Notes from the Rotary Meeting 12.30pm Thursday, October 24, 2024 with thanks going to Rotarian Linda for writing the following report.

President Jackie chaired the meeting.

Because of the number of attendees, a Round Table type of discussion was held, with all members participating in fairly lively discussions. There was no new club business. Rotarian Verbon introduced our guest speaker, Jeff Goodyear. Assistant District Governor for the Central -Western-Labrador Region of NL.

The main theme of Jeff’s talk was the importance of individual clubs feeling that they are a part of a larger entity, a family. A family here to assist local clubs in any way. He spoke about resources available to local clubs including the virtual monthly President’s Meeting and the potential for break out sessions on various. topics as required. For example, recruitment and retention of members was identified as a concern for most clubs and warranted further attention. (Questions arose regarding a Masters Thesis undertaken by a Rotarian from Halifax some years ago; Jeff promised to follow-up and report back on this study) Interestingly, at the June 2024 district meeting held in St. Pierre, our district, 7815, was noted to be on the rise. Further, the St. Pierre district meeting was described as fabulous by attendees!  

Resources available to all clubs were identified by Jeff and included Kevin Armstrong (Engagement), Wayne Thompson, and Don Sword (Foundation). The possibility of virtual meetings with our club was explored and was found to be lacking. For now, PDF files will be forwarded. Jeff reported that lots of work has been done to ClubRunner and to the Rotary International sites to make access easier. Holly Thompson and Candace Boone were identified as experts in this area Jeff once again stressed that the District Leadership Team list is available and that team members are more than willing to be of assistance in any manner deemed appropriate.

Upcoming fund-raising events were shared including a Polio event and wine tasting in Grand Falls Windsor, a Gala and Auction in Gander, an 0nline Auction in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and ongoing support for an international project in Labrador that will see the purchase of the ‘next generation’ dialysis equipment for a state-of-the-art Training and Treatment Centre. Regarding the latter, discussion followed on the potential for small clubs as members of the ‘larger Rotary Family’. 

President Jackie gave an overview of our club’s fundraising activities over the years, up to and including our current Toonie Quest. She acknowledged that while the Toonie Quest was very. labor intensive it was sustainable and that there is no appetite for future auctions. A list of current activities benefiting from our club was also shared including the Rotary Arts Centre, the Sea Cadets, Post-secondary and Music Festival Scholarships, the Hospital Foundation, Xavier House, etc.  A discussion followed on the possibility of writing an article for the Canadian Rotary Magazine regarding our experience with Xavier House. Jackie thanked Jeff for visiting our club and extended an open invitation for future visits