District Conference 2009 & Rotarian of the Year from Ladner
Posted by Mike Storey
Leo Nimsick & Diana, Larry & Denise Pretty, Chu Wu, Mike & Kathy Storey attended the District Conference this year. We started the conference by joining other Rotarians at the Victoria Golf Club
For the annual District Conference Golf Tournament. Leo acted as Aide to Lieutenant Governor Steven Point who joined us on the golf course and hosted our group Friday evening at Government House. After the golf tournament, we enjoyed a gourmet meal while prizes were handed out (Leo's foursome cleaned up at the prize table). Later that evening, we all met at the Bengal Lounge at the Empress for martinis. Odd Eisvik of the Prince Rupert Club had lots of stories old and new for us, and he did a great job of encouraging all of us to join him at next year's District Conference in Prince Rupert. We were also joined by some Tsawwassen Rotarians and new friends from the Steveston Rotary Club and the Vancouver Rotary Club. That ended the first day of the conference.
On Friday, the program began with opening ceremonies welcoming Rotarians to the conference with the Parade of Flags (youth exchange students carried their countries flags into the theater area). Then the Honorable Iona Campagnolo spoke to us on her experiences: Life as a Public Servant in a Changing World. She spoke about volunteerism, life in small and large BC communities, and her path of social justice, human rights and respect for the environment. She was thanked with a standing ovation.
Nancy Nikolai led her team in Session #2 and they spoke about the Netza Project. This group of Rotarians, also knows as the Amigos, have been going to the west coast of Mexico for several years. A group of 12 Canadian Rotarians and spouses came to Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa to learn more about the needs of the Netzahuatcoyotl Indigenous School.
Two Vancouver area club participated in this trip - with most from the Royal City New Westminster Rotary Club, and a couple from the Burnaby Rotary Club. With the generosity of El Tamarindo Residence in Zihua - the group was able to stay together, meet with local clubs and visit the Netza school, as well as other schools with great needs. The Canadians brought with them kits for each of the dormitory kids of the Netza school - kits with shampoos, towels, toothpaste, toys, crayons, books, soaps, and more.
It was during one of these tours that the group was shown a mountain top pre-school that had a student enrollment of 35 but nothing but a dirt floor and no furnishing whatsoever. The group learned that recent Mexican legislation had made 3 years of pre-school education obligatory - but that the buildings and equipment to fulfill this challenge not yet in place in all areas - especially in the poor areas of the state of Guerrero. So the Canadian group of twelve along with several members from the Ixtapa Tercer Milenio Rotary Club (3rd Millenium) took the volunteer teacher with them shopping. The building that on the Friday of the first visit had nothing but slap board walls and no doors or security - by Monday morning had painted walls, tables and chairs, blackboard and chalk, books and crayons, cupboards to store supplies, a lockable door and secure windows, and lots of happy faces. The two Rotary groups - the Canadians and the Mexicans, both pledged their support determined that this was just the beginning as there is much yet to do, and could not wait to meet again to see the new Tercer Milenio Kinder on solid footing in the near future.
Should any Rotary groups or others be interested in assisting with either of the aforementioned School projects (Netza Dormatory / Tercer Milenio Pre-school) which will be jointly administered by Canadian and Mexican Rotary Clubs under Matching Grant applications - further information can be received by emailing:
br> Nancy Nikolai Past President of the Royal City Rotary Club - New Westminster BC Canada nico@telus.net
Don Ohlgrun of Shelterbox Canada was the feature speaker during lunch. He explained that a Shelterbox is a large plastic box filled with a ten person tent and supplies for a family group to survive during a catastrophe. This includes a water purifier, cooking utensils, pots and pans, lights and heat source, cooking stove that runs on several types of fuel, tools and misc items that are needed.
During lunch, several club awards were announced including Mike Storey as Rotarian of the Year for District 5040.
Don and his wife Ann are committed to promoting Shelterbox in Canada. This world wide project is the largest global project of Rotary International and started in the year 2000 following the Asian tsunami. It started with Tom Henderson, coming up with an idea to use the Rotary network of contacts, to bring shelter and beds to people that have become homeless in disasters around the world. Since then, Shelterbox has sent out nearly 30,000 boxes to more than 30 countries worldwide, providing emergency accommodation for over 500,000 disaster victims. Walt Hayward, while on a cruise in Europe was watching CNN, and prominent coverage was givent to Shelterbox quick response to the Italian earthquake. Shelterbox had one of the people in Italy on vacation when the earthquake struck. An immediate request was made for 500 Shelterboxes and these boxes were shipped out and received in Italy, and set up in less than 24 hours. Shelterbox can and does respond extremely fast, making it a very effective operation. With the Rotary name, Shelterbox can go anywhere in world in the event of disaster. Visit www.shelterbox.ca for more information.
Richard Van Camp, storyteller and author of children's books, was the next speaker. He is a world reknowned storyteller and entranced the audience. His baby book, Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns was teh official selection of teh Books for babies and was given to every newborn in BC in 2008. Visit Richard at his website: www.richardvancamp.org
PDG Dean Rohrs then spoke on teh Refilwe Project, a multi club/multi district joint Rotary project about Saving the Orphans. The project is about building a dormitory in the Refilwe Community which is near the Lanseria Airport to the north of Johannesburg. The dormitory will house 40 boys on one floor and 40 girls on the other, with their guardians' quarters on each floor. There will be a connecting school building with 12 classrooms, including a library, a computer and skill-teaching centres, a cafeteria and a kitchen.
The Foundation Walk to raise funds for Polio Plus was held on the seawall around the harbour late afternoon.
The visit to Government House where Lt Gov Steven Point personally greeted each Rotarian. Lt Gov Steven spoke of his first experience with Rotary. While at work, he received a phone call from his daughter in Thailand. She was very ill and in the hospital. Steven and his wife made plans to immediately go to Thailand to help his daughter, but he did not know where the hospital was, he did not know Thailand at all. A friend of his happened to be in his office at the time, said he could help. His friend said he was a Rotarian and he knew people in Thailand. Steven accepted his offer of help. When Steven arrived at the Thailand airport, there were Rotarians to meet him. They took him directly to the hospital. They arranged for Steven to have a car and they arranged accommodation for Steven and his wife. The Rotarians made sure Steven, his wife and his daughter received all the help they needed. Steven has been grateful to Rotary for helping him in his time of need. It was an extremely touching story. We then enjoyed the rest of the evening with a variety of appetizers and drinks. Lt Gov Steven Point was available all evening to answer questions and have pictures taken.
Saturday was a continuation of great speakers and seminars including the Keynote address from RI Presidents Rep PDG Mark Wong, presentations from the GSE team from England and our outbound GSE team, presentation on next year's District Conference in Prince Rupert, Joan Toone speaking on her personal battle with polio and how important our Polio Plus Program is, a session with the Rotaract Youth Panel including Aaron Ottho, a Voices of Nature concert with the Governor's Gala Dinner to end the evening.
Sunday started off with the Memorial Service led by Dave Hamilton and Christine Magrega and a passing of the banner at brunch.
All in all, the District Conference was a great time where everyone could renew aquaintances and make new friends, hear the Rotary story from different perspectives and become rejuvenated. This is one of the most inspiring Rotary events that Rotarians can attend and everyone is encouraged to go to at least one District Conference. It strengthens your existing Rotary friendships and is just a whole lot of fun.
On Friday, the program began with opening ceremonies welcoming Rotarians to the conference with the Parade of Flags (youth exchange students carried their countries flags into the theater area). Then the Honorable Iona Campagnolo spoke to us on her experiences: Life as a Public Servant in a Changing World. She spoke about volunteerism, life in small and large BC communities, and her path of social justice, human rights and respect for the environment. She was thanked with a standing ovation.
Nancy Nikolai led her team in Session #2 and they spoke about the Netza Project. This group of Rotarians, also knows as the Amigos, have been going to the west coast of Mexico for several years. A group of 12 Canadian Rotarians and spouses came to Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa to learn more about the needs of the Netzahuatcoyotl Indigenous School.
Two Vancouver area club participated in this trip - with most from the Royal City New Westminster Rotary Club, and a couple from the Burnaby Rotary Club. With the generosity of El Tamarindo Residence in Zihua - the group was able to stay together, meet with local clubs and visit the Netza school, as well as other schools with great needs. The Canadians brought with them kits for each of the dormitory kids of the Netza school - kits with shampoos, towels, toothpaste, toys, crayons, books, soaps, and more.
It was during one of these tours that the group was shown a mountain top pre-school that had a student enrollment of 35 but nothing but a dirt floor and no furnishing whatsoever. The group learned that recent Mexican legislation had made 3 years of pre-school education obligatory - but that the buildings and equipment to fulfill this challenge not yet in place in all areas - especially in the poor areas of the state of Guerrero. So the Canadian group of twelve along with several members from the Ixtapa Tercer Milenio Rotary Club (3rd Millenium) took the volunteer teacher with them shopping. The building that on the Friday of the first visit had nothing but slap board walls and no doors or security - by Monday morning had painted walls, tables and chairs, blackboard and chalk, books and crayons, cupboards to store supplies, a lockable door and secure windows, and lots of happy faces. The two Rotary groups - the Canadians and the Mexicans, both pledged their support determined that this was just the beginning as there is much yet to do, and could not wait to meet again to see the new Tercer Milenio Kinder on solid footing in the near future.
Should any Rotary groups or others be interested in assisting with either of the aforementioned School projects (Netza Dormatory / Tercer Milenio Pre-school) which will be jointly administered by Canadian and Mexican Rotary Clubs under Matching Grant applications - further information can be received by emailing:
br> Nancy Nikolai Past President of the Royal City Rotary Club - New Westminster BC Canada nico@telus.net
Don Ohlgrun of Shelterbox Canada was the feature speaker during lunch. He explained that a Shelterbox is a large plastic box filled with a ten person tent and supplies for a family group to survive during a catastrophe. This includes a water purifier, cooking utensils, pots and pans, lights and heat source, cooking stove that runs on several types of fuel, tools and misc items that are needed.
During lunch, several club awards were announced including Mike Storey as Rotarian of the Year for District 5040.
Don and his wife Ann are committed to promoting Shelterbox in Canada. This world wide project is the largest global project of Rotary International and started in the year 2000 following the Asian tsunami. It started with Tom Henderson, coming up with an idea to use the Rotary network of contacts, to bring shelter and beds to people that have become homeless in disasters around the world. Since then, Shelterbox has sent out nearly 30,000 boxes to more than 30 countries worldwide, providing emergency accommodation for over 500,000 disaster victims. Walt Hayward, while on a cruise in Europe was watching CNN, and prominent coverage was givent to Shelterbox quick response to the Italian earthquake. Shelterbox had one of the people in Italy on vacation when the earthquake struck. An immediate request was made for 500 Shelterboxes and these boxes were shipped out and received in Italy, and set up in less than 24 hours. Shelterbox can and does respond extremely fast, making it a very effective operation. With the Rotary name, Shelterbox can go anywhere in world in the event of disaster. Visit www.shelterbox.ca for more information.
Richard Van Camp, storyteller and author of children's books, was the next speaker. He is a world reknowned storyteller and entranced the audience. His baby book, Welcome Song for Baby: A Lullaby for Newborns was teh official selection of teh Books for babies and was given to every newborn in BC in 2008. Visit Richard at his website: www.richardvancamp.org
PDG Dean Rohrs then spoke on teh Refilwe Project, a multi club/multi district joint Rotary project about Saving the Orphans. The project is about building a dormitory in the Refilwe Community which is near the Lanseria Airport to the north of Johannesburg. The dormitory will house 40 boys on one floor and 40 girls on the other, with their guardians' quarters on each floor. There will be a connecting school building with 12 classrooms, including a library, a computer and skill-teaching centres, a cafeteria and a kitchen.
The Foundation Walk to raise funds for Polio Plus was held on the seawall around the harbour late afternoon.
The visit to Government House where Lt Gov Steven Point personally greeted each Rotarian. Lt Gov Steven spoke of his first experience with Rotary. While at work, he received a phone call from his daughter in Thailand. She was very ill and in the hospital. Steven and his wife made plans to immediately go to Thailand to help his daughter, but he did not know where the hospital was, he did not know Thailand at all. A friend of his happened to be in his office at the time, said he could help. His friend said he was a Rotarian and he knew people in Thailand. Steven accepted his offer of help. When Steven arrived at the Thailand airport, there were Rotarians to meet him. They took him directly to the hospital. They arranged for Steven to have a car and they arranged accommodation for Steven and his wife. The Rotarians made sure Steven, his wife and his daughter received all the help they needed. Steven has been grateful to Rotary for helping him in his time of need. It was an extremely touching story. We then enjoyed the rest of the evening with a variety of appetizers and drinks. Lt Gov Steven Point was available all evening to answer questions and have pictures taken.
Saturday was a continuation of great speakers and seminars including the Keynote address from RI Presidents Rep PDG Mark Wong, presentations from the GSE team from England and our outbound GSE team, presentation on next year's District Conference in Prince Rupert, Joan Toone speaking on her personal battle with polio and how important our Polio Plus Program is, a session with the Rotaract Youth Panel including Aaron Ottho, a Voices of Nature concert with the Governor's Gala Dinner to end the evening.
Sunday started off with the Memorial Service led by Dave Hamilton and Christine Magrega and a passing of the banner at brunch.
All in all, the District Conference was a great time where everyone could renew aquaintances and make new friends, hear the Rotary story from different perspectives and become rejuvenated. This is one of the most inspiring Rotary events that Rotarians can attend and everyone is encouraged to go to at least one District Conference. It strengthens your existing Rotary friendships and is just a whole lot of fun.
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