(This was shared in person at our Charter Party which took place at Camp Pringle on Sunday, June 27th, 2021)
It will be my honor to serve as the first president of the first Rotary Ecoclub in Canada, one of only a couple dozen worldwide so far. I’m interested to connect with these clubs to learn what they are doing, and in this regard it is also an honor to become part of an organization that has such an illustrious international history in serving people and their communities.
For me personally this opportunity means that I get to connect with my community in a meaningful way and that I get to connect with like-minded people who share my love for the outdoors and who share my desire to protect and rebuild the more-than-human world.
As we are a brand-new club, I suppose the first order of business is to get to know each other better, so my intention is to have conversations with each of you to see what your individual environmental values are, what you think are the most pressing issues that face our community, and where you think we should allocate our energies and resources.
Together with all of you, I look forward to building an inclusive club that is accessible to all members of our community and in which we listen respectfully to each other, without judgement. A club in which we share our knowledge and wisdom, and in which we try and inspire each other to find ways to connect our community to its natural surroundings. It is by spending time in the outdoors that we learn to appreciate and care for it, which in turn can lead to sustained conservation and regeneration efforts.
I want to thank our sponsor club, Duncan Rotary, as well as Ladysmith, South Cowichan, Duncan Daybreak Rotary and fellow District 5020 members for supporting our effort in establishing this club so far. Your help is much appreciated, and I look forward to learning from you and working with you.
Also, a very special mention to our Secretary Kim, who can be considered as the founder of our club and who really shouldered this whole project. Your efforts have been tremendous so far, and I’m sure I speak for all our members when I say that we are lucky to have such a passionate advisor.
Lastly, thank you everyone for being here today and being a part of this new initiative. I’m sure I don’t need to tell anyone here that our natural environment faces many challenges. Perhaps with all of us we can present our community with a message of hope and a positive outlook on the future. As the late M.L. King said: ‘Any movement, any culture will fail if it cannot paint a picture of a world that people will want to go to.’ I personally look forward to painting this picture together with you all.
#Rotary #ServeToChangeLives #Environment #CommunityService #TogetherWeTransform #Grow
Rotary Club of Shawnigan Lake EcoClub 