September 2023
These past 14 months have gone by quickly, but I believe they have been productive months, for the
Good of Gyro. However, it took the efforts of many to accomplish this, so, I would like to THANK the
members of the Executive Council who have worked together as a great team… Thank you Dan
Durbin, Mike Eisner, Blanton Bessinger and Matt Johnson.
Also, many thanks to the Board of Governors, who constantly gave their all, in our 7 Zoom meetings, for the Good of Gyro.
To the members of the Membership Committee, Co-Chaired by Mike Eisner and Larry Duba, thank you for your efforts over this past year. I believe your efforts are starting to ‘bear fruit’ as there was a membership NET GAIN, of 6 members, in July! GO MEMBERSHIP DRIVES GO!!!
To Dan Durbin, thank you for your efforts to increase the public awareness of Gyro, by creating 7 Podcasts. If there are any members who are not aware of these Podcasts, they can be found on the Gyro Website under “GYRO PODCASTS”, in the blue Menu Bar.
As for travel, I was very fortunate to be able to attend the District 3 & District 8 Conventions, thereby giving me the opportunity to meet more Gyros and spouses, and spread the word about the efforts of the Executive Council and Board of Directors.
When starting to prepare for the Gyro International Convention, in Winnipeg, the fact that we have not had an annual convention for the past three (3) years, because of Covid, presented a challenge to me and others (including our wives) as we did not have actual past experience, to be guided by, when it came to all of the extra activities that needed to be arranged by the Executive Council. So, I took the opportunity to update the existing Executive Council Members and Wives: Roles & Responsibilities, at an International Convention. I then decided to make a Manual with the Roles & Responsibilities along with other Resource Information that is required by the Executive Council
members, so that everything would be in one place! This has been completed and approved by the Executive Council and is meant to be a ’living document’ that can be amended as & when
required, for the benefit of future Executive Council members.
The Gyro International Convention, in Winnipeg, has been held and it was truly wonderful to havean actual / real convention, once again!!! So, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Derek Hay, his Committee and the Gyro Club of Winnipeg, for putting together a wonderful Convention!
To Dan Durbin, congratulations on becoming the 103 rd President of Gyro International, and to Ned
Barber, 2 nd Vice President, welcome! I, now, look forward to being part of the 2023/24 Executive Council, as the Immediate Past President.
In closing, I give SPECIAL thanks to my wife, Eileen, for all of her support, these past 3 years!
And finally… Thank You, one and all… for the memories!
Yours in Gyro Friendship,
PS. Please remember: Invite a friend to Gyro! Go Membership Drives Go!
March 27, 2023
Well, the last three (3) months have certainly flown by, partly due to the fact that Eileen and I were in New Zealand for the month of January, so we would have sufficient time to visit the north and south islands. BUT, thanks to Zoom I was still able to Chair the January Executive Council (EC) and Board of Governor (BOG) meetings, from ‘down under’. So, with Spring now just around the corner, I’m looking forward to Edmonton’s summer weather and being able to participate in outdoor activities without a parka and snow boots!
In the first quarter of 2023, the EC have met, via Zoom, on three (3) occasions and the BOG on two (2) to conduct Gyro business. Some highlights from our meetings are:
The Membership Committee, under co-chairs Mike Eisner, 2nd Vice President and Larry Duba, Past International President, has had numerous meetings and continues to work on and develop new ideas to bring in new members to our wonderful organization! AND their efforts are working as the February’s Membership Report showed a net increase in our membership!!! Thanks to all the members on the Committee for their efforts, contributions, and desire to see our organization grow! Thanks also to Steve Anderson, Governor District X for your membership drive, which brought in four (4) new members in February… Go District X, Go!!!
The Special Task Force for the review of Gyro’s District Structure, under chair Dan Durban, 1st Vice President, is making headway and has formulated a suggested reorganization of the districts and are now working with the Governors for their input.
Bottomline, the Executive Council, the District Governors, and Lt. Governors, and all the Gyros that are on the Membership and Special Task Force Committees are working hard for the Good of Gyro! Thank you all for your contributions!!!
Well, I think that’s it, hopefully, I didn’t miss anything. Oh, I did… although 5 months away, please consider attending the “Summer Nights & Northern Lights” International Convention, in Winnipeg, hosted by the Winnipeg Gyro Club. For full details see: https://gyro.org/conventions/
Yours in Gyro Friendship,
Please feel free to contact me at:
PPS. Have a great Spring!
PPPS. Go Membership Drives, Go!!!
December 2022
As 2022 comes to an end, I would like to advise that over the past three (3) months Gyro business continued to be handled via Zoom sessions: two (2) monthly Executive Council meetings (October and November) and one (1) bi-monthly Board of Governors meeting held on November 9 – we took December off. One item worthy of note, is that the Board of Governors approved a Motion to ‘Cap’ the annual dues payable, by each club, each year, to a maximum of 50 members. This will be effective for the 2023/24 fiscal year and affects four (4) Clubs. Matt Johnson (Secretary/Treasurer) is working on the appropriate Bylaw amendments.
The majority of District Conventions were held in September and October. Dan Durbin (1st Vice President) attended the District 6 Convention, via Zoom, and installed Mike Jenkins as Governor.
I had the pleasure of attending District 8’s Convention, in Medicine Hat, AB (hosted by the Stampede City Club) and installed Ken Williamson as Governor and Dunc Mills as Lt. Governor.
Matt Johnson was able to attend District 4’s Convention in Prince George and installed Marc Dumais as Governor and Fred Gray as Lt. Governor. Then, the next week Matt was in Marion, OH to install Chris Snyder as District 1’s Governor and Larry Finefrock as Lt. Governor. Killing two birds with one stone, Matt, as the newly appointed Secretary/Treasurer, then made a side trip to the International Headquarters, in Painesville, OH, to check-in with Sheila and Gloria.
Mike Eisner (2nd Vice President) was able to attend the District 9 Convention in Arroyo Grande and installed Larry Duba as Governor and Steve Black as Lt. Governor.
The last of the District Conventions was for District 3, held in Welland, ON and I was able to attend and install Ned Barber as Governor, and Garth Paley as Lt. Governor. I was also delighted to learn of the fierce but friendly rivalry between the Peterborough, Port Colborne Niagara South, and St. Catharines Clubs to see which club will bring in the most new members in the 2022/23 year. Go Club Rivalry Go!!!
Two last things that I would like to mention: 1) be sure to look at https://gyro.org/conventions/ to see all of the details about the upcoming International Convention being held August 23 – 27, 2023, in Winnipeg, and hosted by the Gyro Club of Winnipeg. It’s going to be a great one, so book your room early!!! And, 2) watch for the details of the soon to be released Gyro Podcasts created and produced by Dan Durbin, 1st Vice President!!!
In closing, Eileen and I take this opportunity to wish you every happiness for this holiday season and throughout 2023!
Yours in Gyro Friendship,
September 20, 2022
Well, three (3) months have gone by since I became President of this WONDERFUL organization, of ours. Here is a summary of what has been going on…
The Executive Council had its first Zoom meeting on June 22 and our first Board of Governors Zoom meeting was held on July 6. Then, we had August off to enjoy the summer and we started up on September 7, with our Executive Council Zoom meeting and our second Board of Governors Zoom meeting was on September 14.
Mike Eisner, 2nd Vice President, was appointed Chair of the Membership Committee and Larry Duba, was appointed as the Vice Chair. The biggest challenge we, Gyro, have to overcome – in order to bring in new and younger members – seems to be ‘social media’ so one of the first things Mike did was recruit some of our younger and newer Gyros, to the committee, in order to learn and capitalize on what brought them into Gyro and why. If you have any ideas and or suggestions, please feel free to send them to Mike. In the meantime, PLEASE invite a friend, your son, son-in-law, or nephew etc. to Gyro… all you have to do is remember to ask.
The Special Task Force, which was created last year in response to the 2021 Members Survey, and is Chaired by 1st Vice President Dan Durbin. The committee has been hard at work looking into a possible District re-alignment, for a variety of reasons. However, please be patient, for the results, as this is a ‘work in progress’ item, which will be brought to the Board of Governors later this year.
The Members Portal, which has been well received and utilized, just celebrated its 1st anniversary and as a result a list of 37+ refinements and enhancements was created and now Derm Jackman, Chair of the Technology Committee is currently going through the necessary steps for a Version 2 to be launched later this year; making the Members Portal even more valuable and productive.
Last month, Blanton Bessinger IPIP attended the District 7 Convention in Red Lake and installed Gary Sirek as the Governor and Todd Gallagher as the Lt. Governor. Derek Hay is now the Immediate Past District Governor, and I take this opportunity to thank him for his contributions and efforts during his term of office. All but one of the remaining Districts Conventions will be held in either September or October, and I am pleased to advise that we will have a member of the Executive Council, in attendance, at each. District 10 will be having their convention in February, possibly to entice some ‘snowbirds’ members to attend, while they are enjoying the ‘sun’ in Florida (good idea Steve).
As for my travel, my first and only speaking engagement, so far, was to attend the Gyro Club of Calgary’s AGM that was held on September 7 at the Heritage Park in Calgary. It was great meeting several new Gyros and to have time to visit with some of my old Gyro friends. I, also, had the pleasure of awarding the Gyro Award of Merit to Bryan Sherwood and then talk to the club members about the things that are happening at the international level, of Gyro. Thank you President Paul, and Immediate Past President Ken for the Invitation and your hospitality!
Well, I think I’ve covered everything, so in closing, may I leave you with a simple but important thought… please reach out to your Non-Gyro Friends and invite them to join Gyro, because it is worth it !!!
Yours in Gyro Friendship,
August 13, 2022
Belatedly, many thanks to Immediate Past President Blanton Bessinger for organizing and conducting the successful ‘virtual’ 2022 Annual General Meeting, held on Saturday, June 18.
As a result of the AGM, your 2022-23 Executive Council is: Peter Carter (myself) President, Dan Durbin, 1st Vice President, and Mike Eisner, 2nd Vice President, Blanton Bessinger, Immediate Past President (IPIP), and Matthew Johnson Secretary/Treasurer. To Alan Pentney, the departing IPIP, we give thanks for his leadership and contributions, to the Executive Council, over the years. And, last but not least, we welcome Mike Eisner, to the Executive Council. Mike has been committed to Gyro, having served as the President of Blacklake Club, Governor of District 9, and for the past three years has served, and continues to serve, on the Membership Committee.
For full details of the AGM, you can find the Minutes on our website: https://gyro.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SectreasurerJune-21.pdf
Although the International Award recipients are listed in the AGM Minutes, because the efforts of the recipients are so important to our organization, I would like to recognize them, again:
Internal Expansion
Best Club Bulletin
Governor’s Bulletin: Derek Hay, Winnipeg Club, District 7
Best Website: Canton, District 1
George France Award: Don Patterson, Fraser Delta Club, District 4
Honor Key: Alan Pentney, Stampede City Club, District 8
Bud Mitchell Gyro of the Year: Derm Jackman, Castlegar Club, District 8
Thank you, one and all, for your contributions to Gyro!
With the new Executive Council, in place, we quickly had our first meeting, on June 22, and our first task was to Appoint the Committee Chairs. They are:
Membership: Mike Eisner, with Larry Duba as Vice-Chair
Structural Task Force: Dan Durbin, continues as Chair
Technology: Derm Jackman, continues as Chair and Webmaster
Another important item on the EC Agenda was to set a Goal for 2022-23 and that was quickly established; to emphasis and promote membership growth, to our wonderful organization!
We then had our first Board of Governors meeting, on July 6, before taking our summer break, with things starting up again in September.
By way of background, my President’s Newsletter, is a bit late because the week after the BOG meeting, Eileen and I went on a 16-day Expedition Cruise of Greenland, something totally different and most enjoyable. Hopefully, you are a believer of “better late than never”.
In closing, I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer!
Yours in Gyro Friendship,