District Governor
Edwin Bos
Serving Western Wisconsin & Southeast Minnesota
INDEX
District Governor's Message
District 6250 Governor's Message
District News, Events and Announcements
RotaryFest 2020
Club Involvement in International Global Grant Scholars
Rotary Friendship Exchange - Netherlands
Club News, Events and Announcements
Pints for Polio
Rotary Day at the Mallards
RI News
The Rotarian Magazine
Friendship Exchange News
Zone News
The Rotary Foundation - Update on Annual Giving
Rotary Foundation Donation Forms
Attendance Report
The District Dispatch
The Monthly Newsletter of Rotary District 6250 July EditionImportant Note: Deadline for district newsletter submissions is the 25th of each month.
District Governor's MessageLift Off into Your New Rotary Year!
Fellow District 6250 Rotarians,
My name is Edwin Bos and I’m looking forward to the upcoming Rotary year as we engage, engage, engage and find ways to make your families feel always welcome in all parts of the Rotary experience! Just a head’s up … there is a free fish dinner buried in this newsletter for those who keep reading. A special thank you to District Governor Bill Hoel for his year of service and to all the Assistant Governors, District Specialists, Club Presidents and Others who suddenly find themselves with some extra time on their hands! Your vast experience and service will be missed although many of you have already enthusiastically jumped into new Rotary roles at either the Club, District or Zone levels.
Our Rotary theme this year is Rotary Connects the World. I’m soon going to have a new nephew by marriage. His name is Ivan and he and my niece met in the same way that I met my wife Joanna and in the same way that my father came to the United States for the first time … all thanks to exchange programs. One of the things we focus on this time of year is getting Club Youth Exchange commitments for students arriving in August 2020 … Rotary Connects the World! Ivan is originally from Mexico City but is now a filmmaker in Washington DC. He made this short Rotary Year Lift-Off and Introduction video for us … hope you enjoy it.
District News, Events and AnnouncementsLearn about RotaryFest 2020District 6250 will be having a RotaryFest / District Conference in my hometown of Fort Atkinson from June 19-21, 2020. This will be unlike any District Conference you’ve ever been to. Something for everyone as we mix a lot of the new with a lot of the traditional.
Registration will open in November and we expect many events such as the Friday afternoon golf outing https://www.kmccgolf.com/ and the special edition Rotary Friday Night Fireside Dinner Show (What Happens in Vegas) https://www.firesidetheatre.com/2020-season/ to sell out quickly. But not as quickly as I’ll get e-mails back from District Rotarians with a list of four names, one must be a Rotarian, interested in roadtripping to Fort Atkinson for a free Friday night Fish Fry at the Fireside Dinner Theatre with Joanna and I. Send e-mail to edwin@bosdesignbuilders.com and I will make some type of unscientific selection of a winning group by the end of July. Isn’t Rotary great! 😉
Club Involvement in International Global Grant ScholarsBy: Lyn Kenney
Some clubs are unaware that we not only sponsor a Global Grant (GG) Scholar from our own district each year, but we also receive requests for hosting GG scholars that come here to study at our various Universities from other countries.
So far, most have come to the University of Wi-Madison. They cannot receive the scholarship unless there is a Rotary host club involved with the scholar. The purpose of this article is to find clubs that are willing to host, so when I receive a request, I know your club might be interested. The only financial obligation is totally up to the club as to what they spend money on for the scholar (like taking him/her out to eat; covering their meals when they attend meetings; members taking them on a trip or to a play etc.).
The Club is responsible for: managing the expenses of $30,000. (filling out a simple district reimbursement form and the grant is usually fully spent with only the tuition and air). As district chair of scholars, I provide all the information to the scholar on how to deal with their expenses. In some cases, the international host takes care of the expenses, but it is not a difficult task.
The only other expectations are to: Communicate online with the scholar before arrival, greet the scholar at the airport when he/she arrives, make sure they get settled in their living space and generally make them feel welcomed to both the community and your club.
Please notify me if your club would be willing in the future to take a scholar. This is especially important when I receive last minute requests and we don’t want the applicant to lose their scholarship for lack of a host club. At present, I tend to go to the same clubs that have handled scholars in the past. I would like to broaden this to other clubs. Contact: Lyn Kenney at lynkenney4@gmail.com or 925 518-4444.
Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) – NetherlandsSUMMARY
May 25 – 31, 2019
The train station in Groningen, Netherlands was the gathering point for a group of 12 Rotarians from several clubs from Wisconsin to meet their respective Dutch hosts of clubs in northern Netherlands. It was the culmination of much planning by the RFE organizers and anticipation by the participants. As we came off the train we were welcomed and quickly paired with our hosts to travel for lunch at a cozy restaurant on the dike of the Wadden Sea, a Unesco world heritage site. The Wadden Sea is one of the last remaining large-scale, intertidal ecosystems where you find sand and mud flats in a relatively flat coastal wetland environment. What a beautiful northern border to the historically and culturally rich area where we would spend the coming week in fellowship with our new Dutch rotary friends.
That evening and next day we had time to get settled with our Dutch family and get acquainted with the various small towns where we were staying. They were scattered across the farms and meadows between Groningen and the Wadden Sea. On Monday we convened for a tour of the Breedenborg in Warffum, a former stronghold previously belonging to a nobleman farmer. We were fortunate to get a very personal historical perspective of this moated, beautifully restored block-shaped villa as our very own Edwin Bos had family connections to the Borg. In the afternoon, we visited a modern dairy farm. We closed the day with the Rotary club Appingedam-Delfzijl at the charming 17th century estate Ekenstein where we shared the stories of our rotary clubs.
On Tuesday we met in the more than 950-year-old city of Groningen. It was the regional power of northern Netherlands, a semi-independent city-state and member of the Hanseatic League. Today Groningen is the main urban center of this part of the country with over a half a million people and well known for its university, music and arts. We visited the architecturally modern museum with a permanent collection of regional treasures and art that reflect the vast history and culture and of the city and region. This was followed by a tour of the main building of the 400-year-old university. The University of Groningen belongs to the top 100 large comprehensive academic centers in the world.
The next day we took a day trip to the island of Schiermonnikoog. It turns out the island has its own rotary club whose company we enjoyed while walking, biking, visiting the beach and a guided tour of a local war cemetery. We continued in the fresh air on Thursday, with a guided tour of the Lauwersmeer National Park, home to over 100 species of birds, that breed in its water, forests and grasslands, and thousands of hibernating geese. This was followed by a tour of a modern potato seed farm bordered by a dike home to some grazing sheep.
The last day heralded a tour of the prominent Menkemaborg. The villa’s rooms were fully furnished with furniture, silverware, china, brassware and portrait paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, and a unique cabinet organ, which is still used for chamber music concerts. The gardens were reconstructed after the surviving 18th century design with symmetrical patterns of clipped boxwood enclosing beds flowering and ornamental plants. We then moved to Warffum where a local couple provided a tour of their 13th century rectory home which they had lovingly renovated over the last years. We topped off the day with a walk at the local open-air museum of Het Hoogeland, followed by a bountiful farewell BBQ with the rotary club Uithuizen. The closing program vibrated with laughter and a slide show of fond memories to take home.
Over the week we got to know each other like family which enabled a rich exchange well beyond that of a tourist. We were able to spend intimate time in the daily lives of fellow rotary friends soaking in their culture, challenges and joys. There were many late-night discussions with our host families to explore our similarities and open ourselves to differences in the spirit of learning and the ever-valuable Rotary promise.
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RI News
After much planning, your term is about to begin -- congratulations!
As foreshadowed in our email of 26 May, we at the RAG for Family Safety are contacting you to share information on projects in our area of expertise. We would love to be able to liaise with a regular member of your team, as suggested in that email, but until one is appointed we will continue to come directly to you.
You can always contact our HQ directly at ragfamsafe@gmail.com.
I am a Rotary Peace Fellow working on a project called the Every Woman Treaty. As a member of the Rotarian Action Group for Family Safety, I want to share an idea for a service project in the Peace Area of Focus.
We are asking Rotary clubs and districts to help advance a United Nations treaty to end violence against women and girls. You can participate by collecting signatures calling for a treaty, or helping the treaty advance in your country in other ways.
Violence against women and girls is a global crisis, the most widespread human rights violation happening today. It occurs in all countries, across all races, and takes multiple forms. Globally, at least 1 in 3 women experience violence, that’s 1.3 billion women around the world.
The problem is staggering, yet research shows this violence is solvable with a global treaty that mandates that nations adopt a set of proven interventions.
This is why I’m inviting your Rotary club and district to join me in signing onto the call for a global treaty to end violence against women and girls.
Please let me know if you would like to do a treaty signing with your club or district, or work with the Every Woman Treaty in another way to gain support for the treaty.
You can send me an email at: Erin@everywoman.org
Thank you so much for your time and I look forward to working together on this project!
Best of luck to you in your upcoming Rotary Year,
Erin Thomas
Rotary Peace Fellow Universidad del Salvador (Class 1 2003-2004)
Director of Strategic Partnerships, Every Woman Treaty
+1 503 367 4223
Erin@everywoman.org
everywoman.org
From the heart of District 2452, from the region that connects the east with the west, from District of 9 countries, 3 continents and seven languages, it is my pleasure to congratulate you on the new Rotary year and wish you a successful journey. It is my honour to connect with you during this year and extend the hands of friendship and fellowship to better serve our communities.
In a direct realization of the RIP Mark Maloney's theme this year Rotary Connects the World, I will be glad to share with you on a monthly basis our district newsletter that will contain news about our district and clubs in addition to a list of projects within our district that are seeking for international partnerships and global grants.
Moreover, it is my utmost pleasure to invite you to our 7th annual district conference that will be held in Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from the 28th until the 31st of May 2020 where Rotarians from all over the 9 countries of the district will get the chance to meet you and exchange friendship with your goodself.
Thank you for your fellowship and looking forward for an ever lasting friendship
Yours in Rotary service
DG Shawkat Tadros
District Governor 2019-2020
District 2452
Polio Update - Polio this week as of 3 July 2019
- G20 Leaders met on 28-29 June 2019 in Osaka, Japan, and discussed major challenges facing the world and the importance of eradicating polio. The G20 declaration states, “We reaffirm our commitment to eradicate polio as well as to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and look forward to the success of the sixth replenishment of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.” Read more here.
- A second cVDPV2 outbreak has been reported in Angola this year; the earlier outbreak was detected in Lunda Norte province; for which an outbreak response is in progress (in close coordination with DRC). The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) Outbreak Preparedness and Response Task Team (OPRTT) is also supporting the Angola polio eradication team on planning the response to the new outbreak in Huila.
- The World Health Organization is seeking Expressions of Interest from public- and private-sector vaccine manufacturers and other institutions on development and manufacture of affordable poliovirus virus-like-particle vaccine. Read more here
Afghanistan:
- No wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases have been reported in the past week. There are 10 WPV1 cases reported in 2019 from Afghanistan. The total number of WPV1 cases for 2018 remains 21.
- Two WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported in Kandahar district, Kandahar province. Both the samples were collected on 27 May 2019.
- Read the latest polio update from Afghanistan to see information on cases, surveillance and vaccination campaigns.
- Five wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases have been confirmed: two from Torghar district, two from Bannu district, and one from North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The cases had an onset of paralysis on 28 May, 12 June, 10 June and 11 June 2019 respectively, bringing the total number of WPV1 cases to 32. The total number of WPV1 cases in 2018 remains 12.
- 18 WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported in the past week: one each from South Waziristan, Bannu, D.I Khan, and Mardan districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province; one each from Hyderabad and Kambar districts, and a sample each from S.I.T.E, Baldia Town, Saddar, and two from Gadap Town, Karachi district, Sindh province; two from Rawalpindi district and three from Lahore district, Punjab province; one each from Quetta and Pishin districts in Balochistan province. The samples were collected between 28 May to 17 June 2019.
- No case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 has been reported in the past week. There are nine cVDPV2 cases reported in 2019 so far. The total number of cVDPV2 cases in 2018 remains 34.
The Rotarian Magazine
The Rotarian Magazine is our link to the greater Rotary world. The pictures and stories tell us of the wonderful work that is being done, in and through Rotary, to make the world a better, safer and a more peaceful place…all because we are advancing the key elements of social justice, health projects, and educational opportunity and alleviating the dire effects of poverty.
A person is not free if they are hungry. A man is not free when he has to watch his children die because of the lack of clean water or adequate food. A mother will not be free if her sick child cannot receive medical care and when people are not free they will seek social justice even if it means going to war to achieve it.
Our magazine, paid for in our RI dues, is not junk mail. It makes you and me “literate” in the great story of Rotary. Read it. Share it with others. Drop it off in a public area where literature is offered, a dentist's reception area, the waiting room at your local hospital or when you go to your accountant's office to pick up your tax filings. Plant the seeds of Rotary by sharing our great story.
Friendship Exchange News
Four Rotary Friendship Exchanges Planned for 2019: Australia, Netherlands and New Mexico
Contact the one of our chairpersons, either Dave Clemens at drdave@dellsdental.net, Mark Moody at moodymb@charter.net, or Mark Etrheim at mark@mchlax.com if you are interested in hosting or traveling.
Rotary Friendship Exchange between our District 6250 and District 9640 in Australia
Our Rotary district has arranged a Rotary Friendship Exchange for 2019 with District 9640 in Australia which is in the State of Queensland, south of Brisbane. A group from Australia will visit our district from July 12 to 26, 2019
Rotary Friendship Exchange between our District 6250 and District 7680 in Holland
Our District Governor Elect, Edwin Bos, has arranged an exchange with Holland in 2019. Our group will travel to Hoogeland, Warfflum, Holland, as seen on the map midway between Amsterdam and Hamburg, Germany. This exchange will take place just before the annual Rotary International Conference. Our group will travel to Holland from May 24 to June 1, then go to the International Conference from June 1-5. We expect a group from Holland to visit our district in the fall, with dates to be determined later. More details can be found on our District web site. This trip will be organized by Edwin Bos, DGE, contact edwin@bosdesignbuilders.com.
Rotary Friendship Exchange between our District 6250 and District 5520 in New Mexico
Our District has arranged an exchange with New Mexico. This will be the first Friendship Exchange within the United States, so language will not be a barrier. We expect a group from New Mexico to visit us for eight days from October 3-11, 2019. Host clubs and families will be needed. A group from our district will travel to New Mexico from October 28 – November 5.
Zone News
Update on Annual Giving
New RI Foundation Donation Forms
Club executive members can now download a Multiple Donor Form that is pre-populated (filled out) with details of club members including their ID number. This form is on Rotary.org at member access. Club presidents and club secretaries have access to this form. Also club treasurers and club Rotary Foundation chairs can get this form if they have been registered on member access by the president or secretary. Select the club members who have donated and add the amount of each donation. The new form makes it easy to forward donations from a group of club members who contribute weekly, quarterly, etc. More information about the Foundation can be found at Rotary.org.
Attendance Report
Reporting Tool for District Attendance is now in Club Runner. All Secretaries automatically are designated to update the data in club runner. If you are having trouble accessing the Club Runner screens or just don't know where to go, please contact the Rotary District 6250 Office at 608.204.9835 or rotarydistrict6250@morgandata.com.