The Conference Location

The CanadInns Destination Centre Polo Park, located at 1405 St Matthews Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3G 3P7, Ph: 204-775-8791, is where the conference is taking place. It is a pet-friendly and child-friendly hotel that offers free airport shuttle service, free wi-fi, free parking, an indoor pool, a fitness centre, a kitchen in every room and a restaurant for those not wishing to cook! It is the perfect place for a family weekend get-away!

 

Location

 

The Venue Slide Show

 
The Plenary Speakers
In keeping with RI President Barry Rassin’s theme “Be the Inspiration” the committee organising the 2019 District Conference has gone out of its way to make sure that the conference program will do just that! There are four high profile speakers for the plenary sessions:
 
Sylvia Whitlock               John Blount                     Don Evans                         Kevin Chief
 
  • Sylvia Whitlock - the first woman to be a Rotary Club president;
  • John Blount - a multi-talented and entertaining Rotarian who is also the chair of RI’s Convention in Hamburg, Germany this year;
  • Don Evans - a Past District Governor with broad experience dealing with in-club conflict resolution, and
  • Kevin Chief - speaking on developing more effective relationships between Rotary D5550 and the Indigenous communities in Northern Ontario and the Prairies.
 
Breakout Sessions, Fellowship and a Project, too!
Knowledgeable leaders in the district will provide useful information in the breakout sessions to help Rotarians maximise enjoyment of their Rotary membership. The subjects of the breakout sessions at the conference tentatively include ShelterBox, Rotary Foundation, Ripple Effect, Youth Programs, Community Service Activity, World Community Service, Mental Health, Westgrove School Gardens, Membership, Social Media, Information Technology and Truth & Reconciliation.
 
A concerted effort is being made to increase the amount of “fellowship” time in breaks between speakers.
 
A new, more efficient approach to recognising clubs’ efforts in different areas of Rotary activity will be taken to optimise participation.
 
Also, during the conference, conferees will have a chance to participate in a project that involves filling gently used handbags with useful items (like new socks and panties, feminine hygiene products and toiletries) for distribution by “Handbags of Hope Winnipeg” to women who are homeless or who live in shelters.
 
The Program in Brief
Thursday
On Thursday afternoon, May 2nd, registration, District Assembly and the House of Friendship will be operational. At 5 PM, the Youth Exchange students will be getting together in their assigned room for some serious fun. Two hours later, at 7 PM, the Meet & Greet - Welcome Night and entertainment - will take place at the TYC (Tijuana Yacht Club) area of the hotel.
 
Friday
On Friday, the conference officially begins with two plenary sessions (separated by a nutrition break) in the morning followed by one plenary session in the afternoon, plus a choice of attending one of the four Breakout Sessions offered afterwards. Friday at 5:00 PM has the Past District Governors enjoying a relatively well-behaved meeting and meal for 2-3 hours in a separate room, then joining the rest of the conferees who have been enjoying a chatty “Bud, Spud & Steak (or chicken)” social evening at the TYC since 6 PM.
 
Saturday
A similar sequence of events is planned for Saturday morning - 2 plenary sessions (also separated by a nutrition break) followed by Breakout Sessions in the afternoon.
 
 
The presentation by exchange students (typically both fun and touching) will take place on Saturday afternoon. Then everyone gets together Saturday evening for the Gala event – dinner and entertainment by the Legacy Band – a multi-talented nine-member group (all part of the Bunkowsky family based in southern Manitoba) whose music covers a range of genres, providing entertainment for a wide range of tastes and preferences (https://www.legacyband.ca/ and https://www.facebook.com/legacybandlive/).
 
Sunday
District Board orientation and meetings will take place on Sunday morning
 
We are looking forward to seeing you at the D5550 conference in about four months!