PUBLIC RELATIONS - 2007-2008
Committee members: Tricia Timmermans (chair),
Giles Bixler, John Snively, Ted Chambers, Ted Harrison

Last year was a good year for PR in Rotary. The Rotary Club of Oak Bay has joined the Greater Victoria Rotary Clubs Public Relations Committee - a group committed to building a unified and solid PR campaign that blankets all of the Greater Victoria Clubs. The newspaper campaign is well underway. Each month a specific club is highlighted. The idea is to make the public more aware of the good work that Rotary does locally and internationally, create more local interest, and thus gain more members.

The space for the ROTARY IN ACTION page is divided into 3 different sections:

• General information about Clubs in Victoria with listed contact information and a calendar of Rotary events
• A section devoted to highlighting a particular Club in the Victoria area perhaps focussing on a particular fundraising event, a conference, or an ongoing inter-national project.
• Advertising units sold to businesses wanting to support Rotary

The articles appear in all seven Black Press newspapers that are distributed (free) in Sidney, Saanich, Oak Bay, Victoria, Goldstream, Esquimault, and Sooke. Price for a one-time 1.9” X 2” spot is $125. Other unit sizes are also available. Ad unit prices include the production and design of the ad. Rotarians who indicate they are willing to advertise are given a first-come, first-served preference. Please contact me if you would like to buy advertising on this Rotary page.

We have purchased one phone number listed as “Rotary Clubs” in the white pages. The new number is 704-2777 and is a recording. It lists the Victoria-area website www.rotaryvictoria.org. This site lists club names, days and times they meet, and a contact number for each Greater Victoria club. There are also links to the different clubs’ websites. For those who would like to speak to a Rotarian, it lists Don Ohlgren's number: 595-5974.