Posted by Valrie Wafer, Director , Rotary International

Dear Rotarains, Rotaractors and the whole Rotary family in District 7070,

 September is a time for change and new beginnings. The days are getting a little shorter, the leaves start to change colour, and we begin to think about back to school. As these changes start to take place this year, parents and students are tasked with making some tough decisions for alternate school experiences. These new choices will see social distancing and masks and leave us wondering how this may affect traditional learning and development models that have historically been in place for us and our parents before us; not an easy undertaking. By no coincidence, September is Basic Education and Literacy month in Rotary. ....... ......

We too have become used to traditional models of learning and development within Rotary. Similarly, this year, we need to turn to alternate experiences as we continue to grow and develop our selves, our clubs, our districts, and our zones. Learning is something that we all take for granted, and is something that is not readily available to many around the world. Our ability to learn and adapt is what will help us stay relevant in this crazy world and leading into 2021. We have the opportunity to learn and develop ourselves on the go, and at our own pace by visiting our online Learning Center on Rotary.org. Looking for a topic for an upcoming meeting? The Learning Center has so many amazing topics to dive into as a club and helps to create opportunities for us to develop the mindset of “lifelong learning” as Rotary continues to open opportunities worldwide.

We have an exciting and full month ahead of us for our District Governors, our Elects, Nominees and Partners. We are looking forward to hosting the first-ever virtual GETS/ GNATS, another fabulous way we are developing our leaders of the future through learning. Zone Trainer Marty Helman and our team of enthusiastic and qualified facilitators have done amazing work in pivoting this incredible training program. Although this may not be in the form of our traditional learning environments, I’m so proud of the exciting social and teambuilding experiences they have developed and can’t wait to see these new learning methods.

September 23rd -25th, we are also thrilled to be hosting three plenary sessions on Leadership, Foundation, and Innovation that over 900 Rotarians have already registered for! While we had planned to meet live in Toronto, I’m incredibly excited for the opportunities to connect as such a large group virtually. If you have not yet registered, there is still time to do so at this link. While we need to continue making adjustments, we are excited by the ways we are adapting in this environment so that we can continue our purpose of opening opportunities, and we hope you’re excited as well.

Good luck to those of you who will be returning to a different kind of normal with your families and working lives this September. Let’s continue to adapt together and support one another as we continue to learn and develop as Rotarians.

Yours In Rotary,

Valarie

Valarie Wafer

RI Director

Rotary Club of Collingwood, South Georgian Bay

valarie.wafer@gmail.com