Rotary International

DISTRICT 7280
NEWSLETTER

District Governor’s Message

By the time is newsletter goes to press, I will have visited all the Rotary clubs in District 7280 and, although each club is different, they all have one thing in common - every club is dedicated to serving their community and the mission of Rotary International.  Almost every club in the district is involved in literacy, health and hunger   projects in their community and many clubs are investigating becoming involved in a local water project. As I have stated in all my visits, I encourage all clubs to partner with other community organizations in all community activities. 

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 district is also planning a trip to the Dominican Republic in January, 2008, to evaluate our water filtration project and Vo-Tech School where the water filters will be constructed and the youth of the Dominican Republic will be trained to service and educate the home owners on how to use the filters.  I encourage all clubs to submit their contributions to the District Governor’s project as soon as possible so we can continue to provide financial support for this valuable program and prevent water born diseases in the children of the Dominican Republic. I have received one simplified grant application and encourage all clubs to apply for one of the ten $700 simplified grants available to assist clubs in their community service projects. The applications are available from PDG Lee Ahlum at ahlum2@verizon.net .

I am pleased to announce that Past District Governor Skip Sample has agreed to chair the eyeglass collection program. THANK YOU SKIP! These used eyeglasses will be donated to the District Governor of Lions at our District Conference in May for distribution in Guatemala for those in need.

I just returned from the Zone 27-28 Institute and am excited about several resolutions that were passed at the 2007 Council on Legislation. On youth protection, a resolution was passed to authorize the RI board to suspend or terminate the membership of a club that fails to appropriately address any allegations made against one of its members in connection with Rotary-related youth programs for violation of the applicable law regarding the protection of youth. Several resolutions were passed that should help in recruiting new members for Rotary Clubs around the world.  One resolution requested the RI board encourage clubs to welcome Rotary Foundation Alumni as guests to their meetings, particularly alumni recently moved to the locality, on the same basis as visiting Rotarians. Another resolution was passed that would allow clubs to elect Foundation Alumni as members even if the classifications of the alumni were already filled. The Council on Legislation also passed resolutions to permit membership of Foundation Alumni, as defined by the RI board, who do not meet the business and professional tests. Another resolution was passed that would permit membership of community leaders who have demonstrated through personal involvement in community affairs a commitment to service and the Object of Rotary, but who do not meet the business and professional tests. The last resolution that may encourage membership is to exempt recent Rotoactors, who are elected as Rotary Club members, from paying the club admission fee. I am encouraged by the fact that I am out of Rotary Sponsor Pins but I will place an order of additional pins this week.  Based on the number of new members recruited to date, we are off to a great start to achieve at least a five percent and perhaps over a 10% membership growth in all clubs in District 7280. In previous Newsletters, 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. IMPACT  TOMORROW ASK SOMEONE TO JOIN ROTARY TODAY AND SERVE THE WORLD.

At the District Conference in May, we organized a Rotary Foundation Alumni Association. In order to assist the district in the location of Foundation Alumni, including GSE Team Members and Ambassadorial Scholars, we are asking all previous GSE Team Leaders who have kept in contact with their team members to provide us with their current addresses. Also, if anyone knows the current addresses of our Ambassadorial Scholars, please provide these to the district.

One additional resolution passed by the Council on Legislation that will impact Current Club Presidents is that Current Club Presidents shall continue to serve until their successors have satisfied the requirement for attendance at PETS and District Assembly. 

Now that all my official visits have been completed, I will be available to visit clubs to assist in membership recruiting or special club events during the reminder of my year as District Governor. 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 for being a Rotarian and be prepared to Serve – The World Awaits.

Fred J. Brenner
District Governor 2007-2008
 

District Honored at Zone Institute 

At the Zone 27-28 Institute held in Davenport, Iowa, on September 3-9, 2007, District 7280 was presented a certificate for being second of 14 districts in Zone 28 in “Total Rotary Foundation Giving” in the amount of $399,265.  PDG Lee Ahlum accepted the awards on behalf of the district and received congratulations from D. K. Lee, Rotary International President Elect (Korea), Past Rotary International President Chuck Keller (USA), Davis Morgan, Rotary Foundation Trustee (Wales, UK), and Lou Piconi, Past Rotary International Vice President and Rotary Foundation Trustee (USA).
 

Secretary’s Corner

We have been noticing a problem that requires your attention - Club Recognition Summaries showing duplicate names with different Account Numbers. This is caused by not searching for prior Rotary Club membership when adding a new or transferred member to your roster.

If this happens, there is a good possibility that these members will not “bring with them” their Foundation giving record, which may indeed have large sums in these old accounts.

We are asking all club Secretaries to print out their CRS and carefully review it for errors such as duplicate names, deceased members, missing members and any other errors of omission. After you are sure it is the same person, you should call (866-976-8279) or email the Contact Center ( contact.center@rotary.org ) and ask them to merge the files.   Remember to also update the district roster and your own club’s roster.

The district roster (Excel spreadsheet) should be emailed as an attachment to Peter Richdale at peterjody@zoominternet.net  and PDG Lee Ahlum at ahlum2@verizon.com .

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

Upcoming Events

• District Rotary Foundation Seminar - October 13^th at Boston’s Restaurant in Erie.
• District Membership and PR Seminar - November 17^th at Grove City College. PDG Jim Ives, Zone 28 Membership Coordinator, will be our keynote speaker.
• District Conference May 9-11 at the Radisson in West Middlesex with the Golf Tournament at the Former Sharon Country Club Course.
   

Nominations Sought for 2010 Council on Legislation Delegate
 and Alternate 

All clubs in District 7280 are invited to suggest nominations for the 2010 Council on Legislation Delegate and Alternate by December 21, 2007. The suggestions shall be submitted in the form of a resolution adopted at a regular meeting of the club naming a suggested candidate.  In accordance with Rotary International Bylaws (8.020) a candidate must have served a full term as district governor at the time of election; understand the qualifications, duties and responsibilities of a representative; be qualified, willing, and able to assume and perform these duties and responsibilities; and be able to attend the meeting for its entire duration.

The Nomination Committee will consider all suggestions from the clubs.  Suggestions should be submitted to DG Fred Brenner, 789 North Liberty Road, Grove City, PA 16127 no later than December 21, 2007.

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.

District Governor’s Project Update

August Attendance and Membership Report