Marco Polo of Rotary – Submitted by Badar Shamim, Rotary Brampton
James Wheeler Davidson can be considered as the “Marco Polo of Rotary”. A member of the Rotary Club of Calgary in 1914, he was named as “Rotary’s Ambassador Extraordinary”. Davidson was the man behind Rotary’s growth in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Syria and then British India. Badar adds, “It’s mind blowing to think that Calcutta, India has been a part of Rotary International family for a hundred years, and that Rotary Lahore will be a hundred years old in 7 years, and is 13 years older than RC Brampton!”
Congratulations to the 44 clubs in District 7080 who have successfully continued to meet online as they have not been able to meet in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many clubs are reporting a higher attendance rate which is great news! The provision of Zoom licenses by the District to each cluster has greatly facilitated this online activity, both at the club and cluster levels. We must remember that it is still a requirement for clubs to meet, and especially important for us to carry on the work of Rotary during this time when the community needs us the most.
On 19 April 1868, Rotary founder Paul Harris was born in Racine, Wisconsin, USA.
March 30, 2020
Dear Rotarians,
In every corner of the world, it seems that not a single person or community is unaffected by COVID-19. You may be wondering how to stay focused on our work eradicating polio when we are dealing with a pandemic caused by a virus for which there is not yet a vaccine — a situation similar to what the world faced with the poliovirus not so long ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic response requires worldwide solidarity and an urgent global effort. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), with thousands of polio workers and an extensive laboratory and surveillance network, has a moral imperative to ensure that these resources are used to support countries in their preparedness and response.
In every corner of the world, it seems that not a single person or community is unaffected by COVID-19. You may be wondering how to stay focused on our work eradicating polio when we are dealing with a pandemic caused by a virus for which there is not yet a vaccine — a situation similar to what the world faced with the poliovirus not so long ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic response requires worldwide solidarity and an urgent global effort. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), with thousands of polio workers and an extensive laboratory and surveillance network, has a moral imperative to ensure that these resources are used to support countries in their preparedness and response.
Some parts of an in-person meeting don't work well online. Develop your meeting content to eliminate or reformat activities that are best done face-to-face.
Keep things interesting by minimizing presentation length and maximizing discussion. Include polls, open Q&A, practice sharing - anything that focuses attention on the content and each other.
To: All Rotary and Rotaract Club Presidents, Presidents’ Elect, Club Secretaries
CC: D7080 Council, D7080 Committee Chairs, D7080 Assistant
March 16th, 2020
The COVID-19 situation is evolving hourly. Today, government and medical advisors are asking all Canadians to take stronger measures to contain the spread of the virus. We've been advised that we can flatten the curve of coronavirus by taking further disciplined steps to protect ourselves, our families and our communities by not only being more mindful of hand hygiene, but also through social distancing and voluntary isolation.
We are therefore asking all clubs to suspend all in-person meetings and events for at least 3 weeks from today, or until further notice. It’s time to adopt alternative meeting options that will allow us to stay connected until this virus situation abates.
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Comment
Here are some options available to you for club and committee meetings. RI President Mark Maloney is encouraging all of us to use our discretion when it comes to club and district meetings and events, including Rotary programs and activities. Canceling or postponing in-person meetings or Rotary-related travel may be appropriate in light of club-specific circumstances. Even if events are held as scheduled, some members may choose to not take part.
In either event, we should all be thinking in terms of how to use this time to stay connected to Rotary, to our fellow club members and even of ways to serve our clubs and our communities. While we are living in challenging times, the hallmark of Rotary has always been rising to challenge after challenge.
Date: March 12, 2020
To: All Rotary and Rotaract Club Presidents
CC: Assistant Governors
We have been closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation for the past few weeks. Given yesterday’s announcements from the World Health Organization, the Government of Canada, Government of the USA, and leading medical professionals, the D7080 Governor Team (G-Team) have decided to postpone all in-person district events that have been scheduled for the remainder of this Rotary year. This includes DA/CLT, RLI, RYLA, District Team Training, Presidents meetings, Council meetings and the District Conference.
What a terrific photo of the 25 members who started the Rotary Club of Guelph in February 2020. Research shows that Rotary Guelph was the first club to charter in District 7080. Thomas Funk, a member of Rotary Guelph is currently writing a book of the club’s first 100 years. We look forward to a great read!
The third 2019–20 RI Board of Directors meeting was held on 27–29 January 2020 at Rotary International World Headquarters in Evanston, IL USA. At this meeting, the Board reviewed nine committee reports and recorded 39 decisions.
“Rotary is not just a club that you join, it is an invitation to endless opportunities. The theme for 2020-2021 is -- Rotary Opens Opportunities". President-elect Holger Knaack
Borders News is published monthly and contains articles of interest to Rotary leaders. Regular features include reports of significant events in the Zones, appointments of Rotarians to Zone and Rotary International committees and task forces, outstanding project reports and stories of interest to Rotarians across the two Zones.
