Introduction

August has been a bitter sweet month.  Past District Governor Harold Passmore passed away.  His memorial service was held on August 26th.  Hal was a Rotarian for over 60 years. He was a member from 1947 to 1956 in Fort William, Ontario, from 1956 to 1959 in Saskatoon Saskatchewan and from 1959 till the present in the “Rotary Club of Brockville” Ontario. He was president of the Brockville club in 1964/65 and was District Governor for district 704 in 1968/69. He also led the GSE team to Australia in 1974.  He will be missed by many in the District and his contribution to Rotary and District 7040 greatly appreciated.

I have completed 40 visits and I am encouraged by the club plans.  Now the plans must be executed. 

Membership

Sadly  some of the membership gains of 2007-2008, were lost in July. Apparently, in July we added 25 new member but lost 48.   Retention is critical. Lets find out why these members are leaving.  Remember to send representatives to the Membership Seminars in Clayton on September 13th,  http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=167 and Ottawa - Nepean on November 19th, http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=217 .  If you have not read the August Membership Moment do so.  Thank you Bob Hanna, Bertrand de Cardaillac, Manon Lennon and all the participants at the Montreal Seminar for the excellent exchange of ideas.

Ethics

Many have asked me about the poem quoted in part during my club presentation.  The entire text is provided below.

What Will Matter

by Michael Josephson http://josephsoninstitute.org/index.html

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.  Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed important will fade away. It won’t matter whether you were beautifull or brilliant. Even you gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter?  How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.  What will matter is not your success but your significance.  What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered, or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not you competence but your character. What will matter is not how many people you know, but how many will feel a lasting loss when your’re gone.  What will matter is not your memories but the memories of those who loved you.  What will matter is how long you are remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circomstances but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.

Legislation

At the District Conference two proposed amendments will be voted on.  These amendments have been discussed at both PETS and the District Assembly and transmitted to clubs earlier in August.  The procedure for voting is:

“These policies and procedures may be amended by a two-thirds majority of incoming presidents, or duly appointed representatives present and voting at the District Assembly or PETS, or by a two-thirds majority of the presidents, or duly appointed representatives, present and voting at the District Conference or by ballot-by-mail. Each club shall be entitled to one vote.”

Proposed Amendments to District 7040 Procedures

Section II – Nomination of District Governor

Article 1

Preamble.

Whereas the Rotary Club of Iqaluit, Nunavut is now in District 7040 but separate from the three main geographical areas of the District, and Whereas the District has already chosen to continue the historical three-way rotation for the selection of District Governor Nominee, and Whereas the District wishes to afford to the Iqaluit club the opportunity to participate in the District Governor nomination process, and Whereas the Rotary Club of Iqaluit chooses to join the existing geographical area of Ontario for that purpose,

NOW, THEREFORE, the District proposes to amend Article 1 of Section II of DISTRICT 7040 PROCEDURES to implement that change.

 Article 1 now reads as follows:

It is the practice in District 7040 to select the District Governor Nominee annually from the district’s three geographical areas on a rotating basis, namely New York, Ontario and Quebec, in that order.

PROPOSAL:

It is the practice in District 7040 to select the District Governor Nominee annually from the district’s four geographical areas on a 3-year rotating basis, namely New York, Ontario + Nunavut, and Quebec, in that order.

Article 3

Preamble.

Whereas Rotary International urges districts in the Manual of Procedure to seek out and nominate the best qualified person for the office of Governor, and Whereas it is felt that a minimum of two qualified candidates is necessary to satisfy this guideline,

NOW, THEREFORE, the District proposes to amend Article 3 of Section II of DISTRICT 7040 PROCEDURES to implement that change.

Article 3 now reads as follows:

In the event that an area fails to propose a qualified candidate by the January 1 deadline, that area shall be considered to have passed its turn and the District Governor shall issue an invitation to all other clubs in the district to submit suggestions for District Governor nominee. The following year, the traditional sequence of the geographical areas shall be restored.

PROPOSAL:

In the event that an area fails to propose two qualified candidates by the January 1 deadline, the District Governor shall forthwith issue an invitation to all other clubs in the district to propose a qualified candidate for Governor Nominee by April 1. If one candidate had been submitted by the required geographical area in the first round, this candidate will be considered along with any additional candidates from the district.  The following year, the traditional sequence of the geographical areas shall be restored.

District Conference

The District Conference Registration Form has recently been revised.  For the revised form and Conference News check http://www.rotary7040.com/press/conference_en/ .  Included will be information on President Lee’s Representative. Reservations will be taken by Nav Canada Conference Centre.  Checks should be made out to the Massena Rotary Club Conference 2008, credit cards will be processed by the Massena Rotary Club (Visa and Mastercard only).

 

Website

Recently some District 7040 Rotarians received an email with a virus.  The webmaster’s newsletter  http://www.rotary7040.com/press/webmaster/ provides some advice on how to prevent spam.

The Website now includes more functions which used to be part of the published District Directory, including a roster of club and district officers and PDGs.  This is only available to those registered.  Sign up now at http://www.rotary7040.com/loginRequest.php  to take full advantage of website features.

 

RYLA

Your assistance is needed on the RYLA Committee, especially Rotarians in Ontario and New York.  If you are interested in the training of youth, contact Daniel Godbout from the link on the District RYLA Webpage  http://www.rotary7040.com/program-ryla.php 

Youth Exchange

The number of inbound and outbound students is down considerably.  We would like to grow the program.  To learn more go to the Youth Exchange Leadership Seminar, check it out at http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=202 .

Remaining Club Visits

 

 

 

 

  September/septembre 2008  
Iqaluit Wednesday  03 mercredi 12:00PM
Napanee Tuesday 16 mardi 12:15 PM
Kingston Thursday  18 jeudi 12:15 PM
Huntingdon Monday  22 lundi 6:15PM
Montreal Tuesday  23 mardi 7:30 AM
Valleyfield Tuesday  23  mardi 12:15 PM
Hawkesbury Tuesday 23 mardi 6:30 PM
Montreal Ville-Marie Wednesday  24 mercredi 7:30 AM
Westmount Wednesday  24 mercredi 12:30 PM
Longueuil-Rive-Sud Thursday  25  jeudi 7:30 AM
Old (Vieux) Montreal Friday  26 vendredi 12:15 PM
Saranac Lake Tuesday 30 mardi 7:30 AM
  October/octobre 2008  
Ottawa Kanata-Sunrise Wednesday 01 mercredi 7:15 AM
Ogdensburg Thursday 02 jeudi 7:30 AM
Sorel-Tracy Monday  06 lundi 5:30 PM
Montreal-Lakeshore Tuesday 07 mardi 12:30 PM
Chateaugay Wednesday 9 mercredi 6:15 PM
Gatineau (Hull) Thursday  09 jeudi 12:30 PM
Smiths Falls Friday 24 vendredi    ?
     
Chesterville Monday  20 lundi 6:30 PM
Pembroke Tuesday 21 mardi 12:00 PM
North Renfrew (Deep River) Wednesday 22 mercredi 5:30 PM
Eganville Thursday  23 jeudi  6:30 PM
Saint-Jerome Monday  27 lundi 6:00 PM
Ottawa-Stitsville Tuesday  28  mardi 7:00 AM