2026 EVENT DETAILS

NOTE: Be advised all district meetings will be Friday morning between 8am and 12noon. Please plan your air accordingly.

If you are arriving by air: Proceed through the airport to baggage claim. After claiming bags, go up the escalator and cross the bridge to the parking garage. Go down to the lower level and cross the driveway to await the free Doubletree bus that runs periodically. You may use the bank of phones on the sidewalk to call the Doubletree and advise you are ready to be picked up.

If you are arriving by car: Proceed into the parking lot at the front of the hotel and make your way to the rear. Gather your most important baggage and enter via the hotel’s back door. Hotel registration and PNW PELS registration are at the front in the lobby. Depending on the lines, you may check in with PNW PELS registration or Hotel registration first. If you cannot get a room assignment, check in with PNW PELS registration and they will hold your bags until your room is ready.

• Blue Denim: 
• Learning Leaders Workshop: 
• PNWPELS: February 20-22 2026

Rotary International President Elect
District 9141 (Nigeria)
Plenary Saturday Dinner

Bablola was elected to serve as the President-Elect of Rotary International on 28 August 2025, and he will assume the role of RI President on 1 July 2026, serving through 30 June 2027.

He holds a degree in engineering and spent more than 30 years in the oil and gas sector, including senior leadership roles at Shell PLC. He founded Riviera Technical Services Ltd., an oil and gas infrastructure delivery firm, as well as Lead and Change Consulting, an executive coaching and organizational performance consultancy.

Babalola is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Institute of Safety Professionals, and the Association of Change Management Practitioners. He also belongs to the Jericho Business Club, a civic organization in Ibadan that contributes to national policy dialogue. Following his professional retirement, he now devotes much of his time to his humanitarian interests and service to his community and the world through his membership of Rotary.

He started his Rotary journey as a Rotaractor in 1983. A Rotarian since 1993, Babalola is a member of the Rotary club of Trans Amadi, Port Harcourt District 9141, Nigeria.  He served on the Rotary International Board of Directors from 2018 through 2020 and as Vice-President of Rotary International for the 2019-20 year.

Babalola has experience on several Rotary committees including the Joint Operations Review Committee, Fund Development Committee, Sao Paulo Convention Promotion Committee, Joint Partnerships Committee, RI Membership Growth Committee, RI Board Executive Committee, Elevate Rotaract Task Force, and Vice Chair of the End Polio Now Countdown to History Committee. He has served as Adviser to the Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee for many years, playing a leading role in The Rotary Foundation’s effort to eradicate polio in Nigeria and Africa, leading to the region’s eventual certification by the World Health Organization in 2021.

He previously served on the Peace Major Gift Initiative Committee, helping to launch the Africa Peace concert, which raised over $300,000 USD for the Rotary Peace Centers, and as End Polio Zone Coordinator, Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator and Endowment Major Gift Adviser. Through these roles, he led and inspired the effort that grew the Arch Klumph Society membership (donors who have contributed $250,000 USD) in Africa from four in 2013 to 30 in 2023. As District Governor, he raised over a million US dollars for the Rotary Foundation from an area normally considered as economically disadvantaged.

As International Assembly Learning Facilitator, Governor-elect Learning Seminar Leader, Regional Leaders Training Institute Facilitator, and Moderator for the 2024 Global Support and Global Philanthropy Seminars, he has helped prepare and inspire many future Rotary leaders.

Babalola is passionate about Growing Rotary. As club President in 2002-03, he won the Rotary International Global Quest Award for highest percentage net membership gain worldwide and was recognized onstage at the Brisbane Rotary Convention for this achievement. As District Governor, he grew membership by a net gain of over 650 members, emerging as one of the top three performing districts in the world and was recognized on stage at the Bangkok Rotary Convention.

As RI Director, he inspired the growth of Rotary in Africa from 19,000 to over 44,000 members. Under his watch, Districts of his paired zones became the fastest growing districts in their region.

DG District 5370
Past End Polio Now Coordinator Zone 28
Plenary Friday Night

Ramesh Ferris is a polio survivor and Rotarian who resides in Whitehorse, Yukon Canada. He has a bachelor’s degree in social work, and is the past president of the Rotary Club of Whitehorse Rendezvous. 

Ramesh is a major donor of the Rotary Foundation, and is the Rotary 5370 District Governor for 2025-2026. He is a past Rotary End Polio Now Coordinator for Zone 28. 

In 2008 Ramesh hand-cycled 7140kms over 6 months from Victoria, BC to Cape Spear, NL in program called Cycle to Walk to raise funds and awareness for polio eradication, education, and rehabilitation. 

Over the past 18 years Ramesh has volunteered in partnership with Rotary International, The Gates Foundation, Global Citizen, United Nations Foundation, and the World Health Organization to promote our shared global goal of ending polio. 

He has shared Rotary’s End Polio message with countless heads of state, many world leaders, and celebrities around the world.

He has spoken to delegates at the United Nations in New York City and to many Rotarians at various Rotary International Conventions, Zone Institutes and District Conferences around the world. 

Ramesh has provided the polio vaccine to children in Karachi Pakistan, Kabul, Afghanistan, and in his birth country of India. 

He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee award and the Yukon Commissioner’s award for volunteer public service.

Rotary Foundation Trustee
District 7780

Marty served on The Rotary Foundation’s Peace-Major Gifts Initiative and its predecessor committees for six years, culminating in the chairmanship (2020-21).

Marty served as International Training Leader at the 2018 and 2019 International Assemblies and as Training Leader Support at the virtual 2021 Assembly. She was Trainer for Zones 28/32 in 2020 and 2021. She has presented in breakouts at the Atlanta, Toronto and Hamburg International Conventions as well as at the virtual 2021 Convention. She was in the charter class of North American Zone Innovative Club Advocates (2020), and served as her District’s Growth Chair (2019-20). Earlier, while she was her District’s Foundation Chair (2015-18), Marty wrote and implemented the first online Grants Management Seminar in the Rotary world to be made available via RI’s Learning Center.

 Marty is a Paul Harris Society member, Major Donor, and charter member of the Legacy Society of the Rotary Foundation.  She and her late husband, Frank, joined Rotary in 2003.

 Marty is president of the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, a small humanitarian non-profit that made history in 2021 when it inked a gift to The Rotary Foundation to completely fund a new Rotary Peace Center in the Middle East/North Africa region.  Total value of the gift is $15.5 million, and plans are on track to open the new Peace Center in 2025.

ZONE 28 End Polio Now Coordinator
District 7815
Plenary Saturday Lunch

Louisa is an educator, entrepreneur and business leader. A former geologist, teacher, certified business coach, and Chief Academic Officer of national educational companies, Louisa is now an independent Management Consultant (CMC), specializing in leadership development and strategic thinking.  She recently served as the Director of the national small business consulting practice for BDC, the Business Development Bank of Canada.

Passionate about delivering engaging client experiences, Louisa enjoys exploration of best practices for continuous improvement. Louisa has three degrees from Dalhousie University in Science and Education and has pursued doctoral studies in Florida.

A member of the Rotary Club of Halifax Harbourside since 2005, Louisa was inspired to join when her younger daughter was selected to be a Youth Exchange student. Louisa was instrumental in establishing the first junior high school based Interact Club in the District. She is proud of her Club’s recognition as District Club of the Year 2011-12 when she served as President. Her focus has been on building membership and helping the Club become more inclusive, engaging and irresistible.  She received a District Vocational Award and is a Paul Harris Fellow. Louisa lead the last Group Study Exchange team from our district on the 2013 trip to Malaysia. She also lead a Rotary Friendship Exchange trip to New Zealand in 2015 and has participated in several other Friendship Exchange trips.

Louisa has been a familiar face in District for the past several years leading various training and strategic planning exercises for clubs all over the region. She was named District Trainer and joined the District board of Directors in 2016.  Her team approach has revolutionized the leadership training process for District and the TLC (Training for Leaders of Clubs) series is widely seen as the model for future leader development in our District. Louisa is a Group Discussion Leader for the Atlantic Chapter of the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI)

ZONE 28 End Polio Now Coordinator
District 7670
Plenary Saturday Breakfast

Patrick is a passionate advocate for modernizing and expanding Rotary through innovative club models. As the creator of the Companion Club concept and the founder of the IMPACT model, the most successful Companion Club in Rotary, Patrick has helped clubs worldwide attract and retain members by offering flexible and inclusive options for service. His work has led to Companion Clubs accounting for one-third of all new satellite/companion clubs in North America last year.

Recognized for his expertise in club growth, Patrick has been selected to present at four consecutive Rotary International Conventions—Houston (2022), Melbourne (2023), Singapore (2024), and Calgary (2025). 

As part of his commitment to sustainable club expansion, Patrick proposed the creation of the North American Club Creation Team to Rotary International, an initiative aimed at streamlining and supporting new club development across North America. Rotary accepted his proposal, and he was chosen to co-lead this initiative. This team will work directly with clubs, districts, and all 10 Zones in North America to remove barriers to new club formation, ensuring that Rotary remains accessible and relevant to future generations.

Patrick believes that growing Rotary isn’t just about increasing numbers—it’s about offering choices when people join Rotary and providing options before they leave. He understands that this is vital to ensure that everyone who wants to serve has a place to do so. This work will continue to shape the future of membership, proving that innovation and impact go hand in hand. Patrick lives in Lenoir NC with his wife Angela and his son Harrison. He is the Co-owner of DACdb.

Foundation Trustee 2020-23
RI Vice-President 2017-18
District 5050
Plenary Sunday Breakfast

Dean, her husband Rhino and their 3 children emigrated to Canada from South Africa 32 years ago. Dean grew up in Zambia and after marrying Rhino lived in Malawi, Namibia and South Africa. Dean was born into a Rotary family and when Rhino joined Rotary in 1986 became an active Rotary Ann until she joined Rotary in 1989. On arriving in Vancouver both Dean and Rhino joined the Rotary Club of West Vancouver and at present are members of the Rotary Club of Langley Central in District 5050.

Dean has had a varied career from the early days of being an Operating Room Nurse on Professor Christiaan Barnard’s first heart transplant team; working for the Red Cross in Southern Africa and after emigrating to Canada – together with Rhino they own and manage a company that is involved in soil stabilization during road construction.

Dean has served on District and Zone committees; which include:
Regional Rotary Coordinator and Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator, Pacific Northwest PETS Chair, District Governor in 2007/2008, Rotary International Director 2016-2018, Rotary International Vice- President 2017-2018, President of the Rotary Foundation Canada 2021/2023, and Trustee of the Rotary Foundation 2020-2023.

She also serves as Chair of the Rotary Action Group for Rotary Family Health Days & AIDES Prevention (RFHA) which provides health service access to needy communities, specifically in Africa.

However, her best experience is leading teams of Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors to Africa and seeing how this volunteer experience changes their lives.