Meet Rotarian Terry Forth
I was a product of large metropolitan cities – born and raised in Toronto and then finishing my formal education and early work life in Montreal until I was 26 years old. Then, everything changed for me, initially prompted by Expo ’67, but I won’t dwell on that here.
My northern life began early in 1968 – the first ten years included meeting and marrying my life-partner, Mehrun, in the arctic and having two great children – Tonia and James born respectively in Churchill and Yellowknife.
I first joined Rotary in 1972 in Yellowknife. I was one of their younger members at the time and although I was an active Rotarian in a fairly busy club, I never assumed any official positions in the club; probably resulting from not being drawn into club administration. In 1978, my Rotary life was interrupted by a seventeen-year gap when we moved “south” first to Toronto, then Saskatoon, and eventually Ottawa for eleven years.
This next phase saw me focused almost entirely on economic development policies, and programs directly aimed at Canada’s Indigenous peoples. This allowed me to continue my close working relationship with the Inuit while developing new ones with other Indigenous people in all parts of Canada.
Serendipitously, I was sponsored by a close friend to become a member of the Rotary club of West Ottawa in early 1995. Just as the process leading up to my induction was completed, I was given the opportunity to take early retirement and soon after invited by the Inuit to help them establish economic development policies and initiatives enabling successful implementation of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement (NLCA), passed through Parliament in the summer of 1993. A key element of the NLCA was the establishment of Nunavut itself.
Mehrun and I were initially based in Rankin Inlet and then in 1997 we moved to Baffin Island and Iqaluit where, sponsored by Murray Horn, I re-joined Rotary. I served in many different Rotary positions including both Secretary and President, as well as Foundation and International Service Chairs. When we moved south in 2018, Murray was also my sponsor to the Passport Club.
Rotary and our 33 years of professional experience in the Arctic was rich and memorable for Mehrun and I. We enjoyed our times travelling to different countries and many Rotary clubs in different cities in Europe, East Africa, Mexico, and the USA, as well as in Canada. I am looking forward to my continuing relationship with the D7040 Passport Club and our great members.
