Introductions to the new Rotary Year!

Welcome to the Rotary Year 2026 – 2027 for District 5550! Congratulations to now Past District Governor (PDG) Wayne Jacobsen for his leadership this past year culminating with a very successful District Conference in Neepawa this past May. It is such a pleasure to be a part of the wonderful leadership team and District Board for this upcoming year. I am taking the opportunity to introduce myself and our District Board members as well as our newly re-established Assistant Governor (AG) Team.

My Rotary club is Winnipeg Assiniboine and I have served as Club President for 3 years. My journey in the District Governor path has been an exciting opportunity to learn, grow and build connections with the Rotary International organization and its amazing members. The Rotarians that have provided mentoring, advice or helped me simply by seeing their example and efforts has been inspiring. This year I know I will continue to be inspired by meeting many of you and your clubs.

Our Board has some new faces and familiar faces in new roles. Before introducing our new DG team, Board and AGs, I want to take this opportunity to extend a huge thank you to our outgoing Board members, some who have been the glue for this District for many years. Thank you to Fred Wright (2 time PDG and chairing more committees than can be listed), Bob Durston, our Rotary Foundation and Grants wizard for many years, Jeff Merry (Treasurer and financial miracle worker) and Peter Tonge (PDG and our tireless champion for belonging and DEI).

Thank you to all of you and I am confident that the four of you will always be available for
support and advice.

Our District Governor Team this year includes PDG Wayne Jacobsen, DGE (elect) Cathy
Skene, DGN (nominee) Jude Chigbo and myself. We will be looking for a DGND (nominee
designate) this fall.

Past DG
Wayne Jacobsen

DG-Elect
Cathy Skene

DG Nominee
Jude Chigbo

District Governor
Warren Thompson

New Board members in addition to those mentioned above include the following amazing
Rotarians or Rotaractors: Cathie McFarlane (Finance Chair), Faith Aniyi (Treasurer),
Jo-Anne Dalton (Public Image and Communications), Christine Hansen (World Community Service Foundation), and Dhruvi Shah (a Rotaract representative on the Board this year).

Returning Board members, and some with new roles include Wayne Jacobsen (Foundation), Paulette Connery (Youth Protection Officer), Lloyd Talbot (Secretary), Gailmarie Anderson (Learning Facilitator), Jude Chigbo (Membership Chair) and Sonja Susat and Kathy Cano (co-chairs for World Peace Partners).

Our very talented and well connected Assistant Governor team of nine includes Bob Durston as our senior AG, Lorne Calvert, Alan Goudie, Gailmarie Anderson, Ruth Merrit, Ahmed Elsamahy, Dave LeBlanc, Deb LeMaistre, Cathy Skene and myself. They have regional roles to connect with you and your clubs and your clubs will be hearing from them if you have not already.

Rotaract Officer
Dhruvi Shah

Learning Facilitator
Gailmarie Anderson

Assistant Governor
Ahmed Elsahamy

World Peace Partners
Sonja Susut

Finance Chair
Cathie McFarlane

Treasurer
Faith Aniyi

Public Image Chair
Jo-Anne Dalton

World Community Services Foundation
Christine Hansen

The International Convention –
Taipei, Taiwan

The International Convention this past year was held in Taipei from June 13 – 17 th and was an excellent convention that welcomed over 35,000 Rotarians representing the over 200 countries around the globe where ‘Service above Self’ is lived out every day. (There was also a photo op area to try traditional Taiwanese outfits… )

Our District 5550 is part of Zone 28 and is one of the 34 Rotary Zones around the world. The program included many topics and presentations that brought strong messaging and inspiration. This included our new Rotary International President Yinka Babalola’s key message/theme to ‘Create lasting Impact’.

To do this as an organization of over 1.2 million members in over 200 countries around the world can certainly have an incredible impact...but only if there is a consistent focus and effort from our individual members at the club level.

President Yinka also challenged us to be Better than your Best (see the July Rotary magazine for more details).

The convention provided rail passes for all Rotarians and it was an excellent way to get around Taipei to see and experience its culture, cuisine and attractions. We did see some wonderful sites and experienced the famous Night Market.

The 2027 International Convention will be in Barcelona, Spain from June 26 – 30 and I would encourage you to consider it next year as I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.

We were well represented at this convention with our incoming Public Image Chair, Jo-Anne Dalton and husband Steve, new AG Ahmed Elsamahy and my wife Kelly and I in attendance.

A personal highlight for me was hearing the courageous and unrelenting efforts of Malala Yousafzai, founder of the Malala Fund, on her message that educating girls will transform communities and provide a strong foundation for a better future. A must-see at any Rotary International Convention is the House of Friendship where there are literally dozens of Action Groups and presentations taking place as well as areas to meet up with new and old friends, or simply relax.

Kelly and I also had the opportunity to attend and present at a 15th anniversary celebration for a New Directions Club in Taipei that was sponsored by the Formosa Happiness Club of Taipei (they were also highlighted during the convention at one of the plenary sessions). It was a special night that enriched us through many new friendships and contacts.

Temples of Taipei

Flag Ceremony

Cultural performances

District 5550 DG Challenges and Areas of Focus

In the July Rotary magazine, our new RI President, Yinka Babalola challenged us to be Better than your Best. His theme or key message this year is to Create Lasting Impact. Rotary is a grassroots organization and our zones (we are zone 28) and districts are only as strong as our
clubs and their members’ service efforts.

Creating Lasting Impact has a requirement to be sustainable. Sustainability in Rotary D5550, and my areas of focus for this year will include:

 Continue efforts to surpass 1200 members requiring inclusion (not assimilation) of new members, support for new club development, and/or satellite clubs;

 A deliberate inclusion and engagement with youth and our Rotaractors;

 A renewed Peace focus and support for programs such as Honoring Indigenous Peoples (HIP);

 Increased levels of tolerance through education;

 Continued support to our Rotary Foundation and strong programs such as Polio Plus;

 Celebrating our successes and have fun in our clubs and activities while being of service; and

 Taking actions that improve the environments that we live in.

That may seem like a significant wish list but we have 43 clubs in our District 5550 as well as 5 (soon to be 6) Rotaract clubs and several Interact clubs as well. With a focused District alignment, we are sustainable and can be very Impactful.

As a refresher, I want to restate our Rotary Vision:

Together, we see a world where, people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves.

A key element in this vision, and I hope in your Rotary journey, is the lasting change we create in ourselves. Each Rotarian and Rotaractor in our district can start by reflecting on what you can do to address some aspect of a sustainable change in yourself. Is it upping your recycling efforts? A new volunteer project – locally, district-wide or globally?

My ask to your clubs is three-fold:

1) Impact is one of the four pillars of our action plans alongside Engage, Expand our Reach
and Adapt. Our Past District Governor, Wayne Jacobsen highlighted the importance of clubs working on their action plans - Create a Club Action Plan as a good place to start to Create lasting Impact.

2) Club executives go to My Rotary and click on Rotary Club Central: Enter a few goals for your 2026/2027 year. There are several categories - pick 4 or 5 that you are comfortable with based on your club’s interests and capacity. ‘You manage what you measure’... setting a few goals and tracking them quarterly improves the likelihood of attaining them.

3) Ensure that all club members are registered and connected to My Rotary to really take advantage of some of the best learning opportunities you will receive anywhere.

It was my pleasure to have my first club visit in the District 5550 to the club that put the International in Rotary International way back in 1910 – the Winnipeg downtown Rotary Club.

Congratulations to Taiseer Shareif as she was installed as Club President for the 2026-2027 Rotary year.

There have had several meetings on Peace initiatives, event planning and some down time as well. There will be a Rotary Night at the ballpark on Thursday, August 27th for a Goldeyes game in Winnipeg and it is already sold out - a big thank you to John Melnick for his efforts on this.

Stay tuned for the Polio Plus concert on World Polio Day, Saturday, October 24th at the First Unitarian Universalist Church. This event is looking for sponsors, silent auction prizes and...most importantly, ticket sales. There is a capacity of 220 tickets available and it will be a great night of entertainment that has potential to raise up to $50,000 for Polio eradication efforts through matching dollars. Thanks to Nancy Cosway and others for their efforts in planning this event.

The RYLA camps are now underway and we will be travelling there on July 31 st to cheer on the teams in their Amazing Race challenges.

Last, but not least, please enjoy my video message for July - this will be a regular monthly feature that will highlight the Rotary year in our District.
Thank you.

Warren Thompson
District Governor, District 5550

July Membership Moment - Membership Chair, DGND Jude Chigbo

Based on the names so far received from thirteen (13) clubs, these are the Membership Subcommittees. Our plan is to have every club represented in the District.

Membership Attraction Subcommittee

1) Dave LeBlanc - (Gimli) ..........Chair

2) GailMarie Anderson (Melfort)

3) Nike Olushola (Winnipeg - Golden)

4) Doug Prophet ((Winnipeg - Assiniboine)

5) Kent Smith-Windsor (Saskatoon)

6) Oscar Gonzales (South Eastman)

Member Engagement Subcommittee

1) Al Goudie (Regina)................. Chair

2) Patricia Dutchak (Winnipeg - Transcona)

3) Sherrie Palmer (Portage la Prairie)

4) David Soper (Winnipeg - Charleswood)

New Clubs Development

1) Wayne Jacobsen (Neepawa) ...........Chair

2) Rita Chigbo (Global Online)

3) Kelly Ryback (Winnipeg - West)

4) Greg Baca (Regina Eastview)

In an increasingly fast-paced yet sometimes disconnected world, Rotary and Rotaract clubs can offer people what they need most in life – connection and relationships, a place to give back, and purpose. To accomplish everything we want to do together, we need our club, district, and zone leaders to commit to growing Rotary.

Register now for the upcoming webinar, The State of Membership, on Thursday, 27 August, at 11:00 Chicago time (UTC-5). A recording will be available to everyone who registers.

During this 45-minute webinar, Rotaery International will:

· Review the current state of Rotary and Rotaract as of 1 July 2026

· Discuss the recent research findings from the all-member and Rotaract surveys

· Consider how to create a meaningful club experience that meets the expectations of members and prospective Rotary and Rotaract members

We look forward to hearing your stories, ideas, thoughts, and questions.