Posted by DG Bill Downes (Mountain Foothills) DGBill2016.17@rotary5450.org
The end of this Rotary year is really the culmination of eight hard years of personal Rotary work. With more ahead of me as your Past District Governor (PDG) where I have some fixed responsibilities and some special district projects under my wing. It has been and will continue to be quite a ride. We have accomplished a lot, had some bumps along the way and still have much more to do.
None of this would happen without you, the membership. Perhaps the best thing I have done is to visit each of your clubs and get to know you individually. You all make up the greatest, most caring group of individuals I have ever known. The projects you do for your communities and around the world are simply amazing. Taken together, I think we have one of the best Districts in all of Rotary. Just keep it up. Keep on keeping on. Persevere.
Special thanks also go to the ExComm Committee who meet every month and try to run a very busy District. ExComm consists of all the District Committee Chairs who each have their own horizontal responsibility throughout District to accomplish a specific purpose; like The Rotary Foundation, Membership, Operations, Training, Service Resource, Public Relations, Youth Services and more. They all have sub-chairs that help them do their work and meet at least on a quarterly basis in addition to the above (Membership for example meets once a month). I am sure you can imagine this is a lot of hard work in pursuit of our Rotary mission. My kudos to you over and over. Without you we would not be the District we are.
We cannot forget the Lieutenant and Assistant Governors (AGs) who have a vertical responsibility in our District. Vertical to the extent that each of the AGs all have responsibility for 2-6 clubs in one of our 16 areas that comprise our District. They are tasked with working with the Club Presidents to accomplish certain things that RI and our District wish to promote to further our cause and accomplish our objectives. The AGs meet with each of their clubs and satellites at least once a quarter and many times more than that if a club needs help or the mission is more complicated. The AGs are our boots on the ground that knit the District together. Also hard work for which we have many, many thanks for.
I could not have accomplished what I have without the dedicated support of my Host Club. Mountain Foothills is not a big club, but it is not a small club either without about 45 members. They were with me all the way. And worked hard to put on what I and many others thought was a District Conference ‘like no other’. This too required meeting after meeting with a lot of hard work on the side. They deserve all the credit for standing there with me from the beginning to make it happen and help me with a myriad of tasks.
For a variety of reasons, I am confident that the District is better now than it was before I came in. I couldn’t have done it without the support of the excellent PDGs who have come before me. I am confident that the District leaders that follow will guide this District to even new heights. As I say to Club Presidents when the end of their year is approaching, ‘our job is not over’. I will continue to look for and promote inspired leadership to carry us into the future. I will continue to firm the structure and processes of District to help us with the transition of new DGs who may have very different management styles. I will continue to promote the quality of our service in everything we do.
I thank my wife, family and friends for putting up with me all this time. Between meetings and more meetings, video conference calls, phone calls and more calls, emails and more emails, being a District Governor is a full time job. More than full time. But I would have it no other way. It has been my honor and privilege to serve you. I am a better person for it because of you. And in fair warning, I am not going anywhere as PDG. I will Serve Rotary as long as I am able.
Thank you all for your service. Thank you for all that you have done, are doing and will do in the future for Rotary. Let us keep it going with energy and purpose. I will see you along the way.
We are preparing to close the books on the 2016-17 Rotary Year on June 30th. This Centennial Year of the Rotary Foundation marks 100 years of Rotarians doing good in the world. This is your last chance to make this year the banner year we hope for it to be. All contributions from clubs and individuals need to be received by the Rotary Foundation by month's end in order to be credited to this Rotary year. You must mail checks by June 10th for them to arrive in time and be counted for the 2016-17 Rotary year.
We are on track to exceed last years contribution levels. More importantly we are on track to reverse several years of declining per capita giving. This will cascade directly to the District Designated Funding (DDF) that our District receives in future years.
Contributions can be made online at www.rotary.org/give . Rotary also makes donations by check or credit card really simple. Please consider signing up for recurring donations that make Rotary giving automatic.
Bring your family and friends to join the fun and raise money for Polio Plus and the Rotary Foundation Centennial! Order a block of tickets (click for the order form.)
We are looking for 100 sponsors to donate $100 each to celebrate Way More than 100 ways that the Rotary Foundation has been enriching lives around the world for 100 years. Food trucks, beer and non-alcoholic drinks, activities (even a poker run), prizes – everything one needs to celebrate 100 years of good deeds.
Posted by Debi Bush (Denver Cherry Creek) membership@rotary5450.org
Last month I was fortunate enough to spend nine days in Florence, Italy for my vacation. I wore my Rotary magnet “pin” everywhere or donned my Rotary jacket. I met one person who was a former Rotarian while waiting to board my flight to Europe. He was very involved for many years and when he sold his business, he retired from Rotary because back then the attendance rule was very much enforced. I quickly informed him that there is a lot more flexibility in that area. I saw a couple Rotary club signs while traveling.
We’ve already had a busy spring for our District and for Membership. We had two webinars in April, applauded clubs for growth at the District Conference and we’re about to host the Membership Boot Camp on Saturday, June 3rd from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
DOES YOUR CLUB HAVE AT LEAST ONE MEMBER REGISTERED?! IF NOT, CLICK HERE ASAP AND SHOW UP.
We’re doing our best to help all clubs increase and engage membership; we need your help as Rotary is an organization that is ground up. The opportunities are waiting for you as well as the tools so your Club Membership Chair doesn’t feel like he/she is starting from scratch on July 1. Ask your club members to be part of the team to find new Rotarians and keep your existing members active, engaged and excited.
Lastly, mark your club’s calendar for the weeks of July 17 and 24th for the Bring A Friend Membership Initiative – a great way to kick off the new Rotary year! You have already received templates and information and we’ll be providing even more of a framework at the June 3rd Boot Camp.
Viva Rotary!
BE INSPIRED AND ACT to grow your membership and enhance the experience for all members. It’s contagious!
Let’s keep Rotarians in Rotary and bring new ones in!
Exemplary Membership Growth (in alphabetical order)
Posted by Bob Slyter (Boulder Flatirons) rleeslyter@aol.com
Click this link to watch a tremendous 6 minute video on the fight against polio with migrant populations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo3ay4nWDa4&feature=em-subs_digest - we must stay in this effort, with the new emphasis on these migratory tribes our interim goal of zero new cases is near.
But remember, to keep up the fight, we must vaccinate ALL newborn children in the polio indigenous areas…India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan,…etc. every year until:
There are no new cases in the indigenous areas (and world-wide) for three years.
Test of sewer effluent streams, in the indigenous areas, indicate there are NO SIGNS of the Polio Virus, for three years.
Did you know that each child must receive 3 oral doses or 1 dose by injection for the immunity to sustain? To those in the trenches, giving the vaccines, the end is a far distant light. They need to know you still care!
So remove from your thoughts that just a few vaccinations remain. It’s in the hundred thousands or Millions. We are so close to ZERO new cases, but much of the vaccination efforts and programs are still functioning at full effort and must continue at that pace for a minimum of three years. Finished by 2020…? Only IF we reach zero cases by the end of 2017.
This is a horrible virus capable of defeating a world wide effort to eliminate it. All it wants to do is cripple another child. Please help! Give to the Polio Fund.
Candice Talbot was selected to receive the Rotary International Rotarian Spouse/Partner Service Award. Only 50 individuals were selected to receive this prestigious award for the 2016-17 year. Below is the nomination application that was submitted to RI:
Dave contracted polio in 1955, & post-polio syndrome has been an issue for the past 12 years. Candice has helped Dave in an ever expanded array of daily activities, including helping run Crutches4Africa, the international project of Mountain Foothills Rotary, which has shipped 88,000 crutches, canes, wheelchairs, & other mobility devices to 26 countries. Dave & Candice have personally led the distribution trips in most cases, & have had a booth at every RI Convention since 2007.
Candice handles much of the day to day operation of Crutches4Africa including emails, picking up donated mobility devices, stacking & moving them from trailers into storage, & then helping load 40’containers for shipping.
Dave had a series of heart attacks in November. During his rehab Candice ran Crutches4Africa including overseeing loading 2 containers in Maine & Georgia, & a work day at the Parker CO storage barn. Candice orchestrated these well & with her usual and exceptional proficiency.
Everyone wants your money. But can everyone triple it on the same day? As of May 31, we have 30 days and counting to put our money where our mouths are and triple our impact with the Gates challenge. If money could talk, this opportunity would shout LET'S END POLIO NOW!!!!
So click on www.Rotary.org, sign in, and make your final donation of the Rotary year to push Polio over the finish line!
In 2016, The Rotary Foundation received the highest possible score from Charity Navigator - 100 of 100 points - for its strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. It was the ninth straight year the Foundation earned a four-star rating form the independent evaluator of charities across the U.S., a distinction only 1 percent of charities have attained. The Association of Fundraising Professionals likewise named the Foundation the World's Outstanding Foundation for 2016, an award previously given to other familiar names such as Kellogg and MacArthur. These organizations agree: When you donate to The Rotary Foundation, you're investing wisely.
It was an overflow crowd of friends, Rotarians, and well-wishers that assembled at a recent Littleton Rotary Club meeting to honor COL Gerhardt C. (Clem) Clementson in celebration of his 100th birthday. A member of Littleton Rotary since 1988, Clem was awarded Lifetime Honorary Membership in recognition of his commitment to the club and the ideals of Rotary.
His active military career included flying the famed P-38 Lightning during WWII, teaching math and computer science at the US Air Force Academy, and ultimately retiring from work in numerous projects at NASA.
Enjoying the celebration were over a dozen other military veterans who are members of the Rotary Club of Littleton. All were presented Rotary lapel pins recognizing them as US Military Veterans. Rotary Clubs throughout the US support numerous local and national programs aimed at providing assistance and support to military veterans and their families.
Happy 100th Birthday to COL Clem Clementson! God bless all our veterans.
Posted by Dave Talbot (Mountain Foothills) c4a@crutches4africa.org
Just about everyone in our district knows about Crutches 4 Africa, what it does and the impact it is had on the lives of polio victims whose illness took away their mobility. Since its inception, Crutches4 Africa has provided more mobility devices for Africans than Mile High stadium has seats.
We may not have thought about what it takes to make these devices available to those who need them. It always starts with contacts which Crutches founder, Dave Talbot, is able to make. In 2015 Dave met Art Herrington, an Arizona Rotarian and Interact coordinator. Art and his Interact group introduced Dave to the newly chartered Gilgil Rotary club in Kenya. The Interact club saw the need for mobility devices in rural Kenyan villages served by Gilgil Rotary so the shipment idea began to move towards reality.
On Saturday, June 17th, Dave and Candice Talbot will land at Jomo Kenyatta International airport in Nairobi, Kenya. They will meet a party of six from Arizona including District 5490 Foundation Chair Elizabeth Mahoney, her son Caleb, a Rotaract member, and four Arizona Interactors.
Between 2015 when the idea of this shipment was born and June 17th of this year many details had to be managed. The first step was the development of a collection plan. Rotarians working with the Interactors made the project happen with their successful collection. The collected mobility devices were driven to Denver by volunteer truck driver Rich Leibundgut, a Mountain Foothills Rotarian.
More volunteers loaded the containers and they were shipped to Gilgil in March. After some difficulty, which always occurs, the container cleared customs in Africa. Along the way details of the trip had to be planned including chaperones for the youngsters, a place to stay, visas, vaccines, packing, development of a distribution plan with Joseph in Gilgil, contact with the U.S. Embassy and Kenya officials, and the acquisition of a professional driver and a private security resource.
Why does all this happen? If you have had the opportunity to see some of Dave's videos you understand that. It's about the smiles on the faces of the recipients who are given the gift of mobility. Their lives are changed forever.
All Rotarians , Rotaractors, Interactors, and friends are invited to join a hike to Rotary Peak starting at 9 am from the parking area at the top of Loveland Pass. The route follows the Continental , with spectacular scenery in all directions. It is about 1.5 miles in length each way, with less than 500 feet elevation gain. Hikers need to be at the trailhead 30 minutes before, or 8:30. Car pooling is strongly recommended as there is limited parking.
Promote collaborative projects that bring Rotarians, current Peace Corps Volunteers and Returned Volunteers together for international and community service.
Rotary's member benefits program gives Rotary and Rotaract club members access to discounts on a variety of products and services selected with their interests in mind.
Discounts & Special Offers
Rotary Global Rewards offers discounts on vehicle rentals, hotels, dining, and entertainment. Products and services from companies around the world are being added every week. Check back often to see what’s new in Rotary Global Rewards – the vendor list is updated monthly. https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/member-center/rotary-global-rewards
How to Redeem Offers
Anyone can view the offers and discounts on Rotary Global Rewards. But onlyRotary and Rotaract club members who are signed in to their My Rotary accounts can redeem them. You can access and redeem rewards from your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
The attached reportshows Membership, Annual Fund and Polio Plus goals entered by each club into Rotary Club Central, and the numbers and per capita achieved by each club (arranged by Area.) The District 5450 goal is to have an increase in Membership, and for Every Rotarian to give something Every Year (EREY).
WHAT'S HAPPENING AROUND THE DISTRICT, CLUBS & THE GLOBE!
Candice Talbot was selected to receive the Rotary International Rotarian Spouse/Partner Service Award. 
