jThe Rotary Club of Grand Bend hosted the District Governor and Club President Installation on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at Hessenland, with more than 100 Rotarians and guests present. Our Club is now proud to be the Home of the new District Governor, Martin Ward, and we have a banner to prove it.
Peter Phillips was the Master of Ceremonies for the evening, and true to his word he kept the meeting right on schedule.
 
After the meal, President Bob Kennedy addressed the club, thanking the members for all their hard work and heart-felt support, and then concluded by singing a few tuneful words of farewell.
 
Rotary Club of Grand Bend Service Awards for outstanding contributions were presented to:
Rotarian Randi Ivey
Rotarian Bryan Beattie
Rotarian Ed Fluter
Rotarian Peter Phillips
Rotary Friend Jackie Southcott
 
The meeting continued with the Installation ceremony as Bob Kennedy pinned Paul Turnbull as the new president of the Grand Bend Rotary Club.  Paul thanked Bob for his outstanding service, talked about the strengths of the Club, and outlined some new ideas for the coming year. He also pledged our Club’s support for the new District Governor, Martin Ward.
 
The Guest speaker was Past District Governor (D7080) Doug Vincent, who talked about District Governor Martin Ward’s theme for next year, “Embracing change.” Doug talked about the importance and necessity of embracing change by:
  • Understanding that we as Rotarians are the change
  • Being open to change
  • Developing a strategy and implementation program to make change happen
 
Doug was followed by the outgoing District Governor, Diane Chantler. Diane highlighted the achievements of the past year, with a focus on membership and support for the Rotary Foundation, which just celebrated its 100th anniversary. Past District Governor Dennis Dinsmore pinned Diane with the Past Governor Pin, and thanked Diane for her outstanding leadership.
 
Martin Ward was pinned and sworn in as District Governor by Past District Governor Dennis Dinsmore. In his address, Martin talked about Rotary’s epic fight to end polio, and the excitement of now being on the verge of polio free world. He looked to a future of change within Rotary, which he described as “throwing away the rulebook”. He also spoke to a new emphasis on environmental action, a challenge laid down by Rotary International President Ian Riseley. Symbolic of this move, every table included a centrepiece of white spruce seedlings for guests to take home and plant.
 
The evening ended with District Governor Diane Chantler adding a teddy bear to the traditional “District Governor Basket”, and the presentation of the portrait of Paul Harris to the new District Governor. In closing, The Grand Bend Rotary Club was presented with a banner reflecting our club as the Home of the District Governor.
 
Peter Phillips closed the evening right on time at 9:00 pm – a wonderful event and a very proud day in the life of our Club.