1, Mayor Barry Janyk dedicated
the Rotary Centennial Performance Stage at
ROTARY
CLUB OF TERRACE & TERRACE
PDG Leo Nimsick
had an opportunity to see the wonderful joint Centennial project of both clubs.
Apparently 7 kids already started playing while he was taking a look at this
colourful playground.
ROTARY CLUB OF PRINCE RUPERT’S CENNTENNIAL PROJECT
The
following are excerpts from the June 21, 2005 The Daily News by James Vassallo
“The final piece to the puzzle has fallen into
place for the Prince Rupert Rotary Club after a $30,000 grant was recently
announced toward the restoration of Rushbrook Trail.
The funds, provided by Western Economic
Diversification through Community Futures, allow the group to move forward with
a geotechnical survey of the trail . . . .
The Prince Rupert Rotary Club has already
managed to secure $150,000 in funding from the Olympic/Paralympic
Live Sites program to upgrade what will be known as the Rushbrook
Olympic Interpretive Walkway.
“The province wanted some of the benefits from
the Olympics to be felt outside of
In addition to that money, they’ve procured
$25,000 in materials from the city, $75,000 from Coast Sustainability Trust and
will pony up $75,000 of their own money to get the job done. The
$325,000-project [a preliminary assessment of the costs to repair the trail]
will then move ahead, assuming the engineers don’t come back with a much higher
bill for the project.
“The study will identify strategies to stabilize
the hillside and (increase) safety in order to reopen the walkway,” said Angus.
Prince Rupert Rotary, the second oldest in BC, founded in 1921, announced its intention
to take on the project last year. The pathway, which snakes along an old rail
bed next to the waterfront, was closed in 2003 because of the danger of
landslides. . . .
The project involves moving the path out toward
the water, and installing safety features on the cliff side to prevent future
land slides, as well as adding benches and installing interpretive signage.
The trail will provide a benefit to both the
community, to tourists and cruise ship passengers who will be able to reach the
trail within easy walking distance. The
project will join Mariner’s Park, the
Service Above Self Recognition
On July 12, DG Sonia presented special District
Service Above Self Recognition to the three Rotarians
at her first official club visit, Rotary Club of North Vancouver. "Service
Above Self" gloves were presented to club
President Peter Taylor, District Secretary Bob Nowell and District Treasurer
Riet.
Reminders from DG
Sonia
PRESIDENTS:
§
Please consider doing something special in the next few months to
focus on:
§
July, Literacy month. Highlight literacy in your club.
§
August, Membership and Extension. Plan a special membership
meeting.
§
Promote Group Study Exchange.
§
Start Promoting the District Conference.
§
Look into your clubs for potential leaders for District Governor.
SECRETARIES
§
Semi-annual reports are due to Rotary International.
§
District dues are due.
§
Update the International and District websites with member
information.
Rotary Anniversary
Issue Download
Eddie Blender has
prepared a Rotary Anniversary Issue from Rotary Global History Fellowship. It
has six pages of great information with pictures about how Rotary started the
Early Years of Rotary and the spirit of Rotary. You can download a free copy
from their website at
http://rotaryhistoryfellowship.org/Rotary_GHF_Anniversary_Issue.pdf