Heartland/Rotary House
Report to Trail Rotary Club Directors
Meeting: March 25, 2004
Respectfully Submitted: Janet Morton, Vice President
The Executive Director of the Trail F.A.I.R. Society has confirmed the strong interest of the society's Board of
Directors to proceed with the "Heartland" House project. They would very much like to work with Rotary
but are prepared to proceed on their own to seek other partners if Rotary is not interested in proceeding with
the project. The goal will be to raise a portion of the project cost locally (35 - 50%), using that to leverage
contributions from foundations and granting agencies such as the Real Estate Foundation, the Vancouver Foundation
and the Columbia Basin Trust.
I have reviewed the business plan, which appears to be very thorough in its analysis. Attached is two-page summary
of the project concept prepared by FAIR's Executive Director.
Libby Nelson of the Beaver Valley Rotary Club has expressed a strong interest on the part of their club to make
this their centennial project.
I recently met with Ron Parisotto (incoming president, Colombo Lodge) and Sebastian ("Buzz") Nutini (Knights
of Columbus) regarding collaborating with Rotary on the fund-raising project. The Knights of Columbus initially
expressed interest more than 2 years ago in selling the convent to the hospital for the purpose of creating accommodation
for patients and their supports using the regional hospital. Ron noted the Knights of Columbus might interested
in making this their centenary project. They are each taking the concept to their respective Executive committees
for determination and next steps.
Next Steps:
Convene a meeting of the Hospital Hostel Committee of our Club to review the business plan and make a recommendation
regarding proceeding or not proceeding with the project.
Confirm the process of decision-making regarding this project. The following is my recommendation for the process.
1) Hospital Hostel Committee makes a recommendation on whether or not to proceed (taking into account a review
of the business plan, discussions with representatives of the Trail F.A.I.R. Society and responses from other potential
partners such as the Knights of Columbus and Colombo Lodge.)
2) Review of the recommendation by the Trail Rotary Club Directors on April 15th and make an interim recommendation
from the Directors on whether or not to proceed with the project.
Assuming the interim recommendation is to proceed at this point:
3) Presentation on the project made to a lunch hour meeting of the Trail Rotary Club with a formalized structure
for written feedback from the members (likely via e-mail).
4) Make presentations and secure commitment from other fund-raising partners.
5) Final decision on whether to proceed with the project by the Trail Rotary Club Directors (target: June 17th.
2004)