Membership Survey: Satisfaction Up and Clear Priorities for Growth

President Joan Posivy reported on the results of our recent club membership survey, which drew 45 responses (with 43–44 responses to some questions). Overall satisfaction with Rotary membership remains very strong and has improved since the last survey six months ago. Previously at about 92%, member satisfaction has now risen to 93.6%, confirming that most Rotarians feel positive about their experience in the Rotary Club of Vancouver.

On the strengths side, the standout result was the statement “I’m proud to be a Rotarian,” which received an outstanding score of 4.84 out of 5. Members also rated the overall club experience highly across most areas, reflecting a strong sense of community, meaningful service, and pride in the club’s work locally and globally.

The survey also highlighted a few key opportunities for improvement, even though scores in these areas were still relatively solid:

• Inviting friends, family, and colleagues
  This item received one of the lower relative scores. Comments pointed to:
  • The time commitment (an hour and a half to two and a half hours door‑to‑door).
  • Concerns about lunch costs for guests.
  • A couple of respondents who simply hadn’t thought about inviting others, but now intend to.
• Networking opportunities
  Members would like more structured networking, and Joan noted that this is a recurring theme the club has already started to work on, with plans to do more.
• Mentorship
  Members see value in stronger mentorship connections between newer and more experienced Rotarians.
  • Theresa is leading the club’s mentorship efforts and is the point person for:
    • Members who wish to serve as mentors, and
    • Members seeking a mentor to support their engagement and growth within Rotary.

Another item—“The club provides opportunities to use my talents and skills”—scored well overall, but Joan emphasized that this remains a priority: if you have a particular skill, talent, or passion, the club wants to hear about it so we can involve you in projects where you can make the most impact.

Members who would like more detail can request the full survey PDF with all questions, aggregate responses, and comments from Patricia. Joan closed the report by thanking everyone for their input and for helping to create the strong, positive club culture reflected in these results.

We were delighted to induct Hana as the newest member of the Rotary Club of Vancouver. Hana Tahaei is a registered dietitian with experience in project management, program development, and facility operations in long‑term care, acute, and community health settings. She joined Rotary to be part of something bigger and to contribute to meaningful local and global initiatives, and she is passionate about wellness and creating genuine connections. Outside of work, Hannah enjoys exploring BC, spending time with her dog, and developing her community project **“Same Place Events.”

President Joan noted that she has known Hana Tahaei for years through the Young Professionals Rotaract club, where Hana served as International Service Director. She has been paired with Parisa as her mentor and will share more about herself in a future Member’s Moment.
Members and guests rose to warmly welcome Hana as part of Rotary’s 1.2 million‑member global family.

Program Highlight: Conversation with Bridgitte Anderson, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade

Our program this week featured Bridgitte Anderson, President & CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) and the first woman to lead the organization in its 138‑year history. Introduced by Sandra Lowe and interviewed by Ally Potel, Bridgitte shared her leadership journey and a candid assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing our region.

Bridgitte's career began with 20 years in journalism, followed by a move into public service as press secretary to Premier Gordon Campbell, and later senior roles in public and government relations. While serving on the GVBOT board, she realized the only job she wanted next was to become its CEO. With the support (and tough mock‑interview feedback!) of leaders, she successfully stepped into her first CEO role and now leads a board of 35 directors and more than 5,500 member businesses.

From this vantage point, Bridgitte described BC’s current economic situation as “precarious”. She noted that the Board of Trade gave the recent provincial budget a rare D grade, citing a large and growing deficit, rapidly increasing debt, and significant private‑sector job losses, even as the public sector continues to expand. Small and medium‑sized businesses, she said, are especially squeezed by high operating costs, added taxes, layers of red tape, and public safety concerns in the downtown core. Compared with jurisdictions like Alberta and several U.S. states, BC often looks less competitive on tax policy, permitting speed, and investor friendliness—contributing to people and capital looking elsewhere.

At the same time, Bridgitte emphasized there is tremendous opportunity if BC can align its policies and move more decisively. She highlighted the global spotlight that will come with FIFA 2026—Vancouver is set to host seven matches, with another six in Seattle—and the work already underway through steering committees to ensure local businesses can benefit from visiting investors and decision‑makers. Beyond FIFA, she pointed to major projects such as LNG developments, the North Coast transmission line, and emerging defence and industrial strategies at the federal level, where Vancouver and the broader Cascadia region (BC, Washington, and Oregon) are well positioned to lead in dual‑use technologies, clean energy, and innovation.

Bridgitte outlined several ways the GVBOT is responding. On the advocacy front, the organization has helped raise the threshold for the Employer Health Tax and is now preparing a campaign against the proposed PST expansion to professional services such as engineering, security, and accounting—changes she believes will add further costs to housing, major projects, and already‑stretched retailers. On the support and programs side, the Board of Trade runs one of Western Canada’s largest business event platforms, offers training in equity, diversity and inclusion, Indigenous economic opportunities, and is launching AI training to help smaller businesses practically adopt tools like ChatGPT and Claude.

In discussing leadership, Bridgitte underscored that she does not see herself as the smartest person in the room; instead, she relies on the expertise of her directors, staff, and more than 200 volunteer committee members who help shape policy positions and recommendations. She also shared a memorable story about moderating a conversation with Michelle Obama in 2018—an experience that required intense preparation but left her inspired by the former First Lady’s kindness, warmth, and encouragement.

Despite voicing concerns about what she called “policy paralysis” in BC, Bridgitte closed on a strongly optimistic note. A lifelong British Columbian who has lived in other provinces and abroad, she believes BC has “what the world needs”: from critical minerals and LNG to life sciences and advanced technologies. Her message to our club was clear: this is a once‑in‑a‑generation opportunity for our province. If we can reduce red tape, restore policy certainty, and confidently lean into our strengths, British Columbia can play a leading role on the global stage.