Northumberland Today Oct 27, 2015
Posted by Susan Luyendyk
on Oct 27, 2015
Rotary District 7070 Inbound Exchange students 2015/16 at the
District Conference Saturday October 25, 2015
And so, another District 7070 Conference has come and gone yet again. This years was at the WestinHarbour Castle Conference Centre downtown Toronto with magnificent views overlooking Lake Ontario.
Rotary makes it easy for a Rotarian to attend either all of this event or just portions as it fits into our schedules. Come for the weekend, come just for the day, either way just come. This year’s District Conference opened on Friday evening with the District’s Governor, Michael Bell’s Reception followed with Hospitality Suites sponsored by different Rotary Clubs, a great way to socialize and meet other clubs in our district.
Saturday morning started with breakfast followed by the Opening Ceremonies and the Flag Ceremony. Now, the flag ceremony is carried out by the Districts exchange students as they enter the room one by one being introduced each carrying the flag of their country. Quite a moving Ceremony for all concerned.
This year there were 2 Keynote sessions covering Indigenous Education, How Rotary Can Help including words from Paul Martin and the second keynote session covering Youth Empowerment. There were a total of 8 breakaway sessions offered throughout the day covering diverse topics such as Team Building, Council Legislation, Membership, Polio Update and many others in between.
Of course, no Rotary meeting of this magnitude would ever be remiss in not covering our ongoing fight to eradicate Polio and this year there was a sail boat traveling the streets of downtown Toronto reinforcing just how close we are to eradicating this disease. To date there have been 2.1 Billion children immunized against Polio in 122 Countries. An impressive statistic and worthy of sharing.
The evening had the usual Gala Dinner followed by presentation of the pristine Wilf Wilkinson Peace Award, this year’s recipient being Ariani Nati. Second City was the evening entertainment followed by another evening of Hospitality Suites. Sunday’s Keynote sessions; after breakfast covered Bugiri WASH and Performance Through Partnership.
All in all, these District Conferences are motivating, fun filled opportunities to be in the presence of likeminded hard working, inspirational fellow Rotarians. The speakers are all knowledgeable, well spoken, articulate individuals that are easy to be with.
Our club’s November agenda is complete and is filled with some great speakers on a variety of topics. Check us out. Rotary Club of Northumberland Sunrise meets every Wednesday morning for breakfast at 7:00 AM at Ashbrook Golf Club. 7215 Dale Road, Port Hope. Guests and visiting Rotarians are always welcome. Please come a little early for coffee and fellowship. Our meetings include a full breakfast, a short business meeting and a guest speaker. Meetings usually adjourn by 8:00 AM. Please come and join us for Rotary fellowship.
Yours in Rotary
Susan Luyendyk