The Don Funk Memorial Award event was held on Thursday, November 17 at the Phoenix with approximately 70 members and guests in attendance from the 3 Abbotsford Rotary clubs. Ken Funk inspired all in attendance with his heart-felt presentation on Rotaplast. Thank you Ken! The recipients of the Don Funk Memorial Award (Rotarian-of-the-Year) were: Ralph Payne (Abbotsford-Sumas RC), Raj Patara (Abbotsford-Matsqui RC) and Ron Kelly (Abbotsford RC). Ron will be awarded a Paul Harris Fellow for this honour. The following are the words spoken by President Sara about Ron, before he was presented a plaque from our club:
Ron became a member of our club in 1992. He was fast-tracked to president for the 1995-96 year. He later found the role made for him and has been the Director of Foundation for as long as anyone can remember.
Ron is a quiet and steady supporter of club activities and programs. Without recognition or fanfare, Ron steps up to do his share of front desk duties and manning his Hole-in-One shifts and other activities the club is involved in. I don’t know if I’d be so eager after 25 years.
But this recognition came to me for Ron’s contribution to the club as our tireless foundation chair. The month of November (foundation month) is his, where he educates and engages club members to think beyond themselves to give financially to the Rotary Foundation.
A PHF +8, pennies away from major donor status, Ron, or “Captain Foundation” as I’m calling him, not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. Ron has inspired us to achieve Every Rotarian Every Year status for a number of years and, along with the president, sets ambitious goals for our giving. Our club has contributed over $335,000 to the Rotary foundation, and I am prepared to give credit to “Captain Foundation” for that.
Ron, thank you for your contribution to Rotary. You are a stellar Rotarian, so very deserving of the Don Funk Memorial Award. In the words of Alan Hougen, our recipient from last year: “Ron, your commitment to the Rotary Foundation is what we should recognize as your legacy”. Well done. Well deserved.
The 3 Abbotsford Rotary Club Presidents Lay Wreath at Remembrance Day Ceremony
President Sara attended the Remembrance Day Ceremony at Thunderbird Square on November 11 and placed the wreath at the cenotaph with the other Abbotsford RC presidents: Mike Welte (Abbotsford-Matsqui RC) and Tom McMillan (Abbotsford-Sumas RC).
Please be reminded that there will be no lunch meeting on Dec. 20 or 27.
Rotary Club of Abbotsford celebrates Holiday Cheer Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 6 pm at the Phoenix with our "Mix and Mingle" cocktail-style Christmas party. Bring a guest and have some fun. $10 per person (thanks Sergeant's Fund for covering most of the costs!)
The Rotary Club of Abbotsford had a packed house on Tuesday as cheques were presented to 4 of the 5 community charities being awarded funding to help support local initiatives that will benefit children, youth and seniors in Abbotsford. This support is made possible thanks to the Rotary Club of Abbotsford’s annual Million Dollar Hole-in-One event held this past June.
“A total of $15,000 dollars is now being given back to the community with acknowledgement and thanks to the many wonderful sponsors, donors, volunteers and participants who supported this year’s Hole-in-One event in being such a great success and it brings me great joy to present funding to these 5 community organizations on behalf of our Rotary Club” expressed President Sara Lawson.
President Sara went on to say “These 5 recipients are examples of the tremendous people in Abbotsford who are adding value to people’s lives, every day, and that is something our club supports whole-heartedly! Keep up the amazing work that you are doing in our community!”
Charity Recipients are as follows:
Abbotsford Youth Commission received $2700 for a youth led, youth driven ‘Empathy Project’ aimed at developing leadership skills and promoting one of Character Abbotsford’s 6 character values Empathy with a goal of creating a more safe and caring community for all.
Emmanuel Free Reformed Church was awarded $1800 for an on-site Automatic External Defibrillator to be available at community and church based events being held each week at their church. An important piece of equipment that can help save people’s lives!
Abbotsford Arts Council received $1300 to purchase trophies for the recipients of the annual Arty Awards as they seek to inspire and honour local artistic endeavors.
Fraser Valley Health Care Foundation was awarded $4200 for the purchase of falls mats for residents in both the Cottage and Worthington Pavilions, Senior Residential Care Facilities.
An additional $5,000 is being set aside to be matched by a Rotary District Grant for Prince Charles Elementary PAC to fund a portion of the purchase and installation of new inclusive playground equipment at their school. Stay tuned for updates on this project.
This year, the Abbotsford Rotary club will be volunteering for Operation Red Nose on Friday Dec 9. Service for Operation Red Nose is a club approved community service event. It counts as club attendance and also provides all participating club members with the valuable Presidential Pardon Certificate (also known as the Get out of Paying the Sgt. wallet card). If you are unable to volunteer on Dec 9 but choose to volunteer with Operation Red Nose on another night, your volunteer time will be counted.
This is always a fun evening and a great way to give back to our community while getting to know other Rotarians.
Please email Bruce Beck DIRECTLY at bbb1771@shawbiz.ca to confirm your availability and preferred date( s ). Volunteers are required to complete paperwork before they can participate.
We will be upgrading our membership database from 3-5 December 2016. Due to the size and scope of this effort, parts of Rotary.org and My Rotary will not be available during this time. This includes most features requiring login, such as:
Registering for convention
Running reports
Accessing grant information
Using Rotary Club Central
Making contributions
Finding a club via Club Finder
News and content will still be accessible.
We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. If you have additional questions, please contact rotarysupportcenter@rotary.org.
Since the launch of Rotary Global Rewards on 1 July 2015, over 100,000 members have visited the site! We would like to thank you for supporting the program by spreading awareness of it among your district and clubs.
If you have not visited Rotary Global Rewards recently, we now have over 1,500 offers worldwide. We recommend using the member benefits program both locally and when you travel.
If you’d like to give discounts to other Rotarians, add your own company’s special offers to the growing portfolio of Rotary Global Rewards. To date, over 350 offers have been posted by Rotarians.
We have also added two new and exciting global travel offers, a hotel discount center and an airline discount center, which provide great discounts and give up to 10 percent of your purchase back to Rotary.
Clubs must qualify 2 people each year to be eligible to apply for Matching Grants. All Presidents-Elect MUST attend and one other club member.
February 11, 2017 - Bellingham Golf and Country Club - register here
ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE
March 4, 2017 - Surrey - registration will open January 23, 2017
DISTRICT MEMBER SEMINAR
January 28, 2017 - Fox Hall, Hampton Inn, Bellingham - register here
DISTRICT CONFERENCE
May 4 - 7, 2017 - Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel -
further details and registration can be found here.Activities have been added on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Cheer on the Mariners with your fellow Rotarians on Thursday evening (additional cost).
Tour the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation facility Friday morning prior to the formal start of the conference. Further details for these events and other news can be found on the District website and in the Peace Arch Journal
Rotary International continues to work on branding and communication of our organization throughout the world. They are pushing for greater exposure within the press, radio, television and social media.
To this end, we would like to encourage all members to participate, with contribution, on our social media sites.