Greetings and congratulations on completing the first seasonal round of the 2023-2024 Rotary year! As your District Governor, I had the honour of starting my club visits in September in the Northwest, Cariboo and Prince George where my heart was filled with amazing stories of service, resilience, and ingenuity!! From lunches with Elders, to amazing community gardens, to a one of a kind rock climbing wall, to community auctions, to fall fairs, and heart felt Paul Harris awarding and inductions of new members in our Rotary family. So grateful for ALL you ALL do to create hope in the world.
At the Learning to Lead Conference in Toronto September 26 to October 1st our District 5040 was awarded a Zone Membership Award for a +5 NET growth for 2022-2023. I also had the opportunity to speak hard truths in the safe space Rotary has created in its pursuit of inclusion, diversity, equity, access and belonging. (IDEA B) about Truth and Reconciliation in Canada. I asked us all to commit to listen, to learn, to understand and then to work with. So much gratitude for all the work being done across our District that is creating a different conversation, a new story, If you are curious to learn more - reach out I am always happy to share and discuss ideas of how we collectively move forward in a good way. This month World Polio Day - October 24th - will see a proclamation in Vancouver, a walk-a-thon, and the lighting up of Science world - to find out more click HERE. Please share what you are doing for Polio in your club or community with us so we can celebrate all our collective efforts to make our promise to the children of the world a reality - we are literally this close!
I am looking forward to spending the next 10 weeks in the lower mainland! See you all those of you there soon :)
Shirley-Pat
Shirley-Pat Chamberlain
Rotary District 5040 Governor