In the absence of a guest speaker, time was taken for a Q and A session to answer questions about Rotary. The time was well spent!
Purpose of Happy/Sad: Opportunity to share information and personal news with others. Donations go to support club operations.
Single clap for the Sarge: Need to earn a full clap.
Fines: At the discretion of the Sarge. No set rules or amount. However, ringing phones and cursing will also result in a fine.
Committee Membership: As part of the restructuring and succession planning, opportunity to sign up for committee of your choice will occur in June. This will be a fun event where committee leads will pitch their committee to members. If you have not signed up by July 1, you will be assigned to one. Information regarding committees will be shared beforehand.
Sponsor responsibility: Sponsors are a great source of information regarding club structure, information, procedures, and "memory" knowledge. Take yours for coffee and pick their brain!
New members: Jim McPherson and Lisa Mackey will be focusing on providing support.
Socializing at Meetings: Try to sit with someone you haven't met yet or invite them to meet you outside the meeting for a coffee. Meetings are very busy with packed agendas so some are wishing for more time to eat and socialize before the formal meeting starts each week. This will be considered.
Information re Board Minutes and Financials: They are in the process of being posted on Club Runner for all to view.
Prayer at Meetings: Discontinued due to concerns of the club re a focus on a Christian prayer that was not representative of the varied views of members. Both Board and members discussed this change rigorously before arriving at this decision.
Distribution of Community Funds: Processes are being put in place to share information re criteria for funding, who was awarded funds and who applied with the membership. There is a desire to increase transparency by both the committee and membership.
Establishment of Charitable Status: We currently have a relationship with the Calgary Charitable Foundation which is able to provide tax receipts. Challenges to establishing our own foundation include costs of overhead, audits, fees, and maintaining a large fund balance. We do not have many opportunities to issue tax receipts at this time. This discussion is ongoing and some consideration has been given to investigating Planned Giving strategies.
