New Club on the Block

A second rotary club has been chartered in Yellowknife, and by all accounts, there’s room for two of the international service clubs in this city.

Meeting Thursday evenings over appetizers and a cash bar at the Top Knight since May, Rotary Club of Yellowknife True North members have hit the ground running with their volunteer efforts; not in competition, but in harmony with the well established Yellowknife Rotary Club.

Founded in 1970, the original Yellowknife Rotary Club meets weekly over the lunch hour – the main reason why True North was founded.

"There was a lot of people who couldn’t make the time commitment," said Jeromy Ball, founding True North member. "There was just a need for something different. We have a lot of Rotarians who’ve actually come back to rotary because of the opportunity," Ball added. "So it’s not versus, it’s together, and it’s just a different experience."

With the same guiding principle of "Service Above Self" tying True North and Yellowknife Rotary together with the more than 1.2 million Rotarians around the world, the two consider each other sister clubs, with members from the lunch club also attending True North’s charter celebration night last summer.

"I think it’s fantastic," said Yellowknife Rotary director Greg Boucher.

"Not everyone’s schedule permits them to join a lunch club, so to have choices means more people can be active and involved with Rotary."

Pillars of the community

Boucher, who owns downtown General Motors dealership Yellowknife Motors, finds company in the Rotary with other pillars of the community, who not only have the will, but the means to give back.

"Generally, businesspeople are more well off than a lot of others and are able to give back," said Kirby Marshall, True North president and owner of Global Storm IT. "Rotary is just one vehicle that we can use to do that," he added.

With about 30 members to date, including Mayor Gord Van Tighem, realtor and membership director Della Fraser, and BMO financial planner and public relations director Cameron Buddo, True North Rotarians say pooling their efforts allows them to have a greater impact on the community.

"I’ve always been community-minded but have found it difficult to get much off the ground," said Buddo, listing initiatives he has been involved in such as building a fire pit for the boy scouts and joining international initiatives to eradicate polio.

"We’re already doing that with the rotary club," he said. "It’s the Rotary branding that allows you to get up and off the ground running a lot sooner than if you started something from ground zero yourself."

The Scout House fire pit was one of True North’s first monthly hands-on projects – an aspect of the club that makes it unique.

"We look forward to the camaraderie, the fellowship of doing things hands-on," Ball said, "which is a lot different from supporting people through money."

Other hands-on projects True North is developing include the restoration of Back Bay Cemetery, and updating the YK Senior’s Society’s member registry.

"We’re certainly always open and looking for opportunities for the next project," Buddo said. "The Rotary International motto is service above self. I think that speaks volumes and is simple enough and would be pretty close to the ideals we’re trying to aspire to."

The Rotarians encourage any community members who are interested in having them do a project to contact True North.