District Governor's Newsletter May 2004

June is the month when we recognize Rotary Fellowships. Acquaintance is the basis of Rotary and the extensive Fellowship program is available for us to share with others our professional, recreational and travel interests and issues. These programs serve to extend acquaintance and fellowship beyond the horizons of our club, district and country. Two examples in our district are the ascent of Mt Davidson last August; and the friendship travel exchange this July with District 1220 (Nottingham, UK), by which these visitors will be hosted for one week in Medicine Hat and one week in Calgary.

Page 61 of the June 2004 Rotarian magazine is a useful list and resource of what Fellowships are available. The only thing missing seems to be a freedom from the Prairie winter fellowship.

The clubs are where the action is and the club presidents are the strength and the weakness of Rotary. My intention to encourage each club president and club with a second, informal visit did not quite work out, because of the need to spend time on some unexpected matters. I did achieve 41 out of the 47, and had visited four of the remaining 6 as DGE, just before taking office last July.

From the visits to the clubs I have recognized that 5 of our 47 clubs do not have membership recruitment and retention problems. What factors do these 5 clubs have in common?

1. They are based in a small town
2. They have been chartered for 20 + years
3. They have provided at least one well used, well loved facility for the community such as a splash / water park
4. They are reported in the media at least once a month
5. They have earned the respect of the community
6. Within their club they have a lot of social events and care very much for each other

These factors are not all absolute. One club of those clubs is a city club, but has focused on serving a small area. Another club is less than 20 years old. The one absolute is having earned the respect of their community. How does your club relate to these membership factors?

Our GSE team lead by Joe Hrankowski of the Medicine Hat club has returned home. The team left Canada on April 30th and returned on June 30th. By all accounts the team was met with open arms and enthusiasm by their Ukrainian Rotarian hosts. The group visited Rotary Clubs in Uzhgorod, Lviv, Mykoliav, Simferopol, Alushta, Yalta, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kiev. In all some fourteen Ukrainian Rotary Clubs acted as hosts to our District 5360 team.

The team, made up of Social Worker Christine Bennett, Agronomist Trevor Lennox, Investment Manager Craig Senyk and Lawyer Erica Bach, saw the exchange as an experience and opportunity of a lifetime. They were not disappointed!  Ukraine is a land with a rich and ancient history which was all brought to life for the team by the sponsoring clubs. Lifetime friendships were forged during the short thirty days that the team was exposed to true Ukrainian hospitality. They met with their counterparts on a vocational exchange that compared and contrasted the Canadian way of life and work to the ways of an emerging democracy, one fraught with challenge yet filled with hope and enthusiasm. The mix made for a wonderful exchange of ideas and ensured that all those involved would learn and share in the spirit of Rotary and the GSE Program. True bridges of understanding and friendship were forged between the team members, Ukrainian Rotary members and friends of Rotary in Ukraine.

This recent GSE was the first one hosted by our Ukrainian Rotary partners. The scheduling and timing was well executed and the team was exposed to all facets of Ukrainian Culture including opera, ballet, traditional folk music, history and historical sights. All of this of course was made even more special by the hosts who ensured that the team was able access many sites that are often not seen by tourists. A good insight into the workings of Rotary in Ukraine was a great benefit to the group.

in an elevator inside the Kyoto Handcrafts store:

This illustrates the internationality that is Rotary. Wherever you go in the world you have friends of friends.

Another enjoyable chance meeting was with Dr Joe and Dorothy Sera, R I President Jonathan’s representative at our district conference in April. This time they were the sergeants who ushered us into our seats at the plenary sessions held in the 50,000 seat Osaka Dome.