Northern exposure

 

 

Top: Goat Haunt, a remote part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, is in the United States but is reachable only by boat or hiking trail from Canada.

Bottom: Don Floyd, a veterinarian from Montreal, flies into Iqaluit twice a year to provide care to pets in the remote capital. The visits are sponsored by the Rotary Club of Iqaluit.

In Iqaluit, the tiny capital of Nunavut on Canada’s Baffin Island, average temperatures remain below freezing eight months out of the year. In the winter, the arctic outpost is accessible only by plane, dog sled, or snowmobile. It’s a world away from Pass Christian on the gulf coast of Mississippi, USA, where the mercury rarely drops below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

But after Pass Christian was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Rotary Club of Iqaluit joined other clubs in District 7790 to raise money to rebuild the Southern town. The district aims to raise US$75,000 to buy a dump truck, which is sorely needed for reconstruction, and it will match the clubs’ contributions.

“It fits in with the Rotarian vision of breaking down boundaries,” says Robert Boulanger, past governor of District 7790, which runs from Maine, USA, through Quebec, Canada, to Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic. “A district like ours is a great way to do that.”

Boulanger, of the Rotary Club of Quebec East, Que., says the international flavor of his huge, multilingual district benefits all the Rotarians in it. Many of Canada’s 23 districts are exceptionally large. In fact, most of them cover parts of other countries as well. Fourteen districts include clubs in both Canada and the United States, and another encompasses French islands in the North Atlantic.

With its vast distances, diverse climates, and two official languages, Canada defies generalizations. It’s impossible to cover even a fraction of what Rotarians are doing in this, the second-largest country in the world, so instead, we’re highlighting just a few of the unique aspects of the Canadian Rotarian experience.

To Russia with love: District 5010

Even among Canada’s large districts, District 5010 stands out. In addition to Yukon, in the country’s far northwestern corner, it includes the U.S. state of Alaska and all of Russia east of the Ural Mountains.

Monty Audenart, who begins his term as an RI director this month, recalls a trip in the district, which spans 11 time zones. “I once accompanied a district governor to a district conference in far eastern Russia,” says the member of the Rotary Club of Red Deer East, Alta. The arduous journey began in Anchorage, Alaska, with stops in Seattle, New York City, and Moscow. From there, Audenart says, they had to travel another eight hours across Russia to reach the conference site.

But being part of District 5010 also has its advantages. Getting to know Rotarians from other countries and learning about their cultures is high on the list.

Al Fedoriak, of the Rotary Club of Whitehorse Midnight Sun, Y.T., Canada, spent 100 days in Russia as district governor in 2003-04. During a stay in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, his hosts prepared a feast for him and his wife.

“They brought us vodka, raw fish, and raw horse meat,” recalls Fedoriak, who fortunately had packed an open mind – and an adventuresome palate. “When in Russia, do as the Russians do,” he says, savoring the memory.

“We’re fortunate that our district includes clubs from three countries,” continues Fedoriak, on the phone from Whitehorse, Y.T., a city that boasts three of the world’s northernmost Rotary clubs. “It allows us to help build international relationships. It also allows us to contribute to the well-being of people who are less fortunate.”

In 2000, for instance, the Rotary Club of Whitehorse sent winter boots to the people of Magadan in far eastern Russia. The isolated port city, five hours north of Vladivostok by air and connected to the nearest major city by 1,200 miles of unpaved road, had suffered through a winter that was exceptionally severe, even by the standards of the subarctic region, where temperatures normally stay well below zero for six months out of the year. Prolonged economic hardship had added to residents’ woes, and obtaining warm clothing and other essentials had become increasingly difficult. But the ties between clubs in District 5010, including the Rotary Club of Magadan, meant the people of that city were not forgotten.

Vive la différence: District 7820

The Rotary experience “wouldn’t be as interesting if we all looked the same and acted the same,” notes Dennis Knight, of the Rotary Club of St. John’s, Newf., and past governor of District 7820. “Diversity adds an extra level of depth and dimension.”

Knight’s district includes Labrador, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, as well as the French islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon sit just off the coast of Newfoundland, but in many respects, the Canadian province is worlds away from the islands, which are an overseas territorial collectivity of France.

“We can feel the cultural differences when we meet for interclub councils,” Knight says.

As an example, he points to a recent joint meeting on the islands, at which the Rotary Club of Saint-Pierre & Miquelon hosted five clubs from Newfoundland. The event proved to be quite an adventure for Knight, who had to deliver a speech in French.

“I can read French, but I don’t speak it that well,” he says. “I was really nervous. But I had some wine beforehand, and that certainly helped. In the end, my speech went well. In fact, it flowed like a brook!”RI Director Audenart notes that although Rotarians speak myriad languages and come from many countries and cultures, they are united in the principle of Rotary service.

“Rotarians in these districts have different backgrounds and speak different languages,” he says, “but we all come away believing that the opportunity for extended friendships, mutual understanding, and tolerance, as well as the exchange of ideas across nations and cultures, make it both interesting and worthwhile.”

Young ones: Edmonton-Urban Spirits

Many Rotary clubs provide members with the opportunity to interact with people from other cultures every week, and the Rotary Club of Edmonton-Urban Spirits in the western province of Alberta is no exception.

“At our meetings, we encourage people to share things from their lives. People from different denominations talk about their traditions,” says 2006-07 club president Carolyn O’Handley. “Our club has members from many faiths – Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim. Talking about our respective backgrounds is a great way to get to know one another.”

The club eschews the prayers that are popular in many Rotary clubs. “Instead, we do a toast at every meeting,” says O’Handley.

The Edmonton-Urban Spirits club is distinctive in another way too: Most of its members are under age 40.

“The first thing that strikes visitors is our age,” O’Handley says. “People walk in, look around, and say, ‘This is a Rotary club?’

“Meetings are held in the evening, so they have a social atmosphere,” she continues. “You feel like you’re walking into a house party. There’s a young, energetic vibe. It’s very different.”

The club’s focus on youth also comes through in the charities it supports. It donates money to Edmonton’s Camp fYrefly, a summer retreat for gay youth. The camp is dedicated to building the leadership potential of young people so they can make significant contributions at school, in their communities, and at home.

“We think it’s a fantastic program,” says O’Handley. “It’s the difference between life and death for many kids who are bullied, ostracized, and isolated at school. We donated C$1,500 in 2005. If not for our money, the camp wouldn’t have survived.”

The Edmonton-Urban Spirits club has its quirks, but its members share at least one thing in common with many Rotarians throughout Canada: their love of hockey. They start most of their meetings by singing “O Canada,” then perform their take on a hockey tradition: Club members bang miniature hockey sticks on the tables in homage to National Hockey League players, who for decades have banged their sticks on the ice after the playing of the pregame national anthem.

Game plan: Toronto and the Argonauts

But hockey isn’t the only game in town. The eight-team Canadian Football League has plenty of fans as well.

“Some of our club members are ardent Toronto Argonauts fans,” says Valerie Clarke, executive director of the Rotary Club of Toronto. “I’m not a sports fan, but I don’t think you have to be one to appreciate what the [football] club has done for us.”

The Toronto club has joined forces with the “Argos” to raise money for charity by holding a raffle at several of the team’s home games each year. After the game, a ticket is drawn, with the winner getting half the money and the other half going to charities selected by the Argos and the club. Last season, the Rotary club raised $40,000. Some of the charities that have benefited include the Redwood shelter, which helps survivors of domestic abuse; Oolagen Community Services, which focuses on at-risk youth; and Stop the Violence, a campaign led by the Argos to end gun violence.

The club has also developed a relationship with Michael “Pinball” Clemons, head coach of the Argonauts and one of the team’s most famous former players. He has made several visits to the Toronto club. “Pinball has been a speaker at our club more than once,” Clarke says. “He’s been very well received.

“The Argos club is a great organization and very well respected,” she adds. “It’s a match made in heaven.”

Making history: the ‘I’ in RI

The same can be said about the relationship between Rotary International and Canada. Rotary became an international organization with the charter of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Man., in April 1912, and seven of the first 100 clubs were based in Canada.

The country also contributed to the spread of Rotary around the world through the work of James Wheeler Davidson, later dubbed the “Marco Polo of Rotary,” and J. Layton Ralston. In 1921, Davidson, a businessperson from Calgary, Alta., and Ralston, a lawyer from Halifax, N.S., traveled to Australia and New Zealand and chartered the first clubs in those countries. Seven years later, Davidson set off with his wife and daughter on a three-year journey that led to the chartering of the first clubs in Cairo; Bombay, India (now Mumbai); and Rangoon, Burma (now Yangôn, Myanmar). In all, Davidson, Ralston, and fellow Canadian Doug Howland helped charter 47 clubs in 18 countries between 1921 and 1934.

The impulse to map out new territory is still strong among Canada’s Rotarians. Members of the Edmonton-Urban Spirits club are helping to charter a similar young club in Calgary. “I see this as an opportunity to start a whole new segment of Rotary clubs whose brand speaks to the younger professional wanting to get involved and looking for fellowship,” O’Handley says. Still, she stresses that her club’s members enjoy being part of the larger family of Rotary. “We are always visiting other clubs and getting to know our fellow Rotarians,” she says. “There’s a spot for everyone.”