Posted by Shelly Duben on Aug 15, 2019
Kirk Evans is proud to serve as the president of the Rotary Club of Barrie Kempenfelt. This busy club currently has 83 members, including Past District Governor Mike Kinsey. This year, the club is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
 
For the Spotlight, President Kirk would like to focus on a new initiative. Here’s what he has to say. The Rotary Club of Barrie-Kempenfelt has decided to be the first club in our District (that they know of) to implement a dual Rotaract/Rotary member.  At the recent changeover meeting, the past Rotaract President Lauren Martinuik was inducted as the first dual member to the Barrie-Kempenfelt Club.  Lauren is an amazing addition to the club and brings youth, experience in leadership and a positive attitude to help keep the club moving in the right direction. 
So what is a dual member?  The purpose of the dual member has many layers.  The first and most obvious, is that having a dual member creates a conduit between the Rotary Club and the local Rotaract Club.  This is especially important right now because the average age of Rotarians around the world is increasing.  At the same time, statistics indicate that only a small percentage of Rotaractors become Rotarians, meaning that the issue of declining membership due to an aging population won’t be solved by Rotaractors moving into Rotary. Having a dual member keeps your club up to date on what the Rotaract club is doing and vice versa.  Rotaract is similar to Rotary, but because members normally leave Rotaract around the age of 30, it’s important to make sure they are engaged with a local Rotary Club to make switching to Rotary an automatic next step.  Engage Rotaractors by participating in their events and having them participate in yours.  A dual membership makes the transition much easier for those Rotaract members who are thinking about making the switch when the time is right. 
 
The Barrie-Kempenfelt plan is to have a revolving dual member.  Going forward, the Rotaract Club will identify an engaged, contributing member from those who apply. Lauren will be a full member and may even transition into a mentor or committee leader role to help with the New Generation Committee. Club members see this initiative as very positive and one of the best ways to make sure that Rotary lives for many years to come. 
 
President Kirk has included an attachment that shows some of his findings after having a meeting with a group of Rotaract members.  He has also included the plan that they have implemented to integrate the dual member into their club and maximize the benefits for all.  If this sounds like something you would like to explore for your club, President Kirk is happy to answer any questions you may have.
Their big project at this time is a “Rotary Splash Pad” which will be built along the New Liskeard waterfront, near the playground and miniputt. Members have worked with the City of Temiskaming Shores to design this amazing community project. They have pledged $100 000 over 10 years to this project.  To raise funds for the splash pad, Temiskaming Area Rotarians have been recently involved in two fundraiser BBQs, one at Timbermart and one at "Images" hair salon, where they raised about $13,000.00. On October 5th, the club will host their 3rd annual "Oktoberfest", from which the proceeds will also go toward the splash pad project.
 
Besides this great new initiative, the Barrie –Kempenfelt has a lot of other projects and fundraisers going on. Some of their projects include:
  • The annual Kids Fishing Day where over 1,000 kids receive a fishing rod, bait, a snack and a Subway Sub. This year was the 15th annual event.
  • “Colt for a Day” - Since its inception 16 years ago, Colt for the Day has allowed more than 1,200 children the opportunity to meet their favorite Barrie Colt player while raising over $100,000 for Big Brother and Big Sisters and other local charities.
  • The club supports the Dekpor School Development Organisation and has made it possible for six children in Ghana to participate in their food programme for the 2018-2019 school year. 
  • The club is also very proud of their Cambodia project. In early 2015, the Rotary School of Cambodia was built in Duanleb Village, in Kouk Pring communie in Svay Rieng province by a team of over 20 Rotarians and Friends of the Barrie-Kempenfelt Rotary Club and led by Mike and Mary Anne Kinsey. This project has continued over the past several years and received much support from other District 7010 clubs.
 
How does the club fund all of these great projects? Several ways of course! Some of their main fundraisers are:
To learn more about these great projects and fun fundraisers, check out the club’s Facebook page or website.
 
If you’re in the Barrie area early on a Wednesday morning, consider visiting the Rotary Club of Barrie-Kempenfelt. They meet at 7:15 AM at the Barrie Country Club at 635 St. Vincent St., Barrie.
 
Visit our "Spotlight on Service" Page for more messages about other clubs.