March carries one of my favorite Rotary Themes - Literacy. What a perfect fit for a club whose signature focus is CHILD SAFETY, HEALTH and EDUCATION! Throughout history, rulers who have given their subjects freedom have promoted literacy and rulers who have suppressed freedoms have not. Ignorant masses are much easier to subdue than those who are taught to think for themselves!
Did you know that on March 1, 1961, Kennedy signed an Executive Order that officially started the Peace Corps? Since then literacy has been one of the Peace Corps primary objectives.
CMIRC has an ever-increasing involvement in literacy projects which requires more and more active members. Increased membership gives us the capability and courage to take on new projects. As we converse with potential members it becomes easier to discuss meaningful ways we are involved with the community. In Chiang Mai International Rotary Club, service is a privilege of membership.
In February, we started our English Language Cultural Exchange Club, giving our members an opportunity to work with students from BEAM Education Foundation. We anticipate that the club will be expanded to include the 11 government (Tessaban) schools in Chiang Mai city. This is a wonderful opportunity for both the community and our members.
On March 15th we will conclude our current fundraising project in support of the Mae Tao Clinic’s Child Development Center. Please refer to the article below. Naw Gold Rain, the pre-GED teacher at CDC, just gave me an update. Every time we speak she is excited to report on the increased capabilities of her students. Like their counterparts at BEAM Education Foundation, CDC students are taught critical thinking. These young people will make a difference in their society and we are both proud and grateful to play a small part.
Often CMRIC is involved indirectly in several ways that make it easier for children to learn. For example, children with vision problems need help; we are soon starting a Children’s Vision Screening Program in the 11 Tessaban schools in Chiang Mai.
It is very cold in the hills of Northern Thailand and children without proper clothing often become ill and miss out on part of their education. CMIRC’s children’s winter clothing appeal attempts to alleviate some of these shortages.
Of course, these actions require more active members which brings us full circle. If you are in Chiang Mai and want to become involved in our good work, please contact us.
Our club's biggest charity fundraising event is this Saturday, March 3 at the Thailand International Balloon Festival when numbered golf balls will be dropped from a tethered balloon at dusk. The "owner" of the ball closest to the hole will be awarded 30,000 baht, the second closest 10,000 baht and the third 5,000 baht. The proceeds from this event support the children's projects of the club.
You don't need to be present to win; we'll find you! In fact, the winner of the first-ever CMIRC GBD was in Scotland at the time of the drop. But, if you're in Chiang Mai this Saturday, we hope and your friends will come out to the Cowboy Army Riding Club, the venue of the festival. It's a large army base on Canal Road. https://goo.gl/maps/4yvusUpyW5s Right after the GBD, there will be a "Night Glow" event, where the tethered balloons float over the festival while bands entertain and you can enjoy food and beverages from many of Chiang Mai's finest hotels and restaurants. It will be a magical evening.
There is still time to purchase a ticket for a numbered golf ball. Email: GBD@cmirotary.org call: 094-856-3011 Payment is accepted via Paypal at cmircpaypal@cmirotary.org Or if you're in Chiang Mai , we'll sell your ticket on the "honor system" and collect your money at the next CMIRC meeting on March 6.
The Chiang Mai International Rotary Club(CMIRC)-Kru Payu Swim Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program is working to address the leading cause of death for children in Thailand: Drowning! Over 1,000 children drown in Thailand each year. (Source: 2014 World Health Organization and Thai Ministry of Public Health)
We did it! We have completed another year of drowning prevention and water safety instruction with the Chiang Mai Municipal Schools. We taught nearly 300 Chiang Mai municipal school 4th graders basic survival swimming and water safety. Once again, this year all 11 Chiang Mai municipal school 4th graders had the opportunity to receive 15 hours of water safety and swimming instruction, FREE of charge. All instruction, swimsuits, towels, goggles, and caps were paid for by CMIRC and our sponsors. This year CMIRC donated 180,000 Baht ($5,800) to this program. We thank our swim instructors at Kru Pay Swim, our pool at Bronco Kids Sport Center, and the Chiang Mai Municipality for their wonderful contributions and dedication to this effort!
Our club remains committed to making this a part of every municipal school child’s elementary school experience far into the future!
Would you like to help? We have refined and revised our program, so that we can now provide 15 hours of swim and water safety instruction for about 500 Baht (US$16) per 4th grade child. One entire 4th grade at a school can be taught for about 17,000 Baht (US$550). Feel free to contact me at john@cmirotary.org, if you have questions or wish to provide assistance for our project.
Spin Offs
CMIRC’s work with the Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Project at the 11 municipal schools has helped us build a great relationship with those schools. So, when we heard that the Thin Thai Ngam Rotary Club was providing scholarships to needy students, we quickly agreed to help them find needy children in the 11 municipal schools. So, on March 9 at noon at the 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Thin Thai Ngam Rotary Club at the Grandview Hotel, 11 elementary school students, one from each of the Tessabon (Municipal) schools will be awarded 2,000 Baht scholarships. The children’s teachers and the minister of education for the municipal schools will also be recognized for their help in selecting these students.
A perfect example of Rotary Clubs and the Chiang Mai Municipality working together to help poor children! Thank you Thin Thai Ngam Rotarians for making this possible!!
We had a good turnout for the first meeting of the new Foundation Committee. In attendance were Roger Lindley, Craig Clark, Joel Lupro, Stasha Malcolm, Jerry Nelson and Jean Brookens filling in for her husband.
Jean gave us a description of the Global Grant project that she is involved with in her U.S. Rotary club which was both interesting and informative. We had a discussion about our club and how we might proceed. I believe in summary we plan to:
1. continue to get up to speed on Foundation protocol (me).
2. Keep our eyes open for Global Grant projects.
3. See how our club can get involved locally as a Host Club or Guest Club with Global Grant projects already approved and in the works. This will give us the opportunity to serve and at the same time learn. To that end Stasha has forwarded to me information about her home club and their Global Grant activities which I will investigate.
How People from All Over the World can Contribute to CMIRC
Among the compliments we receive, there are questions about how you can help with our projects. The audience for this bulletin is international and our readers have many different situations and interests. The common thread is that you are all devoted to helping your fellow humans. We thank you so very much! Here are a few possible ways you can help:
Contribute money to one or more of our fund-raising efforts. For example, you may like the specify of our G.E.D. fundraising campaign mentioned in this bulletin, or the Children’s Water Safety and Drown Proofing program. There is still time to purchase a ticket for a Golf Ball to be dropped to be dropped on March 3rd at the Thailand International Balloon Festival. If your ball is a winner, we'll get your prize money to you no matter where you live.
CMIRC has a relationship with a wonderful organization in Melbourne, Australia that provides “Trekker Teddys” which we distribute to poor children. Often the Teddy is the only toy the child has. Our challenge is getting the toys from Melbourne to Chiang Mai, due to the cost of freight and duty. You can help by putting them in your luggage when you visit us from Australia.
CMIRC’s Children’s Winter Clothing appeal can always use help. We accept donations all year long. Would you be willing to collect used or purchase inexpensive children’s clothing at home, and bring it to Chiang Mai when you come?
For details please contact us. Everyone will be happy for your generosity! Also, would you please take a moment and forward this to your generous friends who may be interested in becoming involved. Perhaps you would remind them that they can subscribe to this bulletin by using the handy Bulletin Subscribe button located on the left side of our home page at www.cmirotary.org
It has been suggested that we designate a “signature project” for CMIRC. We love all of our projects and prefer to have a signature focus: “Child Safety, Health and Education”. From the bottom of our heart we thank you for all you do to support our projects.
By all means, when you are in Chiang Mai, come to one of our meetings or at least meet some of us for a meal or coffee.
Since the club began we have been staunch supporters of the Mae Tao Clinic (MTC). As a club with a primary focus of Child Safety, Health and Education, we have always been impressed with the wonderful staff at MTC and their Child Development Center (CDC). It’s been our pleasure to provide funding for various projects and to encourage tours of the clinic. Our current fundraising campaign will fund G.E.D. tests for migrant students currently studying at MTC/CDC.
One of the facts of life for the migrant students from Myanmar is that they attend migrant learning centers rather than regular Thai government schools. Their education varies in quality depending on the learning center; the Child Development Center at Mae Tao Clinic is excellent and produces well-rounded students who are hungry for further education opportunities. Given the opportunity to get an education many of them return to Mae Tao Clinic or to their home villages and make a significant difference in their communities. They face a common challenge in that they do not receive a Thai high school diploma and are therefore not eligible to apply to universities. Taking and passing the G.E.D. test removes that obstacle. Your help in making this possible is needed and will be most appreciated!
Before making our last appeal for this campaign, we would like to express our gratitude to those who have donated thus far, especially the Rotary Club of Bangkok South who made an extremely generous contribution of 30,000 THB. Thus far, this phase of the campaign has raised approximately 66,500 THB ($2,100).
There are currently 16 Students finishing up the Pre-Ged program at Mae Tao Clinic’s Child Development Center. They finish their program on 16 March. Reports from a CDC teacher indicates that a number of the students will have a very high likelihood of passing the G.E.D. test. Students will be given free practice tests as part of their final preparation and then then the final decision to fund their actual G.E.D. tests will be made by CDC staff.
If you are in Chiang Mai, just hand me cash and I will deposit it in the account making sure you get the credit you deserve for your generosity.
A detailed accountability will be sent to donors at the end of the campaign and a summary will be posted here. In the event that we raise more money than is needed for this G.E.D. test campaign, surplus will be rolled into our next campaign which will be in support of the Mae Tao Clinic Birth Registration program. Read more about this in our April bulletin.
To learn more about the Mae Tao Clinic and the Child Development Center check out www.maetaoclinic.org.
Our next tour of Mae Tao Clinic is tentatively scheduled for Thursday 15 March. Those interested in this tour are encouraged to contact us as soon as possible. We will finalize hotel reservations, and transportation by Monday 5 March.
CMIRC ended January with a social night on the 30th of January at The Dukes at Maya Mall. A number of visitors and potential new club members were in attendance. Craig Clark was inducted into our club as our newest member and was pinned by his wife Anne who is a Rotarian in the USA.
On the 6th of February the Child Water Safety and Drowning Prevention team met with Rotarian Jimmy from the Rotary Club of Patong Beach. The Patong Beach Club will be conducting a water safety program for ninety-one (91) students. Jimmy had the opportunity to meet with Kru Payu Swim water safety instructors, see the facility at Bronco Kids Sports Club and talk with Khun Pomme about logistics of running the program.
On the 6th of February we had a regular meeting of our club. Our guest speaker was David Kennedy, Past District Governor (PDG) of D3700 in Australia. PDG David talked to the club about the importance of The Rotary Foundation.
On the 9th of February, Rotarians Nancy and Roger attended the press conference and social event put on by Khun Aom of Earth Wind and Fire, the organizers of the Thailand International Balloon Festival. This is the event our club has partnered with to stage our major fundraiser – The Golf Ball Drop (GBD). Rotarian Nancy had chance to address the gathering and to discuss our club’s involvement with Khun Aom.
On the 12th of February Rotarians Jerry, John, Roger and to-be-inducted Joel Lupro met with the BEAM Educational Foundation (Bridging Educational Access to Migrants). BEAM exist to assist with the unmet needs of Burmese migrant students seeking higher level college preparation courses and advanced vocational skill training. In discussions with Rebekka and Kophyo of BEAM, it appears that our CMIRC English Language Cultural Exchange Club would be helpful in preparing their students for the GED social studies exam. More coming about this in the future under the leadership of Rotarian Linda Pfotenhauer.
On the 19th of February, the CMIRC Cultural Exchange Language Club, under the leadership of Linda Pfotenhauer, had a follow-up meeting at BEAM to gain a better understanding of how we can assist in the social science section preparation for their GED program.
On the 20th of February our club celebrated at Hong Kong Lucky restaurant our fourth birthday as a Rotary Club. The club was chartered by Rotary International on the 21st of February 2014. The Rotary Theme that year: “Engage Rotary, Change Lives”.
On the 27th of February, there was CMIRC Board meeting at Hong Kong Lucky restaurant.
(Left) New member Joel Lupro is pinned by PDG Suparee at the Feb. 20th club birthday party.
(Right) CM North President Tony and other club members came with birthday wishes.
The club members and guests at the February 20th club birthday party:
The source of a Sergeant at Arms (SAA) can be traced back to feudal England where a Sergeant at Arms was an armed officer of a lord and was often one of a special body required to be in immediate attendance on the king’s person, to arrest traitors and other offenders. Today, Sergeant at Arms can be found playing a role in the functioning of both houses of British Parliament and both houses of the United States Congress.
In a Rotary Club , generally, the function of the SAA is to help maintain an orderly, dignified, and effective Rotary club meeting, one that will make the right impression on club visitors and guests. Typically, the SAA handles the physical preparations for, and the mechanical part of, a meeting and, unobtrusively, guides its general conduct. As a SAA, you play an important role in the overall success of each weekly meeting. The duties performed by the SAA permit the club president is to concentrate on conducting the meeting.
In our club, the SAA coordinates with the club president and secretary regarding the agenda, guests, speaker information and room preparation. Typically, the SAA arrives 15-20 minutes before the meeting to ensure that the meeting room is in proper state for the meeting.
At the start of the meeting the SAA reminds all present about silencing of mobile devices and selects a person to lead the Four Way Test. In addition, the SAA handles “Happy Baht” collection. The SAA works at keeping the meeting on the agenda timeline and, if necessary, asks for silence as needed. When the meeting is over, the SAA reminds attendees to unsilence their mobile device and return badges to their storage containers and meeting items returned to the store room.
The Sergeant-at-Arms who kept the wheels turning at a Rotary conference in England.
The first Rotary club was founded in Chicago by Paul Harris and 3 business colleagues in 1905. The club was called Rotary because initially, meetings were held at member business premises in rotation.
Paul invoked the idea of a simple wagon wheel to illustrate ‘Civilisation and Movement’. Because wheels rotate, the then familiar wagon wheel seemed a natural choice for a group calling itself the Rotary Club. The automobile was still very much in its infancy in 1905.
Later that same year Montague Bear, a new member and engraver, was inspired to create a wheel with 13 spokes as an insignia to symbolize the club. Bear updated the design to represent the wheel ‘riding on a bed of clouds’ to show dust and motion and the appearance of action. A banner ribbon was added and by 1910 the sixteen clubs in the National Association of Clubs each had their own design loosely based on Bear’s wagon wheel motif. As more clubs were chartered this generated a great diversity with local history or landmarks being included into the designs, and even mutating into stars, a ship’s helm, globes and other circular shapes.
Enough! Cried the National Association who in 1912 held a competition to establish an official emblem to be used by all clubs and the wheel design from the Rotary Club of Philadelphia was adopted:
“….. a wheel with 19 gears (teeth) cut on the outer edge to relieve the plainness of design and symbolize power of members working together, literally members interlocking with one another to achieve the organisation’s objective, and spokes to indicate strength". Fun Fact: Nineteen teeth were chosen because Philadelphia was chartered as the 19th club to join the Rotary community.
Notwithstanding, new clubs continued to evolve new designs and some sources claim 57 versions of the wheel featuring more, fewer or no teeth or spokes, were in use by 1920, many of them “impossible, not mechanically sound, and with no practical application."
So in 1920, Charles Mackintosh and Oscar Bjorge of the Rotary Clubs of Chicago and Duluth, co-authored an article for The Rotarian Magazine entitled "Redesigning the Rotary Wheel”. Their re-engineered emblem featured a “a wheel re-proportioned and of more sturdy appearance with six spokes ..." (symbolizing the 6 Objects of Rotary at that time), "... and 24 cogs or teeth”. Rotarian Will Forker of the Rotary Club of Los Angeles then observed the design “would be an idler gear and useless because there is no means to transfer the power of the wheel to a central shaft. "My idea of Rotary” he said, “is not that it is an idler organisation, but rather that it is a real living force.”
“Rotary is a vast machine and the gearwheel is a hardworking gear, truly emblematic of the Rotary community working together for the service of mankind.” The central key-way was added and the specification for a “re-engineered, mechanically correct Rotary wheel with official colours of royal blue and gold” were approved by the Dalas Convention in 1929.
This emblem was adopted by all clubs and the Rotary Wheel is a registered trademark protected throughout the world by Rotary International. The Rotary Wheel not only distinguishes Rotary in the community, but also helps Rotarians identify each other, and has become one of the most familiar symbols in the world today.
Here are a few of the important dates for Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC). These are opportunities to meet some of us and learn more about what we are doing in our community.
03 March, Saturday – CMIRC Golf Ball Drop, Cowboy Army Riding Club, Chiang Mai (www.cmirotary.org) This is CMIRC's largest fundraiser; all money goes to support our efforts to improve Child Safety, Health and Education. Tickets are on sale now! See Article Above for details.
6 March, Tuesday -- CMIRC Regular Club meeting, 7 pm, Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant, 5/8 Soi 7, Ratchadamnoen (Soi 7 is opposite the big police station) Click Here for Map Speaker: Jennifer Harhigh, U.S. Consul-General, Chiang Mai.
15 March -- Tour of Mae Tao Clinic/Child Development Centers. Contact Jerry Nelson for details.
17 – 18 March, Saturday & Sunday – Rotary District 3360 Conference, Empress Hotel, Chiang Mai
20 March, Tuesday -- CMIRC Regular Club meeting, 7 pm, Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant, 5/8 Soi 7, Ratchadamnoen (Soi 7 is opposite the big police station) Click Here for Map Speaker: Victoria Vorreiter, speaking on Hmong culture.
3 April, Tuesday -- CMIRC Regular Club meeting, 7 pm, Hong Kong Lucky Restaurant, 5/8 Soi 7, Ratchadamnoen (Soi 7 is opposite the big police station) Click Here for Map Speaker: Colin Jarvis.
19 - 20 May, Rotary District 3360 Training Assembly, Phitsanulok. Details to follow.
29 May, Tuesday – CMIRC Thank you night, Chiang Mai , details to follow
23 – 27 June 2018 – Rotary International Convention, Toronto Canada, (www.myrotary.org)
At the start of the meeting the SAA reminds all present about silencing of mobile devices and selects a person to lead the Four Way Test. In addition, the SAA handles “Happy Baht” collection. The SAA works at keeping the meeting on the agenda timeline and, if necessary, asks for silence as needed. When the meeting is over, the SAA reminds attendees to unsilence their mobile device and return badges to their storage containers and meeting items returned to the store room.
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