Born and raised on the West Coast, Rob attended the University of British Columbia and earned a Bachelor of Science in Forestry in 1967. Rob subsequently qualified to become a Registered Professional Forester and worked as such for his entire career. He has held a variety of senior management positions ranging from Chief Forester to Manager of Forest Resources for a number of privately owned companies in British Columbia. For a few years he worked as an international consultant and worked in such countries as Venezuela, Indonesia and Vietnam. In 1989 Rob was recognized by his professional organization as “Forester of the Year” for his contribution towards integrated forest management. Now retired, Rob has been awarded the distinction of being a Life Member of the profession.
Rob’s involvement with Rotary began more than a quarter of a century ago, when his son became a Rotary Exchange Student to Mexico. Upon his son’s return Rob’s family hosted Exchange Students from Mexico, Japan, Costa Rica and Australia. Rob was invited to become a Charter Member of the Rotary Club of Whitehorse Midnight Sun in 2007. He served as Secretary for three years before becoming President in the year 2009 – 2010. Among other projects he worked on the District 5010 team hosting Group Study Exchange (GSE) participants from Estonia and S. Korea.
In 2012, Rob moved from Whitehorse to Pictou with his wife Irene Szabla, where he joined the Rotary Club of Pictou. Shortly after being involved in the District, Rob was asked to take on the role of Assistant Governor for the six clubs in northern Nova Scotia.Rob is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and a member of the Bequest Society.
Rob has a son, Adam, who with his wife and two sons reside in Sackville, NB and a daughter. Jocelyn, with her husband, Paul and son, Elliot, who live in Calgary, AB. Rob is incredibly fortunate to have as family, Irene’s son, David, who resides in Whitehorse and her daughter, Pascale, who has been teaching in Cambodia for the past three years and has just accepted a new teaching position in Hong Kong.
Louisa is an educator, entrepreneur and business leader. A former geologist, teacher, certified business coach, and Chief Academic Officer of national educational companies, Louisa is now an independent Management Consultant (CMC), specializing in leadership development and strategic thinking. She recently served as the Director of the national small business consulting practice for BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada.
Passionate about delivering engaging client experiences, Louisa enjoys exploration of best practices for continuous improvement. Louisa has three degrees from Dalhousie University in Science and Education and has pursued doctoral studies in Florida.
A member of the Rotary Club of Halifax Harbourside since 2005, Louisa was inspired to join when her younger daughter was selected to be a Youth Exchange student. Louisa was instrumental in establishing the first junior high school based Interact Club in the District. She is proud of her Club’s recognition as District Club of the Year 2011-12 when she served as President. Her focus has been on building membership and helping the Club become more inclusive, engaging and irresistible. She received a District Vocational Award and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Louisa lead the last Group Study Exchange team from our district on the 2013 trip to Malaysia. She also lead a Rotary Friendship Exchange trip to New Zealand in 2015 and has participated in several other Friendship Exchange trips.
Louisa has been a familiar face in District for the past several years leading various training and strategic planning exercises for clubs all over the region. She was named District Trainer and joined the District board of Directors in 2016. Her team approach has revolutionized the leadership training process for District and the TLC (Training for Leaders of Clubs) series is widely seen as the model for future leader development in our District. Louisa is a Group Discussion Leader for the Atlantic Chapter of the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI)
Louisa has attended several International Conventions as well as Zone institutes so she is well versed in contemporary thinking in the Rotary world. She and PDG Doug Logan co-facilitated a breakout session on being “Simply Irresistible” at the Toronto International Convention in 2018.
Born in Halifax, Louisa has lived there most of her life although she and her family have also lived in Cyprus, Germany and Hong Kong. Louisa and her husband, Paul, own a beach home near Halifax where they enjoy gardening and caring for their Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. They have two daughters, Alyson and Hannah.
District Governor Nominee - Ian Doyle
Ian was born in Halifax but his roots are in Inverness County, Nova Scotia. Growing up he lived in various communities in Atlantic Canada before eventually settling in Mabou, Nova Scotia. He attended Saint Francis Xavier University where he received his BA and BEd. After three years of teaching, he returned to university to study Dentistry at Dalhousie. Ian began practicing in Westmount outside of Sydney in 1978. Currently he is semi retired but still practices when the need arises in his former clinic, does some hospital work and is a part time instructor at Dalhousie Dental School.
Ian has been involved as a volunteer in his community over the years. Through out his career he has also made a major commitment to organized Dentistry. Ian has been President of the Nova Scotia Dental Association, Chair of the Provincial Dental Board, and Canadian President of the International College of Dentists. He has taken part in 9 International Dental-Medical Missions, in South America, and the Caribbean, most of which have had some degree of local Rotary support. Ian has taken part and supported many local free dental days over the years to help those who do not have easy access to care. Ian has received the highest award from the NSDA for his contributions to the dental profession and was chosen as Alumni Volunteer of the Year by both Dalhousie University and the Dalhousie Dental School, in separate years .
Ian initially joined Rotary in 1981 and after a leave of absence for about 2 years because of work and family commitments he returned to Rotary in Sydney where he has been President of both the Sydney Rotary and the Sydney Sunrise Rotary clubs.
Ian and his wife Anne, have hosted 6 international exchange students, attended 2 RI Conventions and they belong to the Rotary International Travel and Hosting Fellowship. Ian has done make up meetings all over the world especially during the 15 or so years that he achieved 100% attendance. He has been involved with many local Rotary committees over the years with a special soft spot for International and Student exchange. Ian is currently coordinator of the Paul Harris Society, a Paul Harris Fellow, A Major Donor, and soon to be member of the Bequest Society.
Ian has been married to his best friend Anne for nearly 40 years. Anne, who is a recently retired French teacher and school counsellor, was recently awarded the Rotarian Partner of the Year Award by Rotary International for her contributions to Rotary over the years.
Anne and Ian have three children, Ian (Kylene), Tricia (Lucas), and Brenden who are involved the medical and software development fields. They are fortunate to have 3 grandchildren.
Ian enjoys singing with the Cape Breton Chordsmen, a barber shop chorus, loves travel and he is an avid squash player.
Ian brings to the table a life long dedication to the improvement of his community, his profession, and a commitment to Rotary and he looks forward to serving in such a respected and caring organization.
