In his address to convention attendees on Tuesday, 31 May, Trustee Chair Ray Klinginsmith proclaimed that The Rotary Foundation has never been stronger than it is today.
Bolstered by generous contributions from members and robust programs like PolioPlus and the Rotary Peace Centers, the Foundation's good work is drawing public notice, Klinginsmith said: CNBC, a leading consumer and business news outlet in the U.S., ranked Rotary No. 5 among the top 10 charities changing the world in 2015.
"Isn't it clear that our Foundation is truly better than ever before?" said Klinginsmith, who reported...
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among the first to welcome Rotary members and friends to the 107th Rotary Convention, heralded as one of the largest-ever gatherings of Rotarians and the most multicultural assembly of nonprofit leaders in Korea.
He offered a message of gratitude: “Rotarians do remarkable work around the world,” Ban told the thousands of attendees gathered at KINTEX, the Korea International Exhibition and Convention Center in Goyang city, on the outskirts of Seoul. “You help the United Nations reach our goals, and you help the world understand the United...
This year's World Water Summit on 27 May in Seoul highlighted the progress being made:
Over the last 25 years, more than 2.5 billion people gained access to improved drinking water, and 2 billion who didn't have adequate sanitation now do.
Child deaths from water-related diseases dropped from 1.5 million to just over 600,000.
The UN Millennium Development Goals' target for clean drinking water was met five years ahead of schedule.
But for the 1.8 billion people whose drinking water remains contaminated and the 2.4 billion without access to proper sanitation, progress is still too slow, said...
As of 1 May, the Rotary shop will be available on a new platform. We may experience some downtime during the transition and apologize for any inconvenience. If you have any questions, please contact us at shop.rotary@rotary.org or at 847-866-4600.
At the regular board meeting of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona for the month of April 2016, the board of directors passed the motion (subject to general membership approval) to establish an endowment fund under the name of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona through the Edmonton Community Foundation and to place an initial deposit of $10,000 from our recent casino into the endowment fund.
If you are unable to attend this important meeting, you are encouraged to vote by proxy. Your vote matters.
Download theproxy form, complete it and give to the person you intend to vote on your behalf as indicated on the form.
Alternately, you may fax, email or hand to Hans Granholm with a clear indication of your Yes or No preference.
The producers of the annual Porkapalooza Festival have generously offered to donate proceeds from their festival this year to the Rotary District 5370 Charitable Foundation's Fort McMurray Fire Relief Fund and renamed their event the "Concert of Hope". I have attached information about the festival, which takes place June 17, 18, and 19 at Clarke Stadium/Field in Edmonton. We have also been offered the opportunity to collect donations on site during the festival and we need about 50 Rotarians for this. There will be tents with tables and chairs set up for this purpose. Shifts will be approximately four hours.
Finally, please support the festival and encourage your friends and neighbours to support it as well. If you are able to serve as a festival sponsor, please also consider doing so.
The Rotary Club of Edmonton Strathcona had a very successful club golf and barbecue day on May 31, 2016. Yes the golf was played at the high level, or more specifically in the shadow of the High Level bridge!
The golf was fun and Mother Nature gave us a beautiful sunny day. We had 20 golfers out for the day to play the challenging Kinsmen Pitch & Putt Course. Ken Sutley won the closest to the pin contest on the #3 hole putting his golf ball a couple of feet away from the cup. Jim Hjarve (Loida’s husband) won the longest putt contest on #12 draining a 20 foot putt. It should be noted that Loida Lumanian, a first time golfer sunk a couple of monster putts the longest in the 30 foot range.
We had about 40 people out for the evening barbecue dinner, which included a putting contest, a prize table and great club visiting and fellowship. The putting contest was well run by Carin Jansen van Vuuren who did a great job of getting just about everyone in the crowd to pay $5 for a chance for the 50/50 contest. The putting contest finale was very exciting with Ken and Eric Germain going into a sudden death overtime shoot out. Eric was successful in defending his putting championship.
The prize table was a popular spot for the golfers. Thanks to Con’s Energy Services (Con and Rosemarie Basaraba) who was the major prize supplier.
The live auction part of the program saw the classic rematch of Stephan Jansen van Vuuren and Bruce Flesher going head to head. Stephan was the successful bidder for a picnic basket c/w a lovely bottle of Australian red wine, and Bruce was relentless in getting the golf bag (which he had donated and needed to win back for his golf match the next day).
Our charity of choice, the Rotary Polio Plus Program was the real winner of the day. Preliminary estimate of the fundraising on the day is $925, which when multiplied by 5 X by matching grants courtesy of Rotary, the Canadian Government and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation makes a total of $4,625 in total to be donated to Polio Plus!
Thanks to Ken Germain for running the barbecue, Bill Skelly who gets us the great Kinsmen Clubhouse facility every year, and everyone who came out and helped make it a great day!
Posted by Stephan Jansen van Vuuren
on May 20, 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 project to be determined by the club.
This year we will have an Early Bird and a late purchase option:
From now till midnight (EDT) June 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
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.
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