Rotary district governor stops in city on tour

The Melfort Rotary Club had a special visitor at their meeting last Tuesday, July 26.

District governor Eva Vida of Winnipeg is touring the area visiting local Rotary Clubs.

The visit was part of the annual tour of the district, which is made up of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the northwest part of Ontario.

The visit helps bring focus to what Rotary does, both nationally, internationally and locally.

"What we are looking at is eliminating Polio. What is new is we have had an opportunity for the Gates Foundation to come on board and the Gates Foundation has provided a substantial amount of money," Vida said.

"I think the total amount is $355 million form the Gates Foundation and we need to come up with as Rotarians the first challenge was $100 million and the second challenge was $200 million. As of June 30 Rotarians have raised $182 million of the required $200 million. We are this close."

As far as the fight against Polio goes, Rotary is into the hardest part of that battle.

What is left in the world are some of the hardest places to reach due to conflicts going on including locations like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and India.

However, Vida was pleased to report that as of June 30 there were no new cases of Polio in India in the past five months.

"It is a tremendous accomplishment. When you think of the population it is phenomenal," she said.

Closer to home, Rotary Clubs work in their local communities and she is encouraging them to do a needs assessment and have the community tell them what they need most.

There are many areas that Rotary Clubs are involved in.

"Going across the district there are clubs that support hospitals, hospices, they work on beautifying the area with trails and parks, play structures for children, also focused on literacy within our own areas," Vida said.

"There may be some schools that (children) don't get the nutrition that they need before going to school and be effective in learning so Rotary will provide a breakfast program in schools like that."

They are also looking to increase membership in local clubs as well.

In Melfort the club is holding around 30 members.

Vida said Rotary Clubs are looking at ways of attracting new, younger members.

"The average citizen might be used to a club that meets and lunch or dinner time and we are looking at a meeting called e-clubs, targeting the younger generation that is looking to contribute to the local community and the world in general and giving them an avenue to do that," Vida said.

"We are looking for different formats as well where it may not be a lunch club, but maybe a bagged lunch or maybe a coffee meeting or other alternatives that we are looking at is clubs made up of younger families that could provide a day care facility for kids so parents can come to the meeting and some one will be responsible for running the day care portion. We are looking how to meet the needs of the younger generation."

Locally Vida said the Melfort Rotary Club is doing a fantastic job.

"I think it is important to remember that it is a small group of dedicated people making sure that the community continues to function well. Anyone that is interested in checking out what they do they should certainly contact the Rotary Club."

The Melfort Rotary Club meets every Tuesday over lunch hour at the Melfort Travelodge and president Wayne Claggett encourages anyone interested to come by.

The club recently participated in the Canada Day festivities and the parade. They are planning a pancake breakfast to help raise money for the women's shelter going up in Melfort. There are also plans for an Africa Night in the fall.

Anyone interested in information about the Rotary Club can contact any member of Claggett at 752-9417