District Governor visits Kindersley Rotary Club
By Joan Janzen
The Kindersley Rotary Club welcomed Kurt Kowalchuk, the District Governor for Southwestern Saskatchewan District 5360, to their dinner meeting on Wednesday, October 18th. Eleven members gathered at the Highway Host on Main Street in Kindersley to enjoy a meal together before the meeting got underway.
Kurt presented Barb Derbawka-Stevenson of Eston with a Paul Harris award in recognition of all she has done for Rotary and her community. Barb has served the club in several roles, including President and treasurer, and for several years, has been responsible for grants in Kindersley. The recognition is named after Rotary’s founder, the late Paul Harris, a Chicago lawyer, who started Rotary with three business associates in 1905.
District Governor Kurt Kowalchuk presented Barb Derbawka of Eston with a Paul Harris award in recognition of all she has done for Rotary and her community. PHOTO BY JOAN JANZEN
The District Governor was introduced to those in attendance. Kurt has lived and worked as an IT consultant in London, England, Houston, Texas, as well as in a number of Canadian cities. Since retiring as a partner in a Calgary-based IT consulting firm, he has dedicated much of his time and effort to Rotary.
He has been a Rotarian for 13 years, joining because of his passion for international service. He has served in numerous roles during those years and is currently a member of the Rotary Club of Calgary Downtown.
At the district level, he was involved in the District Foundation Committee and is currently District Governor for Southern Alberta and South Western Saskatchewan, District 5360.
Kurt spent some time discussing the theme for the year: ‘Create Hope in the World.’ For starters, he said telling stories about Rotary projects creates hope in others and hope in our own hearts.
“The projects we’ve been involved in in developing countries have impacted tens of thousands, and education impacts families of those children. The impact is astronomical!” Kurt said.
The Kindersley Rotary Club creates hope by offering scholarships for high school students, sending students to youth leadership camps, and regularly contributing to the local food bank.
“Because we’re Rotary International, we have a Rotary International focus,” Sharon Price, President of the Kindersley Rotary Club, explained. “We’re a small club and dedicate our international funds to shelter boxes.” Shelter Boxes are airlifted into countries whenever there is a disaster and are equipped with everything needed to provide a temporary dwelling.
“Continuity is a key component of Rotary clubs,” Kurt explained. Clubs meet every two weeks to talk about challenges and achievements and to make plans for the future. Sharon mentioned one of the challenges faced by the Kindersley club. “We have a good support system in Kindersley and are well received, but we need membership,” she noted.
The Kindersley Club’s plans for the future include their upcoming fundraiser. “Our yearly fundraiser is coming up on November 26th. We’re having four courses prepared with four wines,” Sharon said. “It’s something a little different, and we’ve had a lot of positive response.”
“We stay in Rotary because of the impact on others’ lives and the impact on our own lives,” the District Governor concluded.
President Price couldn’t agree more. “The bottom line is we put service above self. We have a need to give back. At our meetings we talk about ways of giving back with our time.”
CORRECTION: In the original version of this article, “District Governor visits Kindersley Rotary Club,” we identified Barb Derbawka from Kindersley. Barb Derbawka-Stevenson hails from Eston. We apologize for the error. This article has been updated to reflect the correction.