Welcome to another Rotary year! Our journey continues ...
First off, I want to thank Neil Berg for all he has done in his year as our District Governor. I’m not sure he noticed it, but I was shadowing him off and on throughout the year, watching and learning – at the District Board table, during his “official” visits and at special Rotary events. It was truly an amazing experience, as everyone I talked to was appreciative of Neil’s presence, his availability, his caring for the club and the members, his knowledge, his advice, and ever so important, always thanking everyone for what they are doing for Rotary. And he did all this and his day job as well. Thank you, Neil for all you do for Rotary!
Secondly, I want to thank the District Leadership Team (Club Presidents, District Board, District Administrator, Assistant Governors and District Committees/Sub-Committees) for a job well-done! We certainly have a lot to be proud of, so we need to make sure we take a little time out to celebrate all of our successes and major achievements in a year where our focus was on “Rotary Serving Humanity”.
Thirdly, I want to thank all of the Rotarians in our District who responded to our member survey earlier this year. You have spoken and now our Clubs and District leadership must respond. We know our work is cut out for us, but we are committed to responding as we owe it to you, our District 5360 Rotarians.
Moving forward, I’m honoured, grateful and excited to be serving as your District Governor for 2017-2018. I look forward to meeting as many Rotarians and prospective Rotarians as I can, getting to learn about all of the great things our clubs are doing to make a difference and by helping our clubs and district grow and become more vibrant.
Our RI Presidential theme for this year is “Rotary: Making a Difference.” District 5360 Rotarians and their families and friends have made a difference, are making a difference and will continue to make a difference in their clubs, their communities and their world. I’m confident of that.
Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation will continue to focus on three strategic priorities for 2017-2018 –
Support and Strengthen Clubs,
Focus and Increase Humanitarian Service and
Enhance Public Image and Awareness.
During the year they will also be rolling out a draft of a new strategic plan aimed at Rotary’s next 5-10 years. Some of you may be asked to provide your feedback on what you see, so I encourage you to let your voice be heard, just as many of you did when you responded to our member survey. I’m excited to see that Rotary has finally developed a “Vision” statement for the organisation.
“Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” I would be interested in hearing what you think.
In closing, I want to congratulate and thank all of our 2017-2018 Club & District leaders for serving, for leading and for helping Rotary Make a Difference. Let’s have another great Rotary year!
On Tuesday, July 4th we were thrilled to put new DG Rick Istead to work right away by inviting him to Red Deer to lead the charter ceremony for the newest Rotary Club in District 5360: Rotary Club of Red Deer Urban Spirits!
Our Club Launch Party was a casual and festive affair attended by over 50 guests including DG Rick, District 5360 representatives, members from nine different Rotary Clubs and 25 of the 30 Urban Spirits charter members.
“One of the goals of our club is to make Rotary membership as accessible as possible, both financially and as a time commitment, while still maintaining the main pillars of Rotary like The Four Way Test and Service Above Self,” says Co-President BJ Tumanut. “Only three of our 30 charter members are past Rotarians. I’m excited to see what these new Rotarians add to our community. I think they’ll be amazing!”
RCRD Urban Spirits extends a sincere thank you to Past DG Neil Berg for his support over the past six months and to DG Rick for his leadership and inducting our 30 members.
Our regular meetings will take place the first Tuesday of each month in Red Deer at Westlake Grill at 7pm. In addition, we will also meet once each month to participate in a service project or social event.
We look forward to working with all of you. Contact us at connect@urbanspiritsrd.ca or on Twitter at @UrbanSpiritsRD.
Ms. Meaghan Farquharson, District 5360’s 2017 Peace Fellow, has just begun her certificate program a Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. She joins a class of about 20 Peace Fellows supported by Rotary Clubs and Districts from around the world. This year’s Fellows prepared the following video for World Refugee Day (June 20) (Meaghan first appears at 0:37): Rotary Peace Fellows We Welcome Refugees.
Meaghan will have more to tell about her experience as a Peace Fellow over the next months and will be back in Calgary this fall when she looks forward to sharing her experience with Rotarians in District 5360.
Meaghan is a native Calgarian and a member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. Her recent community projects include facilitating recovery circles for families affected by the Southern Alberta floods, and partnering with an African NGO – Peace and Conflict Resolution – to provide trauma counseling training for women who have been affected by poverty and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She has a private practice as a therapist, and her background includes work in hospital psychiatric wards, prisons, addictions treatment centers, homeless shelters, palliative care facilities, and the Victim Services Unit of the RCMP. Meaghan loves adventure and has also spent many nights out under the stars leading wilderness expeditions. She hopes that being a peace fellow will deepen her advocacy skills, strengthen her capacity to contribute to healing intergenerational trauma in our global community, and provide an opportunity to collaborate with other inspired change makers who are committed to creating a brighter future.
Hosted by Calgary Chinook, Medicine Hat, Sylvan Lake and Calgary North.
From right to left, the Sri Lankan team, who had been White-hattedand pinned moments before by DGE, Rick Istead, is Gihan Panditaratne (Team Leader), Ryan Dunuwille, Darshika Ratnayake, and Melroy Peiris... missing is Stephanie Rodrigo. All speak fluent English and enjoy their fellowship.
Thanks to Bev and Anthony Tonkinson for hosting a welcome BBQ for our guests and Gerry Darichuk for volunteering to drive.
Unfortunately, there was 5 who were declined entry Visas by our Canadian Embassy.
...was a great success again this year. The Dinner sold out and was attended by Rotarians from many clubs throughout the district.
Both Inbound and Outbound students participated in the preparation and the entertainment. A unique learning experience for the Outbound students was they had to prepare a dessert from the country they are going to. Another unique item was the sale of a recipe book of all the international desserts together with a profile of each student.
The students really enjoyed working together to put on this event and were amazed at how working as a team they could raise so much and have fun doing it. A total of $39,300 was raised for ShelterBox!!
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The Rotary Mattamy Greenway project is nearing completion and planning for the Grand Opening event is underway!
All levels of donations of prizes and sponsorships will be gratefully received.
In order for the Parks Foundation to plan the event, clubs should make their contributions prior to May 15. However, donations and sponsorships will continue to be accepted right up to the event. Clubs, individuals, companies and groups are all welcome to donate and will receive recognition as outlined.
This is such an exciting project! All of you took a ‘leap of faith’ five years ago and created a world’s first for the citizens of Calgary and area.
Club Sponsorship and Adult Volunteer Opportunities Available
Ian H.S. Riseley
PRESIDENT 2017-18
ROTARY CLUB OF Sandringham
Victoria, Australia
TENNESSEE, USA
There are as many reasons to come to Rotary as there are Rotarians – maybe even a few more. But each of us has stayed in Rotary because it adds something to our own lives. Through Rotary, we are Making a Difference in the world; and the more involved we become, the more of a difference Rotary makes to each of us. Rotary challenges us to become better people: to become ambitious in the ways that matter, to strive for higher goals, and to incorporate Service Above Self into our daily lives.
What kind of difference Rotary clubs and individual Rotarians make through their service will always be their own decision. As an organization, we are guided by the three strategic priorities our Board has set in our strategic plan: to support and strengthen our clubs, to focus and increase our humanitarian service, and to enhance Rotary's public image and awareness.
In the year ahead, our clubs will have the support of a greatly augmented array of online tools, including a refreshed Rotary.org, a simplified Rotary Foundation grant application process, an improved My Rotary experience, and a rebuilt Rotary Club Central. As we look to strengthen our clubs, two specific challenges stand out in our membership: our gender balance and our average age. To keep our clubs strong, we need to build a membership that reflects the communities we serve and that will continue to develop knowledgeable leaders for generations to come.
For many years, one idea has stood at the heart of all our service: sustainability. Sustainable service means our work continues to have a positive impact long after Rotary's direct involvement has ended. We don't dig wells and walk away; we make sure communities can maintain and repair those wells. If we build a clinic, we make sure that clinic has a way to keep running without ongoing support from us. And when it comes to polio, we aren't working to contain it; we're working to end it.
Eradicating polio is the ultimate in sustainable service. It is an investment that will yield not just a long-lasting but a permanent benefit, on a global scale. It is and must remain our No. 1 priority until the job is done.
For 112 years, Rotary has made a difference to more lives, in more ways, than we can ever count or will ever know. Today, each of us bears a torch, its flame lit by Paul Harris, that has been passed forward from generation to generation, in Rotary: Making a Difference.
Ian H.S. Riseley is a chartered accountant and principal of Ian Riseley and Co., a firm he established in 1976. Prior to starting his own firm, he worked in the audit and management consulting divisions of large accounting firms and corporations. His firm specializes in income tax and management advice for individuals and small businesses. He has a master’s degree in taxation law and graduate diplomas in accounting and income tax.
Riseley has been a member of the boards of both a private and a public school, a member of the Community Advisory Group for the City of Sandringham, and involved in Sea Scouts and sporting groups, as well as honorary auditor or adviser for a number of charitable organizations.
Riseley’s honors include the AusAID Peacebuilder Award from the Australian government in recognition of his work in East Timor, the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the Australian community, the Distinguished Service Award and the Regional Service Award for a Polio-Free World from The Rotary Foundation.
A Rotarian since 1978, Riseley has served as treasurer, director, Foundation trustee, and member and chair of numerous RI and Foundation committees.
He and his wife, Juliet, a past district governor, are Major Donors and Bequest Society members of The Rotary Foundation. They live on seven hectares at Moorooduc, where they practice their personal philosophy of sustainable and organic living. They have two children and four grandchildren.
th to participate in a service project or social event.
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