The Seemingly Impossible is Possible, March, 11 - 17, 2013 Meeting

Greeter this week

Welcome, and thank you for the honor to serve as your Greeter this week.  My name is Ginger Virkler, and I am a Charter member and Past President of the Greater Flint (Michigan) Sunrise Rotary Club.  We meet bright and early at 7:00 am every Wednesday morning.  Our club is now 26 years old.

Our club was formed as a result of a need for a breakfast Rotary club in our area.  We received great support, during our formative years, from the Rotary Club of Flint (our largest club in D6330).  I was encouraged to join Rotary by a friend who knew how much I enjoyed service work, and who thought that Rotary would be a good fit for me.

I was honored to serve as our third, and first female President.  Over the years, I have served in numerous board and committee positions in our club, and also served for 5 years as D6330's Chair for the Group Study Exchange Program and as the first Assistant District Governor for Area 7 (in D6330).  In 2001 I was selected to take a team of young professionals to Italy on a Group Study Exchange. 

Ironically, the team that was selected, ended up being an all female team. It was a wonderful experience and truly exposed us to not only the culture of Italy, but how differently Rotary operates in another country.  Two of the team members have since joined Rotary. 

Best wishes and congratulations to all the members of the e-club!   My husband and I are "wintering" out of state, so this new e-club has been a real blessing to me, to allow me to keep connected with Rotary as well as maintain my attendance.


Inspirational Moment

Canadiana

Let’s hear from our Guests
Each week we receive comments from guests and Prospective members, who attend our e-meetings. We like to share some of these comments with you.

“I was reading my district newsletter which linked to the e-club site. I attended one located in Europe a few years ago, which was a pretty new idea then. Now, not so new but still a fun way to share and experience this wonderful adventure of Rotary. Thanks for a job well done, I will be back in the future!”
Val Thesen, RC Drayton Valley-D5370

“I have never attended an e-meeting before, and I enjoyed this meeting. I enjoyed watching Nina Conti, Comedienne. Very funny lady”.
Derek Christensen

“Was so pleased to see the commitment of Rotarians to take the time to spread the message of Rotary, in my area, in a format that should expand our membership. Gotta love it.......”.
Anita Ratchinsky, RC St. Albert- D5370

“Rotary is about ideas and effort. While the effort costs money and there is an ever present request for money for programs, there is room for "poorer" Rotarians to contribute themselves, their drive, their effort and their skills to achieving Rotary aims and goals, assisting the money donors. Money greases the wheels, but the wheels don't turn without a push. In this video presentation I witnessed how rethinking resources and going back to basics can build great results.”
Chris Langley -  Former Member Metrotown Burnaby, BC


“I had the pleasure of seeing Dolly Parton perform and speak about the Imagination Project at the RI Convention in Montreal. It is a truly wonderful example of how the thoughts and power on one can be magnified and expanded to help millions”.
Robert Boyden, RC Canmore-D5360

Announcements

DG Kevin's Official Club Visit

On March 4th we had the pleasure of hosting DG Kevin Hilgers during our monthly on-line board meeting.
Kevin delivered a very inspirational message to those in attendance.
Following are excerpts of Kevin’s speech.

“We are part of an organization with members from around the world.  
There are 62 Rotary Clubs in District 5370; each being unique.  They all have challenges and successes that set them apart.  

While we have so much to be proud of and feel great about.  We still have challenges.  I like to think of Rotary as a BUSINESS.  In his book “Leadership Strategies” Steve Garret says: “A quick reality check tells us that all organizations are in the business of creating a profit; sometimes monetary, and other times non-monetary. The term not-for-profit is a misnomer; the true term for this type of organization is a public benefit corporation.”  
We should act like a business, operate like a business, grow like a business.

I think every one of us could try a little harder to make a conscious decision in your daily routine – to ask other community leaders to consider Rotary.  We also should re-think our “elevator speech”.  “What is Rotary”.  “Why Rotary?”

There are many reasons to join:  Networking, fun, mentoring, community service, the ability to make a difference or leadership skills.  It doesn’t matter why you join.  It matters why you stay.  

One the biggest challenge to membership growth is indeed “time”. “I don’t have time”. The e-club of course was designed partly for those who feel time is an issue.

Ghandi said:  “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

We can do just that, find ourselves - with Rotary”.

Traveling?
As an Active member of our Rotary e-Club you are welcome at any Rotary meeting anywhere in the world.
Learn what other clubs are doing; Meet fellow Rotarians; Talk about your e-club.
For list of clubs go to the RI site: Club locators.
From there you are also able to download a mobile Club Locator Application.

We like to hear about your experience doing a make up at another E-club or Terra Club.

Club Administration Director Paul Falvo and President Elly agreed on the idea of ordering E-club exchange banners. In order to get a great deal the banners were printed in Mexico. Elly organized a little "Margarita Workbee" with a small group of volunteers putting strings through the banners.

The banners will be distributed to all members by the end of April.

You make donations to support your terra club through fines, happy bucks and meals surplus. How would you like to donate to support our e-club?

Your donation may be made on line via the Paypal button at the end of the meeting, the “Donate Now Paypal” button in the sidebar, or by sending a cheque to:

New Members Corner

New Members get involved

Speaker Program
The seemingly impossible is possible

Hans Rosling’s focuses on making the seemingly impossible possible.
The Trendalyzer Google software turns complex global trends into lively animations, making decades of data pop. Asian countries, as colorful bubbles, float across the grid – toward better national heatlh and wealth

This officially ends this week’s meeting
In order to have your attendance recognized, please continue to “Click for Attendance Credit”.

If you have an interesting topic, or project to share please contact our Program Chair

Thank you for joining us, we appreciate your feedback, hope you will return and invite a guest.

Click Here for Attendance Credit and Donations