|
|
 |
February, 2014
Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Rotary! Happy Birthday to you!
February is an important month for Rotary because it is our birth month. On February 23, 1905 in Chicago, Rotary International founder Paul Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele and Hiram Shorey held the first Rotary club meeting in the downtown office of Gustavus Loehr. Rotary founder, Paul Harris in his 1935 book "This Rotarian Age" describes Rotary's birthday this way: "The birthday of Rotary, February 23rd, is celebrated throughout the length and breadth of the movement. Of all days in the Rotary calendar, it is considered the most important. It is not remarkable that this is so. To celebrate birthdays, whether of individuals or of movements, is very human. In the case of Rotary, with its unprecedented rise from obscurity to vast influence within the span of thirty years, birthday celebrations were inevitable; they were the best means of demonstrating loyalty, and of renewing and invigorating faith. Inspiration is to be found in the thought that as the world revolves, it brings a procession of national gro ups to consciousness of the arrival of the natal day. There is inspiration in the thought that the sun never sets upon Rotary."
Harris described his colleagues at that meeting as follows: "All were friendly and congenial and each represented a recognized and honorable vocation different from that of the others. In some respects, they were widely variant. They had been selected without regard to religious, racial, or political differences. The group included members of American, German, Swedish, and Irish ancestry, and representatives of the Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish faiths, all products of the American melting-pot, and in that respect, fitting progenitors of the international order that they were to bring into being."
I wonder if these first Rotarians could have imagined that 109 years later there would be over1.2 million Rotarians meeting each week in more than 34,500 Rotary clubs around the world. Could they have imagined that from this first meeting would come an "international order" that addresses human need every day of the year not just on February 23.
Engage Rotary, Change Lives
Jack McAllister
Rotary Club of Lexington, KY USA
District 6740, Governor 2013-14
|
|
|
|
WHY Club Visioning? There are at least three measures of success for club's that complete a Vision Facilitation: 1. An immediate measure of progress will be the members'pledge and willingness to move the planning processes from a nice-to-do concept to meaningful growth programs for the club, its members, and its community. 2. These second is that the output from this session is woven into the annual plans of the incoming and succeeding Presidents. It will be reflected in the continuity and consistency of programming and leadership in your Club. 3. Finally,the long-term mark of accomplishment will beat the end of 3, 4 or 5 years when your club advances from where it is to where it wants to be. WHAT is Club Visioning? A Club Vision Facilitation is a four hour evening session (typically 5:00 - 9:00) that assists key leaders and interested members of a Rotary club in achieving continuity,consistency and consensus. The facilitation session is intended for all interested Rotarians in your club-from your newest members to your most tenured. The breadth and depth of the facilitation exercise is optimized when club leaders (past, present and future) and member opinion leaders participate. A District Vision Facilitation Team (3-4) typically commits approximately 25 hours of volunteer time to each event and therefore expects: 1. Attendance at the event by present board members, the current president, president-elect, president-elect nominee, immediate past-president,and two other past-presidents.Their collective involvement is essential up to a total of 30 participants. 2. Participants to commit to the entire 4-hour exercise. 3. The number of Rotarians committed to a session will be no less than 12 for smaller clubs but no more than 30 (to maintain the time schedule and allow fair and full input from all present). For clubs over 40members, our team expects attendance to be between 25 and 30. For clubs over 80,we expect 30 members in attendance. NOTE: Given that the Facilitation Team is volunteering their time and traveling to visit your club, the Team has the latitude to reschedule should the above criteria not be met. Each club requesting Vision Facilitation will designate a"Club Coordinator"who will work with your District Vision Facilitation Coordinator providing all the information and direction individual Rotarians will need in preparation for the session. During the Vision Facilitation session, a team of facilitators (3-4) will lead an 8-Step process consisting of an overview presentation, a writing exercise, data collection, consensus voting and summary concluding with action plan development. The District 6740 Vision facilitation Team is led by Dean Hamilton (dean@aften.com, 859-227-2879). Please contact Dean if your club desires to have a Visioning Facilitation. |
|
|
|
 2013-14 Presidential CitationFor the 2013-14 Rotary year, RI President Ron Burton will recognize, with a Presidential Citation, the significant achievements of qualifying Rotary Clubs. The 2013-14 Presidential Citation recognizes Rotary Clubs for achievements that: 1) promote membership growth, 2) enhance humanitarian service through the Rotary Foundation and 3) strengthen Rotary through activities or projects in one of Rotary's five Avenues of Service. To qualify for the Presidential Citation, clubs must complete a required activity along with three additional activities in each area. Clubs that complete four additional activities in each area will qualify for the Presidential Citation with Distinction. Unless otherwise specified, all activities must be undertaken and completed between July 1 and March 31 of the 2013-14 Rotary year. Clubs should complete the form and send it to the district governor no later than March 31, 2014. Forms sent to Rotary International will NOT be processed. Clubs are encouraged to review their achievements and if the qualifications are met to submit Presidential Citation form. Presidential Citation Application Form Link
|
|
|
Foundation Contributions
Contributions to The Rotary Foundation in District 6740 are summarized monthly.
Thus far in 2013-14, individual Rotarians and 23 clubs have donated $46,827.56 to the ANNUAL (SHARE) FUND. Our GOAL for 2013-14 for contributions to the ANNUAL (SHARE) FUND is $85,000.
Contributions totaling $21,223.13 to the POLIO PLUS FUND have been made by individual Rotarians and 18 clubs in District 6740. Our GOAL for 2013-14 for contributions to the POLIO PLUS FUND is $50,000.
Summaries of those contributions are given below for ANNUAL (SHARE) FUND and the POLIO PLUS FUND.
Individual Rotarians can access reports of their contributions at www.rotary.org
Click here to view full size document.
 Click here to view the full size document
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rotary Legacy shared by fathers and sons in Ashland
ASHLAND Rotary's mission of service above self is a family tradition for two sets of father and son members of the Ashland Club, Richard and Ryan Reams along with Marshall and Will Steen. Both sets say the experience of sharing Rotary has brought them closer in their own relationships with one another and has been an experience they would encourage other families to try. 
"My father introduced me to Rotary," said Richard Reams. He was a founding member "Being a Rotarian allows us to meet other business people in town and also be able to give back to our community in the projects that we choose to support. If everybody in town gave back a little something to the community this would be a much better place to live," said Richard Reams. of the Bryn Mawr Rotary club in Wales. I went to my first Rotary meeting with him in 1964," he said. Richard joined the Ashland Club in the mid-80s and has served as a past president.
After college Ryan Reams, 27, began attending meetings at the invitation of his father. "After several meetings throughout 2010 and helping with the repair affair that year, I asked my father if he would sponsor me to become a member. After learning all the things Rotary did in our community and around the world, I knew I wanted to become a part of the organization," said Ryan Reams. He was inducted into the club in June 2011 and has since become involved in leadership roles including helping out with community service committee and founding a new International dinner fundraiser. Ryan Reams will become president of the Ashland Club in July 2015.
 Will Steen's family is also a third generation Rotarian. "I joined Rotary because my grandfather was a Rotarian," explained Marshall Steen. He joined in 1975 after moving back to Ashland following Mortuary School. "When my son wanted to join a service club he decided to join Rotary and thought it would be a good way to do something with me and also meet new people," said Marshall Steen. "Ever since he has joined we have done all the projects together, which I think is cool. Not only do we get to do something good for others we get to do it together. I highly recommend this type of relationship," he added. Will Steen joined Rotary in 2013. "So far it has been a great experience," he said. |
|
|
|
Cynthiana Rotary Club
The Club continues to work on the Ramp Project. Rotarian Dave Melcher coordinates the program for the Club. The Club provides building materials along with determining location of the ramps. The work is primarily completed by Gary Lail and students from the Harrison County Vocational Education program.
The Club plans to honor Gary at a future meeting for his hard work.
Link
|
|
|
|
|
