Rotary International

DISTRICT 7280
NEWSLETTER

District Governor’s Message

I have visited over half of the clubs in the district and I am impressed with their community involvement and their support of the programs of Rotary International. During my visits to Rotary Clubs in August and September, I am eager to learn about their community service projects and how they interact with other community projects.   As of the end of July, five clubs have provided funds for the District Governor’s project and I encourage the other clubs in the district to provide support for the Water Filter Project in the Dominican Republic and the Literacy Project in Haiti. The Clarion Rotary Club raised the funds to purchase a cardio-defibrillator and respirator for the emergency room of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Argentina.

Opportunities For Service

At the District Conference, Mark Vincent and Gary Weston of the Rich-Mar Club challenged the other clubs to send a team of volunteers to Mississippi to build homes for families displaced by Katrina. The date of the next trip to Mississippi is scheduled for April 20-25, 2008 and, if one member from each club in District 7280 would travel to Mississippi, this would provide a labor force to build additional homes for those in need.

The Rich-Mar club is also planning a trip to the Dominican Republic to investigate the development of literacy and water projects in that country. The dates for the Dominican Republic trip are January 5-12, 2008. For additional information, please contact Mark Vincent at markvincent@zoominternet.net or Gary Weston at  weston@zoominternet.net.

The district is also planning a trip to the Dominican Republic in January, 2008 to evaluate the water filtration project and the status of the vo-tech school and it may be possible to combine these visits.

I am encouraged that many of the clubs are currently addressing hunger and health issues in their own community and several clubs are developing service projects that will involve water issues in their communities. Of course, I would like all clubs in the district to have local projects that address hunger, health, literacy and water management in their communities. As a reminder, this year ten $700 simplified grants will be available to assist clubs in their community service projects. The applications are available on the district web page.

I want to remind all clubs of the eyeglasses collection project.  These used eyeglasses that will be donated to the District Governor of Lions at our District Conference in May for distribution in Guatemala for those in need. This is a painless way for all clubs to become involved in an international project.

I attended the Presidential Membership Seminar held in South Bend, Indiana on July 26 and 27.  I received some new ideas on membership recruitment that I will discuss with the membership of Rotary Clubs during my official visits. I have presented a number of Rotary Sponsor Pins to Rotarians that sponsored a new member in their club. Few, if any, individuals will contact clubs and ask to become a member but they become members if someone in the club invites them to meeting and explain what Rotary is all about. The other aspect of membership growth is retention of existing members. I encourage all clubs to get new members involved in committee and service projects as soon as possible. I also encourage clubs to develop a mentor program by pairing a new member with an active Rotarian. Based on the number of new members recruited to date, we are off to a great start to achieve at least a five percent membership growth in all clubs in District 7280. In the July Newsletter, I outlined the special program designed for those clubs with less than 20 members. Remember that the strength of all Rotary Clubs rests in its membership.  Another aspect of membership growth is the formation of new Rotary Clubs. If anyone has any suggestions as to communities that would benefit from the establishment of a Rotary Club, please contact me.

Many of you have asked why I am visiting all clubs within a three month period. There are several reasons for this effort. I want to visit all clubs in the district as soon possible so that all Rotarians are aware of my goals and objectives for the Rotary Year 2007-2008. The second reason is that after October 1^st, I will be available to attend special events among the clubs in the district and I will be able to work with individual clubs on membership or other issues.  In the meantime always keep in mind the four way test as the ethical code for all Rotarians and our Motto of “Service Above Self.”

Thank you and ask yourself the question, “What would your community be without your Rotary Club?”

Fred J. Brenner, District Governor 2007-2008
 

District Simplified Grants

Four years ago the Rotary Foundation and District 7280 initiated a program entitled District Simplified Grants (DSG).  Through an application process individual, District 7280 Rotary Clubs can receive grants of up to $700 for local or international humanitarian projects.  The DGS program was designed to help local Rotary clubs use a portion of their foundation contributions at they deem appropriate.

However, due to District 7280’s limited giving to the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Giving program, these funds are limited.  For more information on how these grants can be utilized or receive an application form for a DGS, contact PDG Lee Ahlum at 724-946-8321 or email him at ahlum2@verizon.net.  The District Rotary Foundation Committee will review applications in October for the first set of awards.
 

 District Governor’s Projects 2006-2007 

Below is a summary of the clubs contributions to District Governor Hank Anna’s projects.  With these funds, District 7280 was able to make a $10,000 donation to the Dominican Republic Safe Drinking Water Project, $5,000 donation to the Haiti Literacy Project coordinated by the Erie Rotary Club, and a $7,110 donation to the Rotary Foundation for the PolioPlus Partners Program.

Recognition of Membership Development Initiatives

Does your club have a unique and successful membership development strategy?

Rotary International recognizes clubs that develop and implement creative strategies that promote membership in their area. Each year, district governors can choose up to three clubs per district to receive a certificate of recognition for fulfilling one of the three areas of membership growth and development:

·   Retention

·   Recruitment of qualified new members

·   Organization of new Rotary clubs

To be considered for this award, download the club submission form from the Membership page at www.rotary.org  (click Downloads, then click Membership, then click Award and Recognition Programs, and then “Rotary International Recognition of Membership Development Initiatives: Club Submission Form 422-EN), and submit a detailed explanation of your club's strategy, initiative, or program to your district governor by 15 April.

Peter Richdale, Membership Committee Chair

Certificates of Insurance

All requests for certificates of insurance and insurance inquiries regarding the Rotary U.S. Club and District General Liability Insurance Program are handled by Lockton, Rotary's new insurance broker (effective 1 March 2007).  Aon Risk Services, Rotary's former insurance broker, will no longer forward any certificate of insurance requests to Lockton for processing. 

The “Quickest & Most Convenient” way to obtain a certificate of insurance is to create one from your computer.  All that needs to be done is to type the certificate holder's name and address into the certificate and print it from your computer.

Instructions, the certificate of insurance and much more can be found on Rotary’s Insurance webpage: www.rotary.org/support/insurance  .  The alternative way to access this information is to go to the Rotary Home Page ( www.rotary.org ), click on “Club-District Support,” and then click on  “Insurance.” 

Lockton’s Contact Information:	Phone:   (800) 921-3172
	Email:     rotary@lockton.com
	Fax:        (312) 681-6769

If you have any questions, please contact Lockton (info provided above), or email insurance@rotary.org .

Scott Meise, Risk Management Analyst. Rotary International

 

We Had a Great Year! 

The chart below is from Rotary International as of June 30, 2007.  The Rotarians and clubs of District 7280 contributed $133,771 to the Annual Fund, which far exceeds the club set goal of $117,320. The most important fact was that every club in the district contributed to this effort!  The Rich-Mar Rotary Club led the district with Annual Program Fund giving of $336.01 per Rotarian, followed by New Wilmington at $179.85 and Clarion at $178.57 per Rotarian.  We have achieved 114% of our goal. 

We had the following questions at the beginning of the year:

• Which club will be the first to average $100 per Rotarian? – Bessemer/Mohawk reached that status in September.
• Which club will be the first to achieve “Every Rotarian, Every Year” Recognition averaging $100 per Rotarian with every active Rotarian making a contribution?  Sharon did it again this year!
• Will any club exceed Butler Rotary Club’s last year’s average giving of $162.98? – Yes, Rich-Mar at $336.01 per Rotarian!
• Will any club average $200 per Rotarian? – Yes, Rich-Mar.  This is the first time since I became the district foundation chair that any club has exceeded the $200 per Rotarian average! 
• Will any club achieve “100% Sustaining Membership” Recognition where every active Rotarian in the club contributed $100 or more to the Annual Program Fund? – Sheffield in May and Ellwood City in June.  This is the first year that any club in the district achieved this honor!
• Will the district exceed its goal for this year of $78.00 per Rotarian? – Yes $89.66 per Rotarian!

In addition to the 10 clubs earning “Every Rotarian, Every Year” recognition from Rotary International, we had three additional clubs (Bradford, Evans City and Linesville) with 100% of their membership contributing to the Annual Program Fund earning District 7280 “Every Rotarian, Every Year” recognition.

As the headline states, “We Had a Great Year!”  The challenge, of course, is to do better this year.   

PDG Lee Ahlum, Chair DRFC
 

2006-2007 Annual Program Fund Development