Longest Serving and Newest Rotarian Paul Harris Award In 1965, Cors was invited to join the Rotary Club of Epe in the Netherlands. At 30, he was the youngest member of that Club, which consisted of many distinguished community members. Although extremely busy as a local veterinarian he always made time for the meetings and a number of community projects. Cors was familiar with Rotary since his father was an active Rotarian until the end of his life. Cors de Lint To Cors, Rotary is the most effective vehicle to serve and improve the communities in which we live, and around the world. The ‘international’ aspect of Rotary is the main reason why he is still a Rotarian; sharing resources and expertise with Clubs in developing countries, focusing on projects relating to health, education, and clean water as well as training young people to become Peace Ambassadors. “We are so fortunate with what we have here, that we have to share our riches in many ways with the less fortunate of the world!” said Cors. The fellowship and interaction with people from all walks of life is an important aspect, as is the opportunity to visit any Rotary Club in the world. It gives any Rotarian access to different cultures, languages and customs and a very interesting learning experience. Cors commented that his visit to the Rotary Club in Swaziland was very meaningful. “We were informed of the huge AIDS problems in that country,” explained Cors. “We joined with the local Rotary Club, and helped them with the finances to start an information campaign to prevent the spread of the HIV infection. More than 50% of the women were infected and many children became orphans. Many grandparents had to look after their grandchildren. This is one of many examples why Rotary’s International involvement is so important and can mean so much for so many. That’s why I’m still a member!”
The newest member of the Abbotsford Rotary Club, Chris Oliver, was asked what prompted him to join. Chris said he was inspired by the actions of a close friend. He views this person as a mentor, proud of the work he does through Rotary, and impressed by the way he regards his fellow Rotarians. “He’s always quick to recommend getting in touch with someone he knows through the club because he can vouch for their integrity. I Chris Oliver knew that, as a community member and a businessperson, that’s the way I want to be regarded by my peers and neighbours”, explained Chris. “I want to give my time and efforts to improve Abbotsford in tangible ways: cleaning Discovery Trail, providing food to hungry school children, being part of the improvement of our homelessness and housing issue,” Chris remarked. “That’s reward enough. We all benefit by living in a cleaner, safer and more vibrant community.” Chris also wants to nurture relationships with his fellow clubmembers, as part of his growth as a member of the community. “I’ve met so many amazing people already in my short time with the club, and I look forward to getting to know them better,” he explained. “The benefits of being a Rotary member though, begin and end with community service. I wouldn’t pay dues and attend weekly lunches for the sake of being part of some kind of exclusive club. At the risk of sounding insincere, the biggest benefit is a constant case of the ‘warm fuzzies’; just ask a Rotarian about the Starfish Pack program and watch the look on their face.”
Join Rotary because you want to make a difference.
Celebrating 65 YEARS Club of Abbotsford
“Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.” – Paul P. Harris
This 1.2 million-member organization started with the vision of one man — Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on February 23, 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member. The Paul Harris Fellow award is the highest honour a club can bestow on a person, either inside or outside the club. The award acknowledges ‘Service Above Self’ which that individual has offered to their community, their nation or indeed to the world.
Celebrating a Commitment to our Community!
Andrea Lindgren is presented a Paul Harris award by Andrew Franklin, Past-President of Rotary Club of Abbotsford
WHAT WE DO Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million members who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and global peace. There are 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas. Clubs are non-political, non-religious and open to all cultures, races and creeds and all share the objective to service; in the community, in the workplace and throughout the world.
WHO WE ARE Rotary brings together people like you – leaders from all cultures and occupations who want to use their distinct expertise for good. People whose sense of responsibility inspires them to give back to their communities. Together, we empower youth, improve health, promote peace, and advance our communities in all corners of the world. Our global community’s impact has never been greater, and it continues to grow. When Rotarians come together and commit to a cause, the magnitude of our impact is clear.
A Message from the President We currently have 65 members and on our 65 year anniversary, that’s an interesting coincidence. Having Rotary, in our community, means that kids have playground Hugh Ellis equipment, youth President have leadership training, less fortunate children have food to eat, men and women in recovery have decent furniture to use, teens have access to food, shelter and guidance. These are just a few of the
programs we make available. We are proud of our many accomplishments with all the club members’ full participation, most notably in our community, the Million Dollar HoleIn-One Contest, and the Starfish Pack Program. Rotary has made great strides toward the eradication of Polio. Since 1985, Rotary and its partners have helped reduce the number of cases from 350,000 annually to fewer than 400 in 2014. While we are a local club we are proud to be part of a network of over 1.2 million members in over 33,000 clubs worldwide. I’m really proud to be this year’s
president of this distinguished club. We have a number of long-term members and some who have just joined in the past few months. We remind ourselves to remain engaged; relevant to new members and the community in a changing world. It’s a time when virtual E-clubs are starting. We all have busy schedules with time restraints and communication delivery options are expanding. While adopting to change and stay current with social media, we plan to continue to grow as a face-toface active club. It will be interesting to see the make-up of the club in another 65 years as our members, leaders and times continue to change!
CONNECT WITH ROTARY
Join us:
T Tuesdays at 12:00pm at the Phoenix Lounge, 33780 King Road
Contact us:
www.abbotsfordrotary.com Facebook: /RotaryClub.Abbotsford
Twitter: @abbyrotaryclub
As an active Rotarian, it’s not just your community, club, and projects that benefit, you benefit too. You’ll develop skills like public speaking, project management, and event planning. You’ll meet interesting people from your community and from around the world. You’ll feel the shared sense of purpose that comes from working together to better your community. When it comes to being a Rotarian, the opportunities are endless.
Proud to support Abbotsford’s first Rotary Club! Abbotsford / 100 - 2548 Clearbrook Road / P: 604.855.4941 / cwbank.com
1 1950-2015
Club of Abbotsford www.abbotsfordrotary.com /RotaryClub.Abbotsford @abbyrotaryclub