The Rotary Club of Windsor (1918)
Web Site Committee Page

Our Club is Located in Windsor Ontario Canada
The Web Site Committee normally meets every 2nd Thursday of the month,
and takes a summer recess from June through September.
Thanks to our committee members
who have contributed to the development of our site over the past eleven years.
Our Committee welcomes any club members who may care to meet with us to either share their computing skills
or just take part in our Web Site related discussions.

The Next Meeting is scheduled as a breakfast gathering on

Thursday, February 11, 2010, 8:00 am,
at the Cadillac Motel lunch room

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1. When was the last time that you called up the Rotary International web site? Why did you go there? Did it answer your needs?
   Ask yourself the same questions for the Rotary District 6400 and our own Rotary (1918) sites.
   There are millions of sites competing for your attention - In the eleven years since we began our site, the changes to the Internet and all information sources, (because that is what we are), have been mind boggling. Rotary is now using the various social networks to distribute its' messages. If you use search tools, you will find many sites who offer to answer your questions.
   We, as Rotary 1918 site editors need to ask ourselves who we service, what information we need to supply and where we are heading.
   
   
2. Our committee members should bring their laptops to future meetings so that we can continue to participate in a formal review of our web site.
   
   
3. Our Web pages were originally designed to reflect the overall thrust of the activities of our club. To a great extent we believe that this has happened. But recently the activities that have appeared on our opening page have mainly featured our overseas programs. We must make sure that our Club members and other people who view our pages are also kept aware of the strong programs that service our local community. How can we keep a balance in our reporting? Our club needs to emphasize its' local content on our web site in order to attract and hold members.
   We (The Web Site Committee members) exist under the Public Relations pillar of the club's committee structure. The other committees under this pillar have not been particularly active in past years. The Publicity and Public Relations Committee and the Four Way Test Committee are now showing more life. For example, a recent International Rotarian periodical highlighted our $1,000,000 donation to the John McGivney Centre. Also, our committee member Om Chandna has carried out tireless work while serving as Chairperson of the Four Way Test Committee. Our 4-Way Test India High School Essay Contest enters it's fifth and concluding year in 2010.
   
   
4. When we redesign our existing web pages we should probably aim to reduce the content. Our District and International web sites have much information available that no longer needs to be duplicated on our site and simply needs to be referenced.
   The entire web world is in a constant state of flux and the number of sites is exploding. We must keep our "reason for being" and intended audience in mind with every change we make.
   
   
5. Our member, Neil Chitte, has expressed his wish to begin training as our future webmaster. At our last meeting however he indicated that he was now engaged in other activities which would limit his time for training.
   
   
6. The Rotary (1918) Web Site has recently undergone a complete redesign in line with the club's new administrative restructuring as suggested by Rotary International.
   Our Web Site design now reflects the club administrative structure.
   [http://www.rotary1918.com/committe_2009-10.html]
   This redesign involved considerable re-coding work. Rotarians Richard Caron and Zora Sanson supplied your webmaster with an outline of the projected club structure. I ask Web Site Committee members to view the results of the rewriting process in the Committee Page. Sometimes inadvertent errata can sneak into these rewriting efforts so please advise me if you see a problem.
   
   
7. In speaking on the issue of our web site design and coding thrust, we have maintained a simple format over the past decade using basic HTML code with appropriate insertions of more complex code where situations warrant. Our site is rich with pictures with a 10 year history of meeting and event photos amounting to over to over 10,000 items.
   The hope has always been that individual Rotarians might take over the writing and design of specific committee pages while arranging their design to conform to a general overall pattern as suggested by the Web Site Committee. This objective has proven to be elusive as our newer webmaster members have chosen to go their own way in the belief that there are more efficient and modern ways to approach web site design.
   Problems inevitably result however when these newer members move on and leave a vacuum in their sector of the overall web that must be quickly addressed. After discussing with you committee members the issue of how, in the future, new club web sites should be authorized, it was agreed that we needed to bring our thoughts before the Board.
   Our President, Bill MacArthur and President Elect, Rick Caron have been made aware of our misgivings on this matter.
   
   
8. Our Board has taken a new interest in Publicity for our Club events. Our Public Relations Committee has asked for our assistance in supplying pictures and information about upcoming events. We need the assistance of our committee members in the effort to take pictures of our members as they participate in our projects. It would also be helpful if reports could be prepared and caption information gathered.
   
   
9. Rotarian Hasu Naik has been very active with our overseas projects in India and Africa. He recently returned to India for another visit. Your webmaster is currently designing a page which will provide a record of his past and ongoing Rotary work complete with photographs.
   I met with Hasu last Spring and we exchanged thoughts on how we might best present a description of his activities both for our club members and for those other people who Hassu relies upon for sponsorship. Hasu is a leader in a decade long trend toward new programs being introduced through the initiatives of individual members.
   
   
10. At the bottom of our main Web site pages there is a round blue icon that leads readers to a "counter" of the hits on individual pages over time. This record also contains an accounting, and map showing the districts and cities where those hits are originating from. It is interesting to observe on some of our pages how many "outside-of-Canada" hits are shown especially on the World Community Service pages.
    
    
11. The Children's Fest committee designed a new Web Page in 2007 and they continue to maintain it. That site design is both visually stimulating and well constructed.
    
    
12. It appears that Rotarian Matt Dunlop will continue his role of Art in the Park webmaster for future shows. I know from past experience that the job is time consuming in that there is much information that needs to be updated and regular contact with the Art in the Park committee is a requirement. One of our new Rotarians has a computer background and has joined the Art in the Park Committee. Perhaps she and Matt might share the annual workload.
    
    
13. The Rotary (1918) Website Committee was born during the Summer of 1997 and it launched the first version of a Rotary (1918) home page in early Fall of 1997. Our Rotary club has changed its' committee structure many times over the past decade and in the wake of these changes we have developed many site pages. We need to continue our revamping or archiving work in order to reflect the reality of our present administrative configuration. Our Website committee must continue its' page by page examination of our complete site.
    Just how big should our web site be?
    Does our web site committee mandate continue to meet the expectations of the club executive and those who regularly view our output?
    Any redesign work we do needs some thoughtful input from our new executive - we want to move in the same direction as our club leaders and they must listen to our observations on the reality of meeting their expectations.
    All committee members should have received periodic Email on various aspects of this subject in which I expressed views on our club's recent administrative handling of committees.
    Read this Rotary article called "Lost in Cyberspace" for some insight on how Web Sites serve their clubs.
    
    
14. The Rotary (1918) Roster is now being regularly updated and released in a timely fashion to all of our members who have Internet access.
    I asked at a recent meeting if the online Roster should appear as a link in our Web Pages. It seems that the prevailing opinion was that, in the interest of privacy, we should not include that information on our site even if we were to apply a password for its' recovery.
    
    
    
15. The Roster maintenance and the preparation of an online version of our weekly news bulletin, The WHEEL, require dedicated attention from knowledgeable Rotarians. The club should properly recognize the people who are performing these services for us.
    
    
16. Our committee needs to discuss matters surrounding the use of domain names, what they are, their advantages and the costs and dangers involved in their improper use. This discussion is made more relevant given a blackout of our site last year due to misunderstandings about how the domain names are to be annually renewed.
    
    
17. Your webmaster has completed the design of a Kenya Projects Page. You may view the page at http://www.rotary1918.com/kenyapg.htm
    Any suggestions for further development would be appreciated. Rotarian Kay Curtis, leader of the Kenya projects, is an active Rotarian and a valuable source of input for the page.
    
    
18. Email spam disrupted the activities of our office in recent months. This issue has been resolved through the co-operation of our Internet provider, Primus.
    
    

Other Updates:

Our Site Index page has been redesigned to conform to the club's current administrative structure.
Our Visitors Page has been updated to remove dead links and add new links.
The Links page has been edited to remove dead links and add new ones.
The History section in the Links Page now includes references to:
Past meetings Photo Galleries
Past meetings reports
as well as past "Wheel" copies

1. Home Page
   
2. Upcoming Meetings Page
   
3. Past Meeting Report Pages
   
4. Wheel Page
   
5. Photography Activity Pages
   
6. The Website Committee Page
   
7. Current Fund Raising Pages
   
8. Site Index Page
   
9. Rotary Information Pages
   
10. Development of new Web pages
11. General Updating of Committee Pages
    
12. Searching for broken links
13. Using search engines on our site to see what turns up. If the search uncovers old, antiquated Web pages, we remove them.

Website Committee Mandate

The Website Committee shall:

• undertake to develop and maintain an information driven Website that will properly reflect the spirit and energy of The Windsor Rotary Club (1918) to our members, fellow Rotarians, our exchange students, our fund raising partners and those people we serve in the community in general in order to advance the Object of Rotary in all its aspects.
• maintain a list of other Web resources useful to our members, clients and fellow Rotarians.
• develop a Web Page for every committee in our Rotary club which will detail the mandate and activities of the committee.
• provide a photography service for regular weekly meetings and special events - produce pictures for the Club roster.
• provide regular reminders about the Website and its' value to members through our weekly news publication, "The Wheel" and place an HTML version of the latest Wheel on-line as soon it is available. Updated supplementary information pictures will be provided in the "Upcoming Meetings" Pages.
• give our travelling members a means to stay in touch with club activities through information on upcoming meetings events and reports on completed activities
• attempt to integrate the Website content into the Rotary Office routine so as to ease the burden and cost of information distribution through the provision of:
  (a) a mass E-Mail mailing list;
  (b) an up-to-date 24 hour information service for clients and Rotarians concerning ongoing Rotary fund raising projects;
  (c) on-line documentation, manuals or FAQ lists
  (d) a time sensitive information release vehicle for our fund raising partners.
• provide an early release of the weekly club newsletter "The Wheel" as well as a means to look at back issues of the publication.
  
• assist the History Committee in keeping an inventory of club activities through the committee pages. Provide a formal historical record enhanced with pictures and references in the Recent Meetings pages.
• forward recommendations to the Board for approval concerning planned Website developments that could possibly cause concern among members.
• prepare a well thought out web site design written in straight-forward HTML language that allows Rotarians or others to easily update it at anytime without the necessity of having to repeat the design process as each new webmaster assumes his/ her duties.
  
  
  

Web Site Realities

1. The Internet has increased the speed and efficiency of communication to other Rotarians. Our web site has made possible the reduction in size of our office staff by becoming a 24 hour, 7 day a week source of Rotary (1918) information thereby reducing the necessity of contact with office staff.
   
2. We provide an Internet link to the Club for our travelling or incapacitated members and past members who have relocated or retired from service club activity.
   
3. We are now the de facto historians for our club through our continuously expanding past meeting reports, Wheel history links and weekly picture album pages. In exercising this function, we continuously keep information about past accomplishments before club members as a source of pride in past service and stimulation for further activities.
   
4. We are the club librarians, picture takers, and a contact source through Email.
   
5. We provide the pictures for the on line rosters that our Internet connected members now receive on a regular basis. We have a special page for recording pictures of our newest members so that members can properly recognize them and make an effort to include them in club activities.
   
6. We provide a long range schedule for upcoming meeting plans and research information links for each of the speakers so that members can come to meetings better prepared to understand topics and ask questions of the presenters
   
7. We have become a ready source of information for publicity purposes - providing pictures to magazines and information about our activities and past endeavours. Our speakers often visit our site to get a feeling about the audience they will face.
   
8. We construct individual pages for each Rotary committee and event describing their mandate and activities. This allows a sense of continuity as committees add new members.
   
9. We provide online information on the club organizational structure so that members will know who does what
   
10. We show pictures on our index page of new members as they are introduced so that they feel recognized and welcome to the club.
    
11. We support our fundraising activities by first publicizing their efforts and then reporting on their financial results as is often required by local regulations.
    
12. New and potential Rotarians can find out about Rotary and what our club does through our pages
    
13. Exchange students keep their families aware of their Rotary connections through the online picture albums we produce for every Rotary meeting and event.
    
14. Your webmaster receives many Emails throughout the year from people who participate in or wish to attend our fund raising events. Our Office cooperates with us to assure that all questions are properly answered.
    
15. We provide maps, information links and search tools for visiting Rotarians
    
16. We have developed a "links" page which assists Rotarians and other interested parties in their searches for information.
    
17. We encourage the effective use of the Internet and Email as a resource for information and communication for the club and Rotarians.
    
18. We encourage the club and Rotarians to frequently access select Internet web sites and Rotary publications in order for them to stay updated about Rotary.
    
19. We often publicise the fund raising events of our other district clubs in order to entice our web site audience to attend their activities.
    
20. We track the readership of the pages on our site in order to ascertain the effectiveness of our web presentations. We also collect statistics on who is visiting our site from other nations.
    
21. Rotary International now insists that every District Governor must connect via the Internet to their home office and that every district must have its own web site to improve communications between clubs, DGs, DG staff and Rotary International. ROTI members world wide have contributed to this over the past 5 years.
    Email linkage has now become the standard procedure used for 90% of the establishment of projects, matching grants, GSE planning, ISE planning and final reporting including accounting to Rotary International.

Observations from your webmaster

Website Committee Activities

Use of digital photographs

• Notes on Web Page Construction
• Learn the Net
• Rotary Graphics Tord Elfwendahl, Curator and Creator of the library
• The WebTools Guide Cross Training for Web Teams from Web Review
• International Computer Users Fellowship of Rotarians
• Website 101
• Professional Web Design HTML Tutorials
• Rotary International’s E-Club Pilot Project
• Things You Need to Know About Web Site Planning

• Digital Photography Camera Reviews
  

CHAIR: Gary Champ (Website Administrator)

VICE CHAIR: Mike Serafimovski(Assistant Webmaster)

Other Website Members


• Zora Sanson(Chairperson Public Relations Division)
• Bill MacArthur (Rotary (1918) President)
• Bill McRae (Computer Consultant)
• Neil Chitte (member at large)
• Om Chandna (International Matters) <
• Ken Wheeldon (Art in the Park contact)
• Lex McCrindle (Rotary Roster contact person)

Last Revised: January 4, 2010