With a little "help from a few friends," members of our Strathcona and King George Interact Clubs, and the District 5040 Interact Council hosted a very successful conference on Saturday March 10th at Britannia Secondary School.
Pictured above are some of the nearly 100 Interactors from across the province who participated in an engaging and energizing day of learning with speakers, presentations and workshops. Past District Governor and current District Youth Chair, John Berry provided this report of the event:
"Ron, I want add a note of huge appreciation to you, and to everyone else who contributed to making the day the terrific experience that it was. Your efforts in arranging the facility, handling all the logistics around the site, getting the pizzas sorted out in short order when plans had to change and working with your own club (and enlisting the capable and efficient Peter!) on the equipment, all were instrumental in the event's success.
Everyone on the District Interact Committee (whether on not you were "formally" a member!) was fantastic in pitching in as needed...I know it's just what we do in Rotary, but still, it is awe-inspiring to see that epitomizing People of Action!"
On March 6th, we were treated to a time management workshop from our fellow club member Danison Buan, who shared his experience and best practices. During the conversation, Danison shared a few of the ways that he manages five businesses, two charitable foundations, and serves on more than a dozen Committees and Boards, including, including the following tips:
Use Time Purposefully - Danison shared a weekly view of his calendar that showed each day planned in increments with specific tasks aligned to categorized priorities - excerpt pictured below.
Find the Apps that Work for You - Danison uses Trello for Task Management and Signal secure messaging system for Communication.
Make the Most of Golden Hours - preserve and maximize the time when you are most alert, focused, committed, and most motivated to be able to dive deep into your highest priorities.
Take Care of Yourself - some of Danison's key "Bio Hacks" for maintaining energy and well-being (especially when travelling and working globally) include quality vitamins, supplements, and intentionality re diet and sleep.
Read / Research and Use Mentors – seek out knowledge, make books a regular habit, and ask an expert (including other Rotarians) when you need advice, a sounding board or reinforcement about a topic or skill that is new to you.
Memento Mori “remember you must die” - treat time as a gift to set priorities and make your life purposeful.
Thanks you Danison for sharing your time, learning and wisdom with your fellow Rotarians!
On March 13th, Hoop-A-Thon guru Gary Chomyn challenged us to dust off our gym shoes and get ready to show off our signature basketball shots on April 20th at Strathcona Community Centre for the 2024 Rotary Strathcona Hoop-A-Thon.
Each year we ask for 100% participation from our club members through one or more of the following activities:
Sign up to shoot hoops on our club's team with Steve at searlanderson@hotmail.com
Congratulations to President Elect Mark Pinnell for receiving the Paul Harris Fellow +2 pin in March.
What's a Paul Harris Fellow you may wonder? Named after the Chicago businessman whose vision led to the formation of Rotary's original service club in 1905, this award recognizes any individual who contributes outright or cumulatively (or in whose name is contributed), $1000 or more to the Rotary International Annual Fund or PolioPlus. Recognition consists of a certificate and pin with stones corresponding to the recipient’s recognition amount as follows:
$2000 to 2999.99 - one sapphire
$3000 to 3999.99 - two sapphires
$4000 to 4999.99 - three sapphires
$5000 to 5999.99 - four sapphires
$6000 to 6999.99 - five sapphires
$7000 to 7999.99 - one ruby
$8000 to 8999.99 - two rubies
$9000 to 9999.99 - three rubies.
The global number of Paul Harris Fellows reached the 1 million mark in 2006. Thank you Mark for your gifts to advance the work of Rotary - you're one in a million!
Last month we reported on the winter service project undertaken by the King George and University Hill Interact Clubs to gather donations of socks for Vancouver Park Rangers. In the photo above are the University Hill Interactors with our club member Ranger Steve Anderson and his fellow rangers. And pictured below is a fellow Ranger providing socks to an individual in Stanley Park.
The purpose of the project is to assist unhoused people in parks who lack sufficient clothing to keep dry and clean during the cold and wet winter weather months. As front-line workers, rangers must find a balance between enforcement of by-laws and compassion for marginalized people they need to build relationships with.
Twelve park rangers distributed clothing to more than 20 unhoused people in parks throughout the city including: Stanley, Devonian, English Bay, Nelson, Sunset Beach, David Lam, Emery Barnes, Queen Elizabeth, and Braemar. Surplus items and child-sized jackets were donated to community social service organization Evelyne Saller Centre located in the Downtown Eastside. Beneficial work by all concerned!
The RYLA South (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) program returned in full force for close to 100 participants over the holiday weekend March 29 - April 1, 2024 at Camp Elphinstone on the Sunshine Coast. The program provides indoor and outdoor interactive workshops, team-building exercises, professional speakers, hands-on service projects and other fun activities for young people ages 16-18 - check it out here.
This year our club sponsored 8 high school students (4 Strathcona Interactors and 4 King George Interactors) who attended RYLA South this year and we look forward to hearing from some of them at a future meeting.
Special thanks to the hard work and commitment of our very own James Fox, District 5040 RYLA Chair, and Monica Lopez and Lucas Setek, RYLA South Co-Directors, who lead this great program and to members Andrew, Cam, and Steve for providing transportation for the kids to and from the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal.
