Weekly Bulletin January 6, 2021 (Jan 02, 2021)

WeeklyBulletin

January 6, 2021 • Rotary Club of Missoula, Montana • Chartered May 2, 1917

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Happy New Year

Speaker

Important Club Assembly kicks off the New Year

Join us this week for our 2nd club assembly presentation by Club Secretary Ryan Boyd and Past President Martha Ripley.

Martha will be sharing a few updates on using the ClubRunner App and how to update your all-important member data. Why is current member data important? Our club uses this information in all of our operations, communications and volunteer services, as well as in aggregate for club reporting to District 5390 and Rotary International. It’s also how we track your club attendance and participation in projects. The data helps the club leadership make decisions.

Because ClubRunner is designed by and for Rotarians, the club website platform provides a wide range of features specifically designed for Rotary clubs. And, it recognizes that Rotary is a volunteer-driven organization. The ClubRunner website is designed to be used by volunteer members with a modest level of computer skills, and ClubRunner provides extensive support through videos, on-line communication, telephone, and Webinars.

ClubRunner Mobile App

The ClubRunner Mobile App is your key to connect to our club and district on the go right from your smart phone! Included with our club’s ClubRunner subscription, this app will let you access the key information you need while you're on the go.

The ClubRunner Mobile app allows you to to:

View member directory profiles
View and contact our club/district executives and directors
View posts on our club Website
Learn more about upcoming events and speakers
View club details
Keep track of your attendance

Rotary Youth Exchange

Time to consider a Rotary Youth Exchange experience?
With the new year comes a great opportunity to learn more about Rotary Youth Exchange. South Central Rotary Youth Exchange will be hosting its annual winter conference digitally this year over two weekends — January 9 and January 23. The January 9 agenda is designed to include more club volunteer and officer training. There is a small cost for attending; but if you want to learn more about Youth Exchange this is a great way of doing it. For more information and to register, you can go to scrye.org and on the top click on “Conferences” and, in the drop down list, click on the “2021 conference.” The agenda and descriptions of the break-out sessions are listed there.

Daryl Hansen
District 5390 Youth Exchange Officer
dg5390.2012@gmail.com
406 220 0137

La Vega Water Project

Update on Global Coalition Projects

Mark Rohweder shares an update (see letter below) on our club’s involvement with the Global Coalition. Rotary Club of Missoula is one of a dozen Rotary clubs in Montana that have joined together to develop sustainable water projects in communities in Guatemala. Your annual dues help support these worthwhile endeavors, made even more vital to these poor communities with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Without clean water, it is difficult for people to sanitize hands. Our club is proud to be in our third year of supporting this international community development and education project under the guidance of our International Director Jim Hutcheson.

Dear La Vega Supporters,

We have started to receive individual club donations commitment to the La Vega Water Project. We had our project kick-off meeting with our partners in Guatemala earlier this month. We'll continue to have regular Zoom meetings with our partners. Our team is currently working with the District 5390 treasurer and the treasurer of the RC of Mazatenango to transfer money to get the project started. The first task will be to finalize the environmental assessment and obtain the final two permits.

The Project:
The Rotary Club of Kalispell and Partners have formed the Sustainable Global Coalition which is currently working on three projects, including the La Vega water project. We have assembled a highly capable and comprehensive team to design and implement sustainable projects in Guatemala.To implement a successful project, our Sustainable Global Coalition of Rotary Clubs has built strong partnerships with the community of La Vega, the Rotary Club of Mazatenango, Fundazucar (https://www.azucar.com.gt/fundazucar/) and Engineers without Borders to secure a safe and reliable source of drinking water for over 1,300 people. This project will be assisted through Rotary Global Grants, donors and in-kind contributions from the communities in the form of local labor, local funding, and local leadership.

The Benefit:

This project will secure a safe and reliable water source for 1,340 adults and children. Currently, residents of La Vega rely on individual shallow wells that are generally 30 feet (9.1 m) deep. Homes in the community use individual pit toilets. Therefore, most wells are contaminated. By providing clean and accessible water, this project will assist this community to grow and sustain a healthy environment. Together, we can change lives for the better.

If you have any question, please call or email me. I'll provide another update in January. Thank you for your support.

Happy Holidays,

Mark Rohweder, PE, PMP
406-300-7099 Direct
406-890-1193 Cell
1830 3rd Avenue East Suite 202
Kalispell, MT 59901-5578
kljeng.com

Wreaths for Veterans

More than 400 people, including Rotary club members. attended the December 19 ceremony at the Veterans Cemetery in Missoula where 1,100 wreaths were placed on tombstones in honor of veterans who gave their lives for their country. Rotary raised enough funds for 30 wreaths. Thanks to all our veterans, both past and present, and to Mike Schauf for recommending the worthwhile project. Photos were shared by Vanessa Berry.

Victoria Emmons

Adjusting to a New Year

When will it happen? When will that first incident occur when I mistakenly write 2020 when I should be writing 2021? I know it will happen. It does every year.

Adjusting to the year’s new numbers is hard to do, hard for my brain to adapt. Writing a check is often when it first happens. Eventually I recognize my error and try to blacken a numeral one over the zero from the previous year. But these days I bank online and write few checks.

Sometimes it happens while writing a letter. I carefully select my stationery and my best ink pen, then sit down and start the letter to my friend or family member. I still like writing letters; but now I am often writing those letters on my iPad. And I don’t have to think about the proper date since the computer does it for me.

Maybe it will happen when I sign for a credit card charge, or fill out a receipt for something. I know it will happen, though. It’s part of ushering in a new year.

I try not to think of it as me just getting older and forgetful. This has been happening to me in the changeover to the New Year since I was in my teens, I hate to admit. There is always that first time I make the mistake, after which I am usually on top of the changed year.

Over the weekend, I was handwriting thank-you notes to friends and family. I paid careful attention each time I hand wrote the date … January 2, 2021. I was so proud of myself for remembering. When I finished a note to my niece, I read back through it as I always do before I seal the envelope. I was aghast. I had made an error with the year. I didn’t even confuse it with the previous year. I wrote 2012.

Be kind to yourself this year. Forgive yourself for whatever small mistakes you make. They will happen, right on schedule, as they always do. As Rotarians, we will forgive you and forgive ourselves.

Notables

Posted by Martha Ripley

ROTARY BOARD TO MEET VIA ZOOM JAN. 5

The first meeting of 2021 for the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Missoula will take place Tuesday, January 5, at 5:15 pm. This month’s meeting will be only via Zoom due to the Missoula Country Club where the board usually meets being closed January 1-11 for its annual cleaning. Club members are always welcome to attend board meetings. Please notify President Victoria Emmons if you would like to attend so that we may assure access to the Zoom login. A reminder to members that board minutes, once approved, are always available within 30 days after a board meeting. Club Secretary Ryan Boyd notifies all members when they are available for viewing.

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SERVE YOUR CLUB IN A LEADERSHIP ROLE FY 2021-22

Each year, our Rotary club must select its leaders for the upcoming year. We do so through a Nominating Committee to recommend candidates. Once candidates’ names are put forth, the entire club membership votes on the candidates to be selected. We must have a quorum at the meeting to accomplish that.

Our club is governed by a Board of Directors made up of 14 members, including five officers (president, vice-president/president-elect, secretary, treasurer, immediate past president) and directors of the various Avenues of Service. The Sargent-at-Arms serves at the pleasure of the president. Each member of the Board of Directors serves a three-year term, unless unable to do so due to relocation, resignation or other personal reasons. Usually that means that three new board positions are filled via member vote each year. Our bylaws support only a one-third membership turnover on the board each year for good reason. Stability in club leadership is essential to a strong organization. Our bylaws also rightly state that the club president must have served at one time on the board. That assures our club that the volunteer who is charged with managing club operations fully understands the club’s mission, goals and Rotary International’s mission.

Our board members serve as volunteers with no compensation, although reimbursement for approved expenses is provided. Per our bylaws, only the club secretary and club treasurer receive a small stipend for the ongoing work they provide for the club; and the club president is not charged for lunches during the year of his/her term. Many club presidents ask members who serve in the key roles of secretary and treasurer to serve for multiple years. Our club has done the same in the past, as we had someone available and willing to do so. The president secures the secretary and treasurer with the vote of the full board.

The vote for new board members takes place at our Annual Meeting on April 14. According to our club’s bylaws, club officers for the new year beginning July 1 are then elected by the new Board within one week of the results of the election. From time to time, as was the case in FY 2020-21, we will have openings for more than three Board positions when some members must leave their posts before their terms are up. This year, other Rotary members stepped up and agreed to serve out the remaining terms of those members. When a board vacancy occurs at mid-term, the board elects a replacement.

President Victoria Emmons appointed Past President Martha Ripley to chair the Nominating Committee to determine the FY 2021-22 Board makeup. This year, our board will have five open positions. Please contact Martha Ripley if you would like to learn more about serving on the Rotary Board of Directors. Candidates will be announced in March for the April 14 vote.

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FELLOWSHIP IS FUN.

Meeting with fellow Rotarians at Missoula Country Club in the waning days of 2020 was a great way to end the holidays. Photos: Member candidate Shari Rigg; Jim Hutcheson and Diane Dawson; Victoria Emmons, Jim, Diane, Tom Wilkins and Shari.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Q. What projects has our Rotary club supported during the first six months of FY 2020-2021?

♦

A. Answer to last week's question ... Which Rotarians in the Rotary Club of Missoula are Honorary members? Honorary members in the Rotary Club of Missoula include: John Browne, David Diggs, Mike Duffield, Arnold Elser, Lyle Grimes, Bill Jones, Bill Schwanke, Carol Seim, Bob Seim, Betty Wilkins, and Tom Wilkins. You can locate Honorary Members in ClubRunner in the Membership Listing. Rotarians have their member designations denoted next to their names under the column marked “Type” in the online directory. Honorary members are so designated to indicate their 10+ years of Rotary membership, over 65 age, and meritorious service to the club over the years. Thank you to these Rotarians who have served our club well in the past.

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GREETERS AND INSPIRATIONS

Mike Schauf, our trusty Sargent-at-Arms, has created a list of greeters and inspiration presenters for the next three months of our club’s meetings. With Kurt Ingold’s assistance, he is also recruiting from our Zoom attendees to offer inspirational messages. It’s clearly next to impossible for Zoomers to be greeters at the door ... although you can greet one another on Zoom as you join the party. So we’re asking especially the Zoomers to volunteer for an inspirational message. You can also volunteer if you attend the meeting live, of course ... we don’t discriminate. We just want to assure everyone gets welcomed, that we have a leader for the Pledge of Allegiance to start the meeting, and that we are inspired by something you have read or said that you can share with the rest of us. Inspirational messages can be serious or humorous. Mostly, they should make us think and they should inspire.

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MASK, PLEASE.

Facial masks are now required by the City of Missoula. Pick up your Rotary People of Action mask at our next meeting at the Florence.

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HELLO.

Facial masks. No handshakes. No buffet lunches. Still a welcoming atmosphere as we meet at the Florence, or via Zoom if you can’t attend in person. Meal Cards are on sale at check-in for $180 for 12 meals. $20 per lunch for individual lunches, both members and guests. Invite a guest!

Service Above Self.

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January is Vocational Service Month.

Share your vocation with fellow Rotarians. Schedule your 5-minute talk.

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