On June 16, Darcy Long became the first Sunshine Coast resident to be installed as governor of Rotary International District 5040, which spans 51 clubs in the coastal and Caribou regions, from Prince Rupert to Vancouver.
“It’s a long time coming but it’s surreal when you actually get there,” said Long of the years-long application and training process.
Long, a Davis Bay resident, has been a Rotary Club member since 2005 and was elected president of the Sunshine Coast-Sechelt club in 2009-10, the same year it was voted club of the year at the district level. She is a retired owner of Stephanson Bulk Fuels in Sechelt and Wallflowers Bed and Breakfast in Halfmoon Bay.
Long was installed on June 16 by Dean Rohrs, vice president of Rotary International. She will represent this year’s Rotary International president, Barry Rassin, who is based in the Bahamas, and has chosen the year’s theme: “Be the inspiration.” Aside from her duties as governor of the district, she will travel to the clubs and “inspire them to grow in the projects they do,” Long said.
Her goal for the year is to help grow the organization at the district level. “I would like to see a few more clubs chartered and to increase training. We have a lot of new Rotarians so I want to make sure they’re all properly trained so they know the breadth and depth of what Rotary International is.”
Rotary International is an organization of 1.2 million business people and professionals who provide humanitarian services. Its structure is organized into 537 districts and more than 30 international zones, with headquarters in Illinois. Women were allowed to become members in the 1980s and account for 22 per cent of the organization’s membership.
Clubs vote for their presidents, who serve one-year terms, while the district governor is nominated by the clubs in their district during the annual district convention.