The Rotary Club of Abbotsford is pleased to announce the installation of Milt Walker as President for the 2020-2021 Rotary year effective July 1st.
The Rotary Club of Abbotsford is pleased to announce the installation of Milt Walker as President for the 2020-2021 Rotary year effective July 1st. Past President Bruce Beck passed the hat and gavel to Milt on June 26th.
Milt joined Rotary in May 2010 and has served in various capacities since then. He recently retired from his role as Executive Director of the Kinghaven Peardonville House Society here in Abbotsford.
He is an active member of the community and served as the Board Chair for The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford, as a member of the City of Abbotsford Parks Recreation and Culture Commission and as a member of the City of Abbotsford Social Development Advisory Committee.
Milt has been a resident of Abbotsford for over 30 years. He is happily married to Rita and is the proud grandfather of four grandchildren.
In his spare time he is a "duffer golfer".
“I look forward to serving the members of the Rotary Club of Abbotsford for the coming year as we continue in our efforts to raise funds to support local, nation and international initiatives during this unique and challenging pandemic year", states Milt.
Also inducted to the Board of Directors were: Doris Woodman-McMillan; Chris Oliver; Amy Badesha (not pictured); Deanna McIntyre; Marion Keys; Dave Loewen; Rod Thomson; Les Squire and Bruce Beck as Past President.
As we begin the new Rotary Year, we have so much to look forward to that will be exciting and challenging, unique and perhaps unprecedented but as stalwart and dedicated Rotarians we will rise to the occasion.
Given that we are functioning during a pandemic we are unsure about a number of things but never unsure about the resilience and dedication of our Rotarian pledge of service above self.
Your board of directors has set a number of goals for the year (more on this in coming weeks); we plan to expand to two Blueberry sales events during the year and we hope to have a number of dynamic, interesting and thought-provoking speakers to get you all thinking.
Holger Knaack, the new President of Rotary International, has chosen as his theme for the year “Rotary Opens Opportunities”. One opportunity that I am personally pursuing is to create a more collegial and inclusive relationship with the two other Abbotsford Rotary Clubs. This will hopefully “open opportunities” for combined fellowship meetings (even via Zoom) and the potential for additional fundraising events. The first meeting of the three club presidents is to take place this week.
This year we celebrate our 70th year as a club and there is much to be proud of in our 7-decade history. Here are a few historical facts:
The 1st president of the club was Bergie Thorsteinsson, who, on May 17th, 1950 was presented with the club charter by District Governor and New Westminster Club member Tobi Jackson in front of 350 fellow Rotarians. This made the Rotary Club of Abbotsford the 7,495th club to be chartered by Rotary International. The first official meeting was held May 24th, 1950 and Rotarwrites started the same year.
The Abbotsford International Airshow was started by the club with the first show being held August 11-12, 1962 with an admission charge of 50 cents.
For many years our club ran the Festival of Carols.
In 1985 the Abbotsford-Matsqui Rotary Club was sponsored by our club with former Mayor George Peary as its first president. I was honored to attend (via Zoom) the inauguration of this year’s president Kelly Meade and was able to join in as they began the celebrations of their 35th year as a vibrant Rotary Club.
While we have accomplished much, but there is still much to do moving forward.
In closing may I say I am truly humbled and honored to serve as your president this year and look forward to working with the board and each member as we all move forward and Open Opportunities.
This week Anna Mathewson, Director, Environmental Services, of the City of Abbotsford, will speak about the new Waste Management Plan to be "rolled" out in the spring.
If you have any suggestions for a speaker, please send them to Marion Keys at mmkeys@shaw.ca or call at 604-308-0406.
To join the Zoom meeting:
1) If you have not already done so, you must download zoom to your computer or mobile device before logging in to the meeting download here: https://zoom.us/download
2) When you log into the meeting anytime after 11:30 Tuesday your microphone will be muted until the moderator accepts you as a member.
3) The meeting is password-protected to stop unwanted interference (Zoom Bombing)
4) The first 30 minutes will be open to all for conversation, the meeting will begin at 12:00 noon.
5) Look for the “Chat” button on your screen to converse with the group or select individual members for your comments. Remember that your comments may be made public after the meeting has concluded, even those between individual members.
6) If you do not have computer capability you may dial in for audio only: see the number below.
Time: October 6, 2020 11:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Ballots for the Big Dream Launch were emailed to you on Tuesday, July 7 with instructions for their return by July 20 and the criteria to be considered. The results are anticipated to be announced by the end of July.
It is now time for each member to decide which project you are willing to support with your time and fundraising efforts. If you are not passionate about any of the projects, you may vote for the club to keep looking for other options.
If you missed any of the presentations or want to re-watch the recordings, here again are the links:
District 5050 forming a working group to address DEI
The District is committed to assisting clubs to increase membership, better reflect their communities, and ensure there is understanding of what is meant by Rotary's commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Towards this end, the District is forming a DEI Working Group. If you are interested in working on these issues please contact Lindagene Coyle at lindacoyle5050@gmail.com
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.
The link for the NEW District 5050 Facebook is: www.facebook.com/rotary5050/
Spread the message and good works of Rotary with your network by connecting with the Club and posting your contributions and sharing our posts. Your efforts could reach a potential new member, a new sponsor or partner. Don't keep Rotary a secret - talk it up!