Happenings in Rotary
Jeff Foss, the District 5360 Membership "Chair for Life" was introduced by Past President Bruce Shepard.  Jeff has been in charge of the District membership committee since it's inception and has a wealth of knowledge to share on best practices and how to assess the statistics (which ones matter and which ones don't). Jeff joined Rotary in 2006, and transferred to the Okotoks club in 2012.  He has been President there several times.
Jeff introduced us all to the District membership action plan.  He showed us how our attrition rate was quite normal, but our attraction rate needs to be significantly higher.  He recommended both redoubled efforts and praised the "Why Rotary" event, both for it's contribution to Rotary within our City and the various clubs working together and as a great idea.
Jeff took us through the Action Plan's steps, and President Mike mentioned that he will keep us up to date as this changes over the year.
Our club graphic, based on three years of history is "on track" but definitely needs more recruitment to grow the club.
 
Jeff used his laptop at the meeting, to present from his seat so we were all sort of proud that the "tech" actually worked for one.
 
Jeff was thanked by President Mike, who is a member of the District Membership committee and Jeff was presented with our Medalta mug.
The Medicine Hat Rotary Club was delighted to welcome, as a ZOOM participant, the co-chair of the 2025 Convention, Craig Stokke.  Craigs'co-chair is Past District Governor Mark Starratt.  Craig joined the RC of Stampede Park in 2007 and joined our meeting to encourage participation in the local nature of the 2025 Rotary International convention.  The comment was made that you join Rotary, but you don't really become a Rotarian until you attend an international convention and experience the world wide impact of the organization.
 
The local convention is 151 days away, and is building on the reputation of the previous Calgary RI convention in 1997 to be the "best ever".
(sorry for the poor photo, but ZOOM sometimes doesn't allow for good photos)
 
The conference "exceeded all expectations" with over 12,000 registrations in the first week.  The convention committee has been working on premise that Calgary "doesn't do average", and if the 1997 convention was the "best ever", that this one will exceed that mark.  The convention runs from June 21 - 25 and will primarily be using the Saddledome and the area around the Exhibition grounds and the BMO centre, so attendee's don't have too far to walk.
 
There are many volunteer opportunities, as well as sponsorship and family programs being developed.
 
 
Craig encouraged anyone who is intending to go, to register soon (the price goes up at the end of March) as well as secure accommodation.  It is a busy time in Calgary, so affordable hotel rooms with access to the C-train may get to be in short supply.  Your convention ID will allow you to access public transportation in Calgary, to avoid parking issues.
 
There are several ticketed, signature events which are available and the House of Friendship will be well worth spending an afternoon.
 
The websites for registration are listed above under "RI News"
 
Dave Panabaker took the podium today to introduce Clubrunner to new members of the club and explain a few of the features that make it such great software.  Clubrunner is the software our District has chosen to connect clubs and RI.  We use it for our website, our bulletin, the club calendar with events and membership information.
 
Everyone has access, to "login" go to the Club website http://www.medicinehatrotary.com and in the top right hand corner there is a spot for "Member Login".  If you have any trouble both Dave and Club Secretary Doug Fleming can assist you.  Inside, members can access the calendar, club documents and their personal information..
He spoke about its usefulness in keeping membership information straight and how it was used by both District and Rotary International to tie the organization together.  Dave also mentioned that we use the "Events" module to sign up for attendance at meetings or things like bingo.  Please either accept or decline when you get those requests, it will save you from followup emails when organizers are hunting for more volunteers.
 
One of the features is the Clubrunner "app", which has many handy ways of allowing club members to stay in touch.  It also has the current phone and email addresses for all members of the club, so if you need to contact someone you can look them up easily.  Its really a digital replacement for our yearly roster.
 
Below is the Clubrunner app, from the Apple App Store.  It is available across all phone platforms.
 
There was a lot of ground to cover in the presentation, and we didn't get all the way through but it was informative and perhaps something we should try again at some point.
 
 
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Medicine Hat

We meet In Person & Online
Mondays at 11:45 a.m.
Medicine Hat Lodge
1051 Ross Glen Dr SE
Medicine Hat, AB T1B 3T8
Canada
The Rotary Club of Medicine Hat has returned to meeting in person. Our first meeting of every month is a ZOOM business meeting. Check the club calendar, which is usually up to date for our meeting locations and program.
Club Contact Info
Rotary Club of Medicine Hat
PO Box 1058
Medicine Hat, AB, T1A 7H1
 
mhrotary@gmail.com