GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER District 7490 Bergen, Passaic, Hudson Counties New Jersey, USA District Governor Adele E. Miller Dear Friends, February, 2011 February 2011 Don t you know the Golden Rule? Again, no reaction. Not long ago Bill and I were shopping in a supermarket I had sworn I would never go into again. But we went in anyway because it was close to home and we needed some last-minute items in between snowstorms. After picking out what we wanted and standing endlessly in line, it was finally time for me to pay the cashier. I gave her a $50 bill. Don t you have anything smaller? she asked. Of course I didn t, so she turned to the manager standing nearby and asked, Would you give me some tens? Instead of accommodating her, however, the manager simply stood there with a frozen face, shaking her head with an emphatic No! Somehow not quite believing what was happening, I took my change in coins and $1 bills. I then asked the cashier what was wrong with the manager. She answered me, She s angry with me. That s the way she always is. Although I had seen things like this in the store before, this situation was worse than usual. I turned to the manager and said, This is terrible customer service! No reaction. I tried again, Mindful that this month is Rotary International World Understanding Month, this incident made me realize that the Golden Rule is about understanding and being understood. We all know the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. When the Golden Rule guides our actions, we treat others with courtesy, respect and honesty, much like we do when we follow the tenets of Rotary s Four Way Test. I think you will be interested to know that the Golden Rule, although attributed to Christ, is not limited to Christianity or to western culture. A version of the Golden Rule is a part of every major world religion. In This Issue Club Visit Photos 2 January Midwinter Retreat 3 Photos from the Midwinter Retreat 4 Photos from the Midwinter Retreat 5 Rotary Celebrates 106 th Birthday 6 Dr. John Sever to speak at District Conference 6 Photos from the January Staff Meeting 7 Rotary Leadership Institute 8
GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER - DISTRICT 7490, August, 2010 2 Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah. Hinduism: Such is the sum of duty: do not do to others that which to you would do harm to yourself. Islam: None of you is a believer if he does not desire for his brother that which he desires for himself. Buddhism: Injure not others in the manner that would injure you. Confucianism: What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others. Understanding people, however, doesn t mean that we must always agree with them. Instead, understanding people means that we sense something of who they are, what s going on inside, where they re coming from. When we understand, we stand under, we uphold. We hold the other person up, even if we disagree. Recently a friend of mine shared his thoughts on understanding others. He compared the process of understanding others to eating apples and oranges. He alleged that when we eat an apple, we start at the skin and savor the fruit right through to the core; but when we eat an orange, we first slice it in chunks and then only taste the pieces. He concluded that to understand others, we must absorb them like an apple, from skin to core, and not just take in fractional parts. Secaucus Rotary Club President Don Evanson with governor's banner Mid-Bergen Rotary Club President Vickie Oller and DG Adele with governor's banner A popular songwriter once said, Love makes the world go round. Perhaps the best way to build communities and bridge continents is to give others the understanding we wish them to give to us. Cordially, Adele Englewood Rotary Club President Dan Fitzpatrick and DG Adele exchange banners
GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER - DISTRICT 7490 3 JANUARY MIDWINTER RETREAT REJUVENATES DISTRICT ROTARIANS On Saturday, January 29, 2010, District 7490 held its first ever midwinter membership retreat at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ. 78 members of 34 district clubs attended the event, braving inclement weather and belowfreezing temperatures. Also in attendance was Claudio Tanca of the Rotary Club of Rome, Italy. After a bountiful breakfast in the dining room, PDG Joe Dino opened the first plenary session in the adjoining drawing room by a roaring hearth. PDG Bill Rupp gave the invocation. DG Adele Miller then welcomed everyone present and introduced Dr. Jeremiah Ryan, President of Bergen County Community College, who gave the morning s keynote address, focusing upon the concept of legacy leadership and its significance to Rotary in the 21 st century. In the second plenary session, PDG Joe Dino, as District 7490 Membership Chair, and PDG Joe Clark, as District 7230 Membership Chair, discussed the decline in membership many clubs in both districts have been facing and offered practical solutions for recruitment and retention. District 7230 consists of New York City, Westchester County and Bermuda. PDG Joe Dino spoke about the importance of wearing one s Rotary pin and also having an elevator speech in mind to explain what Rotary is all about whenever a stranger asks about the pin. After sharing some of his experiences as a Rotary leader in Houston, Texas and Duluth, Georgia, PDG Joe Clark introduced his theory about the five stages of dying in a Rotary club and his ideas about how to halt this process. The third plenary session consisted of three panel discussions given by district Rotarians. The first panel, consisting of Maywood Rotary Club President Ed Torres, Maywood Rotarian PDG Bill Rupp and Maywood Councilwoman Nancy Jengo, wife of Maywood Rotarian PDG Dominic Jengo, discussed the Maywood Rotary Club s recent successful membership campaign which netted the club eight new members. The second panel, consisting of Pompton Lakes Rotary Club President Ken Snow and Past President Barbara Goll, described the booklet club members prepared about their club and about Rotary which is included in the town s welcome wagon basket given to new residents. The third panel, consisting of District Membership Extension Committee Chair Gary Hipp and two committee members, Dr. James Cole and John Mosca, spoke about the formation of the district s newest club, the Rotary Club of Union City/West New York. In the fourth plenary session PDG Joe Laureni discussed the value for a club in receiving a presidential citation from Rotary International and offered tips about how to achieve one. The fifth plenary session consisted of a choice of two facilitated break-out discussion groups. One focused upon public relations and was led by DGN Bonnie Sirower assisted by Jerry Kallman of the Ridgewood Rotary Club and by Rory Sutherland of the Hackensack Rotary Club. The second covered the intricacies of grant-writing and was conducted by PDG Joe Laureni. After the break-out sessions, guests enjoyed a sampling of five wines from Tuscany and a hot buffet lunch while overlooking the golf course covered with snow, momentarily transformed into a winter wonderland.
GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER - DISTRICT 7490 4 Registration table DG Adele with PDG Joe Clark of District 7230 PDG Joe Dino welcoming guests Pompton Lakes Rotary Club presentation Maywood Rotary Club presentation Dr. Jeremiah Ryan speaking about legacy leadership
GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER - DISTRICT 7490 5 Guests enjoying the warmth of the Ridgewood Country Club hearth Dr. Jim Cole discussing formation of Union City/West New York Rotary Club PDG Joe Laureni leading grant-writing workshop in Presidents Lounge Jerry Kallman speaking at public relations workshop DG Adele with Claudio Tanca, a member of the Rotary Club of Rome, Italy Posing for the camera are: Dr. Jim Cole, PDG Joe Dino, DG Adele, PDG Joe Clark, Nancy Jengo and Ed Torres
GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER - DISTRICT 7490 6 ROTARY CELEBRATES 106 TH BIRTHDAY On February 23 the Rotary movement in the United States will be 106 years old and Rotary International will celebrate its 100 th anniversary. District 7430, which is comprised of New York City, Westchester County and Bermuda, has organized a special celebration to be held on that day in New York City, which will include a press conference at the United Nations led by RI President Ray Klinginsmith. Ray will also ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange at 4 p.m. after which the stock exchange building will be lit up to show the Rotary wheel and the End Polio Now logo throughout the evening. Similar light shows will also occur on the Parliament Building in London, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Coliseum in Rome. Our district will also observe this monumental day right here at home. Bergen County s Sunset Bergen Club and Passaic County s Paterson AM Club will hold Rotary birthday cocktail parties on the following day, February 24, to enable district Rotarians to celebrate RI s 106 th birthday in their own neighborhoods without having to travel very far. The Sunset Bergen birthday party will be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel on From Road in Paramus from 6 to 8 o clock. For the modest cost of $28 you can enjoy a lavish Bone Fish Grill buffet of calamari, shrimp, chicken marsala and salad and the cash bar drink of your choice. The Paterson AM birthday party will be held at the Paterson Museum at 2 Market Street in Paterson from 6:30 to 8:30. It will include wine and cheese, mellow music provided by our district s favorite DJ, PDG Dan Shiver, and a guided tour of the museum with a short walk outside to Paterson s Great Falls at the end of the evening. The Paterson AM club also requests that each district club send one favorite photo to be included in a brief slide presentation during the evening s festivities. Our district Rotary birthday celebration week will conclude on Friday, February 25, in Hudson County when our district s newest club, the Union City/West New York Rotary Club, will receive its charter at a gala dinner at Marinero s Grill at Farragut and River Road overlooking the New York City skyline. The cost to attend this event is $65. DR. JOHN SEVER TO SPEAK AT DISTRICT CONFERENCE APRIL 28 MAY 1, 2011 In 1985 Rotary International began immunizing children against polio. In 1988 it became the leading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) which also consists of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Saturday morning plenary session at the conference will address the second half of this year s Rotary theme--bridging continents--and the keynote speaker will be PDG Dr. John Sever, Vice-Chair of RI s PolioPlus Committee, who will share his personal experiences fighting polio. Dr. Sever earned both his MD and PhD (in Microbiology at Northwestern University. He served as the Chief of the Infectious Diseases Branch of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke and was also the Chairman of Pediatrics at Children s National Medical Center, where he pursued HIV research and directed the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Unit.
GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER - DISTRICT 7490 7 DG Adele and Bergen Sunset President Tom Shea planning Bergen County cocktail party for Rotary's 106th birthday DG Adele thanking PDG Dominic Jengo for his help in starting an Interact Club at Bayonne High School Howard Guss and Dr. Patricia La Rocco signing up for district conference PDG Paul Rutigliano, Presidents' Ball Chair Holly Schult and PDG Bill Rupp planning April 15 gala DG Adele presenting DGN Bonnie Sirower with birthday remembrance DG Adele presenting DGE Emil Geering with bon voyage gifts for his trip to 2011 RI International Assembly in San Diego
GOVERNOR S NEWSLETTER - DISTRICT 7490 8 THE ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is an outgrowth of District 7510 s Leadership Institute, which was founded in 1992. The Institute is now a joint project of over 267 Rotary districts in 67 Divisions located all over the world. Essentially, RLI is a leadership development program, providing courses to potential Rotary club leaders to increase their Rotary knowledge. Courses are provided in three parts, with each part given during a full day in various locations throughout the Rotary year. Those completing all three parts are awarded a special RLI pin and are also eligible to participate in RLI graduate seminars and be trained as faculty members. What is the Rotary Leadership Institute of Northeast America? RLI-Northeast America includes the districts of Zone 32 in the northeastern part of the USA and Bermuda. Clubs and districts can access online a wide array of resources developed by RLI. What are the courses? A Look Outside the Club Creating Service Projects Problem Solving Workshops Membership Development The Rotary Foundation Leadership Analyzing a Rotary Club International Service The Object of Rotary The District Problems of Leadership Creative Service Motivating Rotarians Effecting Change Written Communications What are the teaching methods? Each RLI course is designed to encourage class discussion and participation. No more than 15 persons attend each session. Faculty members are RLI-trained Rotarians with proven leadership abilities. Teaching methods include role-playing, case studies, and multimedia presentations. Manuals are provided to attendees, which include course outlines and related resource materials. How is District 7490 involved with RLI? Since 2006 District 7470 and District 7490 have cohosted the spring course given at Seton Hall Prep. Plans are now underway to bring an RLI program to District 7490 at Bergen County Community College next fall. A great turnout from our members at the April 2, 2011 course at Seton Hall Prep will insure that this will happen. Should your club participate? If your club cares about its future, it will want the best club leadership possible. By attending RLI, club members can expand their Rotary knowledge, develop leadership skills, and exchange ideas with others. How do I register for RLI? Where: Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, NJ When: April 2, 2011, 7:30 AM to 3:30 PM breakfast & lunch are included Cost: $65 per person Courses: Part I, Part II, Part III, Graduate To register: Click on www.rlinea.com E-Mail Stuart Gold at SGold21706@aol.com Telephone Stuart Gold at 201-370-2163