District Governor’s Update - November 2021
Dec 21, 2021
District Governor’s Update
November has been a surprisingly busy month for those of us involved in Rotary leadership. In early November, our Rotary Zone held a virtual seminar over 4 days that engaged all our senior leaders. The Governor’s council also met to discuss the mechanics of our banking and investment accounts. The second week of November had me travelling to Florida for work. Upon my return, I attended the funeral of long time and truly committed Rotarian and friend, John McDarment.
The third week of November had me getting my Covid booster, doing my official visit for my club and attending the first meeting of our 2022 – 2023 club Presidents as well as more banking meetings. On Wednesday of that week, the heavens opened, and the communities of Merritt and Princeton were inundated by an atmospheric river. By Thursday morning, our extraordinary team in Kamloops had been activated and by the weekend, we had an agreement among District’s 5040, 5050 and 5060 to coordinate our relief efforts. Assistant Governor Devon O’Toole worked with the joint fire relief committee and the Merritt Rotary club to share information.
The fourth week of November had me meeting and planning our January training for new District Governors. I also had the pleasure of meeting with the board of the Rotary Club of Lake Country. This small club is truly amazing with the variety of projects they have undertaken and have been able to deliver despite Covid and astounding fact that their meeting location and their club supplies all burned in an accidental fire. I look forward to meeting the club in person once they find a new meeting venue. The fourth week of November was also American Thanksgiving. Robin and I had the pleasure of hosting my brother-in law and his family for the first Thanksgiving we had since Robin’s mother has moved in with us.
The fifth week of November brought us back to Canada. After quite an exercise getting our required Covid tests, Robin and I traveled to Vernon. On Monday evening, the Silver Star club hosted us for an informative board meeting at a local brew house. The following morning, we were hosted by the club at its nice venue at a local senior facility for its breakfast meeting. This creative club continues to achieve real success and make a difference in Vernon. Tuesday afternoon we joined club President Dave for a tour of his new manufacturing facility where they are producing non-toxic sanitizers and cleaning products. The tour was very interesting and Dave’s passion for his products and the venture were palpable.
On Wednesday, the Vernon club showed us real hospitality and a sense of true camaraderie. While the club is struggling with membership, it is focused on diversifying the age and demographics of its membership. The energy and commitment of the Vernon club’s members demonstrated gives me confidence that they will succeed in their efforts. I also had the pleasure of spending time with Past District Governor Jack Peters. Jack passed on to me his archives of his time as our District Governor which I committed to digitize and share with our members.
On Wednesday evening, we moved to Kelowna and met with our District’s newest Rotary Club, the Kelowna Now! club. The evening meeting with wine and appetizers was very enjoyable and the club demonstrated a clear commitment to the values of Rotary and to support the Kelowna community. On Thursday morning we met with the Kelowna Morningside club for their regular meeting. This club had a wonderful camaraderie and welcomed us with open arms. We travelled back to Vernon to meet with the Kalamalka club and learned of their extraordinary success with their recent dream auction and the huge suite of projects they are pursing. Kalamalka is committed to being a force in Rotary and force for its community. After our meeting with Kalamalka, we returned to Kelowna for an evening meeting with Kelowna Morningside’s board. The Morningside club hosted us at the relatively new Children’s Advocacy Center. We had a wonderful tour of this critically needed facility and were impressed by the club’s contributions to this organization. Our board meeting was quite pleasant both because the club is achieving a lot and because Past President Roger Mace introduced us to some extraordinary Okanagan wines.
With our completion of our visit to Morningside, we have completed 46 club visits and should finish all the remaining visits by early next year. Our visits have been inspirational and have demonstrated the enormous heart for Rotary in our region and extraordinary commitments of our members. Our communities are better for us, and I am convinced that we have bright future.
Yours in Rotary,
Richard