Rotary in Canada: The making of the 100-year video
By Paul Engleman
Rotary Canada -- July 2010
The producers of the new centennial video uncovered historical footage such as 1917 Rotary President Arch C. Klumph (left) greeting the incoming president, Canadian E. Leslie Pidgeon.
Rotary Images
W hen Reid Asselstine, chair of the Canadian Rotary Centennial Committee, came knocking last fall, Jennifer Jones was ready for action – and as president and CEO of Media Street, a video production house in Windsor, Ontario, she already had the lights and camera.
Her assignment: Produce a short video that conveys the rich and colourful history of Rotary in Canada for its 100th birthday.
Compress an entire century of events and achievements into several minutes? Jones signed on without hesitation. “It gave me the chance to do what we do best in Rotary: utilize our vocation to enhance our organization,” explains Jones, past governor of District 6400, which bridges the United States and Canada.
She launched her research by calling Rotarian Robert Lampard, a physician by day and a vocational historian by night. Lampard, a member of the Rotary Club of Red Deer, Alberta, provided background that helped propel the production. He also appears in the video. “Bob was a brilliant resource,” says Jones.
The video, Rotary in Canada: 100 Years , is slated to debut during the 2010 RI Convention in Montréal in June. “It is a story that will make Canadians proud,” Jones says. “It also is a story that Rotarians from around the world will identify with, because we represent such a great cultural mosaic. We envision this video as something that members will want to showcase at their club meetings and put up on their websites. It could be a great membership tool.”
Jones credits much of the project’s success to support from staff at RI headquarters in Evanston, Ill., USA. Andrew Chudzinski, her creative partner, uncovered a wealth of historical film in the Rotary International archives. Chudzinski, a 14-year RI veteran, is a producer in the Broadcast Media Department.
Among the materials is a silent clip from the 1917 convention in Atlanta, Georgia, in which Rotary President Arch C. Klumph – who that year proposed the idea behind The Rotary Foundation – greets incoming president E. Leslie Pidgeon, the first Canadian to lead the organization. Other historical footage shows the legendary Jim Davidson with his wife at home in Vancouver in 1934, and Sidney McMichael, 1942 host committee chair, at the 1941 convention in Denver, Colorado, inviting Rotarians to attend the next year’s convention in Toronto. (Not every clip will make the final cut.)
The team faced numerous technical challenges, Chudzinski says, such as maintaining a consistent level of quality while mixing several different formats, from silent film shot more than 90 years ago to the current generation of video technology.
Some of the familiar figures interviewed include Foundation Trustee and Past RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, Past RI Vice President and Rotary Canada Advisory Board member Monty Audenart, and Rotary Canada Advisory Board Chair Chris Offer, who is also a regional Rotary Foundation coordinator. The video also features “everyday Rotarians” from all areas of the country, Jones says.
Jones called on clubs to send photos and video clips of significant Canadian achievements. “My office was flooded with submissions from every corner of the country,” she says. “We tried to use pieces of everything sent in and hope that each contributor will feel a great sense of pride when we debut the video. It has been such a joyful project to work on.”
Order the DVD for US$5 at shop.rotary.org .
Centennial stamp
Canada Post is celebrating Rotary’s centennial in the country with a commemorative stamp, which went on sale 19 June. The stamp was unveiled in Montréal, host of the RI Convention, held 20-23 June. “My father was a Rotarian, and I remember how concerned he was with the betterment of others,” says stamp designer Xerxes Irani. “These memories are all tied to the Rotary vest.” He chose an anonymous figure because “it could be anyone.” The stamp will be available at all postal outlets and post offices in Canada.