Two members of our St. Catharines Ontario Canada club, Ray Bukovec (originally from Slovenia) and PDG Charlie Complin were responsible for reestablishing Rotary in Slovenia after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and the fall of communism in the eastern European countries.
It all began with our club sending wheelchairs, equipment, and supplies to the Kamnik Children's Centre in Slovenia for those children with physical and mental disabilities. This was the spark that ignited the possibility to bring Rotary back to Slovenia. Rotary was banned there since WW2 and the years following until 1990.
In October 1990 eight couples from our St. Catharines club attended the Charter Night of the first Club in Ljubljana.
In the years that followed, personnel from the Kamnik Centre and the Niagara Children's Centre in St. Catharines were exchanged to experience and learn new techniques for providing care for these children with special needs.
For their efforts in this regard, both Ray Bukovec and PDG Charlie Complin were recognized by Rotary International with the "Service Above Self" Award.Last year, I was asked to be the Friendship Exchange Chair for our International District 7090 Niagara Ontario/ Western New York State.
Having been to Slovenia many times (my wife Jayne is of Slovenian decent) and given our club's history with Slovenia, you can understand why my first thought was to take a group to Slovenian.
I ended up taking a group of ten to Slovenia the end of May 2026 for 10 days. My contacts in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana were Alja Žorž and Majda Bitenc. My team was made up of Rotarians and spouses from St. Catharines and Hamilton, Ontario along with a former Rotary Exchange student from Lindau Germany, Valentin Heiler whom our club hosted 14 years ago and had never been to Slovenia. This gave us a chance to reconnect and catch up. We might as well make this a real international event, I thought.
My goal for my team was not only to see this beautiful country and to engage with their Rotarians but to experience what Rotary is doing there 35+ years after being reestablished.
I can tell you, it was a wonderful experience for everyone involved. We visited the now very modern Children's Centre in Kamnik and witnessed the progress they have achieved with assisting the children there with special needs.
We saw young Rotarians who have built a summer camp for low-income families and have wonderful expansion plans to purchase land and renovate buildings to accommodate overnight stays. A very ambitious project. A Global Grant could be in their future to supply the camp with much-needed equipment.
We visited Rotary Clubs in Maribor, Celja, Ptui, Ljubljana, Kamnik ending with a Conference at Lake Bed highlighting many of their projects.
This exchange gave all those who participated, an insight into the history of Slovenia, the wonderful hospitality and the impact Rotary is presently having there. A very rewarding trip in so many ways.
Recently, in late September 2026, we hosted 9 Slovenians. I put together an itinerary that showcased what Rotary has supported in our Niagara community along with tourist and historical sites in this area.
The purpose of these exchanges, both youth and adult, are to build international understanding between nations, exchange ideas, learn from each other and in the process, most importantly, promote peace.
Coming back to the beginning and my reason for choosing Slovenia, I can think of no better example of expanding Rotary's reach. Now with some 2000 Rotary members in District 1912 Slovenia/ Macedonia, I can assure you Rotary is alive and well and doing worthwhile endeavors there.
At our Rotary meeting in St. Catharines on September 24th, the Slovenians presented a program on the history of Rotary in Slovenia and recognized Ray Bukovec for his efforts in reestablishing Rotary there. Sadly, PDG Charlie Complin has passed away, but he would be so very proud knowing how successful their efforts have been. Needless to say, it was an emotional day for all.
The two attached photos show the Service Above Self awards being presented to Ray and Charlie in 1995 and the Slovenian Rotarians surrounding Ray at our meeting last Thursday.
For me, having now been in Rotary 42 years, it has been a rewarding experience for me to watch all this unfold and to bring it full circle.
A true example of Expanding Rotary's Reach.
Richard Evans
Rotary Friendship Exchange Chair
District 7090
Rotary Club of St. Catharines Ontario Canada