A.D.G. Dan Sutton introduced D.G. Elaine Thompson this evening. D.G.Elaine was born in Gilbert Plains, Manitoba and attended a one room school house. She went on to University, graduating with a PHD in Chemistry. She worked in the Asphalt industry, subsequently patenting a process for introducing shredded tires into an asphalt mix. She has now formed her own consulting firm Triad Limited. She joined Rotary in 2008 and is also an avid tennis player and community organizer. She has been married to Ed for fifty years and they have two daughters and one son-in-law in Winnipeg, with several grandkids.
This presentation was originally to have taken place back on October 5th, 2018. That night started with a board meeting where all went as planned. Then before the dinner meeting could get started, the power went out in the entire Headingly region. A short club meeting took place, no meal, then we adjourned for the night.
The questions that DG Elaine has asked each club on her travels has been;
- What is your club culture? This is important to provide feedback to R.I. for the development of the District Strategic Plan. At the Charleswood Rotary Club Board meeting, Jim Forestell Sr. said that we are not afraid to do things differently.
- What is being done to try and build club member numbers? Is the club able to attract and retain new and old members? Should advise what Rotary is. Say what Rotary stands for. What actions Rotary is active in globally and locally.
Rotary has had 1.2 million members for the past 15 to 20 years. During this time, the number of Rotary clubs has increased by 15%. There have been 2.2 million new members inducted into Rotary clubs during this time period as well. The issue is obviously retention. A Rotary International board member said, “In far too many cases we are selling a brand-new Mercedes then putting them in a 55 Chevy with the opposite passenger door open for them to slide right out of.”
Rotary clubs should change, if they want to. Should approach retention of new club members in a different way. Work on retention before a person is even inducted into your club. Focus on the services that the club values and is interested in. Then go out and find the people that match. The club could place notices of activities in local media such as community papers, radio, T.V. and websites. This was mentioned in Elaine`s first video that was published online during her 2018/2019 D.G. year. Elaine got an e-mail almost immediately when the video went out. The lady that contacted her was from the Regina – East Rotary Club. She advised that when she was approached to join Rotary, her prospective sponsor told her what the financial and time requirements would be. The financial part was correct, but the time commitment was grossly underestimated. She stated that she has done the same for each of the 6 new prospects that she has brought to the club since joining.
Rotary Mission Statement;
We provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
Rotary Vision Statement;
"Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves."
D.G. Elaine found two parts of the Vision Statement that she didn`t like or agree with;
1. lasting change
2. across the globe – world is not flat!
D. G. Elaine Thompson has three goals to accomplish before the end of her term;
- Develop a system of creative, public relations within our communities. This is happening in the Rotary Club of Winnipeg – Charleswood because of Martin Labossiere`s work on the club Facebook page.
- Increase the District membership by 10%. This would mean 140 more members across District 5550.
- Increase the number of Rotarians fluent with the use of MyRotary and Club Runner.
A sign-up sheet was passed around for names and email addresses for the purpose of linking to the documents giving step by step instructions, produced by Past D.G. Ken Krebs.
District 5550 Conference 2019;
Our conference theme is “inspired by the Family of Rotary”. The conference will take place in Winnipeg May 3-5, 2019 at the Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park, 1405 St Matthews Ace., Winnipeg, MB R3G 3P7, Ph: (204) 775-8791. This is a family friendly / pet friendly conference centre. Hotel reservation information can be downloaded from this page -
https://rotary5550.org/
There are 3 keynote speakers presenting at the conference;
- Silvia Whitlock of the Rotary Club of Duarte, California in 1987. She was the first female Rotary Club President elected. She was advised to only put her first initial on the registration papers sent to R.I. , but she was discovered and the club lost it`s Charter because of this. They continued to meet anyway.
- Dr. John T. Blount DDS, is a motivational speaker, dentist, Chair for Rotary International 2019 Convention in Hamburg – Germany.
- Don Evans, District 5040. Resolution of Potential Conflicts & Flexibility in Meetings and Membership.
Don Evans has been a Rotarian for more than 27 years. He is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Vancouver (2002-2003) and has held many different positions with the club. He is also active with District 5040 as Strategic Planning Chair, a member of the District Foundation Committee and is a 2014 PETS Trainer. Don is also President Emeritus of the West Coast Railway Association and has been active with the group for 40 years - it would be fair to say that railroading is one of Don's passions.Don also serves on the boards of both businesses and other non-profits. He was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 for his active community involvement and was named 2005 Business Person of the Year by the Squamish Chamber of Commerce for his work with the West Coast Railway Heritage Park.
https://rotary5040.org/sitepage/programme-speakers-1/don-evans
With this list of keynote speakers, D.G. Elaine expects line-ups for the break-out sessions.
Q/A
1.-Jim Forestell Sr. asked what the high and low points were during her club visits?
A.- The high point was discovering all the clubs that had youth focused projects, as well as the variety of projects. The low point was at a club meeting with the board, when she asked about the club culture the response was that they all knew each other very well. This meant that they knew who to put on what committee. They did not seem to understand the point of the question.
A donation will be made to Polio Plus to recognize District Governor Elaine Thompson`s visit to the Rotary Club of Winnipeg – Charleswood.
