Sitting in the lobby of the 93-year-old Prince of Wales Hotel (a designated Canadian historical site), one looks out over Upper Waterton Lake and sees in the distance the mountains of Glacier Park in Montana.
A sign near the village marina informs passersby that they are in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
As the MV Miss Waterton tour boat crosses the international boundary, the guide tells passengers how Rotarians from Alberta and Montana lobbied their respective federal governments to establish the world’s first international peace park, encompassing national parks on both sides of the border.
The Rotary Club of Fort Saskatchewan has committed itself to become an organization that reflects the community it serves.
The club wants to grow and diversify its membership to be “inclusive of all cultures, experiences and identities,” the club said in a news release issued on August 10. Rotary International has designated August as Membership and New Club Development Month.
“We’re creating an organization that is more open and inclusive, fair to all, builds goodwill and benefits our communities,” the news release reads.
As a first step, the club adopted RI’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement as its own.
The Rotary Club of Edmonton Whyte Avenue took the 2019-2020 theme—Rotary Connects the World—and ran with it.
As a result, on Saturday, September 12, during the Vision 2020 Virtual District Conference, Past District Governor Tracey Vavrek announced that the club is our District’s Rotary club of the year.
Other awards recognized clubs for what they accomplished related to community, international and youth service, and to public image and marketing. Awards were also presented to clubs for membership growth and outstanding support for The Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus.
Individual Sponsors: Sharon Blaker, Donna Barrett, Edith Martin, Vicki Townson, Orville Sleen, Betty Screpnek, Mike Webb, Brenda Tyson, Nijjar Nimrit, Mary Turner, F. Scott Montgomery, Darrel Martin and John Haggarty
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Rotarians and Rotaractors can access two additional Toastmasters courses on the RI Learning Centre
Two more leadership courses, developed by Toastmasters International as a result of a recently established partnership between RI and Toastmasters, have added to the four listed previously:
Leadership Basics – Understand how to set goals, motivate team members and learn the skills you need to lead a group to accomplish a goal.
Leading a Team – Learn more about making ethical decisions, recognizing contributions, and other components of team leadership.
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Rotarian Gary Smith models the mask members of the Rotary Club of Edmonton Gateway are wearing to promote Rotary during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interested in Rotary youth programs? Want to get more involved? Consider becoming the District’s Youth Services chair. Contact DG Jim Ferguson (fpsinc@yahoo.com) to learn more.
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District Insurance Update
This is your opportunity to ask questions of our insurance provider about your club's plans and insurance coverage. There will be two sessions (Club leaders: Please pre-register for either session):
The Rotary E-Club of Canada One took the next step toward establishing an e-satellite club for young professionals by meeting recently with interested individuals, including people from Finland, Italy and Brazil, as well as from Canada. After learning more about the concept, all committed to becoming charter members of this new club.
A second meeting will be held soon. If you are in contact with former Youth Exchange students (inbound and outbound) or former Rotary Grant scholars, please reach out and invite them to contact PDG Elly Contreras (miselly2@icloud.com) to learn more.
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Rotary Club of Edmonton West invites you to join it for a special meeting on Thursday, October 1, 7:00 p.m. MDT
Topic: Alberta's Halting Economic Recovery — Implications for Alberta's Public Finances by Dr. Robert (Bob) Ascah, one of Alberta's leading economists and authorities on public finances.
Do you have a speaker coming to one of your club meetings whose message would be of interest to other Rotarians or Rotaractors? Email communications@Rotary5370.org and we would be happy to extend an invitation on your behalf.
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Supporting programs for Edmonton’s inner-city youth and seniors
Purchase tickets: 1 for $10, 4 for $20, 20 for $50, or 100 for $100. Sales end at midnight, Tuesday, September 22.
Note: Due to provincial gaming regulations, participation is limited to Alberta residents, aged 18+.
Safely dispose of sensitive documents, such as income tax documents, financial statements and other confidential papers, while helping to support programs for inner-city youth and seniors.
Saturday, October 3
9:00 a.m. to noon MDT
Kingsway Mall (north parking lot)
Donations welcome ($10 per box suggested)
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The Peter Lee Classic Golf tournament in support of Inclusion Alberta (A Rotary Employment Partnership partner)
Thursday, September 24
$150 entry fee for each golfer
Hosted by Foster Park Brokers, an inclusive employer that named the tournament after a young man it hired three years ago—Peter Lee.
2020 Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association’s annual Hands Across the Border Assembly, a virtual conference experience hosted by the Rotary Club of Missoula Sunrise.
The Waterton Glacier International Peace Park is the first trans-boundary peace park in the world, envisioned by Rotarians from Canada and the USA and approved by both governments in 1932.
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Club Announcements Welcome – Has your club any upcoming events Rotarians from other clubs should know about? Email a brief description, including a link to a website for more information, to register or to buy tickets, to communications@Rotary5370.org. We’ll include your information in a future issue of CONNECTIONS and will tweet (or retweet your tweets) about your event. All submissions are subject to editing for brevity and clarity. Announcements will be repeated as space permits. Deadline for submission for the next issue of CONNECTIONS (September 20) is 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 18.
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