I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer, as we recharge our batteries and get started on another great year in Rotary! Pat and I have really been enjoying the start to the year, meeting more of you at a variety of events, and of course looking forward to our District Governor visits to each Rotary and Rotaract club in the fall.
Having already broken our own record in District 5040 for Foundation giving in the past Rotary year for reaching US$1 million, as I reported last month, late endowments not included in that total has now taken us well over US$1.5 million US. Among the 500 Districts throughout the world, our District is one of the smaller ones, yet we ranked 30th in Foundation giving. That's a major achievement to celebrate. It indicates that many people in our District have regarded The Rotary Foundation as their charity of choice. Thank you so many of you for your generosity, donations big or small, in this year with its own special needs in our communities and our world.
The District 5040 Million Dollar Dinner is another opportunity to give to The Rotary Foundation when there is so much need where we can make a difference through our seven areas of focus. To attend the Dinner in Richmond on October 8, 2022, one needs to have donated or committed US$10,000 to the Foundation. You can find out more on the website. The Dinner will celebrate donations and hear from a couple of speakers, including Rotary International President 2020-21 Holger Knaack. The lead-up highlights things like bequests, multi-year commitments and stock or insurance donations which can have positive tax implications and are a terrific fit for people in a position to enjoy those advantages.
The Dinner isn’t for everyone. We also value and recognize other contributions at any level. What’s most important is to give something, and the US$25, to be part of EREY (every Rotarian every Year) is a great place to start.
Plans for the April 28 to 30, 2023 District conference, at the Pinnacle Hotel near the water in downtown Vancouver, are well underway. We had planned to hold our conference there in 2020, but had to cancel because of COVID. It has been many years since the conference has been held in Vancouver. Check it out through the District website. The early-bird registrations sold out quickly, but the rate until August 31 is only a little higher.
District Webmaster and Executive Assistant Governor Murray Wood has been dealing with health challenges and has taken leave. We hope to see him back soon, for his sake, and, in his absence, appreciate how much of a valuable contribution he makes. Fortunately Murray has been great at enabling people to deal directly with different parts of our website. For the time being, please contact District Governor Nominee, Drew Antrobus (dantrobus100@gmail.com) for any District website needs.
Clubs will soon receive a notice inviting applications for District Governor in the 2025–26 year. There will be an information session in September on what’s involved.
John
John Berry
District Governor 2022-23