Board meeting with District GovernorPrior to the full member meeting, the Board met with District Governor Sonja Glass, and shared some of the Club’s activities and achievements. They included the Warner Preserve, Global Literacy, Autumn Indulgence, and in the future, support for a proposed community centre. Randi noted that there will soon be 19 female members, and a total of 57 members.
Member Meeting
- Sonja gave a fascinating presentation about her life in international service and as a Rotarian. Among the highlights:
- She and her husband Dave moved to Meaford in 1987 and Dave was immediately asked to join Rotary, but the timing wasn’t right.
- In 1994 they were asked to become host parents to Rotary exchange students, and subsequently hosted students from Belgium, Finland, Japan, Thailand, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Denmark.
- In 2016, Sonja was invited to become a member, and she and Dave joined as a couple. They involved the club in supporting the work in Tanzania.
- Dr. Gordon McInally, Rotary International President, has chosen as his theme for the year, “Create Hope in the World.”
- Many Rotary clubs struggled during and after Covid and are making changes to where and how often they meet, what activities they are doing, how to reduce costs for members, and how best to onboard members.
- Sonja suggested that when we're recruiting new members, we should ask “What can Rotary do for you?”
- Diversity, equity and inclusion is a big issue for many Rotary clubs – its important to ensure that the Club’s membership reflects the community and can therefore understand the community’s needs.
- Sonja and Dave have been working in Tanzania as part of a medical mission since 2014. The island they visit is home to more than 400,000 people, living on subsistence farming, fishing, and small business – they are very poor.
- The mission visits a different village each day, where they may find 600 to 700 people waiting to be seen, although they can only see about 350.
- To reduce the volume of patients, Dave and Sonja studied the data and realized that contaminated water was an issue. With the help of their son, they started working with communities to establish wells. There are now seven with two more going in shortly.
- In addition to reducing GI disease, the wells have reduced school dropout rates for girls (because they don’t need to spend as much time carrying water), gender-based violence, and resulting unwanted pregnancies.
- Evidence shows that life expectancy in Tanzania has increased from 45 years to more than 65 years in the last 50 years. The death rate for neonates and children under 15 has also fallen sharply.
- Sonja and the team are now looking at how to reduce the maternal death rate, which is much higher than in Canada.
- Sonja paid tribute to our club, noting that it has donated well over $500,000 to the Rotary Foundation. We have 35 current Paul Harris fellows, and have had 70 over time, and one Polio Plus member.
- The District strategic plan is available in the Documents section of the District 6330 Club Runner site.
- Among Sonja’s goals:
- More women in Rotary
- Each club to have a public image chair, membership chair and foundation chair (and we do!)
- A focus on the environment—there’s a chat room on the 6330 FB page to discuss ideas
- Diversity, equity and inclusion– now a committee in the district
- Visioning –the District is training 25 facilitators who will then help clubs develop strategic plans
- Sonja recommended that we look at the County’s safety and wellbeing plan to help make decisions about the big needs in our community.
- Sonja’s theme for the year is “plant a seed.”
- The district conference will be in Owen Sound in June, and will include a golf tournament at Cobble Beach and a banquet of Indigenous foods.
- She challenged the Club to provide one item for an auction at the conference, to raise money for polio.