Celebrating 50 Years of Service!

Eileen Beltgens

 

Thursday, October 1st the Rotary Club of Ladysmith invited members, district leadership, Rotarians from District 5020 from Washington and BC, and community friends and leaders to our Zoom celebration of 50 years of fellowship and service in Ladysmith.  

What fun it was to hear some of the stories, especially in a video from charter members Pat Bryan and Bob Bafaro.  We recognize the depth of the legacy our current membership enjoys from the past, and look forward, inspired to re-invent our service for the future!  We so appreciated those who took the time to attend and to support our efforts!

We heard Mayor Stone read the Proclamation to create Rotary Day and Rotary Club of Ladysmith Week; we welcomed guests – community members and Rotarians throughout the BC-Washington Rotary District; we revisited a list of projects completed over these 50 years and some stories about the past; we heard from the first woman and a two-time President who joined Ladysmith Rotary thirty years ago; student Interact leaders celebrated the past and the future; a fellow Rotarian and historian summed up the community building and support in his discussion about why Rotarians and members of other service organizations do what they do for their communities with passion and commitment.  It was a great evening to be inspired and hopeful amid challenges in how we meet and work together.

Ladysmith Rotarians are a small club committed to working collaboratively with other organizations to build our community.  It takes a community of people to build community.

 

Covid-19 killed the Ladysmith Chemainus Golf Tournament, so Joan Phillips and Tom Andrew pivoted and saved the day!

Thank you to all the amazing supporters we have in our communities.

List of supporters available here Sponsor and Donor List

 

 

 

 

Aaron Stone has Proclaimed that September 20 is Rotary Club of Ladysmith Day and the Week of September 20 through 26 is Rotary Week.

The Rotary Club of Ladysmith wishes to thank all of the businesses in the Town for helping make our Community a better place to live.

At the July 2nd meeting of the Rotary Club of Ladysmith, newly installed President, Eileen Beltgens, introduced her Focus of Engagement with Community, as well as Rotary International’s theme, Rotary Opens Opportunities to the membership.  This is also the Rotary Club of Ladysmith’s 50th anniversary!  Look for activities this summer and fall to celebrate our involvement in Ladysmith over the last half century!
The Installation was performed via Zoom and many Rotary District and local Interact Club leaders were in attendance.

Rotary Club of Ladysmith hosts bottle drive to raise funds for community donations.

Vancouver Island Rotary Clubs Provide food Relief for Mayan Communities in Guatemala in collaboration with Disaster Aid Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and Ireland.

Members of the Rotary Mid Island Group (Ladysmith, Chemainus, Nanaimo) informed Disaster Aid Canada (DAC) in April 2020 that people are under a strict lock-down and on the verge of starvation in Guatemala. There are dire food, hygiene and PPE needs including masks. Workers have no jobs, there is no social safety net and the communities including markets are under complete lock-down. These Rotary Clubs have been involved in sustainable development projects in the Lake Atitlan region of Guatemala for several years.

Sandra Milne, 2019/2020 Rotary Club of Ladysmith President and the LSS Interact Club presented 5 Emergency Preparedness Kits from Disaster Aid Canada to the Mayor Aaron Stone, Fire Chief Chris Geiger and Bill Drysdale from Ladysmith Search and Rescue. The event was held in front of the Fire Hall on Friday June 12. 

Rotarians are People of Action!!!
What a great event...Coldest Night of the Year ...Feb.22, 2020. Thanks to the Ladysmith Resource Centre for organizing this worthwhile event in our community.
Thank you Paul, Michael, Marshall, Sandra, Brian, Mary, John and Andy!