Rotary International District 7090 United States - Canada “Best of Friends” District Karen L. Oakes, District Governor 2010-2011 1123 Charlotteville Road 5, Rural Route 2 SIMCOE, Ontario, Canada N3Y 4K1 Home (519) 426-2331/E-mail: oakes.kl@sympatico.ca www.rotary7090.org Ka ar re en n O Oa ak ke es s K June 16, 2011 District Governor oakes.kl@sympatico.ca Rotary E-Club of Southern Ontario, Canada and Western New York, USA Greetings President Liz, fellow Rotarians and guests. I am thrilled to be here with you this evening in voice and in spirit. I am so proud of your commitment to date in bringing this provisional club along this path. The dedication of your two (2) sponsor clubs (Amherst East and Fonthill) is noted with deep appreciation. The passion of each of you gathered together tonight will be the torch that you carry to bring this club to full charter. I know that we have a winner here with this offering of an E-Club and I look forward to your continued growth in membership and in Rotary Service. Perhaps many of you were able to attend the recent International Convention in New Orleans, and if so, I expect that you enjoyed the 102 nd Annual Convention. My life partner, Wolfgang Lindemann ( Wolfe) and I arrived in the city on May 20 th , 2011. One of the highlights of any International Convention is the good folks that you meet, and at the airport, we meet a lady Rotarian from Hawaii and we exchanged pleasant words together. Since returning home, her plans for next year’s International Convention have been shared with us via email and we look forward to seeing her again in Rotary Friendship. The House of Friendship opened mid-day on Saturday with a festive parade led by Rotary International President, Ray Klinginsmith. I will never see a sting of festive coloured beads again without being reminded of our good times in New Orleans. The beads hang everywhere as reminders of good times shared – on the necks of the visitors, from the branches of the trees, from the transmission lines above, in the swamps and on the buildings. Plenary sessions and workshops filled the next four days with the occasional Sounds of the South filling the conference center with jazz, blues and “Cowboy Logic” music. We visited the Rotary Book Store, and all the many licensed vendors displaying their Rotary wares, and we bought like children in a candy store. We feasted on the many culinary offerings in the French Quarter. And of course, we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the mighty Mississippi River. We had a wonderful Rotary experience! One of missions on this trip was to check out any workshops on ECLUBS. With that in mind, I first visited the Rotary E-Club booth of the southwest USA in the House of Friendship. The group shared with me that for so many of the members
there, this was their FIRST Chance to meet Face to Face. I share with you this quote from one of their handouts “The most successful E-Clubs from the pilot project used technology purely as an enabler; their focus was on service and fellowship, just like any traditional Rotary Club.” Subsequently, I attended a workshop on Bigger, Better, Bolder E-Clubs where many ideas were brought to the podium and discussed. I offer the following as some of my take away thoughts: Include Rotary Minute, and Rotary history in all meetings Members to commit to a minimum requirement of X hours per quarter to do local community service in their own area – provides profile for Rotary, personal satisfaction Attendance report – include breakdown of Avenues of Service hours Share personal stories based on Question of the week Mimic regular Rotary clubs – dedicate time each meeting to Announcements, speakers and publish a newsletter Engage District support – website, promote make-ups, retention potential, and publish articles in District newsletter And finally, consider adopting as the clubs’ key identifier one of the 6 Areas of Focus outlined in The Rotary Foundation’s mission, and an integral part of Rotary International’s Strategic Plan. For instance, a club may choose to be known as “Child & Maternal Health Care” Club. This approach serves to keep the club focused, and also, spreads the work of Rotary. The 6 Areas of Focus are: 1. Peace and Conflict Resolution 2. Disease Prevention/Treatment 3. Maternal and Child Health 4. Basic Education and Literacy 5. Economic and Community Development 6. Water and Sanitation In closing, I thank you for your consideration of Rotary service as an opportunity for others to share your time and your talents in good work. I wish each of you continued success in all your endeavors. Yours in Rotary Service Karen L. Oakes
Pictures from 2011 Rotary International Convention
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