Rotary International Zones 28 & 32 is a four country, two language, community of Rotarians in Bermuda, Canada, France and the United States spanning eight time zones.
Click banner for more.
Registration rates go up December 15!
Reminder
Articles for the newsletter are due by the 20th of every month for the next newsletter.
Posted by Valarie Wafer, RIVP and Director Zone 28&32
November was a very busy month and we connected in so many ways. We connected virtually for our incredible three-night summit series, with incredible energy, inspiring speakers and a celebration of our accomplishments. Thank you for attending and thank you to the incredible team that made it happen.
As you can see, I am sporting a new look. This is my in-person, out-of Zoom look. This new look allowed me to attend many events in November including a D7090 Foundation lunch, a D7070 club celebration event and a Zone institute in Tucson, Arizona. What an incredible feeling to be travelling and be among friends once again. To hear from incredible speakers, participate in empowering girl’s projects and lead discussions on diversity, equity and inclusion.
For the first time as an RI Director, I had the chance to visit Evanston and participate in RI Board meetings in person. As you can imagine, the energy was high and infectious. Never underestimate the importance of physically being together. The conversations in the hall, at lunch and during the walk from the hotel to headquarters helped build new relationships and support and strengthen our discussions and decisions.
In December many of you will see this new look as I travel to D7430, D7450 and D7505 to meet with clubs and celebrate the holidays and a club anniversary. And of course, next month we gather at the International Assembly, the final orientation for our District Governors Elect.
As we change the calendar to a new year, many of us are halfway through our current Rotary role. As we transition to meeting in person and roll up our sleeves in service let’s give it 1,000 per cent. Let’s emerge strong and embody our vision statement as people of action. Put on that “new look”, be safe and be strong.
No matter how you celebrate - Happy Holidays; Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and New Year to each of us. Enjoy this precious time spent with family and friends. And as we head into the holiday season let’s gather our loved ones close, celebrate life and honour those that are no longer with us.
From our home to yours, Mark and I wish each of you happiness and health.
I have used this platform to write about silver linings to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic many times over the past year. In the September edition of this report, I shared that since my role of Director Nominee was made official, I and my fellow Director classmates have been granted access to the Rotary International Board earlier than any class before us. Traditionally an “Elect” attends their first in-person meeting in January of their elect year however access has been granted much earlier due to the Board meetings being held online. What used to be four annual Board Meetings has turned into monthly meetings and for the first time since the onset of COVID-19 the Rotary International Board of Directors met in person from 15-17 November in Evanston, Illinois. Fourteen of the seventeen Directors were able to attend in person, and the meeting was a true hybrid as each Board member had a screen in front of them to be both in person and on Zoom at the same time.
As someone who was not in person, the meeting was run flawlessly allowing for both interaction and interpretation for those who were in Evanston and for those accessing the meeting remotely. How fortunate are we as a society and as an organization to have the technology we do? What most likely could not even have been imagined just a decade ago is commonplace today. I marvel at what may be possible a decade from now.
During this meeting one of the agenda items was the selections for the four Rotary Foundation Trustee seats expiring at the end of the Rotary year and it was with much excitement and joy to be present (albeit online) when our very own Marty Peak-Helman was selected to serve as a Foundation Trustee for the coming three Rotary years. This selection could not be awarded to a better Rotarian. Marty has worked tirelessly in the name of the Foundation for years and I look forward to all she and her fellow Trustees will accomplish in the coming years. Personally, I am so looking forward to partnering with two amazing individuals from our Zones next year when both current Trustee Dean Rohrs and Trustee Elect Marty serve together for a year. This continues to show how fortunate we all are to have such leaders within our midst.
The next in-person meeting will be held in conjunction with the International Assembly this coming January in Orlando, Florida which, if all stays as is in relation to COVID-19 or improves, the Assembly and Board Meeting will both be in person and will be my first opportunity to attend in my current role. I am looking forward to joining Rotarians from all around the world in what is one of the top Rotary events of the year. For those District Governors Elect reading this column and plan on attending, I look forward to being with you.
As I noted the opportunity provided to me as a silver lining has been nothing short of amazing and as we begin to return to pre COVID life, I can only hope that opportunities like providing access to leaders earlier on their path via hybrid platforms continues. From the Club, District, or International levels there are lessons to be learned and procedures to maintain to allow access that would otherwise not be provided.
Posted by Valarie Wafer, RIVP and Director, Zone 28/32
I am pleased to announce that Marty Peak Helman has been selected to be a member of the Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees, effective July 1, 2022. This means that Marty, a member of District 7780’s Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club in Maine, will serve on the 16-person Board that manages the business of The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of our organization that funds service activities globally.
Marty and her husband Frank Helman joined the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club 18 years ago. She served as District Governor in 2012-13 and she and I became good friends when we were both International Trainers and involved in preparing Rotary’s incoming District Governors for their upcoming roles. For the past two years, Marty has served as Zone 24/32 General Trainer, and she was one of our Zones’ original Innovative Club Advocates.
Marty’s Rotary passion is the Rotary Peace Centers, and she has served for six years on The Rotary Foundation’s Peace-Major Gift Initiative, culminating in her term as chair in 2019-20. During her tenure she shepherded through a gift to completely fund a new Peace Center in the Middle East/North Africa region.
Marty and her husband Frank are Major Donors and charter members of Rotary’s Legacy Society. She will join past Director Dean Rohrs on the Board of Trustees. Please join me in congratulating Marty on her election.
Posted by Sherry Chamberlain, Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator - Zone 28
We are so appreciative of the funds donated thus far for the Wildfire victims and now with the Flood victims of BC. There have been some good news stories of the work that has been done through Rotary and we will submit for the next newsletter.
If you or your club would like to donate to the Pacific Northwest Rotary Disaster Recovery and Relief Efforts, you can do so as follows. Donations for fire or flood relief and recovery can be made to the Steveston Rotary Charitable Foundation in two ways:
Cheque. Cheques made payable to the Rotary Club of Steveston Charitable Society can be sent to:
Rotary Club of Steveston
12111 3rd Avenue, Richmond, B.C. V7E 3K1, Canada
You can specify in your notes if the donation goes to a specific area or disaster as well as just the overall efforts being done by Rotarians in Districts 5060, 5040 and 5050.
Posted by Lori Anne Jones - Zone 28 & 32 DEI Resource Chair –2021/22
As we turn our minds to the holidays, we also see the new year on the horizon and thoughts start to stir about what that year has in store for us and what plans we should make.
One of the key new year planning elements for Zones 28 and 32 is the creation of the Zone DEI Committee. We have done some work over the summer and fall with respect to training for leadership and reaching out to the current District DEI chairs, but now it’s time to start formalizing our work and get a committee in place and create a critical mass around this work that will result in meaningful change across the Zone.
Posted by Ingrid Neitsch, PDG D5370, ARRFC Zone 28
Around the world, a handshake is universally understood as a symbol of goodwill.
Handshakes seal diplomatic agreements, offer congratulations and express gratitude. They were first depicted on classical ancient Greek sculpture, such as the Parthenon Marbles. Scholars say they signified peace by indicating hands that were free of weapons.
The COVID-19 pandemic has curtailed handshake use for now, but the symbolism remains strong. That is especially true at the site of the world’s first international peace park, which spans Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada, and Glacier National Park in Montana, U.S.A.
There, a tradition called Hands Across the Border has endured since 1932.
Posted by Ray Freaney, ARC and Nikki Mederos, ICA, Zone 32
In 1989, Prego Spaghetti Sauce ran a commercial with a classic line: “It’s in there”. They were referring to the essential ingredients to make a winning recipe. If your Club is looking to undertake a winning project, look no further than a thorough Community Needs Assessment.
The benefits of a comprehensive Community Needs Assessment (CNA) are many. Do you want to increase Rotary’s image and presence in your town? It’s in there. Do want to integrate into all facets of your community and develop relationships? It’s in there. Do want to have service projects to engage your members? Projects that the community has told us they need as opposed to what we think they need. It’s in there. You get the idea.
Membership will grow organically from the exposure, service opportunities and newly formed relationships. Strategic planning can be crafted to encompass the action items resulting from the CNA and member engagement opportunities will increase.
Community Needs Assessments are not new. A Community’s demographics change every three years, hence the national census, which is why every Rotary Club should consider a CAN to try and address the growing needs of the communities they serve.
Posted by Yvone Joubert, Rotaract Canada Deputy General Secretary
For Rotarians and Rotaractors alike, one of the greatest forms of service is to provide long-term solutions to community challenges. So, when the Rotary Foundation Canada approached Rotaract Canada with an opportunity to raise $150,000 for an area of focus of our choosing, it was an easy to see the great opportunities this would bring for our Rotaractors across the region. This partnership allows an opportunity for Rotaractors to learn more about The Rotary Foundation and Global Grants ahead the new Rotary International changes that will see Rotaractors allowed to apply for Global Grants beginning in July 2022.
They were there in the beginning, and they are still there now…
In February of 2020, the world changed, at least it did here in the province of Alberta when COVID-19 restrictions changed the way we interact with each other. On Friday April 3rd, 2020, our local hospital closed their doors to outside visitors; a devastating phone call came that night cutting off my ability to care for and visit my ailing mother who had been admitted with chronic pneumonia. My world changed and I was now entirely relying on her physician, and the hospital staff to care for her in what turned out to be the last three weeks of her life.
The pandemic has consumed us. Our front-line workers are working hard every single day throughout our communities as we continue to battle COVID-19. Escalating numbers, stress on capacity and burnout are daily conversations. Now, more than ever is the time to express our gratitude to those who have not taken a break, who have been there caring for our community, even when we could not be there.
‘Thank You’, two words that can change the world for the person receiving this message, and for the person giving it. As Rotarians we are asked to provide ‘Service Above Self’, and this year to ‘Serve to Change Lives’. It occurred to me that this is exactly what our front-line medical workers do.
Posted by Zone 28 Tracey Vavrek, Innovative Club Advocate, PDG and Bala Naidoo, ARC, PDG
The Triangle of Awesomeness brings together Zone 28 leaders from B.C. and Alberta who are passionate about the Three Essential Elements of Rotary – The Foundation, Membership and Public Relations/Public Image. It’s otherwise known as the Triangle of Awesomeness.
Using a team approach – the importance of working together – we are stronger, mightier and get more things done. The team relies on regular communications and meets regularly, three to four times a quarter. This work is critical to get consensus and to build the framework. It’s based on a shared commitment to do things differently and it is hard work. We are mindful of others and creating new relationships at the zone level as well as the districts. The Rotary Districts we are collaborating with are 5010, 5040 and 5050.
Posted by IPDG Mary Eileen Shackleton, Zone 32 Empowering Girls Initiative Ambassador
Hopefully, your clubs and districts are planning impactful projects and events that support Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta’s Empowering Girls Initiative. Vice President Valarie Wafer and the entire ambassador team for Zones 28 & 32 look forward to reading more about them on Rotary Showcase.
Still wondering what to do or how to get started? As I have written before, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. And it’s still not too late, especially when you leverage one of Rotary International’s existing partnerships, like the one with Toastmasters International. Ambassador teammate Nikita Williams and I are collaborating with fellow Toastmasters in Districts 46 (New York City area) and 123 (greater Toronto) to organize Youth Leader Programs for Interact Clubs.
Fall weather is upon us with leaves turning and temperatures falling, serving as a reminder that the end of the 2021 tax year is approaching. As our members consider their charitable contributions for all the organizations they support, they might appreciate some insight on how a gift of stock could provide them with tax savings.
A couple of weeks ago, my Rotary club co-sponsored a service project/fundraiser with another Rotary club and a partnering nonprofit. The event was held outside on a beautiful day. Our club had a shiny pull-up banner featuring members as People of Action, involved in numerous service projects. Across the back tent poles, we hung a banner with our club logo, created in Brand Center, and the official Rotary Azure leadership color for the background. We handed out printed versions of our brochure, which also featured members at service projects and was created in Brand Center.
The other Rotary club also had a shiny new pull-up banner that was obviously created by a professional designer. It featured the old blue and yellow Rotary wheel--the same wheel that was retired in 2012--and a pale yellow and blue background with abstract imagery. My first thought was that the designer must have done a Google search for Rotary and found the blue and yellow logo. No one from the club provided the appropriate guidance. Why does this even matter?
Posted by Stella Roy and Linda Robertson, EPNCs Zone 28
With only 4 wild polio cases reported to date in 2021 (3 in Afghanistan, 1 in Pakistan), there was lots of excitement and optimism on World Polio Day. Although the goal of a Polio Free World appears to be within our grasp, we still need to vaccinate 400 million children each year.
The advocacy and fundraising of World Polio Day focuses all Rotarians on reaching our yearly $50 Million US goal. Districts and clubs throughout our Zone held special polio meetings, organized small and large fundraisers and participated in virtual, hybrid and in-person events. There were hundreds of events around Zone 28 but only room here to feature a few.
Updating Rotary’s Efforts to Eradicate Polio Worldwide/ The Global Class “Move for Polio – End Polio Now”, July 1st to October 24th
Dr. Bob Scott, Panel Moderator is a member of the Rotary Club of Cobourg, Ontario and Chair Emeritus of Rotary International’s PolioPlus Committee. He is Past Chair of the Board of Trustees and Past Rotary Vice President.
This exceptional World Polio Day event was held in the Global Classroom at Durham College in Oshawa.
Dr. Scott was joined by Mike McGovern, Rotary International’s PolioPlus Chair, Dr. Sunji Funsho Rotary International’s PolioPlus Chair for Nigeria, Valarie Wafer, Rotary International’s Vice President and Jennifer Jones, 2022-23 Rotary International President.
World Polio Day Update was sponsored by 11 Rotary Clubs in Ontario. The 8 municipalities where these clubs are situated all declared October 24th World Polio Day and flew End Polio Now flags over their city halls.
District Governor Martin Parnell on extreme right joins other District 5360 leaders “Moving for Polio”.
This polio fundraising event in District 5360 of which 32 clubs participated was all about moving from the beginning of the Rotary Year to World Polio Day. Fundraising collected to date is $75,000.00 CAD.
The 210 participants recorded a total of 62,000 km’s (1.6 times around the world) by running, walking, golfing, swimming, biking, gardening, yoga and many more activities. DG Martin said this event had two benefits; one was to raise money for Polio and the other was to enhance the mental health and well-being of club members.
During tulip planting, Jolanta Janny Public Image Chair of the Rotary Club of Niagara on the Lake holds her community’s World Polio Day proclamation.
Tulips for Polio Planted in Niagara on the Lake
The Rotary Club of Niagara on the Lake planted 600 tulip bulbs in their local park for World Polio Day. Tulips are significant polio fundraiser in Eastern Canada and sales are organized by clubs and districts during June for delivery near World Polio Day.
World Polio Day on Prince Edward Island
Members of PEI Rotary Clubs gather for raising of the END POLIO NOW flag and provincial proclamation of World Polio Day 2021.
Director's Newsletter December 2021
