ROTARY DISTRICT 5500 District Theme: Ignite the Passion, Serve Others Governor s Message: on Rotary Magazine Month April is Rotary Magazine Month On the surface this seemed unusual to me. With all of the good work of Rotary at home and abroad to highlight, devoting a month of our calendar to the Rotary Magazine seemed strange to me. Then I started thinking about this wonderful publication. Each month we learn about amazing Rotarians from around the world who are saving lives, helping those with less and learning at the same time these volunteers are having a wonderful time. The magazine motivates, inspires and educates me in so many ways. I look forward to receiving it each month. You will soon be receiving your new Rotarian Magazine. When you do you read it? Do you enjoy the warm stories and informative articles? This past month we read about Rotaract in Kyiv, Ukraine and these District Governor: young people taking time to honor elders, Joys of Reading, an interview with Rotary President Nominee Ron Randy Brooks Burton and many other interesting articles. Once you have read your magazine how about taking the label off the cover and taking it to your doctor or dentist s office for others to read? I would like to mention to you an issue we are having with Rotary Youth Exchange. Several clubs have stepped up to experience the wonder of having a child from another country stay in their home. One example is this weekend Mike and Vicki Suba of the Rotary Club of Yuma Sunrise agreed to host a Rotary Youth Exchange student thank you my friends! You have joined a select group of Rotarians that want to foster world peace through youth exchange. I have mentioned to each of the clubs how wonderful it has been for Deb and me to share our home with these remarkable students. Our lives have forever been changed by sharing our culture, love and life experiences with these students. As a result of opening our home we now have extended family in Germany, Peru and Brazil. Many other Rotarians have hosted children from France, Belgium, Japan, Taiwan and many other countries. Ask them about the experience. We need to place additional students now we have to obtain schools for these students, find homes, make arrangements to accept them and complete paper work to satisfy Department of State rules and time is running out. Please help us I would hate for this program to atrophy as a result of simply not paying attention to our hearts. Because, I believe in our hearts we all want to help these students learn about our country and assist in fostering peace what a noble gesture. We need you. Contact D-5500 Youth Exchange Officer, Cindy Harrison at cehaz@cox.net for details. She will gladly help you get started. Deb and I are hosting a student this year won t you join us? Governor Randy and Deb meet President Tanaka and Kyoko INSIDE THIS ISSUE: ~ Governor s Message ~ 4 Way Test Speech Contest ~ Report from Yuma District Assembly ~ GSE Team Departure Dinner ~ Important Links ~ Sierra Vista Run Your Own 401K ~ RLI April 27th ~ Microcredit Borrower Trip ~ Yuma All Club Social ~ Upcoming District Assemblies ~ Taste of Chocolate ~ Michael J Harris Golf Event ~ Oro Valley Pot of Gold Raffle ~ Sierra Vista West Golf Tournament ~ Tucson Sunrise Caribbean Nights Dinner ~ Newsletter Submission Guidelines ~ Somerton Club Still 10 Strong ~ New Scholarship at Somerton ~ Texas Hold em Poker Tournament ~ February Attendance Report 1
AA Leadership Team Announcing the Annual District 5500 Four-Way Test Speech Contest District Governor: Randy Brooks rotarian@randy-brooks.com District Secretary: Debbie Conover gdc511@msn.com District Treasurer: Dan Contorno gowhtsox@gmail.com Rotary Foundation Committee Chair: PDG Teree Bergman tl_bergy@hotmail.com Membership Chair: Doug Woodard dwoodardaz@comcast.net Newsletter Editor: Sheryl Christenson rotaryd5500newsletter@gmail.com Assistant to the Editor: Kirti Khalsa assistanteditor101@gmail.com International Service (Brazilian Project) Chair: PDG Jim Aslin sjaslin@comcast.net The District 5500 Annual 4-Way Test Speech Contest will be held on April 20 2013, beginning at 9:30 am. The competition will take place in Room 112A at the Community Campus of Pima Community College at 401 North Bonita Avenue in Tucson. Winners of competitions which have already been held at the Club and Region levels will participate. Contestants must be in Grades 9-12 at a public or private school, or be in those grades and be home schooled, within Rotary District 5500. The contest is designed to introduce high school students to the Rotary principles of ethics and service, and to involve local Rotary Clubs with the youth of their communities. It also is aimed at encouraging young people to learn to express themselves well in public The topic for the speech contest is The Impact the Application of the Four-Way Test Had, or Might Have Had, on An Important Historical Event. The intent is to assess the outcome, or possible alternative outcome, in light of consideration of the specific aspects of the Rotary Four-Way Test. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 3 finishers in the District competition as follows: 1 st Prize: $1000; 2 nd Prize: $500; 3 rd Prize: $250. Directions to reach the competition: From I-10, Take Exit 258 toward Congress St / St Marys Road. Turn left if you are coming from the south, right if from the north, onto West Congress Street. Turn right (almost immediately) onto Bonita Avenue. Continue to 401 North Bonita Avenue (on the left). Proceed to Room A112 (Room 112 in the "A" Wing). (For those who have attended this event before, please note this is a change from our location in past years - before we held it on the NW Campus, but this year it is at the Community Campus.) Report from Yuma District Assembly Congratulations to Nancy Cassel and her team of trainers for a successful District Assembly in Yuma, AZ on March 23, 2013. All Yuma Rotary Clubs were represented at the Assembly. 24 Rotarians were certified for Grant Management and 17 were trained in Conflict resolution, RI club central, projects, and other issues affecting Rotary. The District Assembly is training for all Rotarians. Above: Conflict Resolution Session Below: Breakout Session Grants Management Seminar 2
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IMPORTANT LINKS Peace Forums in 2012-13: To support the theme Peace Through Service, President-elect Tanaka is planning one more peace forum on May 17-18, 2013. District 5500 is on Facebook! Please Like us here! Presidential Citation here Rotary International Convention June 23-26, 2013 in Lisbon, Portugal details here Sierra Vista Sunrise Rotary Club Run Your Own 401K April 13, 2013 It would be great if you could mention the Sierra Vista Sunrise inaugural "Run Your Own 401K" event. The event will be held on April 13th @ 0900 at Veteran's Memorial Park in Sierra Vista. The theme is that the event will be run in business attire for men and women. The event beneficiary is a local charity "The Forgach House" a domestic crisis shelter that helps women and children in need. The following links provide additional details for registration for the event. Rotary Peace Fellowship Call for Applications, Deadline July 1st, apply at www.rotary.org/rotarycenters. Blaine E. Moyer and John E. Gruenemeier RLI District 5500 Co-Chairs Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) April 27th In Tucson The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a training program established to improve the Rotary knowledge and leadership skills of the future leaders of Rotary Clubs. RLI is a great place to start for a new Rotarian looking to find their niche in the world of Rotary. The exchange of ideas with other experienced Rotarians alone makes the courses worthwhile. The Rotary Leadership Institute training program consists of three full-day sessions, followed by graduate seminars. Our next District 5500 program will be Saturday April 27, 2013 at the Viscount Suite Hotel, 4855 East Broadway Boulevard, Tucson, AZ 85711. Future sessions will be offered at various locations to be announced throughout District 5500. Because Rotary Club leadership changes on a yearly basis there is a constant need for new leaders who are knowledgeable about the world of Rotary International. It is difficult at the Club level to learn enough about the exciting world of Rotary. Furthermore,leadership skills in a voluntary organization are quite different from business or military leadership skills. Cost is $60.00 and includes breakfast and lunch. The District offers one RLI Scholarship per club per year. Many clubs also budget RLI costs to cover members attending. Full registration information is available on the District 5500 website or by clicking on the following link: http://www.clubrunner.ca/data/5500//html/188595//rliregistration-2013-april.pdf During the afternoon, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., at the April RLI Session a graduate level course, for graduates of RLI, will be held. The course is $10.00. The topic for this class is RLI Faculty/Adult Learner Training. This is a class for those who would like to go on to facilitate RLI classes and/or learn to train adults for other Rotary Trainings. Research has shown that adults learn in ways that are entirely different from younger students. We will tap into that research and help you to become better at getting adults trained for the many programs in our Rotary World. 4
Special Recognition on Microcredit Borrower Trip Incoming District Governor, Nancy Cassels, received special recognition from Mexico Nogales Sur Club Rotarians during the Rotarian group visit to microcredit borrowers in Nogales Mexico Saturday March 16. District 5500 Clubs and Rotarian contributions to the microcredit project in Nogales have made such a positive impact in their community that Mexican Rotarians wanted to show their appreciation with a big bouquet of roses. Nogales Sur incoming President Viridiana Padilla presented the roses to Nancy and said " the microcredit project is amazing for what it accomplishes with relatively small amount of money per borrower. If we could just raise enough money to fulfill the demand for microcredit in Nogales, it would help transform the area financially in a generation." Nancy and seven other Rotarians from D5500 joined nine other Rotarians from Arizona and Ontario in the visit to twelve diverse but successful small businesses made possible by small loans and special training through the microcredit matching grant project. Guillen Carpintera father and son DGN Nancy Cassel with special recognition roses from Mexican Rotarians Among those businesses visited was Guillen Carpintera, a high quality wood working shop producing fine cabinets and furniture. Father and son plus two employees have built a reputation so good that they stay busy with word of mouth referrals. They have been borrowers since 2004 and attribute their success to the loans that helped them buy materials, all the tools required and build the workshop where it all happens. Another visit to microcredit borrowers is scheduled Friday May 24. Those interested in participating should contact Wayne Rish at nwrish@gmail.com for details and reservations since group size is limited. Written by Kim Norris Yuma All Club Social On March 24th, Yuma held an all club Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact family Fun day. It was a beautiful day, the weather couldn't have been nicer. There were about one hundred in attendance. The first hour, everyone ate a pot luck meal, socialized, and enjoyed each other's company. Some wanted to explore the Shelter Box display, others played wash shoes, a few went off to enjoy the free train rides around the park, while several of the Interact students opted to play volleyball. The main event, however, was the big softball game. The teams were selected, the umpire and score keeper found and it was on! The first game wasn't very close as reflected by the more than ten run lead, so the teams were re-divided and the second game began. Both children and adults played together, there was even a little four year old who came up to bat! After the games ended, many stuck around and socialized. The gauntlet was laid down as the Yuma club challenged the Fort Yuma club to another softball game in the near future. The planning for this challenge game is already in the works. Overall, our picnic was a big success as was expressed by many in attendance. Our District Governor, Randy, left black, blue, and bloody, but had a huge smile and appeared to be enjoying himself regardless (what a trooper!) District Governor Randy Brooks Next year, the hope is to grow this to an even bigger event. Come join us if you can! 5
District Assemblies Locations The Tucson Assembly will be held at the Junior League at 2099 E. River Road in Tucson. The Casa Grande Assembly will be held at Central Arizona College at 8470 N. Overfield Rd. in Coolidge. The Sierra Vista Assembly will be held at the Sierra Suites 391 W. Fry in Sierra Vista. New Sessions Offered at District Assemblies Want to learn something new about Rotary? Would you like to share your Rotary ideas and experiences and hear those of your Rotary colleagues? If so, please register for one of the three remaining District Assemblies: April 6 in Tucson, April 13 in Coolidge and April 20 in Sierra Vista. All are from 8:30 am noon and include a continental breakfast. The registration form is available on the district website. The topics are: Member Access/Rotary Club Central, Promoting Your Projects and Your Club, Energizing Your Club, Service Projects Case Study and Managing and Resolving Conflict. These sessions are interactive facilitations and not lectures. Come learn, share and engage Rotary! Kirsten Stephens D5500 Trainer for DGE Nancy Cassel 6
Love Chocolate - You Be the Judge on April 21st! On Sunday, April 21st, the Rotary Club of Rincon holds it fifth annual competition - a tasty way to support Tucson chefs and their businesses while raising money to support the club's Scholarship Program and 3d Grade Dictionary Project. In addition, other organizations Rincon has supported include Gospel Rescue Mission, Honor Flight, Marshall Home for Men, Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald House, JTED Culinary students, Casa Maria, Community Food Bank, and Habitat for Humanity. 30 or more competitive entries in different categories, plus a wine tasting, raffle and silent auction. Our "Chocolate Angels" sponsors HSL Properties, and Tucson Orthopaedic Institute. Doubletree Hotel, 445 S. Alvernon - tickets $10 for adults and up to two children under 12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kj0rubx0wzk submitted by Thomas Eiff, Rincon Rotary Treasurer and member, Media/PR Committee The 2nd Annual Michael J. Harris Golf Event Presented by the Casas Adobes Rotary Club Friday, April 26th La Paloma County Club 10:45 a.m. - BBQ lunch Noon - Shotgun Scramble Golf Tournament Proceeds benefit the Michael J. Harris Scholarship Endowment, and the Casa Adobe's scholarship program for graduating high school students. For information, call Pat Farrell at 465-9763 or pjffb@aol.com 7
Rotary Club of Oro Valley Pot of Gold 360 Raffle Andrea Blattberg won the grand prize check of $3,600 from the Pot of Gold 360 raffle. The spring fundraiser of the Rotary Club of Oro Valley raised over $9,000. A limited number of tickets, only 360, were sold for the chance to win prizes. Second prize was $1,800 and third prize a one week Pinetop Getaway the week of July 4, 2013. The winning tickets were drawn Saturday, March 16, 2013 at the Oro Valley Country Club. John Barnett won second prize with a ticket purchased days before he became the club s newest member. The Rotary Club of Oro Valley supports college scholarships for outstanding high school graduates, vocational scholarships, provides dictionaries to Oro Valley 4th graders, contributes year round to Catalina Community Food Bank, and to an annual Interfaith Community Services food drive. On a global scale, the club supports the Brazil Peace Project, the international polio eradication effort, and the Hermosillo orphanage program. On the local scale, the club regularly conducts trash pick up on Oracle Road in Oro Valley. Andrea Blattberg with President Derek Roberts REVISED GUIDELINES FOR ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS We have had comments about the length of articles and the need to include photographs with your submissions. We have had restrictions in order to keep the newsletters at a reasonable length. After receiving suggestions from readers, we have decided to loosen our restrictions (to a degree) to see if you enjoy a more robust newsletter. It will be interesting to obtain your feedback. New District 5500 Newsletter Guidelines: - Email both Sheryl at rotaryd5500newsletter@gmail.com and Kirti at assistant editor101@gmail.com - Send articles in MS Word format preferably under 450 words. - Attempt to include one photo, logo or other graphics - in jpg or word format; please include the appropriate caption - We are happy to link to your blogs and articles if they are already posted online, just send us the link - Submit articles by the 25th of the month to be considered for inclusion in the next issue - Wanted: New Rotarians, short article, club projects and picture. We will print articles related to Rotary District D5500 and our Clubs. Non-District articles will be considered on a case by case basis by the editorial team. We do not want to give the appearance of endorsing special groups or organizations when they are not affiliated with the district. Contact us with your questions and submissions. For Website article submissions to http://www.rotaryd5500.org, please contact Diane Ventura-Goodyear at rotarydwebinator@gmail.com. 8
Somerton Club Still 10 Strong Small clubs struggle to increase membership but they keep trying. On December 31, 2012, the club lost its last charter member, George Franklin. A member of the club for 63 years and 58 of those years with perfect attendance, he will be greatly missed. But at the very next meeting, the club welcomed into membership Shaun Cassidy, Economic Development and Chamber of Commerce Director for the City of Somerton. Sponsored by President-Elect Doug Rutan, Shaun will be a very valuable member of the club. So, we are still 10 strong! New Scholarship at Somerton Rotary Club The Somerton Rotary Club has started an annual scholarship in memory of its longtime member, George Franklin. George died on December 31, 2012, at the age of 91. George was a charter member of the Somerton Rotary Club, which was chartered in December 1950. Robert Moody was the club s first President and George served as club president in both 1957 and 1981. He was the club secretary for close to forty years. George was also the sponsoring Rotarian when the San Luis Frontera Club was chartered. George Franklin George had an astounding 57 years of perfect attendance. He received special recognition from Rotary International for his years of perfect attendance in June 2010. Two Somerton students attending Arizona Western College received the first George Franklin Scholarships. David Tapia and Fernando Luna were presented the scholarships at a special dinner attended by over thirty Rotarians and family members of the scholarship recipients. The awards of $750 each were collected from individual Rotarians throughout the Yuma area, as well as the Somerton and San Luis Rotary clubs. L to R: David Tapia, Lorraine Franklin, Fernando Luna 9
FEBRUARY ATTENDANCE REPORT 10