2013 Zones 24 &32 winners
2013
Zone 32 winner.
Robert W. Raiche & Friends Forever
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Zone 24 winner.
PDG Ronald Denham
Biographies:
Robert W. Raiche & Friends Forever
2013 Zone 32 Donald MacRae Peace Award
Robert W. Raiche of the Rotary Club of Danvers, MA in District 7930 was selected as the Zone 32 recipient for his commitment to peace making through Friends Forever, which he founded in 1986.
Friends Forever’s mission is to promote trust, empathy and friendships among cultures in conflict. First initiated among ten Protestant and Catholic teenagers from Northern Ireland, Friends Forever has been repeated each summer in Portsmouth, NH, where the headquarters is located. The program brings together youth for a rigorous two week “Life Raft” of living together, peace building activities, community service, and public presentations, followed by an 11-month perpetuation phase back in their homeland. In 1997, Friends Forever expanded to include Arabs and Jews from Israel. Recently, Friends Forever has developed similar programs for youth from immigrant and refugee communities in the United States. YMCAs, Rotary clubs, high schools, youth centers, and businesses host the groups in a variety of settings. Current host locations include Portsmouth, NH; Bloomington-Normal, Illinois; New Orleans, Louisiana; North Shore Massachusetts, and Mid- coastal Maine. Since its founding, over 1,200 youth from across Northern Ireland and Israel have participated. New opportunities are being developed, including The Living the Language cultural exchange program that brings college student volunteers for three weeks to the Arab village of Ein Mahel, Israel, where they are hosted by families in the community.
A graduate of Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, Bob Raiche exemplifies the Fourth Object of Rotary. His accomplishments include an active career as a YMCA professional in Honolulu, Hawaii; Danvers and Salem, Massachusetts; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Portland, Maine. In retirement, he has kept busy promoting Friends Forever. Friends Forever and the program’s Executive Director Steve Martineau are proud of the fact that Bob was among the nominees considered for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, even if he was not selected. www.friendsforeverusa.org.
We are saddened to report that Bob Raiche passed away following a brief illness on January 1, 2014 at age 85. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Yooko (Shimana) Raiche, and their three children; George and his wife Joan Molitoris of San Francisco, CA, Robert Jr. of Stafford, CT, and his children, Robert III and Katherine, daughter Ina (Raiche) Drouin and her husband Gregory of Danvers, and their children, Christopher and Jason, in addition to many special relatives from Hawaii and California. In lieu of flowers, the family requested that donations be made to the Robert Raiche Fund at Friends Forever, to continue their work with young people around the world. Friends Forever, 31 Raines Ave #10, Portsmouth, NH 03801.
F. Ronald (Ron) Denham Ph.D.
General Coordinator, Water Resources Group, 2004-08
Chair, Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG)
Ron Denham received his education in England where he obtained a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.
In 1961, after obtaining an MBA in Business Administration, he entered the management consulting profession, eventually becoming Senior Partner and Vice Chairman of KPMG Management Consulting, Canada’s largest management consulting firm. In this capacity he directed the international consulting practice and played a major role in development projects in Peru, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Greece, Algeria, Senegal and Cuba, Subsequently he joined A.T. Kearney where he is Director responsible for developing the Canadian practice.
Throughout his busy career he has been active in the community and his profession. He was appointed Professor in the Faculty of Administrative Studies, York University, Toronto. He was elected Trustee of the North York Board of Education, Chairman of the Ontario Region of the Engineering Institute of Canada and President of the Institute of Management Consultants of Ontario. He was Chairman of the Stewardship Program at his church and was on the Board of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.
A Rotarian for almost 55 years, he first joined in 1958 in Welland. After moving to Toronto he joined his present club—Toronto-Eglinton—in 1964. He was President in 1973-74 and, after being director of several district programs, including Vocational Service, Public Relations and Community Service, was elected District Governor for the year 1993-94. He was elected Paul Harris Fellow in 1988 and is a Benefactor and Major Donor to The Rotary Foundation. In recognition of his contribution to Rotary, his vocation and to the world community he was presented with the “Service above Self” award in 2005.
He was a member of the R.I. Task Force on Community Concerns in 1994-95 and Zone Coordinator for Family and Community Concerns in 1995-96. The following year he was Coordinator of the New Generations program. He was Discussion Group Leader at the 1995 and 1996 International Assemblies for incoming District Governors, and also Zone 22 trainer in 1995 and 1996. He was Rotary International Membership Coordinator Zone 22 (Canada, St. Pierre & Miquelon ,Alaska and Siberia) for the Rotary years 2001-04. He was also Canadian Chairman for the global Private Sector Appeal to Eradicate Polio.
He has been active with Rotary clubs in Siberia and the Far East since 1997. He participated in the chartering of clubs in Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Komsomolsk-na-Amur and Omsk and has participated in Rotary conferences in Barnaul, Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk.
He has been General Coordinator of the Water Resources Task Force (or its equivalent) since 2004. He was elected chair of the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action group (WASRAG). During this time he has supported a range of water and sanitation projects in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, and in many states in India. His current mission is to encourage all 1.2 million Rotarians to become familiar with world water issues, and every Rotary club (32,000) to become involved in a water/sanitation project.
Ron is married to Lynn. They have three children and eleven grandchildren. When not practicing his profession or working for Rotary they take time out to ski and travel.