Rotary International

DISTRICT 7280
NEWSLETTER

District Governor’s Message

I am extremely pleased to be serving as your District Governor for the Rotary Year 2007-2008.  I pledge that I will do my best to serve all Rotarians in District 7280 and fulfill the goals and objectives of Rotary International. Before assuming a leadership position, I had a lot of acquaintances in Rotary but now I have many new friends in the Rotary clubs throughout the district.

The key to the success of the District and Rotary International rests with the individual Rotary Clubs. The District Governor, Assistant Governors, and the District Officers and Committee Chairs will assist the clubs as they continue to serve their communities and the programs of Rotary International.

I am excited about meeting all of you during my official visits to the Rotary Clubs in the District. I am eager to learn about all your service projects and how you interact with other organizations in your community. During my visits, I will encourage all Rotary Clubs to partner with other community organizations for service projects on Water Management, Health and Hunger issues in your communities. At the local level, ten $700 simplified grants will be available to assist clubs in their community service projects. The applications are available on the district web page. At the district level, we will be continuing to support the Water Filter Project in the Dominican Republic and the Literacy Project in Haiti. I will be asking again this year for $15.00/Rotarian from each Rotary Club in the District.

During her year as District Governor, Skip Sample initiated a contest among the Rotary Clubs for the collection of used eyeglasses that were donated to the District Governor of Lions at the District Conference.  These eyeglasses were sent to Guatemala for distribution to those in need. As your District Governor, I am going to re-institute this program since it has been four years since PDG Skip’s eyeglass collection program. This is a painless way for all clubs to become involved in an international project.

Membership growth is a major emphasis of Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson and toward this end, several membership initiatives have been put in place by the Board of Directors of Rotary International.  A special Rotary Sponsor Pin presented by the District Governor to every Rotarian that sponsor a new member in their club. During my official visits as of July 16, I have presented nine sponsor pins to Rotarians in four clubs. We are off to a great start to achieve at least a five percent membership growth in all clubs in District 7280. The RI Board of Directors has initiated a membership

growth program for those clubs with less than 20 members. To receive special recognition from RI, clubs with less than 10 members are asked to increase their membership to 10, those with a membership between 10 and 14 to increase their membership to 15 and those with a membership between 15 and 19 to increase their membership to 20 members. We currently have 12 clubs in the District with a member of less than 20. I believe that these goals are achievable and encourage all of these clubs to work toward this goal.  President Wilkinson has asked Rotary Director Mike Johns to convene a membership seminar for Club Presidents and District Governors in Zones 27 and 28 in South Bend Indiana on Friday and Saturday, July 27 and 28. I am planning on attending this seminar and it is not too late for Club Presidents to attend. For further information refer to the web site http://www.zones27-28.org/.  The strength of all Rotary Clubs rests in its membership.

In future newsletters, I will be addressing other goals and programs that I will be discussing with the clubs during my official visits in the next few months.  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 one and all for all you do for Rotary and your communities.

Fred J. Brenner,
District Governor 2007-2008.

Secretary’s Corner – RI Semi-Annual Report

Every Club Secretary in our District should have received their SAR by now.  It is very important that you review it for accuracy; adding, deleting or correcting every member’s information as of July 1, 2007. (Note: If you did not receive your club’s SAR by now contact the Data Services Department at RI. Their phone number is 847-866-3171 or email them at Data@rotary.org )

If you need an explanation of any charges on your statement contact Gloria Spanitz at 847-866-3484 or email her at Gloria.Spanitz@rotary.org. Most of the miscellaneous charges are for new members’ pro-rata Rotarian magazine subscriptions and are designated as MIS.

If your membership information is up to date on the RI web site under Member Access, you will have few changes to make. Once you have followed all of the detailed instructions, mail (or you may pay by credit card) your check with the original form to the RI address in Evanston. Keep a copy for your records and mail a copy to District Governor Fred. Please note, if you pay by credit card you must still submit the membership list pages and the cover pages with the billing details!

Peter Richdale and PDG Lee Ahlum, District 7280 Co-Secretary/Treasurers

June Attendance and Membership Report