Would you like to contribute to Rotary by serving on a committee? The 10 committees listed below are searching for qualified candidates for openings in 2017-18. Each of these committees works with Rotary leaders to increase efficiency and promote the goals and priorities of our strategic plan.
To be considered for a committee appointment, visit on.rotary.org/committeeapplication2016.
The application deadline is 14 August.
Learn more about the committees and the application process.
Get answers to frequently asked questions.
COMMITTEES WITH OPENINGS FOR 2017-18
Audit
Communications...
From the July 2016 issue of The Rotarian
Just before John Germ dropped by, Rick Youngblood took a deep breath. “You want to match his energy,” he says, “but he makes it hard to keep up.” Youngblood is the president and CEO of Blood Assurance, a regional blood bank in Chattanooga, Tenn., that Germ helped found in 1972. After his visit with Youngblood, Germ strode between mountains of empty bottles and cans at Chattanooga’s John F. Germ Recycling Center at Orange Grove, which he designed, before he drove to a construction site and popped a cork to dedicate a Miracle League field where special...
From the July 2016 issue of The Rotarian
When Brad Rubini was reading a bedtime story to his seven-year-old daughter, Claire, she asked him why he was reading the words wrong.
“I’m dyslexic, so I thought I was reading the words right,” recalls Rubini, a past president of the Rotary Club of Toledo, Ohio.
After he explained his problem, she began to read to him on most nights instead. “She was a voracious reader and storyteller. She was always telling stories, even when she was a toddler,” he says.
Three years later, while Claire was away at summer camp, she died unexpectedly as a result of a...
From the July 2016 issue of The Rotarian
In the seven days from 7 through 13 March, I took precisely 84,250 steps. This amounted to 39.85 miles. I also climbed 288 floors and burned 22,055 calories.
I’m fairly certain that you, gentle readers, could not care less about those statistics. Unless, of course, you’re one of the millions of gentle readers who have joined America’s fitness self-surveillance movement by strapping a tracking device to your wrist. In which case, you are probably pretty darned impressed by my stats.
I should therefore add a few crucial caveats.
Caveat No. 1: That week...
From the July 2016 issue of The Rotarian
The way Cynthia Salim sees it, the fashion industry doesn't have much to offer a young, socially conscious woman like her when it comes to work clothes.
"The fashion industry often does 'sexy' or 'fun' or 'hip,' and things that encourage frequent purchases," the 29-year-old says. "It's very rare that the design community will design something that will make a young woman look credible and influential as well as timeless."
Add "and is ethically made" to that list, and it becomes a tall order that Salim became increasingly frustrated trying to fill when...
On Tuesday we heard a presentation from Ross Wein (pictured), of the Alberta Abilities Lodges Society. The society was established in 2007 to create a resource for disabled adults and seniors to enable them to enjoy outdoor activities to whatever extent they wish.
In Alberta, we need more accessible outdoor accommodations, trails, gardens and sports installations for handicapped adults. The Societies aim is to provide adapted outdoor equipment, outdoor events and outdoor facilities that are handicapped accessible.
In October 2015, they took possession of the former Alsike minimum security prison facility, on 480 acres, located on Coyote Creek, near Coyote Lake, about sixty kilometers west of Leduc. It has been renamed Coyote Lake Lodge, and they are currently in the process of renovating and upgrading the lodge, cabins, and associated outbuildings. The dining hall will seat forty people and they have overnight accommodations both in the main lodge and in four nearby cabins. They also have meeting room space and a library in the main lodge and will be offering both day and night time programs. The official opening will be held in August of this year. Hundreds of volunteers have helped to make this dream a reality, and many more are still needed to continue with the improvements envisioned by the Society.
They currently have no government funding and rely strictly on charitable donations. They would like to be able to provide better accessibility to the various buildings, improved change rooms, bathroom and shower facilities, improved trails, a sports field, a garden and a heliport to provide for ease of medical evacuation if needed. In future they also hope to include a teepee village, RV and tenting sites. The property is heavily treed and needs to be tidied up with removal of weeds and deadfall and there is also lots of inherited metal 'junk' that needs to be disposed of. They would also like to be able to provide transportation for clients to and from the lodge with an endowment fund. They will gladly accept all offers of support both monetary and in kind.
On Tuesday , Donna Hutton presented the results of the SWOT Analysis that was done by the incoming board. This is an exercise that helps groups define their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats in order to help us to become a better club.
Some of the identified strengths were our long history, stable membership, good succession planning, good traditions, interesting varied speakers and well organised meetings. They also included our legacy projects, a good community reputation and our successful fundraising activities. Some of our identified weaknesses were that most of our members are older, we have a fair number of part time members (those who only attend meetings sporadically), we have limited participation in some activities and the participants tend to be the same people. Some members also have trouble with the cost of participation in our activities. The identified opportunities were to encourage our affiliation with the Rotaract group in order to eventually bring in younger members, and to use Twitter and Facebook postings to advertise our group to a younger audience.
Other opportunities were to connect with the Fort McMurray club to see if we can help with some project there, and also to identify new legacy projects, new partnerships and new ventures. Our threats included the future of fundraising (we need to expand our currently limited sources of revenue), the fact that our club as currently structured can not qualify for charitable status (should we set up a separate entity for this?), and that some members think our weekly meetings could be reduced in frequency, or in time required per meeting.
The top four issues that were identified were- frequency and length of meetings, participation in volunteer activities, continuous flow for club funding and identification of other groups that we can work with to expand our community service. A questionnaire will be sent out to club members towards the end of July to be returned and reviewed by the end of August, with presentation of an action plan to be made in early September.
On Tuesday Jun 28th, at the Rotating Wheel year end dinner, Dimitri Papanicolas presented Paul Harris Fellow awards to five donors, who have been credited with, or made a donation of one thousand dollars US or more, cumulatively, to any of the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund, Polio Plus Fund or an approved global grant.
Lorraine Quilliam, Con Basaraba, Dennis and Sabrina Kuckertz and Nicoletta Papanicolas were presented with their certificates and pins by Dimitri, Hal Quilliam, Rose Marie Basaraba and Harald Kuckertz.
Posted by Stephan Jansen van Vuuren on Jun 18, 2016
Caren and Skip Kerr hosted a great many members and guests in their home at Oktober Fest last year. View photo album from last year's fest.
This year they are graciously opening their door and their hearts again in hosting a Hawaiian Feast with all the trimmings provided.
The date is Saturday, August 13, 2016 from 4:00 pm (1600) till 9:00 pm (2100).
Like last year, the Kerr's are putting on the whole show by providing food, entertainment and beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), Cocktails are $5 extra.
There will be prizes for best theme dressed couple or person.
All revenue from ticket sales will be destined to a Bridges to Prosperity project as suggested by the Kerr's.
This year we will have an Early Bird and a late purchase option:
From now till midnight (EDT) Apr 30, the ticket price is $40/ea
From May 1 till midnight (EDT) June 15, the ticket price is $45/ea
From June 16 till midnight (EDT) August 12, the ticket price is $50/ea
An old woman says to an old man at the rest home, "I can guess your age."
The man doesn't believe her, but tells her to go ahead and try.
"Pull down your pants," she says.
She inspects his rear end for a few minutes and then says, "You're 84 years old."
"That's amazing," the man says. "How did you know?"
"You told me yesterday."
The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. Ronald Reagan
President Harald reminded members about the District Volunteer Security Policy, DOWNLOAD HERE.
This policy was generated from the requirement of our insurance company providing liability coverage in case of issues arising from members and non-Rotarians working with youth and other vulnerable members of our society.
The policy provides that all involved Rotarians and non-Rotarians complete a vulnerable persons police check. See below or click 'Read more...'
Contact Hans Granholm, 780-466-5566 for more information.
District 5370 Police Record Check Process
The procedure applies to both Rotarians and non-Rotarians involved in any Rotary sponsored vulnerable person activity.
Have a vulnerable persons record check completed.
Submit your application with the Club’s letter of introduction (obtained by Hans Granholm) to the local police service.
After you receive the certificate, submit the original (photocopies are not accepted) to the address in my signature below or alternately deliver to the District office.
Original is reviewed by Youth Protection Chair, Staff Sergeant Brian Scott.
Original and letter of certification are returned to volunteer directly.
Provide a photocopy to the club.
Certification lasts for a period of three years.
Police procedure:
RCMP
Certification is free of charge and sometimes they will complete the certification while you wait (if you have time to wait).
Edmonton Police Service (EPS)
EPS charges $15 for the certification and be aware that they accept cheque or money order ONLY. No cash or plastic. Cheque or money order should be made out to “City of Edmonton”.
The certificate will be mailed to you, usually within a week.
No need to worry. ClubRunner secures all your private information using the latest security technologies.
Private information is secured using 128-bit encryption, and all access requires unique logins and passwords. Access to information is also restricted, for example, a member can only see a list of membership in his or her club, and his or her own personal information.
Data on the server is protected by TCP/IP filtering, firewall and anti-virus software that protect against any unauthorized intrusion. Backups of data are made daily and stored off-site.
Your information is kept private; to review ClubRunner's Privacy Policy, visit www.clubrunner.ca.
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