GETTING BIGGER, BETTER AND BOLDER !
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND CONGRATULATIONS!
I believe we have had a successful year to date and wanted to share with you the pride I have felt in putting together a few of the great things that have been achieved in our District since July. Hopefully this will serve as an inspiration to us all to be even BIGGER, BETTER AND BOLDER during the second half of the year!
POTENTIAL NEW CLUBS
Congratulations are due all around for taking care of our Youth! EarlyAct Clubs are being formed at such a phenomenal rate it is impossible to keep up with your success! We have membership pins on order for these fledgling groups and they should be available to AG’s during the Leadership Training Seminar in February. Interact is also expanding and there has been a re-establishment of clubs which had previously disbanded. Currently we have one potential new Rotary and Rotaract club in Jamaica.
OTHER FAMILY OF ROTARY MEMBERS
Plans are in place for a new Rotary Community Corps, it has been suggested that some of the issues facing the young people of our “inner city” areas might be solved through the RCC program; a thought which might bear some consideration.
Inner Wheel is asking for a closer association with Rotary in general – getting back to the basics of the relationship. Representatives from Inner wheel will be joining us in various inter-country and District events in the latter half of this year.
CLUB VISITS
Thanks to a great team of AG’s who have planned our visits, each has been unique and inspirational. It has been motivational for us to see the amazing work you are doing and to enjoy some fellowship with all of you. In addition to our Rotary Club visits, we have also had the pleasure of meeting with 1 Rotary Community Corps, 14 Rotaract Clubs, 17 Interact Clubs , 6 EarlyAct Clubs, 6 Inner Wheel Clubs and 2 Inter-Club Assemblies. We need to see as many photos and accounts of your efforts as possible – we want to showcase your fantastic work!
THE TWENTY MINUTE LIBRARY
Thanks to the ingenuity and hard work of RI Director Haresh Ramchandani, we are now offering a series of presentations which can be downloaded from our website. Each presentation will be less than twenty minutes and will be suitable for use during club meetings. The French version will follow shortly. These can be found on the District website on the “Training” dropdown or at http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/SitePages/SitePage.aspx?did=7020&pid=57285
RI PRESIDENT VISIT
We were honoured this year to host a visit from our RI President Ray Klinginsmith when he attended the DG Installation event in St. Thomas in July. We are doubly honoured (and perhaps making history?) when we hope to host another RI visitor to our shores WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE NEWS!
CLUB OF THE MONTH
More than half our clubs shave jumped on board with this new program and DGE Guy has confirmed it will continue next year. Seven clubs have submitted every month and are well on their way with points towards a Platinum award! Congratulations to the winners:
August – Partnership and Membership - Grand Cayman Sunrise September – New Generations - Tortola
October – Service and Emphases - St. Croix Mid-Isle November – Foundation - East Nassau
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Thanks to the efforts of our District PR Chair, Delma Maduro, I am delighted to report we have been awarded a PR Grant this year from Rotary International in the amount of $8,000 to conduct a media campaign to keep our communities aware of the plight of the people of Haiti after the earthquake and to highlight the work of Rotary in Haiti through Radio and TV public service announcements throughout the entire District. Delma and her team are busy working out the details…continue to look out for more news on PR.
FOUNDATION
You rose to the Challenge!! During the “Double Points” campaign to raise funds for Polio, our District took great advantage of the offer. We contributed more than $47,000 making us not only number 1 in our Zone but 3rd in the world! Special thanks to District Chair Trevor Heaven who motivated you and to the Rotary Club of Kingston who were by far the greatest donor with almost $9,000.00! Sadly we have not had the same success with our Annual Fund giving but I am confident we will, as always, rise to meet our goals.
Clubs have been active in applying for District Simplified Grants and we are delighted to report that almost all available funds have been expended.
I encourage more clubs to find projects and partners for Matching Grants, we still have funds available – don’t leave it to the last minute!
District Chair, Richard Grant is guiding our Group Study Exchange teams which are busy preparing for their visits. Team leader, Rosa Leger from Haiti will be leaving in March for Jacksonville Florida where she and her team will be working alongside other professionals in the health industry for which Jacksonville is well known. Rebecca Lowe and her team are due to depart in May for the shores of England to exchange information and ideas with hospitality industry professionals in the southwest of the country, famous for its tourism and cream teas!
CONFERENCE
St. Thomas Rotarians are gearing up for the best conference ever! This is a must for all Rotarians, it will change your perspective of Rotary, afford you an opportunity to make new friends, provide a forum for forging club partnerships, give you a chance to boast about your projects and much, much more.
New this year:
- Purchase your conference shirts, jewelry and other items on line at www.
- Bring a locally-made item of recycled material and share ideas on re-cycling
- Watch round-the-clock information on Rotary and environmental concern in the “House of Friendship”
- Bring along ideas for and stories of your projects to display in the “House of Friendship”
- Breakout sessions will be available during the Assembly (thanks for the suggestion – we are listening to your requests, please keep them coming!)
I thank you for all you have done and encourage you to continue your great work of
BUILDING COMMUNITIES AND BRIDGING CONTINENTS!
Diana White
District 7020