GOVERNOR’S ADDRESS 2011 – 2012

It is an honour to address you as the Governor of Canadian District East for the 2011-2012 Civitan year. Civitan is one of the greatest non-profit service organizations I have had ever the pleasure to be a member of.  It is my firm belief that Civitan’s best years lie ahead. I believe it is Civitans’ destiny to become the most significant non-profit organization in this century. So I say to you that Civitan is worthy of all our time, efforts and energy, means and commitment.

I believe if we are going to continue growing in size and strength we need to make our presence felt everywhere.  We also need to work harder at retaining the members we already have.  Retaining members is critical to Civitan’s long-term success as it is to sponsoring new ones. To do this we need to keep an open communication going between all members.  Keeping in mind that existing members who are dedicated, active and motivated support the effective function of the club and are likely to attract new members.

As members and sponsoring members it is our responsibility to keep our new members active in our clubs. To accomplish this we need to provide them with a complete list of projects and fundraisers and ask them where their interest lies. We need to become a mentor to assist them in developing an understanding to club, District and International policies and bylaws.

We should also invite them to visit other clubs with us; to help them feel connected to the larger organization. Making members feel welcome is really important. New members bring significant benefits to the club, including an increased ability to serve the community, future leadership and fresh ideas and energy.

This year Civitan International has designed a new membership pin for recruitment; there are only 1,000 of these pins available. The First 1,000 Civitan members who sponsor one or more new members during the first quarter will receive a specially designed pin. If this is your first member sponsor into Civitan, you will also receive the first sponsor pin.

In closing, I wish each and every Civitan member a most successful year.

Yours in Civitan

John Carr
Canadian District East
Governor 2011 – 2012