The 2023 Zone 8 Conference (Institute) will be held on 
Saturday October 28 and Sunday October 29 online.

    Register now     More Information



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SATURDAY

28 October 2023


1pm to 3pm AEDT / 3pm to 5pm NZT

Followed by Business Session starting at 3.30pm AEDT

SUNDAY

29 October 2023


1pm to 3.30pm AEDT / 3pm to 5pm NZT


Co-chairing the virtual event, themed "Moments that Matter"


Leanne Jaggs

Past District Governor from the
Rotary Club of Manukau City Sunrise, New Zealand


Karen Purdue

Past District Governor from the
Rotary Club of Invercargill Sunrise, New Zealand


Registration

For Rotary
Members

$ 25  

/ ticket
  • For our Rotary Members

For Rotary
Members Partners

$25  

/ ticket
  • For our Rotarian's partners

For Rotaract Members

$ 25  

/ ticket
  • For our Rotaractors

For Rotaract Members Partners

$25  

/ ticket
  • For our Rotaractor's partners

Program

Along with bringing Rotarians, Rotaractors and the wider community together, this virtual event will create an environment to share ideas and learn from our members about the moments that mattered to them.

Our global keynote speakers will share examples of tangible steps, you can take back to your club to
Increase your Impact, Expand your Reach, Enhance Engagement and Increase our Ability to Adapt.

Check back soon to see speaker announcements


Our Speakers

Michele Berg

Deputy General Secretary
Rotary Club of Evanston
Illinois, USA

Michele Berg is the Deputy General Secretary of Rotary International, leading the day-to-day operations of the Secretariat. She is also chiefly responsible for RI strategy, including implementation of Rotary’s Action Plan.

Michele is also a Rotarian – a past president of the Rotary Club of Evanston, Paul Harris Fellow, Paul Harris Society member, and a Benefactor. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a major in Italian and earned her MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a dual specialization in marketing and international business.

Valarie Wafer

Chair, Rotary International Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
Rotary Club of Collingwood South Georgian Bay

Valarie Wafer is a champion of Rotary’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy. She  has chaired the Rotary International DEI taskforce since its inception, and she advises clubs  and districts around the world on the ways that DEI can enhance Rotary’s impact.

Valarie is a past Director and Vice-President of Rotary International and has held numerous  international roles. She has also participated in various service-based activities, including as  a Group Study Exchange leader to Australia in 2010 and Rotary Foundation Cadre leader,  travelling to Kenya and Tanzania to audit long-term Rotary Foundation grant activity.

In her non-Rotary life, Valarie had a 27-year career as a restaurant owner in Toronto. The  brand, Tim Hortons, is the most recognized and iconic franchise in Canada. The Wafer’s  restaurants were best known for its inclusive hiring practices and accessibility, especially in  the area of employment.

R. Gordon R. McInally

President 2023-24
Rotary Club of South Queensferry
West Lothian, Scotland

Gordon R. McInally is president of Rotary International. He joined Rotary in 1984 at age 26  and is a member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry in Scotland. He has served as  president and vice president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland. He has also  served RI as a director.

Gordon is a Dentist by profession. He operated his own dental practice in Edinburgh until  2016, was chair of the East of Scotland branch of the British Paedodontic Society and has  held various academic positions. He has also served as a presbytery elder, chair of the  Queensferry parish congregational board, and commissioner to the general assembly of the  Church of Scotland.

In his free time, McInally enjoys rugby, good food and wine, and stick dressing, the  traditional Scottish craft of making walking sticks.

Stephanie A. Urchick

President-elect 2023-24
Rotary Club of McMurray
Pennsylvania, USA

Stephanie Urchick is a member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania, USA. She  will serve RI as president in 2024-25. She has been an RI director and Rotary Foundation  trustee and has served RI in numerous capacities, including as training leader, regional  Rotary Foundation coordinator, and RI president's representative. In addition, Stephanie was  a representative and member-at-large to three sessions of the Council on Legislation.

A Rotary member since 1991, Stephanie has lived her passion for service. She has  participated in a variety of international service projects, including National Immunization  Days in India and Nigeria. In Vietnam, she worked with clubs to help build a primary school  and travelled to the Dominican Republic to install water filters. A student of several Slavic  languages, she has mentored new Rotary members in Ukraine and coordinated a Rotary  Foundation grant for a mammography equipment and a biopsy unit for a hospital in Poland.  In its commemorative book, the Rotary Club of Krakow, Poland, noted Stephanie as a key  figure for helping the re-birth of Rotary in post-Communist Poland.

Currently, Stephanie is helping to partner clubs and districts in the U.S. with Rotary clubs in  Albania, Kosovo, and Ukraine for humanitarian and educational services.  Stephanie's professional background is in the higher education, consulting, and  entertainment industries. She received her doctorate degree in Leadership Studies from  Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has been recognized and awarded by The Rotary  Foundation and numerous community and international organizations.

Ghim Bok Chew

Rotary Club of Bugis Junction
Singapore

Born in Singapore, Ghim Bok “G.B.” Chew graduated in 1981 with an Honors degree in  computer science from the University of Liverpool, England, before returning to his home  country to launch a career as a serial entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and private equities  fund manager. After opening his first business, an IT systems integrator, he took a bankrupt  food processing company to an initial public offering after turning it around. Now semiretired,  Chew maintains real estate and real estate management companies in Singapore, in  addition to his fund management holding company.

Chew joined Rotary in 1996. Immediately after serving as district governor in 2013, he took  on several zone and international roles. He is presently the Host Organization Committee  chair for the Rotary International Convention in Singapore in 2024.

Outside Rotary, Chew is active as a local volunteer, having served for nearly three decades  with Singapore’s People's Association, a government organization that uses a grassroots  approach to promote racial and social harmony among Singapore’s diverse population. For  his contributions to Singapore’s communities, Chew was awarded the Public Service Award  Medal in 2005 and Public Service Star Medal in 2012 by Singapore’s president. He also  serves as a justice of the peace who volunteers in local prisons, chair of two religious  organizations, trustee of three national trust organizations, and honorary consul for the  Republic of Slovakia in Singapore.

Chew is a recipient of the Service Above Self Award. With his wife, Phyllis, he is a member  of the Arch Klumph Society Chair’s Circle.

2024 Institute

We are also excited to announce that this online event sets the foundations for the
2024 in-person Zone Conference in Queenstown, New Zealand from November 1-3 2024.