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DG's September 2003 Newsletter

September is New Generations' Month

The New Generation Programs of Rotary International are to improve the life skills of young people up to 30 years of age, based on "Every Rotarian an Example to Youth". The programs are:

Interact – a Rotary sponsored service club for 14-18 year olds, either school or community based. The club is required to do one community service and international service project each year. It is the club’s own responsibility for planning, financing and completing the projects.

Rotaract – a Rotary sponsored service club for young adults 18-30 years old, either college or community based. The purpose is to develop service-minded citizens and leaders.

Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) – a 3 day Rotary sponsored seminar to teach young people responsible and effective leadership skills

Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN)* - a 3 day seminar for youth aged 14 -17 to assist them in forming their own values and moral standards. It caters for those not yet outstanding, but having qualities of courage, and perseverance and steadfastness in their daily life.

Youth Exchange – a program of 12 months duration to send and receive 15 -18 year old young people across national borders for a year to experience the customs, culture and education of other nations as a means of promoting international understanding.

Group Study Exchange (GSE) – a cultural and vocational exchange for 4 non-Rotarian business and / or professional persons age 25 – 39 led by a Rotarian to an overseas Rotary district.

*RYPEN is not as yet an official program of Rotary International, and while an active program of D 5360, is not offered throughout Canada or the world.

DG Mike and Kathy commenced their Official Visit to the 47 clubs on August 25^th at the RC of Medicine Hat. This was followed by visits to the RCs of Kananaskis, Canmore, Banff and Sylvan Lake. The energy and commitment of these clubs is amazing, as is the warmth and friendliness of their members.

This is the time of year when the planning stage for the GSE starts to become a reality. The implementation of the process consists of contacting all the Rotary Clubs in the District to solicit their participation in the selection process to choose a Rotarian team leader and four non - Rotarian team members to make up the Group Study exchange.

It is most important to have participation from all the clubs in the District as that will increase the number of applicants from which to choose a professional and enthusiastic team. Letters have been sent to all the club presidents and the GSE committee will await their response. Upon receiving a reply that a club is interested, applications will be forwarded for their distribution. Do you know of a young person who would qualify?

Dates have already been set and a time line established to have interviews with potential candidates for both leader and team members. The team leader will be the only Rotarian in the Group. The members of the Group will be a professional, a business owner, or a person in upper management. They will be between the ages of 25 to 40 years and in good physical health. They will also need to be able to be away from 4 to 5 weeks.

The other aspect of the GSE is the inbound team. In May of 2004 there will be a team of five coming to our district from District 3200 in India. It will then become the responsibility of our District to provide hosting, and venues for the incoming team. It is important that the clubs in our district commit to participating in this exciting part of the exchange. Once commitment is made to the District GSE Committee, agendas will be developed and plans made for hosting. At that point, the exchange takes on a life of its own.

The GSE Committee has already been in contact to consider an exchange for the year 2004 – 2005. The two possibilities at this time are with either South Africa or Southern France. We will keep the District posted on the choice.

Please give every consideration to participating in these exchanges. You could be the Rotarian who makes a positive influence with a young professional who will ultimately further the cause of Rotary.

- Dave Marchant, District 5360 GSE Chairman

RI President Jonathan Majiyagbe has scheduled fifteen Presidential Celebrations in cities around the world. The first was held in Vancouver with a special invitation to the new Club Presidents and District Governors. The program focused on Vocational Service, Rotary’s first avenue of service. Other such Celebrations will showcase specific programs or issues important to Rotary.

President Jonathan installed a number of new club Presidents and District Governors..

RI Past President Cliff Dochterman spoke of emphasizing the significance of Vocational Service as Rotary’s first Concept. Table top discussion Groups centered on some of the problem areas of membership retention, ethics and application of the Four Way Test. RI President Elect Glen Estes, addressed the topic of Volunteer Service.

District Governors from D5020, D5040 and D5370 presented a mock debate citing the pros and cons of Group Study Exchange. This lively debate in point / counter point fashion caught the attention of the entire assembly. It could be used in any club to stimulate debate in subject areas which many Rotarians may take for granted such as Student Exchanges, Rotary fellowships, or the 4-Way Speech Contests.

PDG Carol Wylie, from D5280 in California addressed "Rotary’s Commitment to Ethics and the 4-way Test". She cited recent scenarios in American Economics such as the Enron fiasco as an example of what can happen when ethics is not part of everyday business practice.

Integrity Awards were heralded by D5370 as the perfect medium for recognition of outstanding community contributors outside Rotary.

Other ideas brought forward in various discussions and forums were the following:

• The Family of Rotary should start with the mentoring of children and grandchildren.
• Rotarians are seen as role models in the community. They should lead by example.
• Classification talks should be shared with youth at any age to impart the message that choices are available to all and decisions are not easily made at any age.
• Exchange students should be invited to speak briefly at each meeting they attend.
• Rotary alumni may be offered honorary membership in a club.

President Jonathan Majiyagbe concluded the weekend celebration with a plea to Rotarians to involve their clubs in the Family of Rotary in any way they could, whether it be more local activities with their own families or partnering with other clubs around the world. He asked for the continued support of all Rotarians to follow through on the mission of Rotary to rid the world of polio by 2005.

Submitted by Larry Dornan, President the Rotary Club of Calgary North

Rotary Club insurance is not the most glamorous of subjects. It is seldom high on the agenda at Club meetings. However, it is a most important topic and one which every Club must deal with. It is doubly so in the present day insurance market where there are fewer and fewer insurers offering coverage, where insurance coverage is becoming more and more restrictive and of course the only trend for premiums is ‘up and up’.

Your District is studying the situation with a view to establishing the best means of ensuring adequate coverage (and no more) at the best premiums available for all our Clubs (and for the District organisation itself).

Once all the data has been collected, it will be collated and summarized and the resulting information fed back to each Club. A panel of ‘experts’ will be convened to evaluate the information and to develop alternate strategies for future insurance coverage. The panel will include representatives of the insurance industry, other professionals knowledgeable in insurance matters and ‘lay’ Rotarians with an interest in establishing the best insurance regime for the whole District.

We are also gathering insurance information from our neighbouring Districts. We already have information on an overall insurance scheme available from our Zone (22)

The resulting recommendations from the panel will be circulated to all Clubs for their review and comment. Once all comments and concerns have been dealt with the District will establish a proposal (motion) to be presented to the Annual General Meeting for the District at Lethbridge in May 2004.

Establishing the facts and a consensus among the 47 Clubs in our District does take time. Insurance coverage for each Club in the meantime remains the responsibility of the Clubs. We encourage the active participation of all Clubs in providing feedback for our panel’s consideration.

Submitted by district Secretary David Elson.

Come celebrate the Family of Rotary at Kananaskis

This program is open to all Rotarians, plus any family you wish to invite

Hotels:

Delta Lodge - Night of Oct 25, includes breakfast for 2 …...…$99.00

Kananaskis Resort & Convention Centre - Night of Oct 25 ….$69.00

OR Nights of Oct 24 + 25…$99.00

Please call to confirm attendance before Oct, 20:

President David Thomas of the RC of Kananaskis (403) 591-7641 (residence).

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Attendance Reporting

Attendance is a cornerstone of Rotary membership. Attendance reporting is an RI requirement. Each Club must report attendance statistics to the District within 14 days of the last meeting of each month. A summary of Club attendance is reported in this Newsletter, a copy of which goes to RI.

Attendance reporting for the month of July was less than exemplary. At the time of the August Newsletter only 27 of the 47 Clubs in the District had filed their report. Since that time our District Webmaster and District Secretary have been working with delinquent Clubs to ensure that appropriate reports are filed. A revised report for July is attached to this Newsletter along with the August report.

District 5360 Attendance July/August 2003