“In the days, weeks and months ahead of us, let us always remember that our relationships with those around us is what helps us get through the times that are hard”.
Words of encouragement, and inspiration. Spoken at the vigil held for Dr. Walter Reynolds, Family Physician in Red Deer, Alberta, who was taken from us this last week. Our medical community of Family Physicians in Alberta is grieving deeply. Through pain, we learn to comfort others, and we look to the relationships around us that mean so much.
I think immediately of our Rotary relationships who continue to amaze me. We are so grateful for this opportunity as Rotarians to serve others.
August is Membership and New Clubs month!
Our family of Rotary is growing and we are excited! I think a District Goal could be 2021 members in 2021. The question is how many Rotary family members do we currently have, and how many more do we need to meet this goal? This is our District homework and something that leadership is calculating. I want to know the members of our EarlyAct, Interact, Rotaract and Rotary clubs.
New membership in Rotary should be purposeful, choose your next best friend who shares our Rotary Values.
Once a newly minted Rotarian is brought into the fold, don’t turn away from them, keep them engaged by listening for their passion. Did you know that in the first 2-3 years of Rotary membership is often when the honeymoon wears off and so does membership? It is absolutely critical to harness these new members by igniting their passion for Rotary! Without it, you will have a continuous revolving door of incoming and outgoing Rotarians.
So, do your part and ask someone to come to Rotary, challenge the club, give out a prize for the most guests invited to your meeting.
Are you shy, what about that next guest speaker? Perhaps they are as interested in Rotary as you are in their topic of discussion.
August is also New Clubs month.
Not only opening new traditional clubs but looking at totally new ways of gathering and being Rotarians. Have you ever considered meeting in a different way than you do now? Consider a Satelite club which starts with only 8 members, and usually is under the wing of a ‘parent’ local Rotary Club; consider a Passport club where you can zoom all over the world visiting other clubs and taking part in online Rotary projects; consider a Cause Based Club, do you have a passion for something that others share too, like an environmental cause, or a focus on child and maternal health? What about an E-Club? Lately, we are all trying E Clubs zooming to our meetings, but some clubs have membership across our District and meet on- Line all the time – or most of the time.
I hope that you will take the time to join us in attending the New Clubs Webinar set for this Tuesday night August 18th. Register on the District Website. Did you know that the New Clubs committee will be hosting the webinar and it will be an opportunity for you to meet the club type specialists from across our District?
So, be BOLD in your Dreams, engage your Rotary family, and don’t put off to tomorrow what can be done today.
Some quick Updates from District:
- Accept the challenge!! Learn more about the Polio Challenge from the Sylvan Lake club!
- District Board Orientation took place on July 25th. Not only did we get to know each other a whole lot better, we spent valuable time reviewing the District Strategic Plan established in 2019. We established objectives and Action steps to achieve these over the coming year. The document will be reviewed regularly and updated to reflect our successes as we move through our Action Steps.
- First Board Meeting of the Rotary Year is on Friday, August 21st. As always Board meetings are OPEN for all in the family of Rotary.
- Committee Chairs are meeting with the DG Stream to formalize their membership, goals and action steps for the year.
- The District has established a new Indigenous Committee working with Rotarians across our District to learn and listen to grow with our Indigenous community.
- An MOU has been signed between our District and Inclusion Alberta. Not only has this brought clarity to our roles it has opened opportunities for Rotarians to employ Albertans with disabilities. Interested in learning how your business can support this work, chat with our Rotary Representative, Anna-Maria Korell
- The Calgary Foundation for easy options to issue Tax receipts for approved charitable giving. Calgaryfoundation.org.
Updates from Rotary International including these fast facts:
- Jennifer Jones has been nominated as Rotary International’s Incoming President for 2022-2023! Wow! Jennifer is a Canadian Rotarian from Windsor, Ontario.
- Rotary Alliance with Toastmasters has launched. September will bring a new awareness of our alliance through the availability of a PowerPoint program outlining the two organizations and their similar structure and values. Over 30 Rotarians in our District either are or have been Toastmasters. Thank you for responding to the survey I sent out! With this huge group of knowledgeable Rotarians, we will be able to share our learning from both organizations and set the ball in motion for more purposeful communication between our clubs. Here is an opportunity to learn through Rotary’s alliance with Toastmasters!
Stay safe, stay healthy, chat soon.
Yours in Rotary Service,
Mary,
