August heralds Membership and New Club Development Month, spotlighting the remarkable contributions of Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors, and all members of the Rotary family worldwide.
As I travel our district, I witness firsthand the unwavering dedication of Rotarians to community service. From innovative local initiatives to far-reaching global projects, our clubs are transforming lives daily.
Join me in celebrating Rotary
Showcase Rotary Pride: Share photos of your Rotary experiences on your social media accounts.
Since August is Membership and New Club Development Month I would like to share with you our District Membership Goals for 2024-2025
An 8% growth in membership for our District to bring membership to over 1700 Rotarians for our District.
A total of 100 Rotaractors by the end of our Rotary year.
Finish in the top three in Zone 28 in membership growth.
I also encourage everyone to wear their Rotary pin proudly because you never know, the next person you meet might make a great Rotarian.
A big thank you to Amanda of the Plattsburgh Noon Club for the great work she has done on our membership webpage. Please have a look and use some of the tools that Amanda has posted. I highly recommend the Club Health Check.
Transforming Your Club's Culture is a 10 minute video course with RI President Stephanie Urchick and Tom Gump. In it you will learn the key principles of a successful club culture and how to take action to transform your club to be more engaging, inclusive, and inviting, To view the video:
Corporate membership allows employees of a business, non-profit or government entity who want to be part of Rotary but are worried about having enough time to join a club as a group and to participate on each other’s behalf. OlinaTech Solutions is one corporate member finding RC West Ottawa a great fit.
"OlinaTech Solutions is a consultancy firm, with activities in Canada and around the world. It is our honor to join the Rotary community as a new Corporate member and to live up to its commitments of service, fellowship, diversity, integrity and leadership. We hope that can contribute to the Rotary organization both directly and to also encourage other corporate organizations in our network to help and contribute to Rotary activities and goals. Our company has diverse activities in many countries, and we look forward to leveraging these connections to successfully contribute to Rotary’s international projects in a meaningful way." - Vijay and Gina Dube
We’re proud of our history and traditions, but Rotary is also responsive to new ideas that will help us establish the innovative culture necessary for Rotary to thrive. Each club offers a unique experience, with different meeting formats and club models. Each club’s prospective members decide which kind of club would be best. And if yours is an already established club, consider reviewing your bylaws to see if changes would enhance your club experience and better serve your community. Just some of the possibilities:
Corporate: a club whose members work for the same employer.
Interest-based: a club that focuses on a particular interest or hobby.
Cause-based: a club that focuses its service efforts in a particular area/cause.
Service-based: a club that meets periodically for service projects, social events, or fundraisers.
Rotary alum-based: a club with a majority of members who are former Rotary program participants.
Rotary International provides a wealth of resources and strategies for Rotary clubs to strengthen our membership and enhance our members overall club experience. The Membership Resource webpage provides links to all these resources, including Learning Center courses, assessment tools, guides, and promotional materials. It emphasizes the importance of the club experience in member satisfaction and offers support through various Rotary channels for implementing these strategies.
[Editor's note: This is a very detailed report of the event with many reference links. Please click "Read more..." for the full story.]
The 47th annual Mayor's Cup Regatta & Festival, organized by Sunrise Rotary, took place on July 6, 2024, in Plattsburgh, NY, attracting over 1,000 attendees. The event featured a variety of activities including a regatta with 45 registered boats, a 5K race, children's fun run, and sandcastle contests. New additions this year included a Parrots & Pirates Poker Run/Walk and a Paddle Power Palooza boat parade. The festival raised approximately $18,000 for community projects, and showcased local talent with a logo design contest in partnership with CV-TEC. The day concluded with the presentation of the "Spirit of Ianelli" Award to Mike Collin, recognizing his community contributions. This annual event celebrates Lake Champlain and summer in the North Country while supporting various local initiatives.
The Environment Committee would like to hear what your club has been doing in this newest area of focus for Rotary – whether it’s a new initiative as shown in the photo here as Kingston Rotarians deposit the first alkaline battery into new outdoor battery collection bins or something you’ve adopted even before the environment became the 7th area of focus. We’d love to showcase your efforts so that these great ideas can germinate throughout our district. Please email your project description and a photo or two to Jenn Grisi. Thank you.
Variant type 2 poliovirus (VDPV) has been confirmed in the Gaza Strip. Virus was isolated from six environmental (sewage) samples, collected from two different collection sites in two sub-regions within Gaza, collected on 23 June 2024.
The origin of the isolated viruses is being investigated. It is important to note that virus has been isolated from the environment only at this time; no associated paralytic cases have been detected.
The first of our three undergraduate courses in the 'gold standard' for Leadership & Personal Development in Rotary is at the Best Western in Cornwall (ON) on Saturday the 17th. It’s a full day, beginning at 7:30am with a light breakfast, including an off-the-menu lunch, all materials (sent electronically) and interactive, fun atmosphere. All sessions are free. Register here.
The Action Zone Summit September 17-22 in Toronto will provide an abundance of learning and inspiration for current and past district leaders, young professionals and future leaders.
Count down to the Calgary International Rotary Convention June 2025. Great opportunity to meet Rotarians from around the world. Register today if you have not done so yet.
The District 7040 bulletin is now published in English and French. You received this edition because English is the official language of your club. If you would also like to receive the French version, click here to send a request to the editor Martha Weaver.
.jpg){kind=logo}
