Rotary International

DISTRICT 7280
NEWSLETTER

PDG Chris Knoll

A very few times in my life I have been at a loss for words; this is one of them. It still seems impossible to me that our Rotary family was greeted with the news of his passing on January 1st. What a vibrant force he was in Rotary. Chris believed in challenging himself and those around him. He raised the bar high and always set ambitious goals. Chris understood that time was precious and he believed in using it to its fullest.   But what I remember most is Chris, the man. He understood that family came first and he understood the critical role Arlene had as his equal and partner. What a great team they are. I also remember his constant smile and sense of good will and humor. And I can still see him welling up with emotion when talking about the problems facing the children of the world.

It is not my intent to eulogize Chris; I lack the skills to do that. However, it is my intent to ask all of you to remember the man that he was: gregarious, challenging, caring, and devoted to his family. Our district was fortunate that he chose to share those traits with all of us. We extend our sympathies to his family but we also thank them for sharing him with us. 

DG Ron

Where did you come from?
Where are you going?

January is Rotary Awareness month. As RI President John says, it is also a time for us to assess where we stand at the midpoint of our Rotary year. During the year, I have asked Clubs to meet several specific goals:

·       Increase your membership by a net of one.

·       Accomplish EREY status by 50% of the Clubs

·       Increase Foundation giving from last year by $6.00/member

·       Continue your Gates match to eliminate polio

·       Support the District Governor’s project @$15/member

How is your Club doing?

I have no idea whether these goals will be met. I only know that I cannot accomplish them by myself. For my year to be successful, your year must be successful. I can only hope that during my official visit, I motivated you to support these goals and that I gave you ideas on how to accomplish them. Additionally, I hope that my regular e-mail communication with your Club Presidents is read and used to help you be successful.

As individual members we need only ask ourselves these questions: what have I done to advance Rotary and my Club? Have I sponsored a member? Did I contribute to the Foundation? Did I support the Polio Plus campaign? Has our Club supported the District Governor’s project? How many of our service projects did I support?

As a Club, we need to consider these questions: What goals did your Club set for July 1, 2009? Where do you stand at the midpoint in achieving those goals? What needs to be done in the next few months to achieve them?

Each of you should remember me telling you that I respect and value your time; I continue to be respectful of the fact that we are all volunteers. That is why I believe it is critical that we use our time well. If we are going to volunteer our time to be a Rotarian, then let’s be Rotarians in every sense of the word, and let’s make our time matter.

In this month of awareness let each of us be aware of what it means to be a Rotarian. Let us be aware of how important each of us is to the Foundation. Let each of us be aware that we matter when it comes to eliminating polio. And let each of us never forget that the future of Rotary is in our hands.

DG Ron         

Rotary Leadership Institute

For quite some time now your District leadership has been exploring membership in the Rotary Leadership Institute. This year we formally decided to align ourselves with this exciting program. I have appointed Rich Wilson of the Butler Club to Chair our efforts in this matter. He is enthused and has shown great initiative in getting 7280 established with RLI. I also asked Rich to submit a brief article about this effort which follows below. Congratulations and thank you to Rich. I encourage all of you support this new initiative.

DG Ron

“I learned more about Rotary and how it works than I ever thought possible. I can’t wait to take this back, especially the ‘Analyzing Your Rotary Club’ worksheets.”  That’s the kind of comment I’ve heard again and again from Rotarians who attend the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI). The RLI is a leadership development program that provides in-depth training in Rotary knowledge and leadership skills that Rotarians can put to use in their local clubs.

The RLI is for any Rotarian who seeks to be more engaged in his or her club’s leadership. The training is held regularly in locally organized Saturday sessions throughout the Rotary world. The RLI is organized into multi-district regions and is run by trained Rotarian volunteers. The RLI is not an official program of Rotary International and is not under its control.

The RLI is a general education program, while most other Rotary training programs, such as PETS, are job-specific. Graduates of the RLI bring a greatly enhanced background in Rotary when they later attend job-specific training. RLI attendees are 20 times more likely to remain in Rotary and take a leadership role than non-attendees. These trained leaders go back to their clubs motivated, energized, and inspired. Then they share that enthusiasm with other Rotarians.

We are establishing an RLI program based in District 7280 to make it more convenient for local Rotarians to take advantage of this great training. I plan on contacting or visiting each club in our district to personally introduce the Rotary Leadership Institute to its officers and members. I am also recruiting Rotarians with a background in facilitating to attend a locally held training program for future RLI faculty. 

For more information, feel free to contact me at rwilson@familybusinesscc.com or call 724-287-2612.

Rick Wilson

Help!  We Have Fallen Behind Last Year

Giving to the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Program Fund is significantly slower than last year.  We must pick up the pace if we are to match and hopefully exceed last year’s giving.

The chart below is from Rotary International as of December 31, 2009. The Sharon Rotary Club leads the district with Annual Program Fund giving of $166.20 per Rotarian, followed by Edinboro at $132.42 and Evans City at $108.67 per Rotarian.  The following questions need to be answered:

• Can Edinboro maintain their great start through the entire Rotary year? – No, they have been beaten out by Sharon with $166.20.
   
• Which club will be the first to average $100 per Rotarian? – Edinboro – September 16, 2009.  
  
  
• Which club will be the first to achieve “Every Rotarian, Every Year” Recognition averaging $100 per Rotarian with every active Rotarian making a contribution? – Edinboro – September 16^th followed by Evans City on September 23^rd. and now joined by Sharon.
   
• Will any club exceed Sharon Rotary Club’s last year average giving of $249.46?
   
• Will this be the year that District 7280 achieves $100 per Rotarian? 

While we are not off to a good start this year, I am positive we will achieve our goals.

PDG Lee Ahlum, Chair DRFC

Secretary’s Corner

Either you or your Club President should have just received a large white envelope containing your SAR, or Semi Annual Report. This represents your club’s roster and semi-annual invoice for Rotary International. Please be sure to work on this report now and you will have the option of making the changes on the report for each member or better yet, go to www.rotary.org and enter the Member Access portal to make the changes on line. Whichever way you choose, you MUST still return the completed invoice with you check, and all pages attached, to the RI Collection Center, 14255 Collections Center Dr, Chicago, IL 60693. You MUST also send a copy to DG Ron Errett and keep one copy for your club records. If you have a problem calculating your revised invoice amount please call Gloria Spanitz in RI at 847-866-3484.

For club billing purposes please note that your payment has now increased by $1.15 per member to cover the new Directors and Officers Insurance. If you already have D & O Insurance you should compare these rates to your policy because you will find a significant savings with the RI plan. One more item, beginning in July, the RI dues will increase to $25.00 per member per half year. 

Peter Richdale, Co-Secretary/Treasurer
 

May 14^th and 15^th
Did you remember to save those dates?

That’s when the Rotary District Conference will be held at the Radisson at West Middlesex in Mercer County. This could be the first district conference in Rotary history where a necktie will not be necessary. The agenda is still being developed and speakers confirmed. The President’s representative has been assigned and will be Past District Governor Harry Fields III from Chattanooga, TN accompanied by his wife, Sara. Friday night is our sports themed dinner where blue jeans and a top of your favorite team is the encouraged attire. Our golf tournament at Avalon at Buhl (former Sharon Country Club) will also occur that day with the announcements of the winners that evening. Saturday is our Gala dinner with tables hosted by PDG’s. The entertainment/speaker is still in development.  

During the content of the conference you will hear from our youth exchange students, hear from a Rotarian who is a polio survivor, learn more about the World Peace scholars, and much more. Look for the mailing in March for more details and registration materials; for now just save those dates.
 

Summer Holiday Exchange Program

Club Presidents or YEO's:  Please contact your local newspapers (which can be done by e-mail) and ask them to put the following Press Release in their paper.  Please leave my name and phone number in the write-up, but add the name and phone number of either the club president or YEO as an alternate local contact.  Since the end of April is the deadline for applications, this should go in your newspapers as soon as possible.  If you have any questions about the Summer Program, please contact me.  I have all the applications, handbook and insurance forms that can be e-mailed to you or the students as necessary.  Thank you

Diane McCall, Summer Exchange Coordinator djm1@peoplepc.com

Subject: Public Service Press Release

Students sought for Rotary International Summer Exchange Program

Would you like to spend part of your summer in a new and different culture?  Local Rotary clubs are looking for high school students to travel overseas this summer as part of the Rotary International Youth Summer Exchange Program.   Eligible students should be of good character, possess a warm friendly personality, have above-average academic ability, be between the ages of 15-18, and be able and willing to travel on their own to complete the exchange. A proficiency in a foreign language is not required.  There are over twenty-five countries to choose from!

The Rotary Summer Exchange Program is a true exchange experience, with students exchanging time in each other’s homes, usually for three to six weeks in the summer, under the sponsorship of their local Rotary Club.  A local interview is required before an exchange match is made. Student expenses are estimated at approximately $265.00 plus the cost of travel.  Each hosting home provides room and board during the exchange.  

Applications are available now and due no later than April 15th.  More information is available by contacting Rotary District Summer Exchange Coordinator Diane McCall at (814) 437-2072, or e-mail at djm1@peoplepc.com .  Information can also be obtained by contacting the local Rotary Club in your school district at ____________________.
 

December Attendance and Membership Report