Local Nakusp resident appointed Rotary District Governor 2016/17
Kees van der Pol, of Nakusp, has assumed the volunteer post of Rotary District 5080 Governor for 2016-17. As governor, van der Pol coordinates the community and international service projects of the 58 clubs in the district which comprise Southeastern BC, the Idaho Panhandle, and the Eastern third of Washington. He assumed office July 1 and will serve through June 30, 2017.
van der Pol is one of 530 Rotarians worldwide serving as a district governor this year. A member of the Rotary club of Nakusp for ten years, van der Pol will also be responsible for organizing new Rotary clubs and strengthening existing ones.
His main goals for the coming year are to support grassroots efforts at the club level. Specifically: increasing fellowship by engaging members in community and international service projects, providing leadership development, increasing membership and contributions to the Rotary Foundation, and connecting Rotarians with youth and schools.
“As local leaders and volunteers, Rotarians can help find community solutions to local needs,” van der Pol said.
Two Rotary projects in Nakusp are the installation of subtle lighting along the length of the Nakusp Waterfront Walkway, making it safer for residents and visitors to walk there in the evenings, and the start of Phase 5 of affordable seniors housing through the 50-year old Arrowtarian Society.
van der Pol, a retired Nakusp Secondary School principal, contributes to the community in many ways. He is a director in the Arrowtarian Society, director in the Beaton Arm Crossing Association (BACA), and director in the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association. He and his wife Mayumi went on a Rotary friendship exchange and polio immunization mission to Lahore, Pakistan in 2015, and on a cataract surgery mission to Dembi Dolo Ethiopia earlier this year.
The annual district conference will be held in Nakusp next May.
