District Governor's Update - May 2021
May 11, 2021
April has been unique in that I have been able to attend several Rotary club meetings and events in person. I was privileged to join the Wenatchee Rotary club at one of their first hybrid meetings where I was able to present the club with their 100 years of service recognition from our President Holgar Knaack. Unfortunately, I decided to surprise the club with my visit and President Kory Kalahar was out of town. President Elect Alice Meyer did a fine job filling-in and I was really Impressed with way the club managed the Zoom participants. It was clear that there was a real commitment to include everyone in the meeting and I felt that the meeting style really worked. Great job Wenatchee Rotary.
I was also able to attend an in-person meeting of my club, Wenatchee Confluence Rotary and the Wenatchee Sunrise Rotary at the new Pybus Event Center. It was interesting to see the differences in style each of the clubs had in how they run their meetings and used the space. I was also able to attend a meeting of the East Wenatchee Rotary Club at its new meeting site, the Eastmont Community Center.
On April 17th, we had our third Quarter Business meeting. We shared our proposed District Budget and approved the transfer of $30,000 of travel and training funding (which was not spent because of the lock-down) to our District Grant program to fund addition service projects for our member Clubs. We also presented a preview of policy changes we are proposing for approval at our annual meeting on June 5th. We heard support for the proposed changes to our reserve and investment policies and look forward to our Clubs formal votes on them in June. Our committee Chairs and Assistant Governors reported on the happenings in their committees and clubs. It is amazing and heartening to see the good work that it is progressing in these difficult times.
In the US, nearly all of our clubs have either started the process or have returned to some form of live meetings. Current governmental limitations and the impacts of the pandemic are forcing most clubs to relocate their meetings, at least temporarily. I know that this is not a small task and some clubs are really struggling to find appropriate venues. I really want to express my deep thanks once again to our club leaders who have had to face enormous challenges all year. They continue to step-up and impress me with their passion and commitment to their clubs and their projects.
Speaking of Rotary projects, congratulations to the Kamloops area Rotary Clubs for another successful food drive. 67,000 pounds of food collected, safely and socially distanced. Way to go. I also have heard that several of our Canadian Rotary Clubs have been staffing vaccination clinics. This is really great to see supports our efforts to return all of us to some form normality.
On May 12th, I encourage all of you to join us on Zoom for a one-hour celebration of the best of our District. We will recognize the Club projects that were funded with District Grants and the many of the individuals who have these projects possible. We will also award our District=E2=80=99s most prestigious awards to several really deserving individuals. Please help us celebrate our successes and join us on Wednesday evening. I look forward to seeing you there.
Richard DeRock
District Governor