Rotary has designated December as Disease Prevention and Treatment Month. The month includes World Aids Day, The International Day of Disabled Persons, The U.N. International Volunteers Day and Human Rights Day. As Rotarians we know the importance of preventing and eradicating disease in the world. Our efforts against polio span some 30 years and we are on the brink of sealing the deal. I want to acknowledge your generosity towards our Foundation. The funds donated by Rotarians in 5040 have enabled mothers to give birth in clean surroundings, families to access safe drinking water, children to be vaccinated against polio, and the introduction of farming techniques that will produce food and prevent malnutrition. Our gifts are well rewarded, whether from the smile of child with a corrected cleft palate or a hug from an old man with new glasses. Without your support our charity could not do its work. Thank You!
Congratulations to Darcy Long our District Governor for 2018-19. Darcy and her husband, Doug, have been members of the Rotary Club of Sunshine Coast-Sechelt since 2006. She has served her club and the district on many committees including co-chair of the Permanent Fund and is a Major Donor to the Foundation. Darcy was president of her club in 2009/10 the year it was named District 5040 Club of the Year. She has much to contribute and will be a great asset to all of us in this new leadership role. We look forward to working with you Darcy.
Much credit should be given for the success of the Rotary Day of Dialogue to the great work done by co-chair Chris Offer and North Vancouver’s Kevin Evans who moderated the event. Over 100 Rotarians from District 5040 and six other districts took part together with staff from Rotary International, Zone 24 coordinators, Rotaractors and Interactors.
Initiators led the conversation on current perspectives, membership, youth, service, Foundation and Rotary’s image. The short presentations on each topic were followed by a period of moderated dialogue. While participants acknowledged that membership growth is one of Rotary’s greatest challenges, there was consensus that positive change in this area is closely linked to quality, leadership and relevancy at the club level.
This is a link to the videos of the presentations that were produced by the ever-talented John Charbonneau (RC of Tsawwassen). The videos are an ongoing legacy of the day and have been instrumental in sharing the ideas from the event globally. To date close to 1000 viewings have occurred with Rotarians from the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and Mexico as the most frequent visitors. Many clubs, including e clubs are using the videos to promote their own dialogue.
The Day of Dialogue allowed us to learn with and from each other and hopefully we will take what we learned and use it as a vehicle of change in our clubs and throughout the district. I thank all who helped organize this day and all who made it work by thinking and reflecting together.
A highlight of our year has been visiting the clubs, inducting new members and presenting awards to deserving and generous Rotarians. This month, however we have had to say good-bye to two of our long time Vancouver clubs, the Rotary clubs of Quadra and Vancouver South. It is so sad to see them go after years of Rotary service to their communities and beyond. I attended the ‘last luncheon’ of the Vancouver South club that was full of memories and many accolades. The good news is that all the members have chosen a new club and Arbutus and Yaletown are the major beneficiaries. While our membership has been growing steadily, there are some spikes worth noting. Earlier this month I had the privilege of inducting five new members into the Bowen Island Club and mid January I am scheduled to do the same at the Richmond Club. I am hoping to be invited back to Squamish in the New Year to induct the ‘hordes’ they have waiting in the wings!!
Congratulations to Jim Ling, Janice Froese and the Richmond and Burnaby South interactors for staging a first class Interact Leadership Training Conference with clubs from the Lower Mainland, Sea to Sky and the Sunshine Coast in attendance. It was great to see our newest clubs from Whistler and King George Secondary School well represented.
It is hard to imagine that we are half way through this Rotary year. We have finished our club visits and met some wonderful people. Our attention now turns to the Foundation Dinner on January 30th and the Whistler Conference at the end of April, both of which are guaranteed to be gala events. To date we have 230 Rotarians registered for the conference and all but three clubs represented. A parallel youth conference will be held at the HI Whistler Youth Hostel and both interact and youth exchange students will join us at the conference on the Saturday. For those not yet registered, we don’t want you to miss out, nor do we want you to pay too much, so we urge you to check out the website and register before the early bird closes on January 15th.
At this time of year, our thoughts go out to family and friends. We often refer to Rotary as a family and our clubs have been busy with youth programs, seniors lunches, delivering hampers, driving for Operation Rednose, doing Breakfast with Santa, staging concerts and organizing Christmas parties. President Ravi has asked us to ‘Be a Gift to the World’ and in this gift-giving season, let us continue to forge the bonds of friendship and work together to build peace in our communities and throughout the world. However you celebrate these holidays Claire and I extend our best wishes to you all and hope that you are able to relax and take some time for yourselves and those you love. We look forward to working with you all in the New Year as we strengthen our Rotary family and reach out to those we serve.
In our tradition, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season.
John
John l. Anderson
District Governor 2015-16
Rotary District 5040
Membership Matters
Thirteen presentations given and 5 more scheduled. Have a look at a Youtube version of Membership Matters:
With the new year approaching, make sure you are inviting Rotary alumni, program participants, and their families to your club events or service projects. This is a fun way to get to know Rotary alumni and program participants, and foster relationships for future membership.
News
Darcy Long to be District Governor in 2018-19
I am very excited to announce that Darcy Long of the Rotary Club of Sunshine Coast Sechelt has been appointed as the 2018-19 District Governor for District 5040. I know Darcy will do an excellent job as our Governor and I look forward to working with her and all Rotarians to help Rotary make its mark in our District.
Please join me in welcoming Darcy to this position.
John L. Anderson, District Governor 2015-16, Rotary District 5040
Merry Christmas from Conference 2016 Committee
A very Merry Christmas from the Rotary District 5040 Conference 2016 Committee. Thank you to videographic and choreographic wizard John Charbonneau. Cameos by DG John Anderson, Gloria Staudt, John Charbonneau, Rick Lewall and Chris Offer. Have a very Merry Christmas and see you at Conference 2016 in Whistler www.CelebrateRotary.ca
On behalf of all the Rotarians in Korea, I invite you to the 2016 Korea convention. We are all looking forward to welcoming you and making your trip our very special gift that goes far beyond your expectations. Read more...
The Rotary Club of Sunshine Coast Sechelt held a successful public event on Friday, December 4, 2015. Rotarians and the general public were invited to hear about Rotary’s work on polio eradication. Polio survivor Ramesh Ferris spoke the more than 150 people who attended the event. Read more...
Videos of all presentations and a report with text of presentations is now available for the very successful Rotary Day of Dialogue organized by District 5040 on November 21, 2015 at the Wosk Centre in Vancouver. Read more...
We are pleased to announce that Rotarian Tim Cawdell has agreed to take on the position of District Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) chairperson. Tim is a member of the Rotary Club of Quesnel, is currently the Assistant Governor for the Rotary Clubs in the Cariboo region consisting of Quesnel, Williams Lake and 100 Mile House. Tim has been an RLI Facilitator for two years and has been in Rotary since 1987. Read more...
This is a video annual report from the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunset. The club works closely with the Interact clubs they sponsor. The club also uses Rotary Foundation district and global grants effectively. The video shows the wide range of projects the club and their Interact partners support. Read more...
Rotary has designated December as Disease Prevention and Treatment Month. The month includes World Aids Day, The International Day of Disabled Persons, The U.N. International Volunteers Day and Human Rights Day. As Rotarians we know the importance of preventing and eradicating disease in the world. Our efforts against polio span some 30 years and we are on the brink of sealing the deal. I want to acknowledge your generosity 
towards our Foundation. The funds donated by Rotarians in 5040 have enabled mothers to give birth in clean surroundings, families to access safe drinking water, children to be vaccinated against polio, and the introduction of farming techniques that will produce food and prevent malnutrition. Our gifts are well rewarded, whether from the smile of child with a corrected cleft palate or a hug from an old man with new glasses. Without your support our charity could not do its work. Thank You!
Congratulations to Darcy Long our District Governor for 2018-19. Darcy and her husband, Doug, have been members of the Rotary Club of Sunshine Coast-Sechelt since 2006. She has served her club and the district on many committees including co-chair of the Permanent Fund and is a Major Donor to the Foundation. Darcy was president of her club in 2009/10 the year it was named District 5040 Club of the Year. She has much to contribute and will be a great asset to all of us in this new leadership role. We look forward to working with you Darcy.
Much credit should be given for the success of the Rotary Day of Dialogue to the great work done by co-chair Chris Offer and North Vancouver’s Kevin Evans who moderated the event. Over 100 Rotarians from District 5040 and six other districts took part together with staff from Rotary International, Zone 24 coordinators, Rotaractors and Interactors.
A highlight of our year has been visiting the clubs, inducting new members and presenting awards to deserving and generous Rotarians. This month, however we have had to say good-bye to two of our long time Vancouver clubs, the Rotary clubs of Quadra and Vancouver South. It is so sad to see them go after years of Rotary service to their communities and beyond. I attended the ‘last luncheon’ of the Vancouver South club that was full of memories and many accolades. The good news is that all the members have chosen a new club and Arbutus and Yaletown are the major 
beneficiaries. While our membership has been growing steadily, there are some spikes worth noting. Earlier this month I had the privilege of inducting five new members into the Bowen Island Club and mid January I am scheduled to do the same at the Richmond Club. I am hoping to be invited back to Squamish in the New Year to induct the ‘hordes’ they have waiting in the wings!!
It is hard to imagine that we are half way through this Rotary year. We have finished our club visits and met some wonderful people. Our attention now turns to the Foundation Dinner on January 30th and the Whistler Conference at the end of April, both of which are guaranteed to be gala events. To date we have 230 Rotarians registered for the conference and all but three clubs represented. A parallel youth conference will be held at the HI Whistler Youth Hostel and both interact and youth exchange students will join us at the conference on the Saturday. For those not yet registered, we don’t want you to miss out, nor do we want you to pay too much, so we urge you to check out the website and register before the early bird closes on January 15th.
At this time of year, our thoughts go out to family and friends. We often refer to Rotary as a family and our clubs have been busy with youth programs, seniors lunches, delivering hampers, driving for Operation Rednose, doing Breakfast with Santa, staging concerts and organizing Christmas parties. President Ravi has asked us to ‘Be a Gift to the World’ and in this gift-giving season, let us continue to forge the bonds of friendship and work together to build peace in our communities and throughout the world. However you celebrate 
these holidays Claire and I extend our best wishes to you all and hope that you are able to relax and take some time for yourselves and those you love. We look forward to working with you all in the New Year as we strengthen our Rotary family and reach out to those we serve.
