N ovember is Rotary Foundation Month! What a perfect opportunity during this time of thanksgiving for the Rotarians of 6290 and all Rotarians worldwide to celebrate the great works of OUR Rotary Foundation and focus on Every Rotarian Every Year. EREY is our goal for every Rotar- ian in the world to support OUR Rotary Foundation every year. Why? Because our contributions to the Foundation change lives every day. Our gifts support matching grants for clean water in Haiti, books for children in Chile and cata- ract operations for the people of Ghana, and that is just the tip of the iceberg! Our gifts also support Ambassadorial Scholars, like Jenica Moore from Comstock Park who is currently studying in Jordan. And our gifts also support Group Study Exchange. This year with India, last year the Dominican Republic and over the past many years with districts in Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, Thailand and Argentina, just name a few. The Foundation opens our hearts and our world and puts the “International” into Rotary International. PolioPlus Week November 12-16 in District 6290 It is also through OUR Rotary Foundation that Rotarians worldwide have provided a gift to the children of the world. Over the past 20 years, Rotarians have helped im- munize over two billion children against polio and we are now focusing our atten- tion on the four remaining endemic coun- tries – Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghani- stan. Our club challenges for 2007-2008 include support of PolioPlus at $10 per member to help reach Rotary’s top philan- thropic goal of eradicating polio worldwide. In an effort to rally together in raising $10 per member in each of our clubs, we will target the week of November 12-16 to focus on this goal. Have fun with this club challenge and get your members involved in sup- porting PolioPlus. The Grand Haven and Spring Lake clubs have challenged each other on this fundraising goal and have made a competition out of it. During Governor Chris’ official visit with the Rotary Club of Petoskey, President Dianne Litzenburger surprised her with a $1,110 gift of $10 bills, a $10 donation from each member of the club for the PolioPlus challenge. As my journey continues throughout District 6290, I am enjoying my visits with each club learning about their fundraising activities, local and international service projects, fellowship opportunities, membership and Foundation goals and strategies and partici- pation in Rotary programs. Several of our clubs have participated in our new Vision Facilitation program and several more clubs are awaiting their scheduled session. This strategic planning process provides the opportunity for each club to develop an action plan and start working toward their short-term and long-term goals. If your club has not yet participated in Vision Facilitation and would like to learn more about this process, please contact District 6290 Vision Facilitation Coordinator AG Tim Knaggs at [email protected]. And remember to visit “Where in 6290 is Chris Etienne” at www.ridistrict6290.org to share in my journey. Have a great Rotary Foundation Month and Happy Thanksgiving! Special points of interest: • Register for District Conference • November is Rotary Foundation Month • Visit the District website: www.ridistrict6290.org Inside this issue: Call for Nominations PolioPlus-Give a Special Gift 2 Annual Clean Water Conference Club News 3 Rotary PR Tips Announcements 4 Trip to Honduras 5 Life Leadership Conference News from the District Office 6 Clean Water Flows 7 Ambassadorial Scholar Report GSE Team Journeys to India Mackinac Bridge Celebrates 50 8 DG Club Visits - Photo Journal 9 District 6290 Statistics 10 Nov 2007 Volume 1, Issue 5 District Governor Chris Etienne [email protected]
Transcript
N ovember is Rotary Foundation Month! What a perfect opportunity during this time of thanksgiving for the
Rotarians of 6290 and all Rotarians worldwide to celebrate the great works of OUR Rotary Foundation and focus on Every Rotarian Every Year. EREY is our goal for every Rotar-ian in the world to support OUR Rotary Foundation every year. Why? Because our contributions to the Foundation change lives every day. Our gifts support matching grants for clean water in Haiti, books for children in Chile and cata-ract operations for the people of Ghana, and that is just the tip of the iceberg! Our gifts also support Ambassadorial Scholars, like Jenica Moore from Comstock Park who is currently studying in Jordan. And our gifts also support Group Study Exchange. This year with India, last year the Dominican Republic and over the past many years with
districts in Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, Thailand and Argentina, just name a few. The Foundation opens our hearts and our world and puts the “International” into Rotary International.
PolioPlus Week November 12-16 in District 6290
It is also through OUR Rotary Foundation that Rotarians worldwide have provided a gift to the children of the world. Over the past 20 years, Rotarians have helped im-munize over two billion children against polio and we are now focusing our atten-tion on the four remaining endemic coun-tries – Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghani-stan. Our club challenges for 2007-2008 include support of PolioPlus at $10 per member to help reach Rotary’s top philan-thropic goal of eradicating polio worldwide. In an effort to rally together in raising $10 per member in each of our clubs, we will target the week of November 12-16 to focus on this goal. Have fun with this club challenge and get your members involved in sup-porting PolioPlus. The Grand Haven and Spring Lake clubs have challenged each other on this fundraising goal and have made a competition out of it. During Governor Chris’ official visit with the Rotary Club of Petoskey, President Dianne Litzenburger surprised her with a $1,110 gift of $10 bills, a $10 donation from each member of the club for the PolioPlus challenge.
As my journey continues throughout District 6290, I am enjoying my visits with each club learning about their fundraising activities, local and international service projects, fellowship opportunities, membership and Foundation goals and strategies and partici-pation in Rotary programs. Several of our clubs have participated in our new Vision Facilitation program and several more clubs are awaiting their scheduled session. This strategic planning process provides the opportunity for each club to develop an action plan and start working toward their short-term and long-term goals. If your club has not yet participated in Vision Facilitation and would like to learn more about this process, please contact District 6290 Vision Facilitation Coordinator AG Tim Knaggs at [email protected]. And remember to visit “Where in 6290 is Chris Etienne” at www.ridistrict6290.org to share in my journey.
Have a great Rotary Foundation Month and Happy Thanksgiving!
Special points of interest:
• Register for District Conference
• November is Rotary Foundation Month
• Visit the District website: www.ridistrict6290.org
Inside this issue:
Call for Nominations PolioPlus-Give a Special Gift
2
Annual Clean Water Conference Club News
3
Rotary PR Tips Announcements
4
Trip to Honduras 5
Life Leadership Conference News from the District Office
6
Clean Water Flows 7
Ambassadorial Scholar Report GSE Team Journeys to India Mackinac Bridge Celebrates 50
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR DISTRICT GOVERNOR FOR THE ROTARY YEAR 2010-2011
W ho will lead our District in the Rotary year 2010-2011?
We invite every Rotary Club and every Club President in District 6290 to consider now which members of your club have the potential for District leadership.
Please review whether any of your club’s past-presidents has the strengths and availability to serve as District Governor. If one of your past-presidents is willing to serve, and your Board supports their nomination, then please forward their name and the attached document to PDG Donald Moss, our District Nominations Chair. All nominations must be received by January 15, 2008.
Don Moss will then send you the RI Governor-Nominee Data Form for your nominee. Please assure that the nominee fills in the necessary information, and that your Club secretary co-signs the form and submits it to PDG Don.
Don Moss’ FAX number is: (616) 842-1277 and his email is [email protected] Click here to access DG Nomination form: http://www.clubrunner.ca/data/6290/html/27036/dg_nomination_form.pdf
Give a Special Gift this Christmas Help keep Bangladesh polio free. Join us as we immunize the children of
Bangladesh. Save a child from the crippling grip of polio. It may be the best gift you ever gave to yourself.
PDG Dave Groner of D6360 Dowagiac, MI and PP Ann Lee Hussey of D7780 South Berwick, ME Chairperson Polio Survivors & Associates Rotarian Action Group will lead a team of Rotary volunteers to participate in an NID in the country of Bangladesh from December 3 – December 17. The team will immunize for 5 days in the Dhaka area and then travel to Kolkata (Calcutta), India to visit Rotary projects and Mother Teresa sites. Previous plans were to immunize in Bihar, India but due to the government of India changing NID dates we had to cancel. Bangladesh borders the polio en-demic region of India, and though certified polio free, re-mains at risk for continued importation cases which it has seen over the last several months. Help us keep the polio virus out of an AT-Risk country.
Due to the sudden changes in our itinerary, the exact to-tal trip cost is not available yet but will be shortly. We expect the cost to be the same as before, around $4550. This cost includes roundtrip airfare Newark, NJ to Delhi, India, orientation at the WHO office, visit St. Stephen’s Hospital (corrective surgery), roundtrip air-fare from India to Bangladesh, Rotary projects, Mother Teresa’s grave, Sisters of Charity orphanage, sight-seeing of Kolkata including the famous Howrah Bridge, picturesque flower market of Kolkata, riverside morning prayers and more. There are lower airfares available the sooner you register. Also due to these changes some team members have needed to drop out. We are currently accepting new registrations, es-pecially women volunteers. You must act now in order to obtain necessary Visas in time.
To reserve your place on this special NID trip, contact Ann Lee Hussey at [email protected]
The Fourth Annual Clean Water Conference has been scheduled for Monday, Feb. 25th, 2008
at Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI
The conference promises to bring together many leaders of clean water initiatives, providing a unique opportunity to learn, exchange ideas, and gain fresh perspectives.
Among those who will speak are:
• Peter Swanson, Videographer for six PBS one hour specials and the Rotary DVD on water • Ron Denham, who will talk about WASRAG and Peter's work on the water DVD • Daniele Lantagne, engineer with Centers for Disease Control, will discuss issues of clean water and current news • Dr. Mark Sobsey will provide an update on research done during the past 12 months includ-ing new results from Cambodia on both the BioSand and Ceramic Filters Jim Bodenner, Director of Water Initiatives, International Aid, will speak on the need for IA to col-laborate with NGOs familiar with the concrete filter and able to demonstrate capacity to provide the health and sanitation educational component during this initial phase.
Registration for the conference and lunch may be made on line after November 15. The cost is $75 including lunch.
Despite a rainout on August 20, the re‐scheduled West Michigan Rotary Clubs Golf Outing on September 17 at Blythe‐field Country Club was a huge success. There were a total of 98 golfers which was comprised of members from the Rotary Club of Grand Rapids, Rockford Rotary Club and guests. The Rotary Club of Grand Rapids netted $30, 861 and the Rockford Rotary Club netted $1,215 for their respective STRIVE Programs.
Nice Job!
President Ted Vecchio, Grace Shearer and Andy DeVries
Rotary in the news "Rotary makes me appreciate the values of humanity," says Bala Yusuf, president of the Rotary Club of Ogudu G.R.A., Lagos State, Nigeria, in an article in Vanguard, a popular Nigerian news outlet. He shared the benefits of club membership, explaining that Rotary has enabled him to build a network of friends all over the world. "It has assisted me in personal growth and development," he says. "It has sharpened my leadership skills; it has made me a better, complete person." New RI Web site Rotary International launched its redesigned Web site on 8 October. In addition to a fresh look and new features, the site offers more advanced search capability and a library of images avail-able for download. The Effective Public Relations section continues to provide you with public relations resources, and it now includes a discussion forum, where you can share your success stories and pose questions.
Social Responsibility Tip Provided by Shirley Downie, area coordinator for Africa, Public Image Resource Group
Rotary clubs should consider cooperating with local organizations, including businesses, to establish better relationships, work to-gether on common projects and form stronger ties within their communities. Each club should consider appointing a member or com-mittee to identify groups engaged in community service.
To help foster collaboration and social responsibility, clubs can develop a contest to recognize organizations or businesses that make a difference. Entry fees can even benefit a club project. Appoint a panel of independent judges to select outstanding small, medium and large humanitarian-focused firms. Honor the winners with certificates, awards or trophies at a meeting or an evening gala, and invite the media. Send a press release announcing the contest, the winners and why they won. News of the winners can promote Rotary ideals and help responsible organizations and businesses thrive.
Also try working with your local newspaper to create a supplement that shares Rotary service goals, highlights community projects and, should your club hold a contest, features the winners. This effort would publicize Rotary to a large audience and allow your club to network further in the community.
To read Rotary PR Tips in it’s entirety please click here: http://www.clubrunner.ca/data/6290/html/26783/rotary%20pr%20tips.pdf
Page 4
New Addition to District Video Library! A Gift to the Children of the World DVD highlights Rotary's latest work in the march toward polio eradication. Running time: 11 minutes. To check out the DVD, contact Deb Shaw at the District Office, [email protected]
Rotary PR Tips
Attention: Presidents-Elect
FEBRUARY 15-17, 2008
SAVE THE DATE!
www.greatlakesrotarypets.org
Don’t miss the chance to “See the Stars” in Los Angeles for
the 2008 RI Convention, 15-18 June 2008.
Download the convention preview brochure and visit the resource page for more on the
Trip to Honduras to Develop New Water Projects: March 29-April 6, 2008 Rotarians from District 6290 and beyond are in-vited to travel to the San Pedro Sula area of Hon-duras, to begin plans for new water projects in that country. At the invitation of Tony Medina, Water Coordinator for District 4250, the North American Rotarians will meet with their Honduran counter-parts, stay in their homes, see water projects that require financial support, and establish relation-ships that will allow major grants to be developed,
District 4250, in Honduras, has partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Honduras Servicio Autonomo Nacional de Acueductors y Alcantarillador (SANAA), to identify 71 villages that need water projects. Each project has a budget which will be met by multiple funding sources. USAID, SANAA, and the community each propose to provide 20% of the cost, for a total of %60. Rotarians, through clubs and Foundation match, are asked to provide the remaining 40% for each village. For as little as $6,000 a Rotary club can leverage a $22,000 water system for a village in Honduras. This trip will let you establish the partnerships in Honduras that will allow your club to engage in such a pro-ject.
A highlight of the trip will be several days on the island of Roatan, an emerging world class resort area. In addition to scuba, snorkeling, fishing and other water sports, the island has the tropical ambiance that is so welcome in March.
The total cost of the trip is estimated to be approximately $1,400 per person, double occupancy. Your deposit of $100 must be received by December 24,2007 to be eligible for reduced airfare. To find out more and join the trip, contact Ginny Ryan at [email protected].
Honduran Rotarian Tony Medina,(with his wife, on the left) Water Coordinator for District 4250, discusses water projects with Jim and Sue Bodenner, Rockford Rotarians.
Have you visited the District’s website? www.ridistrict6290.org
If not, please visit soon! Just click on “New User? Click Here” on the Home Page in the upper left dark blue box. Follow the instructions to receive your ID and Password. Once you are logged in, you will find yourself at the Administration screen. You can do the following:
• Click on “Edit My Profile” in the “For Members: section on the right and update your own District Rotary information. Please make sure your e-mail address and phone number are entered correctly. You can change your login name here if you desire to. Remember to click on “SAVE” before you exit.
• You can change your password by clicking on “Change My Password: in the “For Members” section and follow-ing the instructions. Each Rotarian should go in and verify his/her own information and make updates.
• If you are a club President or Secretary, you will have access to member information for all your club members. Please make sure your membership roster is correct. Here are answers to some frequent questions about the website.
Q. Do I have to login to use the site? A. No, anyone can view the site, however, to change any information or to view private items such as telephone num-bers and email addresses of district officers, you do need to login. This is a security measure! Q. After logging in, I can’t access some of the menu items! A. Some of the items on the menu require a higher level of security access. Access is based upon your function. Club Secretaries, for example can submit attendance information and update the profile of any member of their own club. Q. I am a club Secretary, how do I report monthly attendance? A. Login. Under the “For Club Executives” section, select “Club Attendance Report”. Complete the fields on the screen and click SAVE. No more need to fax or e-mail your report to the District Office! Need more help? Please contact Deb Shaw (website guru-in-training!) at the District Office to arrange a one-on-one telephone tutorial. Deb can be reached Monday through Thursday at 616-935-9559 before 3:00 p.m. The District’s website is full of useful information and resources. Check it out today!
The District Office
at your service!
Dear Rotarian Friends,
I have been reading with interest Lee Iacocca’s book “Where Have All the Leaders Gone?” In it Iacocca defines his “Nine Cs” of leadership. They are Character, Charisma, Common Sense, Courage, Communication, Curiosity, Crisis Management, Competency, and Conviction. He takes a hard look at our current leadership in the US and those who are seeking election next year. He evaluates many of the front runners using his Nine C method. Iacocca doesn’t like what he has seen from the past few administrations and is “giving a wake-up call” to the country to demand some accountability from the next administration. Iacocca longs for a much stronger leadership team in our government.
To Lee: I’m not sure where your leaders have gone, but I know where mine are coming from. Take a drive in your Chrysler to the Kettunen Center in Tustin, MI during the 3rd week of June. You’ll find 150 of the brightest and best young leaders assembled for the 60th Life Leadership Conference sponsored by Rotary District 6290. We have our own leadership elements – Knowledge, Loyalty, Sensitivity, Honesty, Faith, Consideration of Others, Physical Fitness, Responsi-bility, Emotional Self Control. After four days of intense discussion, you’ll find your answer in these young people.
Rotarians, now is the time to begin your work for the 2008 Life Leadership Conference. Now is the time to identify your candidates, begin the interview process, and make certain that you have the answer to Lee Iacocca’s question. The new leaders are coming from Petoskey, Manistee, Holland, Rockford, Wawa, and all the rest of the cities and towns encompassed by District 6290. You’ve been doing it for the last 59 years. Now is the time to begin working on the 60th.
2008 will mark my 30th year as a staff member and my 10th year as the Director of this Conference. I thank you all for your support of this extremely important event for the young men and women of the District. I ask you to begin now to answer Iacocca’s question. The leaders are going to meet June 18-21, 2008 at Kettunen Center. Begin now to ensure your club sends its’ very best.
Sincerely, Charles Bell, Director Life Leadership Conference
Where Have All the Leaders Gone? Life Leadership responds to Lee Iacocca
Director Bell congratulates 2006 Leader of the Year, Mooketsi Mojaphoko
In many places in the world and for over a billion people, what little water there is may be found in dirty streams and ponds, polluted by both animals and people. Often areas are plagued with seasonal storms followed by drought. The lack of clean water for 1.5 billion people worldwide has been declared a humanitarian crisis by the United Nations World Health Organization. Addressing this crisis is a major goal for Rotary.
The huge problems of clean water access are daunting to most, but not for Rotarians in District 6290. District 6290 is ex-erting major efforts to bring clean water to indigent people across the globe. We are targeting whole countries, whole technologies and all of Rotary International in our efforts to address millennium goals of the United Nations for clean water. Water projects are be-ing pursued by individual Rotarians, individual clubs, and by the District itself. Our achievements accrue while our opportunities expand.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Over the past three years, Individual Rotarians in District 6290 have contributed more than a quarter million dollars to the Dis-trict water project, Thirsting to Serve. As a result of the generos-ity of these Rotarians, Thirsting to Serve has been able to fund much, if not all of the costs of the following:
• 11,000 cement BioSand Water Filters for the Dominican Re-public.
• 3,000 plastic filters each for Ghana, Honduras and the Domini-can Republic
• Individual club projects have been supported, including Wawa’s bore hole in Africa, Spring Lake’s water distribution system for San Matias, Honduras, and reservoirs in Haiti.
• A DVD on the world water crisis, produced by a photo journalist with National Public Television was created. It now has subtitles in Spanish made possible by a gift from the Lowell Rotary Club. This DVD is being distributed internationally by the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group (WASRAG).
A health impact study of the Manz BioSand Water filter, conducted by Dr. Mark Sobsey was funded, and proved the efficacy of this technology which is now being distributed world wide by International Aid, Spring Lake, Michigan.
Over 200 Rotarians from the District have traveled to Honduras, Haiti, Af-rica and the Dominican Republic to identify needs and personally install water filters. Members of Thirsting to Serve sought to form an international Rotary Water Fellowship, which morphed into the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group (WASRAG). District Rotarians Jim Bodenner and Ginny Ryan both serve as founding board members of this group. Rotarian Sue Bodenner has convened the annual Clean Water Conference for four years, arguably the most significant annual water conference held in the Americas. Sue and Jim Bodenner have spearheaded the effort to bring water filters to the Dominican Republic. PDG Don Moss has led a coalition that is systematically building wa-ter distribution systems for entire villages throughout the mountains of Hondu-ras. Matching funds from Rotary International have been awarded to build such water distribution systems in seven villages, and more are projects are currently in process.
Page 7
CLEAN WATER FLOWS THANKS TO DISTRICT 6290 Dr. Virginia Ryan, [email protected]
Rockford Rotarian Jim Bodenner dances with Honduran Village children
Please access the conclusion of this story on the District website by clicking on the link below: http://www.clubrunner.ca/Data/6290//html/26202/CLEAN%20WATER%20FLOWS.pdf
Muskegon Rotarian Don Crandall installs a water filter in Honduras
Please access the conclusion of this story on the District website by clicking on the link below: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Jenica Moore, Ambassadorial Scholar, Amman, Jordan
Hello Rotarians and Friends from District 6290
I hope this report finds all of you safe, happy, and healthy. I’ve been having quite the adventure so far in Jordan. There is so much to share with you that I really cannot write it all down. In this report you can read about:
• Sharing iftar during Ramadan with my friend and an orphanage in Amman
• Swimming in the Dead Sea and visiting the Jordan River
• Finding my wonderful host family
• Finding my real long-lost family in Syria
• A trip to Acaba with women from the Palestinian community
• Teaming up with Peace Corps for a children’s center
GSE Team Prepares for Journey to India Our outbound Group Study Exchange Team will be leaving on De-cember 28 to spend four weeks in District 3120, which represents 59 Rotary clubs in northern India. The team has been preparing for their upcoming departure by getting to know each other, sharing their life experiences and learning about the culture and people of India. The team is comprised of team leader Christine Langlois, from the Rotary Club of Grand Rapids, and four team members: Carly Uhlman from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Patrick Revere from Holland, Anne Selden from Petoskey and Karisa Wilson from Grand Rapids. During the exchange, the team will be home hosted by In-dian Rotarians and their families, visit and present to Rotary clubs, visit businesses and places of interest, and participate in “vocational days” where each member will learn about their vocation in India.
Carly, Karisa, Patrick, Christine and Anne
The Mackinac Bridge, spanning the Straits and connect-ing Michigan's two beautiful peninsulas, first opened to traffic on November 1, 1957. The five-mile bridge, in-cluding approaches, was designed by the great engi-neer Dr. David F. Steinman. Construction be-gan on May 7, 1954. The bridge is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world and experiences more than 4 million vehicle crossings per year. For more on the history of the Mackinac Bridge, visit http://www.mackinacbridge.org/.
To read Jenica’s full report, visit the District website at: http://www.clubrunner.ca/dprg/dxprogramhome/_programhome.aspx?did=6290&pageid=21312&sid=30168
