03-28-26 Rotary District Assembly
I was up at six and on the road by seven heading for Rossland. They were a remarkable number of elk along the sides of the road. I honestly have never seen them west of Cranbrook like that. They are usually between Cranbrook and Kimberley. It was a bit unnerving by the time I hit or rather didn’t hit the third herd.
Once I arrived and got parked, I was happy to get a big hug from David Keyes our district governor and find a seat with Robin from our club. Three young women from the college joined us who are rotoractors and one of them, Maggie, will be on the club public image committee that I have been invited to be on at the district level. It was a sweet surprise when Steve Robert’s the upcoming district governor rid of the names of the people who would be on that committee. It was lovely to be recognized by people who’d come from the states as a regular at these assemblies and conferences. I attended several all good and informative sessions and was able to contribute as much as I learned. I was especially thrilled to learn that the keynote speaker was Joan from the Vancouver club, whom I had now interacted with twice. Once at her club when I went there for a meeting and also at the international conference in Calgary. Over the course of the evening we ended up having some great conversations and connections. She is a lovely powerful woman. Robin and I were presented with our polio plus certificates, pins and wristbands by Sheila Hart.
After checking in, I met David and Marlisa Keyes in the lobby and we walked up the hill to the flying snow shovel for dinner where we met with another 17 Rotarians. After a delicious dinner and Bev’s, we all wandered back to the hotel. I picked out and David bought a bottle of wine and we borrowed a couple of glasses from the bar and all went to the room of one of our cohort to hang out and visit. There was much wine, great conversation and bonding between us all. Joan from Vancouver and myself from Cranbrook were the only Canadians, but we all had a great time. Apparently Debi and Theresa think that I am a leader and under used at my club and they would like me to get involved at the district level. I told them they could reach out.
This weekend was exactly what I needed to remind me how much I enjoy being part of Rotary. I have to remember that what I do starts at home but home in this case is small and narrow sometimes. That doesn’t mean that I can’t be part of the bigger picture and make a difference in the big world.
triumphgal 