It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon at the Petro's residence. With lots of laughter, company, refreshments and RELIEF, Sunrise 2023-24 President Debra Robertson takes her well-earned place in the "past" president tradition of being debunked.
Taking cue from Debra's weekly recitation of an annual "dau", her debunking was held on national Taco Day! Hedi Lamaar taco hats for all were provided by choreographer Paul O Rear, Jack Strange, immediate Past President MC'd much of the roast.
Within the agenda was a brief foundation fun raising gag Harry Coffey leveraged a few dollars by passing the plunger (atop Eloise) who finally paid up with support of Marty Behr and others.
Echoing her national day recitations, Paul O Rear adlibbed one "national re-gifting day" and invited past presidents to pass along a white elephant of sort memento for Debra. The various memorabilia ranging from jam to club banner and toxic Sunrise coffee mug will go in Debra's new Rotary trophy room, where she will proudly display her gavel plaque!
Congratulations Debra for your fabulous year! Your leadership moved membership engagement forward in financial fitness via Rotary Foundation giving and community development sweat equity in gardens, healthy hikes and cycling celebrations.
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Jack Strange and Peter Hoberg are extending an invitation to join them at Rec Park in Healdsburg (corner of University and Piper) this Saturday, July 6th at 6PM where the 19-2 Prune Packers (since 1921) face the West Coast Kings. It's collegiate level baseball at its best.
Let's make it a Sunrise home run at the ballpark. Tickets are available at the gate or online at prunepackers.org.
Tom was at the hospital visiting with his best friend Larry who was dying. Tom asked, "If there is baseball in heaven will you come back and tell me?" Larry nodded yes just as he passed away. That night while Tom was sleeping, he heard Larry's voice in a dream, "Tom..." "Larry! What is it?!" asked Tom. "I have good news and bad news from heaven." "What's the good news?" "There is baseball in heaven after all, but the bad news is you're pitching on Tuesday."
Rotary is at its best when we foster a sense of inclusion and belonging in our clubs. In fact, I would go so far as to say that belonging is The Magic of Rotary itself.
With a focus on inclusivity and belonging, it is easier to be united in a common purpose. When we are committed to one another and focused on our goals, we are most effective.
Rotary’s Action Plan can help. The Action Plan comes with tools you can use to collect feedback, assess your club’s strengths and weaknesses, and address challenges.
The world is changing, and our clubs can’t afford to stand still. But the changes we make need to be consistent and strategic — building on one another toward a greater vision. The Action Plan can help you work toward that vision and create effective change within your club. Following the Action Plan and addressing suggestions from the community will go a long way to fostering the sense of belonging we want all Rotary members to feel in their clubs.
That’s why expanding our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is so important. Committing ourselves to each other’s well-being is the first step to expanding our reach, allowing us to spread Positive Peace in these troubled times.
Peacebuilding is one of our top priorities, and one of the most effective ways we can build peace is with our Rotary Peace Fellowships, through which peace and development professionals learn how to prevent and end conflict.
We offer the fellowships through our Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities around the globe, where more than 1,800 Rotary Peace Fellows have graduated. And thanks to a $15.5 million gift from the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, we can continue supporting peacebuilders in more regions with the next peace center at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul.
Opening another peace center is a monumental achievement, and it is my great honor to invite you to celebrate at next year’s Rotary Presidential Peace Conference at the Istanbul center. The three-day conference 20-22 February will highlight the many ways our family of Rotary advances peacebuilding. Registration for the conference is officially open. I hope to see you there.
The 2025 Rotary Presidential Peace Conference has great potential for our peacebuilding efforts — but only if we have your support.
The truth is, we’re not going to bring peace to the world, end polio, or grow membership by waving a wand and saying some funny words. It’s up to you. You create the magic with every project completed, every dollar donated, and every new member inducted.
I love my Rotary family and I know you do too. That’s why I know that together, we can make every club and district simply irresistible. This year, let us change the world by embracing The Magic of Rotary.
You can find all prior "RI President's Messages" at this LINK
This month, we begin a new journey together to celebrate The Magic of Rotary. So buckle up for an exciting trip.
If Rotary is a beautiful car that you are proud to drive, The Rotary Foundation is the engine that propels it to your chosen destination. And it’s the strengths of Rotary — especially you and our other incredible 1.4 million members — that make The Rotary Foundation powerful.
Like many new members, I knew little about The Rotary Foundation when I joined Rotary. However, everything changed in 1985 when, as incoming president of my club, I attended my first Rotary International Convention with my wife, Gay, in Kansas City, Missouri. We will never forget the thunderous support the audience showed for Dr. Albert Sabin, creator of the oral polio vaccine, who called upon Rotary to vaccinate the world’s children. It marked the dawn of PolioPlus, a pivotal moment in Rotary’s commitment to children worldwide, and I was there!
You, as a member of Rotary, are also a part of The Rotary Foundation. You are part of a worldwide movement that implements global grants to build sustainable systems for clean water and sanitation where there are none. You help train peacebuilders in a world plagued by unrest. And through supporting the Foundation, you help people rebuild their lives after natural disasters.
This is the magic of The Rotary Foundation. But let’s remember that magic doesn’t happen on its own, which is why I am counting on your support and engagement this year.
To accomplish more good throughout the world, the Foundation trustees have set an ambitious fundraising goal of $500 million for 2024-25. Achieving this goal will require the support of everyone reading this message. It will also help us reach our goal of building the Endowment Fund to $2.025 billion by 2025.
To help us keep financial support of the Foundation at the forefront throughout this year, I have developed Mark’s Magical Markers — a set of specific targets to help us achieve our overall goals. The first Magical Marker focuses on personal commitment, particularly to the Annual Fund, which supports the grants, scholarships, and vocational training teams that make the magic happen. Please contribute what you can to the Annual Fund no later than 31 August.
This year, let’s fuel the engine that takes us around the globe to do good. Let’s unleash The Magic of Rotary through the Foundation. And let’s make this year an unforgettable one — for us and for the people whose lives we will touch.
You can find all prior "Messages from the Foundation Trustee Chair" at this LINK
Second woman takes office as president of Rotary International
One-year term will prioritize adapting to changing times and advancing peace
EVANSTON, Ill., USA – 25 June 2024 — Stephanie Urchick, member of the Rotary Club of McMurray, PA, will become the second woman to take office as president of Rotary International on 1 July 2024. During her one-year term, Urchick will lead the 119-year-old membership service organization in adapting for future success as Rotary’s 1.4 million members around the world develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, grow local economies, and protect the environment. More than US$5.5 billion has been awarded through The Rotary Foundation—Rotary’s charitable arm that helps clubs work together to perform meaningful, impactful service—to support these initiatives over the last 100 years.
In order to ensure that Rotary membership is a compelling option for those who have a heart for service and fellowship, Urchick is urging clubs to assess their strengths and areas for improvement while also encouraging them to embrace different meeting formats and membership styles as they work to mirror the communities in which they exist in terms of gender, age, culture, socioeconomic status, and more.
“Embracing different viewpoints and creating peaceful, welcoming, and inclusive societies is at the heart of Rotary’s work,” said Urchick. “As president, I will work with clubs to prioritize advancing peace by helping to create the conditions for stable and resilient societies in which people can thrive.”
As one of the world’s largest membership service organizations, Rotary has made peacebuilding the cornerstone of its global mission. From carrying out service projects to supporting future leaders through youth programs and scholarships, Rotary is taking action to address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.
Through academic training, practice and global networking, Rotary is helping professionals become effective catalysts for peace. Rotary partners with leading universities around the world to host Rotary Peace Centers that empower, educate, and increase the capacity of peacebuilders. Each year, Rotary awards 50 fully funded fellowships for master’s degrees and up to 80 fully funded fellowships for certificate studies to dedicated peace and development leaders from communities around the world.
Since 2002, the peace centers program has prepared more than 1,800 peace fellows working in more than 140 countries to create a more peaceful world.
To build on this momentum, Urchick will host a peace conference at the launch of Rotary’s newest Peace Center in partnership with Bahçeşehir University, in Istanbul, Turkey in February 2025.
As president, Urchick will also oversee Rotary’s top goal of eradicating polio. Alongside its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, Rotary has achieved a 99.9% reduction in polio cases, and contributed more than US$2.7 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect 3 billion children from this paralyzing disease.
About Stephanie Urchick
Urchick holds a doctorate in leadership studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. A Rotary member since 1991, Stephanie has served Rotary in many roles and capacities. Her service includes building a primary school in Vietnam; installing water filters in the Dominican Republic; mentoring new Rotary members in Ukraine; coordinating a Rotary Foundation grant project in Poland; and leading efforts to formulate and adopt Rotary’s Action Plan, a strategic road map that will help bring even more people together to create lasting and positive change in an evolving world.
About Rotary
Rotary unites a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges and creating lasting change. Rotary connects 1.4 million people of action from more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org.
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