Life as a Rotarian
Posted by Vira Hughes
on May 05, 2016
The highlight of our 'bring a prospective member' meeting, was talks by four current Rotarians about their lives in Rotary. Eric Germain first gave us an overview of the history of Rotary in North America, Alberta, and Edmonton in particular. He spoke about the goals of Rotary and how it revolves around fellowship and community service. He mentioned some of the local initiatives that our club has supported, such as YESS, in addition to the international programs such as Shelterbox Canada, our Wheelchair program, and Polio Plus. He also mentioned some of the fundraising activities, such as the flag program, that we do each year. He then spoke about his life as part of a Rotarian family, and how his father's dedication to Rotary, inspired his own involvement, as well as that of his brother Ken, and how this has now followed on to the third generation of their family with his daughter, Nicole, who is now a rotarian.
The second speaker was Carin Jansen van Vuuren, who spoke about growing up in a Rotary family in South Africa, and how she took part in many community service activities as a child, along side her father, Jan van Zyl, who was a lifelong Rotarian and a Past District Governor D-9400 . She spoke of how Rotarians around the world all have a common ground through their belief in charitable work and service to others. She mentioned how being inducted as a member of our local Edmonton club by her father was a highlight of her life as a Rotarian. She commented how volunteers do not always have the time, but they always have the heart.
Our third speaker was Loida Lumanlan, a new member of our local club who spoke about how Rotary provides an opportunity to get to know and serve the community with friendly like minded people. She also spoke of the strength of numbers, and how we can do so much more as a group, than any one individual can do alone.
Our final speaker was Daryl Baker, a long time member of Rotary in the Edmonton region, and member of the northern Alberta district Educational Committee. He gave us an overview of the local district size and administrative structure, with over sixty clubs in district 5370 for Northern Alberta. He also spoke of the clubs which we sponsor, for younger people, with Rotaract clubs for people aged eighteen to thirty, and Interact clubs, for people aged twelve to seventeen. He encouraged us to get involved, as there are many different committees to take part in. He also explained how the flat organisational structure, short terms of office, and continual training for future Rotary district and club executive, ensures that they run smoothly, and that the legacy of Rotary continues into the future.
 |
 |
 |
 |