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District 5050
Rotary in the Fraser Valley
area of British Columbia began on 26 February 1934, when the
Chilliwack Club was chartered. At that time, the Fraser Valley was
part of District 151, which was composed of seventy clubs with about
forty-five hundred members. Geographically, District 151 was made up
of Alaska, the Yukon, the lower mainland of British Columbia,
Vancouver Island, and western Washington south to the Oregon border.
It extended almost three thousand miles north to south.
In 1956,
District 151 was split with the original District retaining Alaska,
the Yukon, the Lower Mainland of B.C., and Washington State, just
south of Everett, Washington. At that time there were only six clubs
in the Fraser Valley, with thirty-seven clubs and forty-five hundred
members in the District.
In 1957, a
worldwide renumbering of districts was undertaken by RI and District
151 became District 504 with no changes in boundaries. It was not
until 1973 that District 504 was divided into four districts, with
northwestern B.C., the Lower Mainland, and northwest Washington
becoming District 504.
On 1 July 1987,
District 504 was split and the Fraser Valley became part of District
505. The new district had fifteen clubs in B.C. and seventeen clubs
in Washington State. In the period from 1955 to 1987, Rotary
experienced phenomenal growth. In 1955, there was one district,
seventy clubs and forty-five hundred Rotarians. By 1987, the numbers
had increased to five districts, made up of two hundred clubs with
thirteen thousand Rotarians.
District 505
became District 5050 on 1 July 1991with twenty clubs in the Fraser
Valley. Today, District 5050 is made up of fifty-two clubs with
twenty-six in the Fraser Valley in Zone 22, and twenty-six in
Washington State in Zone 23.
The uniqueness
of District 5050 is that the membership and number of clubs is split
on a fifty-fifty basis, making the district number even more
appropriate.
District Activities
All of the clubs in the
District are active with World Community Service projects, Community
Service, and Youth activities. Clubs actively pursue matching grants
for projects in Third World countries. Some clubs are working on
non-matching grant projects as well.
With an aging
membership, many clubs are experiencing difficulty hosting Youth
Exchange students. The annual RYLA Leadership Camp held at Camp
Squeah in the mountains north of Hope, B.C., continues to be a
success, but the number of participants is limited.
The District has
achieved outstanding results in the PolioPlus campaign, raising U.S.
$485,000 in the 2002-03 Rotary year. The District supports the Group
Study Exchange program, with at least one outgoing and one incoming
team annually.
Through the
years, the clubs have been generous supporters of The Rotary
Foundation, the number of Paul Harris Fellows varying with the age
of the club.
Rotary
fellowship is high. Members participate in many District activities:
seminars, PIRLs, and District Conferences, which alternate between
Washington state and British Columbia. Incoming club presidents
participate in one of Rotary’s largest PETS (Presidents-Elect
Training Seminar), joining each spring with some five hundred
presidents-elect from other districts in Canada and the United
States.
Pacific Northwest PETS had
its beginning at the Zones 1 and 7 (predecessors of Zones 23 and 24)
Institute held in Newport Beach, California, in January 1981. RI
Director Jim Speer promoted the idea of a multi-district PETS in the
northwest, patterned after the successful southern and northern
California PETS, so a session devoted to PETS took place at the Zone
Institute. At a meeting of the seven northwestern governors-elect,
Dick McClintick (District 5110) volunteered to co-ordinate the
planning for the first Northwest PETS.
Following a
letter from Speer urging their participation, a meeting was called
in February 1981 for the seven northwest district governors-nominee
in Portland. Four DGNs (Districts 504, 508, 510, and 511) attended.
At the meeting, they agreed to proceed with the first PETS, and to
have the general chair and committees rotate among the participating
districts. The first PETS was planned for the Jantzen Beach
Thunderbird Motor Inn, in Portland, Oregon, on 6 and 7 February
1982. Planning was predicated on seven districts participating.
The districts
that did not attend the meeting were contacted, with the result
Districts 503 and 506 joined in. District 502 decided not to
participate in the first PETS, but joined the group for the second
in 1983. Several outstanding Rotarians participated in the program:
RI Director Tibor Gregor; RI Director Mike Kutsuris; Jim Vanderburg,
RI Manager of Programs and Activities; and Cliff Dochterman,
co-chair of the RI 3-H Program. RI President-nominee Dr. Hiroji
Mukasa was invited, but was unable to attend.
Five sessions
were planned for the initial PETS: Communication, It Must be Fun,
Building a Team, Ways and Means, and a fifth session conducted by
each district governor and governor-nominee for their
presidents-elect. Because the PETS is international, with clubs from
Canada and the U.S., each session had co-discussion leaders.
All expenses,
room charges and meals were covered by the registration fees. The
participating districts assisted with seed money to ensure expenses
were covered. A final accounting revealed a surplus of almost a
thousand dollars which was returned to the districts for next year’s
PETS.
The Pacific
Northwest PETS was held in various locations, including the
Thunderbird Motor Inn in Portland, the Marriott Hotel at SeaTac, the
Marriott Hotel in Portland, the Westin Hotel in Seattle, and the
Sheraton Hotel in Seattle before finally settling in 1989 for the
current venue, the Double Tree Hotel.
The Pacific
Northwest PETS has changed and adapted over the years. Districts 501
and 505 were added after Districts 504 and 503 split. Later,
District 539 in Montana joined the group. Russia was added when
District 5010 expanded into eastern Russia.
PETS continues
the same three basic sections: Lets Get Organized, Enjoying Rotary,
and Communication Tools. These sessions are conducted by successful
past club presidents, chosen from the ten participating districts,
each recommended by the governors. Training for assistant governors
has been added. The strength of PETS comes from two major areas:
strong attendance and continuous improvement, building on previous
success. Beginning with the 1983 PETS, attendance has ranged well
above ninety per cent. In 1999, for example, all but five
presidents-elect attended (excluding District 5390, the furthest).
Five of the ten districts enjoyed perfect attendance. Two critiques
are held each year by all the governors, operating committees, and
workshop leaders. Participant critiques are strongly encouraged.
They are reviewed, tabulated, and analyzed in great detail each
year. As a result, though the titles remain the same, the program
has evolved and improved every year.
Each district is
represented on the operating committee by PDGs, serving three-year
terms. The chair rotates around each of the ten districts. Past club
presidents serve as workshop leaders for three-year terms.
Exceptional speakers have participated, including many past Rotary
International presidents. Many RI presidents and presidents-elect
have participated as well.
The PETS
continues to enjoy success in training and educating
presidents-elect, preparing them to exert leadership in providing
service to their communities and the world. |
