Join us Tuesday, January 20th at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center where our guest speaker will be fellow Rotarian, Dr. A. Gidget Hopf, President and CEO of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes and its affiliate The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired-Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester.

Gidget will be speaking about the Excel Center, a unique high school for adults who have dropped out of high school. This initiative has the potential to break the cycle of poverty and be a real changer for Rochester.

We had a great week of Rotary meetings! Thank you to Rotarian Cheryl Nelan for a great presentation at our monthly Breakfast Meeting at the Rotary Office about "Business Security - Avoiding the Deadliest Data Mistakes". Then we were joined by the President of High Tech Rochester and the Managing Director of the Rochester Angel Network, Jim Senall at our Tuesday luncheon. Jim gave us a great overview of HTR and what they are doing to help local startup companies to succeed as well as talk with us about their new office space in the Sibley building on the 6^th floor.

Thank you to all of you and your guests that came to one (or both) of our meetings this week!

Next week we are very excited to welcome fellow Rotarian Gidget Hopf to the podium. Gidget will be discussing the Excel Center - a unique high school for adults who have dropped out of high school. This new initiative has the potential to break the cycle of poverty and be a real game changer for Rochester. I hope you will join us to hear about this promising project.

Also next week, I hope you have signed up to join our Curling Party at the Rochester Curling Club. This fellowship event is a great bonding experience with your fellow Rotarians followed by dinner and a cash bar. If you are interested be sure to check the Rotary site to sign up.

Have a great weekend! 

1/20/2015 Dr. A. Gidget Hopf, President and CEO of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes and its affiliate The Association fo the Blind and Visually Impaired - Goodwill Industries of Greater Rochester

Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center

1/27/2015 David Mammano, Founder/CEO of Next Step Education Group 

"Making Sense of Paying for College"

Locust Hill Country Club

2/3/2015 Jon Schull, RIT Professor

"e-NABLE"

Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center

2/10/2015 New Member Class Fall 2014 Meeting

Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center

Membership matters....

Rotary Boot Camp is a quick "training" on all the "ins" and "outs" of Rochester Rotary.  We ask that all new members attend one session -- as well as longtime Rotarians who need a refresher on their Club.

These sessions are both social and informative.  Strap up your boots and save the date, we will save you a seat!

Thursday, January 22nd at 4:30 p.m.

 Rochester Rotary Board Room (180 Linden Oaks)

Please RSVP your attendance to Myrna Padilla in the Rotary Office

Sign up today for Curling Saturday, January 24th at the Rochester Curling Club!

Rochester Rotary will be hosting a Curling Party at the Club from 3:30-5:30 p.m.  The cost is $25.00 per person and includes: instruction, equipment, curling, dinner and Special this year two bar drinks included with price.

Register Here

It's that time of year - the 2015 Entertainment Books are now available.

For just $25.00 you save thousands of dollars on everything from the movies to food, groceries to vacations.

To purchase a book stop by the Rotary Office or contact Sally Stookey at 385-3498 or sstookey@frontiernet.net.

SAVE THE DATE

When: Sunday, March 1st

Where: Rotary Offices

Pricing and sign up details to follow soon!

If you would like a yearend giving statement from Rochester Rotary please contact the Office to request one. Pam Reinhardt can be reached in the accounting office at 546-7435 x205 or accounting@rochesterrotary.org.

School #8 SWPBS (School Wide Positive Behavior Systems) is looking  for volunteers to assist with our monthly celebrations.  

The Membership Committee's mission is to grow and sustain the Rochester Rotary Membership. We accomplish this by identifying and recruiting a diverse group of qualified new members and support their initial involvement in the Club.

Each year our Club has a goal to bring in 35 new and dynamic members. At present we have 339 members of our club. Under the leadership of Mary Lewis Consler the committee engaged in a strategic planning process that will help the committee be even more proactive. The strategic plan has a number of sub committees that are listed below:

Under Represented - we have a number of member categories that could use increases.   A good example is military.

Marketing Collaboration - working with our marketing committee this sub group will assist with additional materials that will help with recruitment.

Corporate Membership - this has been a goal for a long time and we will be working directly with each of the larger corporations in this region on corporate memberships. Each new person must pass our membership criteria.

Small Business - this is a specific effort to attract new members that are business owners.

Internal Communications - this effort will see the Membership Committee reaching directly out to other members of our club for  referrals.

You will hear more about these initiatives over the course of the new-year. The Membership Committee is excited about the formation of the Engagement Committee lead by Steve Hoitt.

To recommend a new member please contact Scott Rasmussen at 273-5932.

Birthday gift contributions made will benefit the students at our adopted school, School #8, Roberto Clemente School #8 scholarship students and community service projects with in our community. You may mail your gift to the Rotary Office or bring it with you to a Tuesday meeting.

Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) opportunity to Nova Scotia, Canada

The Rotary Friendship Exchange is an international exchange program for Rotarians and spouses.  The RFE provides participants with the opportunity to experience other cultures by staying in the homes of Rotarians in other countries and experiencing their district. In turn, their Rotarians visit our district and are hosted by our Rotarians. 

Our District 7120 has been invited to participate in a RFE with District 7820 in Nova Scotia, Canada.  The province of Nova Scotia is made up of mainland Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.  Nova Scotia has the beautiful Annapolis Valley, famous for apples, miles of rugged coastline, and the busy port of Halifax.  Cape Breton Island, rich in Scottish heritage, is one of the most scenic areas of the Maritime Provinces.  Its famous Cabot Trail was named after John Cabot, and marks the discovery of North America in the fifteenth century.

The exchanges will begin with a visit to Nova Scotia D7820 currently planned for September 7 to the 21st/22nd.  The team from Nova Scotia D7820 will then visit our District 7120 from October 1st to the14th/15th. 

There will be a limit of 12 team members that D7820 will accept.  Priority will be provided to Rotarians that have hosted but have not participated in a Rotary Friendship Exchange.

If you have any questions or an interest in participating in the trip to Nova Scotia, contact Carl Grovanz, cgrovanz@rochester.rr.com or any of our other District 7120 Rotary Friendship Exchange committee members:

Helen Gormont: hgormont@frontiernet.net

Linda Grovanz: lgrovanz@rochester.rr.com

John and Maureen Hall: jhall13@rochester.rr.com Maureen.Hall@hotmail.com

Jim Hughes: jhughes10@rochester.rr.com

Bob and Cindy Hunt: rhunt1@rochester.rr.com cindyhunt1964@hotmail.com

Doc Malchoff: GMalchoff@yahoo.com

Mike and Merle Platt: psquared@stny.rr.com plattma@stny.rr.com

Vivian Ryan: vivianr@rochester.rr.com

Requests for participation in the exchange will be accepted until January 20th.

The District 7120 Rotary Friendship Exchange Committee will select the RFE team to Novia Scotia by January 30th.

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