District Governor's Corner September 2012
Posted by Heather Voorhees
on Sep 04, 2012
Let's step it up in September
We lead the world, but there is still much to be done
By: Bob Stowell, District 5950 Governor
September is New Generations Month. Appropriately, our fifth and newest avenue of service is New Generations Service. Rotary International President Tanaka states there are many ways to serve through this avenue, such as Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and Rotary Youth Exchange. The youth we serve will be our leaders before we know it.
I sent out a personal email to all club presidents and district leaders asking for their support of the Rotary Foundation and asking all of them to support the Foundation this year. For those of you who have sent in your response, thank you so much. For those who have not, please consider making the commitment.
By the time you get this newsletter, I will have visited 51 clubs as District Governor. I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I am with our clubs and the caliber of leadership and members—no wonder we get so much accomplished and are so widely respected around the world. I am meeting some of the best Rotarians in the world and am very proud to serve all of you.
At every club meeting, I ask Rotarians to look at their own lives and consider how they will influence “Peace Through Service.” I am hearing amazing stories of how Rotarians connect themselves to their clubs and communities.
We are ‘”thisclose” in our efforts to eradicate polio from the earth, but we really need your help. Keep us in mind with your gifts. If your club hosts a community event, consider preparing a sign advertising our efforts around polio and have a bucket close by to accept donations. Every dollar helps.
I hope club presidents are visiting with their boards to discuss actionable goals for this Rotary year; I am guessing many of you will focus on Rotarian engagement, new member growth and contributing to the Rotary Foundation. I ask any of you who have discovered best practices in these areas to send them to me or forward them to peacethroughservice@gmail.com. We are collecting your best practices, photos and noteworthy events to share with all clubs.
Thanks to each of you for all your efforts in service Rotary. Peace through Service!
We are thisclose to beating polio—keep up the fight
By: Tim Mulcrone, Dist. 5950 Polio Chairman
The fight is long.
Consider that once the Salk vaccine was introduced in 1955, the United States was polio free in two years. In 1985, Rotary joined the war on polio and reduced the disease from more than 300,000 cases in 125 countries to about 300 cases in three countries today. And yet, unless we completely annihilate polio in the world, it can come back with a vengeance.
We proceed with monumental success and milestones, such as India being removed from World Health Organization’s list of polio endemic countries this year. Yet, I find our troops wearily asking, “Aren’t we done with that yet?”
We are not!
As I ruminate over strategy, here are some questions that toss me about at night:
Every Rotarian THIS year
By: Jim Dwyer, Dist. 5950 Rotary Foundation Campaign Chair
This year, it is about you: Our district’s Rotary Foundation campaign is titled “Every Rotarian THIS Year” and it means you are crucial. Seeing every Rotarian in every club make a contribution will be necessary to reach DG Bob’s goal of $1 million.
This year, district leadership is stepping up first. All members of the district board have already made pledges or contributions. The district leadership team is also nearly 100 percent on board so far. Next will be the Area Governors, and finally, we will ask each club president to make a pledge prior to Sept. 21, as well as ask their club board members to pledge. This ambitious effort puts real power behind each club’s contribution drive for the Rotary Foundation. Governor Bob will announce at our district’s progress at the Sept.21 district training session.
Remember: every member’s gift means more people will be served, more projects will be funded, more good will be done in our communities and in communities around the world. Each and every Rotarian’s gift, muscles and thinking will make Rotary a force for actual good in our world. Every Rotarian –THIS year!
Building (and supporting) The Perfect Club
By: Tom Thorfinnson, Dist. 5950 Club Support Chairman
Imagine, if you would, the perfect club. For each of us, it will be different. However, for almost every one of us, it will have a few key elements:
Name your candidate!
A reminder: nominations for the 2015-16 District 5950 Governor are due Sept. 14.
To be eligible for the position of district governor, a Rotarian must:
A committee of district leaders will review all nominations and narrow the field before continuing the DG selection process.
Improving Rotary with social media
By: Juan Ayala, Dist. 5950 Social Media Intern
For the second year running, Rotary International has awarded District 5950 with a sizable grant to increase public relations outreach throughout our communities. The $12,000 grant, matched by another $4,000 from the district, will go toward a large-scale Facebook advertising campaign to increase awareness of the amazing work you do in your communities.
As the new social media intern, I will contact club presidents requesting story ideas which I can turn into Facebook content to promote, both inside and outside of Rotary. The best part is that club members do not have to write anything! Just send story ideas (interesting speakers, projects, events, Rotarians to profile, or anything club members consider newsworthy for the community in general) to me with contact information so I can follow up for details. I am particularly interested in pictures and video.
In addition, I will visit clubs to promote involvement in the social media program and meet club members. Send story ideas or questions to me at juanpa155@yahoo.fr or on my cell at 507.766.5043.
Our newest club continues to grow
By: Ann Dillard, Rotary Club of Plymouth
The Rotary Club of North Minneapolis continues to gain momentum. Weekly provisional meetings are being held on the Northside of the city. Currently, there have been 11 submissions of applications. Officers have been voted in and the group continues to recruit members in order to reach the 25 members required for a charter; they hope to reach that milestone by Sept. 15. And they’ve already planned their first service project: beautification along West Broadway Street is in the works.
The most pressing challenge this club faces is pinpointing a permanent meeting location for its Tuesday morning meeting. We ask that your club considers donating meeting items to the North Minneapolis Club to help alleviate their start-up costs.
For more information about the club’s activities or to assist in any way, please contact President Natalie Johnson Lee at nataliejohnsonlee@gmail.com.
Picture of the month
By: Bob Stowell, District 5950 Governor
September is New Generations Month. Appropriately, our fifth and newest avenue of service is New Generations Service. Rotary International President Tanaka states there are many ways to serve through this avenue, such as Rotaract, Interact, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and Rotary Youth Exchange. The youth we serve will be our leaders before we know it.
 |
| District Gov. Bob Stowell |
By the time you get this newsletter, I will have visited 51 clubs as District Governor. I cannot begin to tell you how impressed I am with our clubs and the caliber of leadership and members—no wonder we get so much accomplished and are so widely respected around the world. I am meeting some of the best Rotarians in the world and am very proud to serve all of you.
At every club meeting, I ask Rotarians to look at their own lives and consider how they will influence “Peace Through Service.” I am hearing amazing stories of how Rotarians connect themselves to their clubs and communities.
We are ‘”thisclose” in our efforts to eradicate polio from the earth, but we really need your help. Keep us in mind with your gifts. If your club hosts a community event, consider preparing a sign advertising our efforts around polio and have a bucket close by to accept donations. Every dollar helps.
I hope club presidents are visiting with their boards to discuss actionable goals for this Rotary year; I am guessing many of you will focus on Rotarian engagement, new member growth and contributing to the Rotary Foundation. I ask any of you who have discovered best practices in these areas to send them to me or forward them to peacethroughservice@gmail.com. We are collecting your best practices, photos and noteworthy events to share with all clubs.
Thanks to each of you for all your efforts in service Rotary. Peace through Service!
We are thisclose to beating polio—keep up the fight
By: Tim Mulcrone, Dist. 5950 Polio Chairman
The fight is long.
Consider that once the Salk vaccine was introduced in 1955, the United States was polio free in two years. In 1985, Rotary joined the war on polio and reduced the disease from more than 300,000 cases in 125 countries to about 300 cases in three countries today. And yet, unless we completely annihilate polio in the world, it can come back with a vengeance.
We proceed with monumental success and milestones, such as India being removed from World Health Organization’s list of polio endemic countries this year. Yet, I find our troops wearily asking, “Aren’t we done with that yet?”
We are not!
As I ruminate over strategy, here are some questions that toss me about at night:
- Is an inspirational story enough to motivate our Rotary troops when many cannot remember the panic, the isolation and the death of polio, or is a call-to-arms more effective? Can a stern reminder of Rotary’s commitment provide greater impact?
- How can any Rotary Club not have a Polio Plus point person?
- How can I get clubs to engage non-Rotarians in polio fundraising efforts?
 |
| Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke at the Rotary Club of Brooklyn Park's Aug. 22 meeting. |
By: Jim Dwyer, Dist. 5950 Rotary Foundation Campaign Chair
This year, it is about you: Our district’s Rotary Foundation campaign is titled “Every Rotarian THIS Year” and it means you are crucial. Seeing every Rotarian in every club make a contribution will be necessary to reach DG Bob’s goal of $1 million.
This year, district leadership is stepping up first. All members of the district board have already made pledges or contributions. The district leadership team is also nearly 100 percent on board so far. Next will be the Area Governors, and finally, we will ask each club president to make a pledge prior to Sept. 21, as well as ask their club board members to pledge. This ambitious effort puts real power behind each club’s contribution drive for the Rotary Foundation. Governor Bob will announce at our district’s progress at the Sept.21 district training session.
Remember: every member’s gift means more people will be served, more projects will be funded, more good will be done in our communities and in communities around the world. Each and every Rotarian’s gift, muscles and thinking will make Rotary a force for actual good in our world. Every Rotarian –THIS year!
Building (and supporting) The Perfect Club
By: Tom Thorfinnson, Dist. 5950 Club Support Chairman
Imagine, if you would, the perfect club. For each of us, it will be different. However, for almost every one of us, it will have a few key elements:
- Every weekly meeting will be so good, you will hate it if you miss a meeting.
- The club will be filled with friends who support you when you are down, counsel you when you need insight and celebrate with you when you succeed.
- The projects and opportunities to serve will be spot on: convenient, significant, impactful and sustainable.
- Membership will be diverse, robust, creative and powerful.
Name your candidate!
A reminder: nominations for the 2015-16 District 5950 Governor are due Sept. 14.
To be eligible for the position of district governor, a Rotarian must:
- Be a member in good standing of a functioning club in the district
- Have served as president of a club for a full term, or as president of a charter club from the date of the charter to 30 June, for a period of at least six months
- Demonstrate knowledge of and the ability to fulfill the duties outlined in the RI Bylaws
- Have completed seven years of membership at the time of taking office
A committee of district leaders will review all nominations and narrow the field before continuing the DG selection process.
Improving Rotary with social media
By: Juan Ayala, Dist. 5950 Social Media Intern
For the second year running, Rotary International has awarded District 5950 with a sizable grant to increase public relations outreach throughout our communities. The $12,000 grant, matched by another $4,000 from the district, will go toward a large-scale Facebook advertising campaign to increase awareness of the amazing work you do in your communities.
As the new social media intern, I will contact club presidents requesting story ideas which I can turn into Facebook content to promote, both inside and outside of Rotary. The best part is that club members do not have to write anything! Just send story ideas (interesting speakers, projects, events, Rotarians to profile, or anything club members consider newsworthy for the community in general) to me with contact information so I can follow up for details. I am particularly interested in pictures and video.
In addition, I will visit clubs to promote involvement in the social media program and meet club members. Send story ideas or questions to me at juanpa155@yahoo.fr or on my cell at 507.766.5043.
Our newest club continues to grow
By: Ann Dillard, Rotary Club of Plymouth
The Rotary Club of North Minneapolis continues to gain momentum. Weekly provisional meetings are being held on the Northside of the city. Currently, there have been 11 submissions of applications. Officers have been voted in and the group continues to recruit members in order to reach the 25 members required for a charter; they hope to reach that milestone by Sept. 15. And they’ve already planned their first service project: beautification along West Broadway Street is in the works.
The most pressing challenge this club faces is pinpointing a permanent meeting location for its Tuesday morning meeting. We ask that your club considers donating meeting items to the North Minneapolis Club to help alleviate their start-up costs.
For more information about the club’s activities or to assist in any way, please contact President Natalie Johnson Lee at nataliejohnsonlee@gmail.com.
Picture of the month
 |
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Members of the Orono Rotary Club participate in a Maple Plain Centennial Parade Aug. 18. Members who “walked the walk” that day include (from left) John Turnham, Mike Fleitman and Bob Tunheim. |