Rotary International
DISTRICT 7280
NEWSLETTER
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Rotary International DISTRICT 7280 |
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We had a great district conference that focused on community and international projects either supported or completed by the Rotary Clubs in District 7280. The Rotary Clubs in the district collected 2,080 eyeglasses that were presented to Mr. Frank Smith, Governor of Pennsylvania Lions District 14-F. Thank you PDG Skip Sample, chairperson of our district eyeglasses collection program. In addition, we collected $220.00 for the Rotary Foundation. The Friday night fellowship dinner was highlighted by an address on the 4-Way Test by Al Mathus the grandson of Past Rotary International President who wrote the 4-Way Test that has become the ethical code of all Rotarians. After dinner, the Shenango Valley Chorale presented a medley of songs for our enjoyment. The Grand Banquet address was presented by the representative of Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson, PRID Sam Green, who focused on the history and goals of Rotary International. The after dinner entertainment was provided by the Grove City High School Show Choir. Let’s make this a record year in terms of contributions to the Rotary Foundation. As of June 30, 2008, there should be no club in the district that has not made a contribution. Remember, these contributions provide funding for both district and international programs of Rotary International. In the Rotary Year 2006-2007, ten clubs or 25% of the clubs in district 7280 achieved Every Rotarian Every Year, but let us increase that number to 35% or 15 clubs that achieve EREY along with our overall support of the Rotary Foundation. If we work together we can become one of the top districts in Zone 28. Thank you to all those Rotarians that have made or will make a contribution to the Rotary Foundation in this Rotary Year. Our GSE team has returned from India and we are currently hosting the GSE team from India in our district. According to our records, 39 clubs have contributed a total of $20,305.00 to the District Governor’s Project. Is your club among the 4 clubs that have not made a contribution to the District Governor’s project? These funds provided 700 water filters to families affected by the recent hurricanes and over 2000 water filters have been distributed to families in the rural areas of the Dominican Republic; thereby providing safe drinking water and reducing the incidence of water born diseases in the children of that country. The support of all the clubs in the district is essential, not only to provide safe drinking water to these families, but also to provide greater opportunities for education for the children of Haiti and to assist in the eradication of polio from the face of the earth. Membership Membership continues to be a major emphasis in the district and of Rotary International. As of March 31st, we had 34 fewer Rotarians in District 7280. I know that some clubs have inducted new members in April but let’s continue our recruitment efforts but at the same time, we must make retention of existing members at top priority of our Rotary Clubs. According to a recent article by Robert S. Scott, Trustee Chair, Rotary Foundation, Rotary Foundation alumni are a largely untapped resource with tremendous potential for boosting Rotary club membership and support for Foundation programs. According to a 2006 survey, less than 3 percent of the more than 105,000 alumni of the Foundation and RI programs are Rotarians. Yet two-thirds of alumni say they are interested in joining a Rotary club, a desire shared by more than 8 of 10 current program participants. A mere 20 percent of Rotary clubs claim to recruit alumni into membership. Imagine what an impact these talented program veterans could have on our foundation, our organization and the world if 100 percent of Rotary clubs invited them into membership. We would easily reach our membership goals of a net gain of 1 new member per club. We need younger members, so let’s invite these alumni to join our Rotary clubs. HAVE YOU INVITED A FORMER GSE TEAM MEMBER OR AMBASSORIAL SCHOLAR TO JOIN YOUR ROTARY CLUB? IF NOT WHY NOT. I have addressed the issue of recruiting younger members to join our Rotary clubs and the retention of existing members and I will not repeat what I said in previous newsletters. But I encourage all clubs to continue to review and update your membership recruitment and retention programs. Return the favor and ask community, business and professional leaders to join your Rotary club. If your Rotary Club is interested in increasing membership, think outside of the box. Let us stop protecting our turf and look to the future by considering organizing a new Rotary clubs either in communities where we have existing clubs or in communities not currently served by Rotary. If anyone has any suggestions as to additional communities that would benefit from the establishment of a Rotary Club, please contact me. IMPACT TOMORROW, ASK SOMEONE TO JOIN ROTARY TODAY AND SERVE THE WORLD. As I approach the end of my term as your District Governor, I will continue to work for the betterment of Rotary in our district and my service to the Boy Scouts of America. I firmly believe that both Rotary and Scouting have common goals and that we can work together on projects that will positively impact our communities, our nation and the word. Thank you for being a Rotarian and be prepared to Serve – The World Awaits. Fred J. Brenner, Nominations Sought for 2011-2012 DG All clubs in District 7280 are invited to suggest nominations for the 2011-2012 District Governor by September 6, 2008. The suggestions shall be submitted in the form of a resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the club naming a suggested candidate. The candidate must have served a full year as a club president and agree, in writing, to having his or her name suggested. The resolution shall be certified by the club secretary. A club may suggest a candidate for governor-nominee designee who is a member of another club, as long as the suggesting club first obtains the concurrence of the candidate’s club. The Nomination Committee will consider all suggestions from the clubs. Suggestions should be submitted to DGE Chris Knoll, PNC Financial Services Group, 901 State Street, Erie, PA 16501 In accordance with the District’s and Rotary International’s By-Laws ONLY club-suggested candidates are eligible to challenge the Nominating Committee’s candidate.
Exchange Students Ready to Depart! After months of preparation and orientation, District 7280 will have 8 Outbound students for the 2008 placement. Two will spend a year outside the USA. Jaden Duffee (DuBois Rotary Club) - BRAZIL. Samantha Troesch (Clarion Rotary Club) -FRANCE. Six will be involved in the Summer/Holiday program. This is a true exchange where they will spend 4-6 weeks abroad, then they will travel back with the student they stayed with and they will spend 4-6 weeks in the USA. Our Summer/Holiday students, headed by Diane McCall are: Shanell Mailki (Evans City RotaryClub) – BRAZIL Paige Pokorney (Sharon Rotary Club) – ARGENTINA Sophia Patsy (Presque Isle Rotary Club) – SPAIN Andie Lugg (Greenville Rotary Club) – SPAIN Claire Tessier (Sharon Rotary Club) – FRANCE Aaron Szafran (Oil City Rotary Club) – GERMANY Please keep these students in your prayers as they travel and spend an exciting time outside the USA. We have 7 Clubs involved on an Outbound side of Rotary Youth Exchange. Thanks to all involved with getting these students prepared to have this experience of a lifetime. If any club desires information, please contact Larry Franklin, District youth Exchange Chairman, LBF@Nauticom.net or (724) 588-2166
SEE THE STARS! - R. I. CONVENTION IN L. A., 2008 Although pre-registration for the RI Convention in Los Angeles closed on 31 March 2008, for your convenience registrations are being accepted online at onsite prices until 31 May 2008. You can still plan to attend the great 2008 RI Convention. Please see the RI Web site: www.rotary.org for more details! PDG Hank Anna District 7280 Rotarians Continue Katrina Rebuilding Efforts Hurricane
Katrina… All of you are familiar, I’m sure, with the images of that
tragic disaster - the wind, the waves, and the devastating storm surge,
leaving in its wake unparalleled damage and destruction. But that
was in 2005. Now, almost three years later, much has changed along
the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and so today I want to suggest to you a new
image for Katrina – the image of a vacant lot. Vacant lots where
homes once housed families, schools once were filled with students, and
business once provided jobs, because, while certainly there has been some
progress; there are some new homes being built. And where, two years
ago and even a year ago, most of the businesses were closed, now many
of them have been rebuilt and are re-opened, especially those businesses
serving the construction related industries – like the Lowes, Home Depots,
and 84 Lumbers of the world. The Casinos are also open, as well
as the “Big Box” chain stores. Also, many franchise-type restaurants
are open. And the Highway 90 Bridge across the bay that connects
Pass Christian, Mississippi with Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi is open.
But still, the overriding impression as one travels through the neighborhoods
of the Gulf Coast communities is of how many vacant lots there are.
In the neighborhoods a few miles away from the coast, maybe 1 of every
Once again this year the District work team was coordinated by the Reverend Gary Weston, a member of the Rich-Mar Rotary Club. Accompanying Gary on the team were District 7280 PDG Hank Anna, Rich-Mar Rotarians Jean Gomola and Tom Rummell, Bob Martin, a former building contractor and currently the pastor of the Valencia United Methodist Church, and Paul Smith, a retired shop teacher from Mars. The team members flew into Gulfport, Mississippi, rented a minivan to use for their local transportation needs, and, then, were housed in the Long Beach Presbyterian Church for the week. (The church’s Sunday school classrooms have been converted into sleeping quarters and filled with bunk beds constructed from two by fours and air mattresses. Showers have been built outside, and most of the time the water was hot. And the meals were provided by volunteers in the church kitchen and/or purchased by the team members in local restaurants. So, all in all, the accommodations were not too bad, with the sacrifices made being well worth it.) The construction work was organized by the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Agency and the Presbytery of Mississippi. These organizations work together to screen the applicants for rebuilding help, host the teams of volunteer teams that come to Mississippi, and provide the teams with materials and logistical support. The project that the District 7280 team worked on was the construction of a small, little, vinyl-sided, ranch style dwelling. The team’s job was to spend the week doing the finish work – hanging doors, installing electrical fixtures, installing cabinets and countertops, finishing the flooring and a little bit of the exterior soffit and fascia, doing all of the interior finish trim work, and then, painting all of the interior doors and trim. And all I can tell you is that when they were finished the house looked great! There were I think, seven teams working on seven different houses through the week – all in similar states of completion, and I’m pretty sure that the District 7280 team was the only team that got their job completely finished. They worked hard. They overcame some logistical snafus with the materials. But, after the electrical and plumbing contractors came in to connect everything up and insure that all of the work was up to code – which was to happen the following week – the family could then move into its new home.
But it’s not only the displaced residents who are grateful for the volunteers who go to Mississippi to help with the rebuilding. Those who were spared are also grateful. When I reported on last year’s work trip, I told you about how one woman, who just happened to be driving by the home site where we were working, stopped her car and got out to shout “Thanks.” This year an elderly couple did us one better. They saw the District 7280 team eating lunch at IHOP one afternoon, and not only did they stop by our table to say, “Thanks,” they also, without saying a word to us, stopped at the cashier’s on the way out and paid for all of our lunches. That just blew our socks off! Thank you to District 7280 and especially to the members of the Rich-Mar Club, for your support of this project. It is your encouragement that spurs us on to keep going back year after year. And there certainly is much, much more to do. As I said at the outset, vacant lots are everywhere, ready for other teams to come and build a home for someone in need. So, if your club would like to go, give me a call and I’ll be glad to put you in touch with people who will host you. But in the meantime, be assured that the Rotary ideal of “Service Above Self” is being lived out in Mississippi. And Rotarians are making a difference. Submitted by,
Rev. Gary Weston Important Notice to All 2008-09 Club Presidents and Secretaries Every Secretary needs to update their club roster before the 2008-09 District Directory is printed in June. Even if you have not had substantial changes, additions or deletions since you submitted your roster in February, please submit a new version prior to May 21, 2008 so we have the very latest information. Please note that only 29 out of 43 clubs have submitted updated roster since last summer. This means that your club WILL NOT be properly represented in the new District Directory unless an updated roster is submitted!
The roster should be e-mailed as an
attachment to Peter Richdale at peterjody@zoominternet.net
and PDG Lee Ahlum at
ahlum2@verizon.net. Rotary Youth Exchange Outbound Students 2009!! Clubs should now be accepting preliminary applications for 2009 Outbound Students. Your club should conduct a “club level interview” and forward the application and any comments to Larry Franklin, 293 East Avenue, Greenville, PA 16125. A District interview is scheduled for November 2nd. A letter will be mailed to your candidate telling them the time and place. They will also receive the new 2009 Country Selection Grid, Outbound Rules and Guidelines. The approximate cost for the 2009 year will be $4,250.00 (Depending on fuel cost)
NOTE!!!!
Any questions, please feel free to call me
at 724-588-2166, or email me at
LBF@Nauticom.net. Using Rotary Publications to Recruit and Retain MembersInviting prospective members to attend a club meeting has never been easier than with the new Start with Rotary postcards and wallet cards, the latest addition to the RI Catalog. Displaying images from the Humanity in Motion IV campaign, with space for Rotarians to fill in their club meeting information, these cards inform prospective members that they are welcome to attend a club meeting as a guest. The new Humanity in Motion public service announcements (PSAs) can be used to obtain free or low-cost ad placements with your local media. Rotarians can order a free copy of these new PSAs from RI or view them at Rotary International's YouTube channel, where you'll also find free Rotarian Video Magazine segments--perfect for prospective and new members! Encourage clubs in your district to download the newly revised edition of New Member Orientation: A How-to Guide for Clubs (414-EN). Containing session outlines, resource listings, worksheets, and action steps, the publication stresses the importance of early member involvement and education as essential for membership retention. The publication is also available for purchase from shop.rotary.org.
Peter Richdale Youth Exchange Inbound Orientation 2008 Rotary Clubs will soon start receiving 2008-2009 Inbound Exchange students. The District Committee has set September 6th for Inbound Orientation. Letters will be mailed to the students, Host families, Youth Exchange Officers (YEO’s) and Counselors explaining the schedule. This year’s orientation will be held in Greenville, PA at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. The time will be from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Anyone in the District is invited to meet with our students and Youth Exchange Committee. Please RSVP to Larry Franklin at LBF@Nauticom.net or call 724-588-2166. A map and a schedule will be mailed to you. We Are Still Behind Last Year! The chart below is from Rotary International as of April 30, 2008. The Mercer Rotary Club now leads the district with APF giving of $180.50 per Rotarian, followed by Sharon at $164.89 and Butler at $152.39 per Rotarian. There are also 7 clubs that have not yet made a contribution. The following questions remain to be answered:
Contact me if you need assistance.
PDG Lee Ahlum, 2007-08 Annual Program Fund Development
April Attendance and Membership Report
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