Greetings from Governor Denis Boyd

Greetings 5050 Rotarians

We have begun our new Rotary year and I want to begin our time together by thanking immediate Past Governor Sean Hogan for his great year and his strong support of the whole Governor team. His enthusiasm will carry us into our challenge to "Engage Rotary, Change Lives."

When you have the honour of being selected to be a District Governor, you have more than two years of preparation. My class of DGs attended a training session in Boston and then Vancouver and finally San Diego. Each workshop lasted about a week, including a couple of Zone Institutes. (Our clubs belong to districts which in turn make up a zone. In District 5050 we are part of Zone 24 which includes all of Canada and Alaska. Each zone has its own annual meeting or conference and it is called an Institute as it includes training for governor types.) After this comprehensive training it is nice to be finally underway.

This year we will focus on several areas of Rotary service in an attempt to help you (if you wish) to strengthen your Rotary club.

As mentioned above, RI President Ron Burton (Oklahoma) has given us the theme of "Engage Rotary, Change Lives." With this theme in mind, one of my goals for our year will be to promote "Hands on Service". It has been my experience that when Rotarians roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty, so to speak, they become engaged. When we become engaged, we tend to value our Rotary experience more and we stick around.

The other themes you will hear me mention during my visit to your club will include Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Post Polio clean-up, Literacy at home and abroad, and a return to a strong Vocational Service through 'Networking Plus." More on all these in due course.

Each year the DG has the challenge of communicating with the clubs and accordingly relies a great deal on the Assistant Governor team and the Presidents. In an attempt to ease the pressure on these Rotarians, I will periodically write to all of you. The email will include news and program announcements of interest with appropriate links. Everything will be in one email, as much as possible, so that you are not bombarded with numerous messages. If you are a district committee chair, you may also receive the odd note from Rotary International to do with your area of interest.

You are most welcome to attend the Governor team installation dinner on July 20. It will be held in a parish hall in White Rock and you can register on line BY CLICKING HERE or clicking the Upcoming Events links on the District website.  The cost is $45 and the deadline for registration is July 12. We chose this location as it is central and easily accessible by U.S. Rotarians and we are also able to keep our costs down. And there will be some entertainment! Thank you to the White Rock area clubs for hosting us.

The Surrey Rotary clubs have a membership development program featuring past RI President Rick King, scheduled for August 15. The cost is $30 for Rotarians and $9 for guests. Appies will be served and you can register BY CLICKING HERE, or on the district website: www.district5050.org.

Our annual Foundation GolFun tournament will be held on Friday, August 23 at the Homestead Golf Course in Lynden. Your club has been asked to help sponsor the tournament with a contribution of $2,000 to the Rotary Foundation. More info on line.

Here are some other dates to note:

Rotary Leadership Institute - September 28 in Mount Vernon, WA

Foundation Dinner - November 9 in Langley, B.C.

Thanks for reading and best wishes.

Denis