Greetings for the last time as your 5950 Governor,
This past month has been buzzing with exciting Rotary activities as we bring our year together to a close.
Forty District 5950 representatives attended the 107th Rotary International Convention in Seoul, South Korea. RI President Ravi and his Conference Committee outdid themselves with a spectacular event. It rivaled Osaka, Japan (2004) for the largest-ever Rotary convention attendance. South Korea is an amazing country that, with Rotary, did a wonderful job hosting 43,000 Rotarians from 125 countries.
The entire event was filled with interesting and captivating breakouts. And it had the largest Friendship Hall I have ever seen! Absolutely amazing plenary sessions and speakers were second to none! The closing ceremony included a performance by Korean rap artist Psy, world renowned for his song “Gangnam Style”; presentations from talented youth recruited from five countries’ versions of “America’s Got Talent”; and a personal story by RI President Ravi about his mother’s polio journeyand how Rotary helped save her life years ago.
Congratulations to District 5950’s 18 RI Presidential Citation clubs! I am so proud of all 62 clubs, and have been so honored to serve as your District Governor this year. This article cannot begin to describe the hundreds of accomplishments that earn us a spot as a top-performing District in the world. Speaking of that, our Annual Fund also deserves a top spot. It is not too late to get your Annual Fund contribution to The Rotary Foundation. In fact, simply click the link or copy and paste into your browser: https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/take-action/give.
God bless each of you as we move from our spectacular year of being A Gift to the Worldinto that of Rotary Serving Humanity with RI President John Germ and 2016-17 District Governor Mark Hegstrom.
Posted by DGN Bob Halagan (Bufalo), District Fundraising Chair
District 5950 is unique in the Rotary world for its approach to fundraising for The Rotary Foundation (TRF). We have long been recognized as one of the most generous districts in the world, regularly ranking in the top 10% for giving to TRF.
As this Rotary year ends, we celebrate:
Total giving to the Annual Fund has risen from $559,000 in 2011-12 to $780,000 in 2014-15.
Average per capita giving has grown from $204 in 2011-12 to $274 in 2014-15.
The District’s PHS membership has increased from 110 donors in 2013-14 to 228 currently.
Last year was capped off with an anonymous $1 million gift to TRF on behalf of our District. This generous donation was used to match the District’s Global Grants for water, maternal health, child nutrition and disease prevention projects in Guatemala, Honduras, India, Panama, Bolivia, Jamaica, Congo and the Dominican Republic.
As of May 2016, the Global Grants Committee had approved nine global grants involving 30 clubs from District 5950. Thirty clubs contributed $110,550 toward the nine grant projects.
The District Grants Committee again received 50% of this year’s District Designated Funds (DDF) from The Rotary Foundation and helped fund 22 club projects, co-sponsor a Polio Survivors Conference with Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute and match club contributions to ShelterBox. Clubs contributed $56,000 of their own funds while securing $15,000 from non-Rotary sources.
These generous gifts keep on giving because 50% of our Annual Fund giving will be returned to District 5950 in three years (2019-20) to be reallocated via our DDF (District Designated Funds) and Global Grants programs.
District 5950’s newest Rotaract Club is a group of vital, enthusiastic, service-oriented young professionals who want to make a difference in their St. Cloud community. What a testament to their sponsor, the Rotary Club of St. Cloud!
The Charter Night event was upbeat and inspiring. Each of the 19 new members was introduced and presented with a pin. District 5950 Rotaract Chair Mary Kurth (Bloomington Noon) presented the Charter Certificate to Rotaract President Clare Richards. “We're excited to work with the Saint Cloud Rotary club moving forward, and we've already started that process by helping them with projects like their adopted highway clean up,” said Richards.
Thursday, June 16 5:00-7:30pm
Interlachen Country Club
6200 Interlachen Boulevard, Edina
5:00 p.m. Social Hour
6:00 p.m. Program
7:00 p.m. Entertainment by
Tim Mulcrone and
The Jazz Cats
You are cordially invited to attend the installation ceremony for Rotary Club of Edina Morningside member Mark Hegstrom as he becomes Rotary International District 5950 Governor for the 2016-2017 Rotary year. The event celebrates current District Governor Tim Murphy's successful Rotary year, and welcomes Mark as the new leader of District 5950.
June is Rotary Fellowship Month. Rotary Fellowships are groups of Rotarians, Rotarian spouses and Rotaractors who join together to:
Share a common interest in worthwhile recreational activities (sports, hobbies, etc.)
Further their vocational development through acquaintance with others of the same profession
Make new friends around the world
Explore new opportunities for service
Have fun and enhance their experience in Rotary.
Examples of Rotary Fellowships include: marathon running, scuba diving, flying, bird watching, chess, doll lovers, environment, gourmets, lawyers, magic, nurses, police and law enforcement professionals, recreational vehicles, singles, stockbrokers, venture capitalists, wine and yoga.
Each Rotary Fellowship operates independently of Rotary International, with its own rules, dues requirements and administrative structure. Membership is open to Rotarians, spouses of Rotarians and Rotaractors. Fellowships provide opportunities for Rotarians to make lasting friendships outside their own club, district or country. Fellowships contribute to the advancement of world understanding and peace. Also, Fellowships serve as an incentive for attracting new members to Rotary and retaining existing members.
The Chanhassen Villager featured Khai and Heather Trans who were given the Distinguished Service Award by the Chanhassen Rotary Club which means the couple will also lead the 4th of July parade.
The Echo Press shared how the Alexandria Rotary Club is visiting all kindergarten classrooms dressed as Josh the Otter to talk about water safety and read a book about the character.
The Eden Prairie News highlighted the June 12 Jazz on the Prairie and Ribfest that is sponsored by the Eden Prairie Noon Rotary Club to raise funds for worthy causes.
If your Rotary Club has been in the news lately and you'd like the rest of the district to know, please email mshockey@stpetersedina.org to share some details and include the link to the article.
The entire event was filled with interesting and captivating breakouts. And it had the largest Friendship Hall I have ever seen! Absolutely amazing plenary sessions and speakers were second to none! The closing ceremony included a performance by Korean rap artist Psy, world renowned for his song “Gangnam Style”; presentations from talented youth recruited from five countries’ versions of “America’s Got Talent”; and a personal story by RI President Ravi about 
5:00 p.m. Social Hour
