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The year I was 12 years old it was a very hot summer; a time for children to swim, play games and enjoy the long evenings out of doors. Then a Fear swept through our community – the Fear of Polio. Mothers were fearful for their children’s safety and the swimming pools were empty. Our summer enjoyment was curtailed. For some it was very much worse, for they contracted the virus.

The lead taken by The Rotary Foundation to eradicate the scourge of Polio from the world, means the fearful disease will not return to my part of the world. That a service organization of volunteers could mount such an ambitious international health campaign is quite remarkable and we should be very proud of our accomplishment. Over 2 billion children have been immunized. Yet, on September the16^th of this year there were 335 cases of wild poliovirus in 6 Asian / African countries and 7 importation cases of Polio. To fulfill the Rotary promise to the children of the world, Rotarians must continue the fight and to do so I ask you to please give your support to Polio Plus.

The Foundation is also the engine that drives the international programs of Rotary clubs and districts. These are the annual funding of:

The fuel oil for the engine is us, the Rotarians. We ask every one of you to please consider becoming a Sustaining Member by committing to a regular contribution every year to the Foundation.

Governor Mike’s official visits to the clubs have continued, and 44 of the 47 are now completed. In addition, he enjoyed participating in the broadcast during the Drumheller Radio Days auction; attending the elegant Calgary club’s President’s Ball; Calgary Millennium’s very fine Black Tie Bingo; the 60^th Anniversary of the Veterans Guard of Canada, held at the cairn erected by the Kananaskis club; the district Family Day presented by the Kananaskis club; and sitting in on the committee selecting the Group Study Exchange team leader to Ukraine.

The logo for #5360’s "Family of Rotary" initiative was unveiled! We extend a big "thank you" to Rotarian Jack DeHeer of the Lethbridge Rotary Club. As the owner of Graphcom Printers Ltd. he donated the time and talent of graphic artist Judy Westcott to do the artwork and electronic version of our design idea.

- Bev Thornton, Chair of District 5360 Family of Rotary committee

District 5360 has embarked on a programme to develop a Strategic Plan for the District’s Administration. In this context the District Administration comprises the officers, officials, and committees set up to support the work of the clubs and meet the requirements of Rotary International. Most districts have their own individual Strategic Plans. Although similar in concept each District Plan is unique in detail and is most helpful in ensuring continuity as the district and its officers move from year to year.

A committee of seven has been formed for the initial work comprising District Governors past, present and future together with current District Officers. Initial discussions will centre around the development of a District Vision, Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives, Plans by which these goals will be achieved and the Organisation necessary to carry them out.

Although, at least initially, the Plan will be developed by the Strategic Planning Committee, input is both needed and requested from all clubs and their Rotarians. Strategic Plans of this nature are not developed in isolation but must respond to the expressed needs of all its stakeholders.

All clubs, if they have not already done so, are encouraged to develop their own Strategic Plan. The Plan identifies the club’s own aspirations for the near, medium and long term. Eventually there will be a need to ensure that District and Club Plans are complementary and that there are no obvious conflicts.

To facilitate feedback from Rotarians your district is developing a dedicated ‘Discussion Group’ on the Internet. Some preliminary investigations and trials have been initiated by our Webmaster Roger Hough. We hope that by the time of the next District Newsletter we will have a system up and running to allow for your participation.

- David Elson, District Secretary

Congratulations to the High River club on the 75^th anniversary of your charter and for the grand dinner held on October 25^th. The keynote speaker chosen was the one the club sponsored to the Adventures in Citizenship week in Ottawa in 1956.

The name? The Rt Hon Joe Clark, Prime Minster of Canada 1979-1980. Also of note, three generations of Marshalls served as club president: Bill 1930 - 31, Grant 1978 - 79 and Tony 1994-95.

With the leadership of club President Dave Thomas, and the organizational talent of Moira Scullion, we were hosted to a day of spectacular mountain beauty, warm hospitality and just fun getting to know each other. Fourteen families from around the district attended, which made a total of 51 people: 24 adults, including 2 of our exchange students, and 27 children and grandchildren

Members of the Family of Rotary from Pincher Creek, Calgary, Germany, Switzerland and Nakiska

A responsibility of Rotary

In Canada approximately 30% of the population can be identified as unable to function adequately in reading and writing skills. The statistic does not include those unable to work with numbers. This is a tremendous loss of working people to our nation.

We know today education is a pre - requisite to success. Rotary has the means to deal with the problem of our youth staying in school and preparing for life through CRYSIS – our Rotary Stay In School Initiative for Literacy.

Rotarians as leaders must share their success in life and expertise in their classification occupations. We can do so by simply being available to sit with youth to help them with their subject matter, and thereby assure them that they are important and capable of succeeding. Rotarians have built the prestige in their occupation and their community to be impressive on young minds.

The district has the experience and resources to help you or you club make a big difference to our youth