Stories

• Room size big enough to hold 50 members and visitors comfortably.
• Cost of the room
• Cost of a meal if they serves food
• Adequate parking and ease of access to the facility for all members
• Is there a place to keep some of our set up materials (badge box, banners and stands, American Flag)

The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary.

"My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world," said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01. 

The vote followed the decades-long efforts of men and women from all over the Rotary world to allow for the admission of women into Rotary clubs, and several close votes at previous Council meetings.

The response to the decision was overwhelming: By June 1990, the number of female Rotarians had skyrocketed to over 20,000. By 2010, the number of women was approaching 200,000.

•          Bobby George from the Greater Southwest Rotary Club was the winner of the $2500 Come Fly with Rotary Raffle.

•          PDG Cesar Caro was honored with a Rotary International SERVICE ABOVE SELF Award.   Only a maximum of 150 of these awards are given by Rotary each year with only 130 given this year.  RI President Ron Burton’s Representative Steve Lewis from District 5190 presented the award to Cesar.   Steve is a classmate of Cesar since they were both District Governors in 2010-11.    CONGRATULATIONS Cesar and Thank You for all you have done for Rotary and District 5730.

•          Club President Jana Bishop from the Tahoka Rotary Club was recognized as the 2013-14 Rotarian of the Year in District 5730.

•          The Plainview Rotary Club under the leadership of Club President David Koop was recognized as the 2013-14 Club of the Year in Level 4. 

•          The Tahoka Club under the leadership of Club President Jana Bishop was recognized as the 2013-14 Club of the Year in Level 3 

•          The Shamrock Rotary Club under the leadership of Club President April Luiz was recognized as the 2013-14 Club of the Year in Level 2. 

•          The Kermit Rotary Club under the leadership of Club President Bonnie Leck was recognized as the 2013f-14 Club of the Year in Level 1. 

•          The four levels were based on membership as of July 1, 2013 so that an equal amount of clubs were in the first three levels.  Only six clubs in  the district have a Level 4 membership of greater than 60 members.

•          The clubs selling the most Raffle Tickets in April were Dalhart, Levelland Noon and the Greater Southwest Lubbock Rotary Clubs.

•          Over 60 new Paul Harris Fellows were achieved thanks to the matching points from past District Foundation Chair Alice White.

•          The contact information for the personalized Kindergarten Books given out by the Dumas Rotary Club is

•          We were so honored to have Rotary International Vice President Anne Mathews as the keynote speaker at the Governor’s Banquet on Saturday night.

•          And finally, the hit of the conference was the Rotary Cheerleaders at the Tailgate Party on Friday Night.

•          Congratulations to Past Tahoka Club President James Craig on being named the new Lamb County Attorney.

•          All clubs need to make sure that their 2014-15 club officers have been entered in ClubRunner so they will be reported to RI. Be sure and include your Foundation Chair.

• Congratulations to the Monahans Rotary Club on their 75th Anniversary. The club was chartered on March 2, 1939 and became the 25th Rotary Club in then District 127.

• Congratulations to Chris Atkinson for being named as Citizen of the Year by the Post Area Chamber of Commerce at the organization's recent Awards Banquet. Chris is currently serving as President of the Post Rotary Club and will be Area 6 Assistant Governor in the 2014-15 Rotary Year. Also honored was former Post Rotarian Kerry Dixon with the Distinguished Service Award.

• Congratulations to the Shamrock Rotary Club on winning 2nd Place in the Non-Commercial Category at the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The parade had over 140 entries. In addition to the float, the club also had a successful fundraiser with their hamburger, hot dog and Frito Pie concession stand and a Chili Cook Off Event. All of these activities were in conjunction with the 68th Annual Official Texas St. Patrick's Day Celebration in Shamrock.

• Could your Rotary Club use some help in determining any or all of these:
  • a clear set of goals?
  • a strong path of leadership?
  • a viable and effective direction of service in your community?

• Metropolitan Lubbock Rotary and Prosperity Bank recently co-hosted their 11th annual Unsung Heroes Award Recognition Ceremony. An EMS person, fireman, policeman, and sheriff deputy were honored as the 2014 Unsung Heroes of Lubbock for their sacrifice, dedication and willingness to risk their lives in making Lubbock a safer place to live.Each Honoree was selected by their peers in their respective organizations.

The idea of this event arose after the horrific event of 9/11/01
and the heroic actions of the First Responders in New York City.
The Unsung Heroes Award Ceremony provides all the citizens of
Lubbock an opportunity to express in a small way their thanks
and gratitude for the sacrifices that Lubbock's First
Responders exhibit each and every day.

The Midland Double Hitter - District Assembly and the Come
Celebrate the Foundation Banquet - is less than two weeks away .
Hope you making your plans to attend.

• D5730 continues to show a positive number in regards to membership with a +22 to 1786 Rotarians from the July 1, 2013 number of 1764. Thanks to each and every one of you that hasinvited a friend toyour weeklyRotary Clubmeeting.

• Big News! On 27 February, the world's leading Islamic scholars, led by the Grand Imam of the Holy Mosque of Mecca, stated that protection against diseases is obligatory and admissible under Islamic Shariah, and that any actions which do not support these preventive measures and cause harm to humanity are un-Islamic. The scholars adopted a strong 'Jeddah Declaration' and a focused six-month Plan of Action to address critical challenges facing polio eradication efforts in the few remaining polio-endemic parts of the Islamic world, includinga ban on vaccinations and lack of access to children in some areas, deadly attacks on health workers, and misconceptions by communities about mass vaccination campaigns.

• The 2014 District Conference is May 2-3 in Lubbock at the Overton Hotel. Remember that the $2500 Come Fly with Rotary Gift Card will be given away on Saturday night so be sure and get your Raffle Stubs turned in.

• Looking forward to seeing everyone in Midland on the 29th.

Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011.

To mark this historic triumph -- reached after a decades-long battle against polio -- Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."

The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to commemorate this victory in the global effort to eradicate polio.

The challenge now is to replicate India's success in neighboring Pakistan, one of three remaining polio-endemic countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Rotary leaders in India are working with their Pakistani counterparts to share best practices and lessons learned during India's successful anti-polio campaign. Rotary was particularly effective in obtaining the support of influential religious leaders in India's Islamic communities. Pakistani Rotary leaders are playing a similar role to counter rumors and misinformation about polio vaccinations that keep some Muslim parents from immunizing their children.

Meanwhile, National Immunization Days continue in both countries. During these large-scale drives, Rotary volunteers join health workers to vaccinate every child under age five against polio.

"We must now stop polio in Pakistan to both protect Pakistani children and to safeguard our success in India and other countries where we have beaten this terrible disease," says India PolioPlus Committee Chair Deepak Kapur. "Until polio is finally eradicated globally, all unvaccinated children will remain at risk of infection and paralysis, no matter where they live."

Rotary member Terry Caster and his wife, Barbara, announced a $1.1 million gift to Rotary to help eradicate polio. What’s more, their gift will be matched two-for-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, resulting in $3.3 million in new funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. 

The Casters' gift is one of the largest-ever individual contributions to Rotary for polio eradication. In addition to supporting our No. 1 goal of a polio-free world, the couple gave $750,000 to the Rotary Peace Centers to fund a peace fellow’s studies every other year. Both gifts were made to The Rotary Foundation in December.

"Barbara and I are blessed to be fruitful in our family business, A-1 Self Storage," said Terry, the company's founder and a member of the Rotary Club of La Mesa in California. "We've always felt it is important to give back and help others, so we are involved in numerous charities. 

"But as a Rotarian, I can think of no cause more worthy than Rotary's work to end polio and promote peace," said Terry, who received Rotary's Service Above Self Award in 1993 for his humanitarian work.

Since the 1960s, the Casters have actively supported humanitarian efforts in San Diego and across the border in Tijuana, Mexico. They founded Serving Hands International in 1982 to help the poor in Baja California. After meeting Mother Teresa, the couple were inspired to expand SHI’s work in Mexico.

Rotary is a leading partner in the fight to end polio. Through our advocacy, fundraising, and public awareness efforts, Rotary has helped reduce polio cases by 99 percent worldwide. The End Polio Now, Make History Today fundraising campaign makes contributions work three times as hard with matching funds from the Gates Foundation. 

The announcement of the Casters' gift was made in San Diego at Rotary's International Assembly, an annual training event for the incoming class of governors who represent Rotary's 537 districts worldwide.

•  CONGRATULATIONS to Alice White - The Rotary Club of Lubbock - for being the first Rotarian from D5730 at join the Arch C. Klumph Society. She will be honored with a special induction ceremony on January22nd at Rotary International Headquarters in Evanston.   The Society honors Rotarians who have contributed $250,000 to The Rotary Foundation.  Alice has established two D5730 Endowments – One will provide annual earnings for the D5730 clubs to use in community and global grants and the second will provide matching money for new Paul Harris Fellows in D5730.  Thank you Alice for this incredible legacy.  Please do not hesitate to contact Alice if you are interested in joining Alice in the Arch C. Klumph Society.
• Put March 29th on your calendar for the 2014 Foundation Banquet in Midland featuring Amanda Wirtz as the keynote speaker.  She is a nationally renowned speaker, performer, consultant and author who inspires others to 'Ask the Right Question'.   Just ask anyone who heard her at the Zone Institute in December and they will tell you that we are in store for an incredible evening.  More specific information will be forthcoming.  You will not want to miss this!! 
• The District has received a very warm Thank You card from the Justin Gifford family for all the love, support and financial contributions that the family has received from Rotarians and clubs all across the District.
• Membership continues to be on the plus side as of January 1st.  Current RI total is 1786 for a net gain of 24 new Rotarians for the first half of the Rotary year.  This is great in light of the fact that several clubs cleaned up their roles and removed members that were no longer attending.  Congratulations to the Plainview Rotary Club for inducting 11 new members this year.  Hope that one of your New Year's Resolutions is to invite a friend to Rotary each month.
• In case you have missed it on the District Website at Rotary5730.org, 31 new Paul Harris Society members have signed up as part of the Paul Harris Society Challenge. This means that the District will receive a Matching $31,000 Grant in addition to the $31,000 from the new PHS members.  Thank you new members for your support of The Rotary Foundation.
• Has your club sent in pictures of your latest activity to Webmaster Cesar Caro so he can post them on the Website?  Check out the Shoe Project from the Sweetwater Rotary Club, the South Plains Food Bank project from The Rotary Club of Lubbock and the dictionary project from the Seminole Rotary Club.  Keep those stories coming in and don't forget your important dates for the District Calendar.
• If you have not logged on to the District Website and updated your profile, please do so.  It is very important for each Rotarian and each Rotary Club to make sure their information is current and correct.  Your club secretary or PDG Cesar or myself will be glad to help with your login name and password.  Don't forget to upload your picture to your profile!
• The 2014 District Raffle will be for a $2500 Gift Card for either Southwest Airlines if you want domestic travel or United Airlines if you are thinking of Europe or South America.  Your $100 Sustaining Member Contribution to the Annual Fund will give you a chance to Fly Away with Rotary.  The drawing will be at the May 2-3 District Conference at the Overton Hotel in Lubbock.
• Sorry to report that the Midland Daybreak Rotary Club has decided to disband after serving Midland for 25 years.  Most of the Rotarians in this club will be joining other clubs in Midland.  This will leave the District with 50 active Rotary Clubs.
• Be sure an close out your $800 District Grant once you have completed your project so your club can receive their money.  More information on the second round will be forthcoming this month.
• Finally, remember that it is only 118 days until the 2014 District Conference. Plan on joining us as we Celebrate the Victories.