*     ~ November 2014 ~     *
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Can We, Should We Really End Polio?


     
     This article by Rotarian Devin Thorpe was originally published by Forbes. Thorpe is a champion of social good who has written several books, travels the world as a speaker and hosts an annual conference on crowdfunding for good. Visit devinthorpe.com. 


John Salyers
District Governor 2014-15
Rotary District 6740

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     For the past week, I have been a guest of Rotary International here in Ethiopia to participate in and observe an expedition of U.S. and Canadian Rotarians and friends of Rotary (I am a member of the Salt Lake City Club) to support the National Immunization Day for polio. The lessons from this effort for social entrepreneurs and other change agents are important.
     
     The opinions and conclusions of this article are, of course, entirely my own.

     The group of 35 North Americans who came to Ethiopia have been received almost as heroes. President Mulatu Teshome, elected Ethiopia's president in 2013, took time to meet with a subset of the group that included me; our visit with the President and our efforts to eradicate polio were the subject of a four-page story in the local paper. While we as a group immunized only a few hundred children, we brought attention to and helped to reinvigorate the effort to vaccinate every child in Ethiopia last week.

 

Rotary team meets with Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome

     

     Ethiopia was declared polio free in 2001, but recent outbreaks in Somalia have led to 10 cases of polio in Ethiopia over the last 24 months, the last of which was in January of 2014. The country is still on high alert, hoping to quickly eliminate the virus not only from the country, but from the continent and then the world.
 
According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative or GPEI, there have not been any documented cases of wild polio virus in Africa in the last 90 days on the entire continent. That said, James McQueen Patterson, with UNICEF, told us during our visit that real or potential gaps in surveillance mean that no one should start celebrating until at least six month after the last reported case.
 
     Even as Africa seems to finally be getting a tight grip on polio, things are going badly in Pakistan, with 235 cases so far this year, more than any year since 1998. Many of the Pakistan-originating cases end up in Afghanistan, so it too is reporting cases.
 
     Ever since the U.S. identified and killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan, the Taliban there has forbidden children in regions it controls to be immunized and a reported 60 health workers and their security have been murdered in the effort to immunize children there.
 
     Rotary's Polio Plus Chair in Pakistan, Aziz Memon, explains, "The Taliban in Pakistan oppose polio vaccination after the CIA's undercover agent Dr. Shakeel Afridi was responsible for locating Bin Laden's hideout using a fake campaign. It jeopardized the work of many international NGOs and humanitarian workers. The ban imposed on North and South Waziristan in June 2012 by the tribal leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur caused some 350,000 children to be deprived of vaccination for a period of almost 2 years. However, there are other tribal leaders in the Pushtun belt where polio vaccine is riddled with misconceptions and myths some of them range from reason for refusals as stated: cause of infertility, not halal (kosher), contains pig fat, against religion, [and] vaccines cause harm."

      Can We?

     

     This begs the question, can we ever expect to get polio eradicated from the planet? Won't there always be someplace on the globe where we simply can't make people accept the vaccine?


     Let's take a look at that these questions together.


     There is no question that eradicating polio will be difficult, so it is fair to ask whether or not the dread disease can actually be eliminated.


     The premise for eradicating polio is actually rather simple. The virus lives only in humans and in no other species. You can't get polio from a pig, a monkey or any other critter. While it can and does live outside of a host for some time, no animals except humans are at risk of getting polio. So eradicating polio is theoretically not that difficult. If every child is immunized no one can get the disease and the virus will be extinct.


     That's why Rotary tackled the problem in the first place; it looked distinctly possible even then. Looking back, Rotary was perhaps na�ve, thinking in 1988 that polio could be eradicated by 2005, the organization's 100th anniversary. Na�ve maybe. Optimistic, no doubt. But that naivet� combined with help from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, WHO, UNICEF and more recently the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and participating governments around the world, have brought us to the brink of the disease's extinction.
The virus, which causes paralysis in children, once caused about 400,000 cases per year. In 2013, there were only 416 cases of wild polio on the planet, meaning that we have reduced the number of cases by 99.9 percent.

     The last cases will be the hardest to eliminate for political reasons more than biological. Ebola is stealing lots of attention-for good reason-from the polio fight, but that puts the polio work in West Africa at risk if just one outbreak occurs there in the coming months.
We've already talked about Pakistan where the number of cases of polio are actually increasing rather than decreasing.


     Even give those concerns, being here on the ground in Ethiopia and having participated in and observed the effort on the ground in India in February, it begins to make sense.


     In the developed world, there isn't much of a dedicated polio infrastructure. Virtually all children are immunized routinely shortly after they are born and there haven't been cases of polio in most of the developed world for decades. It is hard to imagine or even understand the scale of the global polio infrastructure.


     In the developing world, there are places where the only contact poor villagers have with the outside world is a polio health worker or volunteer coming in to immunize a child. There are on the order of 20 million volunteers working on polio eradication around the globe. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners mentioned in this article have spent billions of dollars and anticipate spending another $5.5 billion in what they call the "end game strategy."


 

     Here on the ground, I can tell you first hand that they aren't merely throwing money and volunteers at the problem in a brute force effort, rather they are working with increasing sophistication to reach every last child and to monitor every case.

 


     Using genetic testing, every case of polio can be traced to a strain to know exactly where it came from, allowing everyone to trace people and provide immunizations around people and communities at risk. By combining focused immunization campaigns in at risk communities with nationwide efforts to immunize every child in a country multiple times per year, the disease can be defeated. 


     In Pakistan, where much of the polio world's attention is now focusing, every possible tactic is being used. Permanent immunization clinics along with national immunization days and new applications of technology that allow health workers with simple cell phones to text data to central repositories to accelerate surveillance responses to neighborhoods and villages with outbreaks.


     Furthermore, in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan controlled by the Taliban, people have been allowed to leave the region. Hundreds of thousands of people have done so. Their children are being immunized at check points there as they leave the region, so thousands of previously unvaccinated children are now being vaccinated.
 

Aziz Memom, Polio Plus Chair, Pakistan

      Memon explains further, "Our social mobilizers at the Resource Centres, the UNICEF mobilizers and the Provincial Government are constantly holding community meetings, workshops, seminars, Ulema conventions, encouraging renowned scholars and religious leaders to hold international conferences and issue 'Fatwas' (decrees) on the safety of polio vaccine. These leaders from around the world gather at international forums to spread the word to mobilize other religious clerics to pass these Fatwas to Ulemas at grass roots through mosques and madrassa's. The incidence of refusals have reduced considerably, but a constant reminder is necessary for recall."

 

      Additionally, just this week, the AP reported that the government of Pakistan is stepping up its efforts. One new initiative is a law that makes it illegal for a religious or community leader to prohibit members of their communities from receiving vaccinations.


     Having witnessed the challenges and the success in both India and Ethiopia, I conclude that we certainly can eradicate polio. While there may be a few dozen recent cases in the world, there are huge investments of time and resources being deployed to those communities to extinguish the outbreaks. Just as the disease was improbably eradicated in India, it can be done in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria-and in the other countries where it has resurfaced in recent years.


     Not only can it be done, it can be done soon. In India in 2009, there were 741 cases. The following year, there were just 42 and the last case in India was in January of 2011. When the political will exists, the resources will be found to end polio and there is no reason to believe that can't happen in 2015. If it does, the WHO will certify the world polio free in 2018 and we can stop immunizing children against polio and put those resources to work on ending another disease.


     Should We?


     Given the difficulty and the cost of polio eradication, some have asked if we shouldn't just be happy with the 99.9 percent progress we've made. Should we make the final push to eradicate polio?

     The Gates Foundation looked at the financial aspects of this question to determine if the rather expensive end game strategy has a positive return on investment or ROI. The Foundation concluded that certainly it does.
In a world where polio continues to impact hundreds of children each year, not only do we need to continue to immunize every child in the world against the disease, but we need to provide expensive, lifelong care to those who are crippled by the disease. This virtually ignores the fact that some children will die from the disease and the world loses their potential contributions permanently.


     Don't forget that the rate of immunizations in the U.S. has fallen in recent years. As the world shrinks effectively, drawn closer by technology and increasing global affluence allowing more and more people to travel around the world, American children are at serious risk of getting polio.


     The Ebola epidemic today is a reminder that allowing a terrible disease to persist in impacting a few people each year simply because it doesn't impact a lot of people is a not a strategy at all.


     We owe it to the world to eliminate the risk of disease that we can eradicate. How would we explain to the hundreds of children impacted by polio each year in the future that we simply don't care enough about them to do the hard things required to protect them.


     The fact of the matter is that the resources are largely there. A funding shortfall of $600 million in the total $5.5 billion end game strategy is all that stands between us and polio eradication. That, and a bit more political will.
We can do this. We should do this. In fact, we must.

 

Devin Thorpe, Rotarian


 


CallForDG 

CALL FOR DISTRICT GOVERNOR NOMINEE

November 1, 2014

 

The purpose of this correspondence is to make the formal invitation to Rotary Clubs in District 6740 to suggest one of their Rotary Club members for consideration by the District Nominating Committee for selection of the District Governor Nominee-Designate for the office of District Governor, District 6740, in the Rotary year 2017-2018.  The deadline for submission of the District Governor Nominee form is January 15, 2015.

 

To suggest a member for consideration by the Nominating Committee a club must:

 

(1)  Adopt a resolution which suggests one of its eligible members to the District Nominating Committee for consideration as the District Governor Nominee Designate to serve as District Governor from July 1, 2017 thru June 30, 2018.  The resolution should be made at a regular meeting and the adoption of this must be witnessed by the club secretary.

 

A "suggested" motion by a club member (other than the Rotarian being suggested): Madame or Mister president, I rise to present the following resolution for the "Club Name" to District 6740 Nominating Committee for consideration of "club member name" for selection as District Governor Nominee Designate for the Rotary Year 2017-2018."  The presiding officer should then seek a second to the motion, then call for a vote of the members present.

 

(2)  The suggested member must then complete and submit pages 1-2 of the "Governor Nominee Form" including the photo request and spouse/partner information request.  (The form is available digitally and can be completed via word processing which is highly recommended.)  The form is also included with this mailing.  If you are unable to find the form online or it is not included with this email that you are reading please contact me at jsalyers6740@gmail or 859-446-1947.

 

(3)  The suggested member must read and faithfully execute "the candidate statement" on page two (2) of the Governor Nominee Form.

 

(4)  The club secretary then must execute the "Club's Statement of Candidate's Qualifications" on page 4 of the Governor Nominee Form.  In doing so the club secretary certifies the following:  1. The club member is a club member in good standing.  2. That the suggested member has been suggested by resolution of the club.  3. That the suggested member meets the qualifications of membership and that membership information is accurate.

 

(5)  Please send a copy of the completed form to DG John Salyers by email, [email protected] or by mail to John Salyers 1501 Twinridge Way Independence, KY 41051.  Please call me at 859-446-1947 to verify receipt of the information.

 


 

Following is a summary of Rotary International Bylaws on the selection of a District Governor Nominee (D6740 uses the nominating committee process) and the duties of the District Gov.

 

Eligibility requirement of District Governor

To be eligible for the position of District Governor a Rotarian must:

 

(1) Be a member in good standing of a Rotary Club in D6740;

 

(2)  Have served as president of a club for a full-term, or as president of a charter club from the date of charter until June 30th, for a period of six months;

 

(3)  Demonstrate the knowledge of and the ability to fulfill the duties outlined in the RI Bylaws,         Section 15.090 (Summary below); and

 

(4)  Has completed seven (7) years of membership at the time of taking office.

 

Summary of District Governor Duties


 

A summary of District Governor Duties include strengthening existing Rotary Clubs, organizing new clubs and promoting membership growth, issuing a monthly letter to each president and secretary in the district (newsletter), supporting The Rotary Foundation in service as a district and RI spokesperson, when appropriate, hold a District Conference and district meetings and insure that district nominations and elections are conducted according to the RI Constitution and Bylaws.  The Governor is responsible for visiting all clubs in the District.

 

Before taking office on July 1, 2017 the candidate must be willing to participate in the District's activities, plan for their year of service, select a site for the District Conference, set district goals, and conduct district training meetings, including, PETS (President Elect Training) and District Assembly.  As District Governor Nominee and District Governor Elect must attending training at the Zone level.  This training is conducted annually to coincide with the annual Zone Institute.  The District Governor Elect is required to attend International Assembly held in January (likely San Diego, CA).

 

Summary of the District Governor Nominee (DGN) Nomination Process and "No Campaigning Guidelines"


 

District 6740 follows RI's "Nomination Committee" format for selecting the District Governor.  The clubs suggest candidates to the Nominating Committee by a completed Governor Nominee Form.  All DGN forms are due to District Governor John Salyers by January 15, 2015 (this is a hard deadline) by email, [email protected] or mail 1501 Twinridge Way Independence, KY 41051.  Again, you are requested to call and make sure that I received the information 859-446-1947.  The persons suggested by their club will be interviewed by the District Nominating Committee on February 21, 2015 at the Four Points Sheraton in Lexington, Kentucky.

 

The Nominating Committee will select a District Governor Nominee Designate.  The selection will be announced by email to all clubs in the district within 72 hours. 

 

 

Any club in the District which has been in existence for at least one year may also propose a challenging candidate for governor-nominee provided this club has previously suggested such candidate to the nominating committee.  The club must file a resolution with the governor by the date determined by the governor.  Such date shall not be more than 14 days after the publication of the announcement of the selection for governor-nominee by the governor.  If there are no challenge candidates, the Nominating Committee's nominee-designate (DGN-d) will be declared by the District Governor, District Governor Nominee for Rotary year 2017-2018. The governor shall certify the name of the governor-nominee to the general secretary within 10 days after such nominee has been declared the nominee.  The District Governor Nominee is then formally elected at the International Convention in 2016 and assumes the office of District Governor Elect July 1, 2016, taking office as District Governor on July 1, 2017.

 

Please be aware that Rotary International and District 6740 have guidelines against actively lobbying, canvassing or campaigning for any Rotary office.  Before taking any action on behalf of any candidate other than beyond suggesting a candidate or completing the Governor-Nominee Form, please consult Rotary guidelines.

 

If you need additional information or clarification please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected] or 859-446-1947 or 859-371-0313.


 


 

Click the links below to download a .pdf version of this 

"call for district governor nominee", or the "District Governor Nominee Forms"

 


 

 

District Governor Nominee Forms 

 

 

John Salyers

District Governor

D6740, 2014-2015



 November
FoundationMonthwas
Rotary Foundation Month

     
     November is Rotary Foundation month. Thus, it is not a coincidence that you are being contacted about our Rotary Foundation.

OUR ROTARY FOUNDATION

Our Rotary Foundation's motto "Doing Good Around the World" accurately describes what Rotarians do through our Foundation. We do that through hundreds of projects around the world.

Our Foundation is there, for example, in projects carried out by Rotarians by:

re-building a sewage treatment plant in Honduras, sponsoring a program to prevent domestic violence in the Ukraine, providing nutrition for an AIDS Orphans' school in Uganda and supplying dental backpacks to 5000 children in Kenya.

D6740 District Grant

Here at home, our Foundation Annual Fund also made possible projects in 2013-14 for nine (9) clubs here in District 6740 through a District Grant funded by the Rotary Foundation (from funds returned to our district from those we donated in 2010-11). Children received: dictionaries, books to read through the Dolly Parton Imagination library, dental exams and treatment and a new basketball court.

Adults also received winter coats and box fans and a park was renovated.

Contributions to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund and Polio Plus

     The Rotary Foundation is almost totally supported by Rotarians and their friends. During Rotary year 2013-14, District 6740 Rotarians and Rotary Clubs gave $88,002 and registered the greatest givings to the Annual Fund of the last 4 years, averaging almost $54 per member in our district. Of 39 clubs in our district, 29 contributed to the Annual Fund. The increased support will mean more funds will be available for district grants in 2016-17.

     Rotary's Polio Plus effort is bringing the world closer and closer to the eradication of polio. Currently contributions to Polio Plus by Rotarians are being matched by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - $2 for each $1 donated.

     Through your contribution to the Rotary Foundation you can be a part of what our Rotary Foundation is doing here in Kentucky and around the world.

Contributions can be made to the Rotary Foundation in two ways:

    
      


     1) Rotary Direct - Rotary's recurring giving program allows you to donate via credit or debit card monthly, quarterly or annually. An enrollment form is attached or you can enroll online at www.rotary.org/give

     2) Individual donations by check or credit card can be accompanied by a completing the following forms:


     If you have any questions about contributions, please contact me. I would be happy to answer them.

     Please consider making a donation to our Rotary Foundation.

Best Rotary regards,

Jack McAllister







The Rotary Foundation DistrictGrantDistrict Grant for 2013-14 for District 6740


     Each year, under the new grant model for the Rotary Foundation, a district may allocate up to 50% of the District Designated Funds (DDF) to a District Grant. The DDF is 50% of the funds donated from the district to the Annual Fund 3 years before which are returned to the district from the Rotary Foundation. The District Grant is made up of projects submitted by qualified clubs.

     For the 2013-14 Rotary year, 8 clubs in District 6740 submitted project applications for projects to which $14,000 was allocated. Each club also provided funds equivalent to least 50% of the funds requested in their project application. Clubs participating in the D6740 District Grant for 2013-14 were:

     1. The Rotary Club of Richmond and the Bluegrass Richmond Rotary Club partnered to provide access to dental services for children in a program known as "Miles of Smiles".

     2. The Whitesburg Rotary Club expanded their Dolly Parton Imagination Library program by adding children in three additional zip codes in Letcher County. In this program children receive one book per month from birth to 5 years of age.

     3. The Cynthiana Rotary club provided new equipment for the basketball court at the Flat Run Park.

     4. The Covington Rotary Club renovated and made improvements at the "Rotary Grove" in Devou Municipal Park.

     5. The Kenton County Rotary Club provided winter clothing to homeless and at risk residents through the "Scarf It Up" program.

     6. The Hazard Rotary Club initiated the Dolly Parton Imagination Library in Perry County.

     7. The Stanford Rotary Club provided dictionaries to third graders in Lincoln County, box fans to the elderly and new and additional signage at the Veterans Park.

Thank you to these clubs for undertaking projects which have improved their communities.

Jack McAllister, 
D6740 Rotary Foundation Chair







 


 

The annual District 6740 Conference will be held April 24th through April 26th, 2015 at the Northern Kentucky-Cincinnati Airport Hilton. 
 



Kentucky Veteran's Hall of Fame 

HallFame 

 

The Kentucky Veterans hall of Fame is seeking nominations for induction into the Hall of Fame in September 2015.  They are asking Rotary members around the State of Kentucky to submit nomination of someone they feel should be in the KVHOF.  The deadline for nominations is May 15, 2015.  Click the link below for more information and nomination packet.

 

 


Clubs
AugustaAugusta Rotary Club

The Augusta Rotary Club recently put the finishing touch on its Caboose Renovation Project by mounting the C&O logo courtesy of the Augusta Art Guild's Marilyn Lustik.

Clopay contributed generously to the renovation project and Tom Burke, Rotary member and Clopay engineer, installed LEDs and a new controller for the flashing railroad crossing light. The new wood siding was put in place by Doc Day and painted by Jeff Teegarden. Miller Lumber Company and PPG provided the primer and paint.

Rotary Club President Tay Kelsch observed: "The new woodwork and paint look very good and the authentic "C&O for Progress" logo is a great addition. We really appreciate everyone pitching in to complete this project."
Shown are from left to right, Tom Burke, Marilyn Lustik, Doc Day and Tay Kelsch

The C&O Red Caboose was placed in its current location in 1977 and is provided by the Rotary Club to the City of Augusta to use as a Welcome Center. It is a very recognizable landmark and one of the first things seen by visitors entering Augusta via the ferry boat. In addition to providing tourist information, the caboose also contains historic railroad items on display. The shaded garden area in front of the Caboose is maintained as a nice spot for residents and visitors to sit and enjoy the view of the river.

The Augusta Rotary Club, which is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year, maintains the C&O Caboose and park as an ongoing community project.
 

Berea
Berea Rotary Club

 
Berea Rotary Club held it's 5K Jingle Bell Run on 12/6, over 100 runners ran in the race right before the City of Berea's Christmas Parade. All proceeds go to our HS Scholarship fund.


Photo taken by Jane Mecham, Berea Club Rotarian

Boone
Boone County Interact Club
 
     On December 4, 5 and 6, 2014, five of the Interactors of Boone County participated at Kentucky Youth Assembly in Louisville and the Kentucky State Capital chambers in Frankfort.

     "The Kentucky Youth Assembly (KYA) is a three-day experiential learning conference in which students participate directly in a simulation of the Commonwealth's democratic process. Acting as Senators and Representatives, students write, debate, and vote on legislation that affects them. As candidates, lobbyists, or members of the media, students experience the rich spectrum of activity that constitutes our political process. As advocates and justices, students argue and judge a legal case in the actual Supreme Court chambers of Kentucky. Officers elected by students serve as Governor, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Media Corps Editor in Chief, and other conference leadership positions.

     KYA offers students the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of issues, develop critical thinking skills, and articulate their beliefs while engaging constructively with those who hold like and opposing views."

     Middle School Interactors Emily Hardesty and Aneliese Rodriguez presented a Premiere Bill: "An act to distribute state general funds equally across Kentucky for mental health treatment, addiction treatment and community care support." Although it was defeated, they did an excellent job.

     Middle School Interactors Owen Hardesty, Kaelley Shouse and Hanna Sweeney presented a Legislative Bill: "An act to provide junior high high school students with a break or recess during the school day to enhance academic performance." Their bill passed the House and Senate. On Saturday morning it was signed by the KYA governor.

     Both teams researched their bills, prepared and practiced speeches to defend their bills, and assembled educational boards in order to visually support it. The total number of students attending this conference (the third of four annual conferences) was 1300. They came from all areas of the state. Some were "first-timers" like us but others were very accomplished speakers and definitely not. In general assembly, several of the "accomplished speakers" talked about their first time at KYA---of feeling anxious and overwhelmed, of not knowing what to expect and of being inspired by others around them to let their light shine.

     IT WAS AN AMAZING AND AWESOME EXPERIENCE!! Congratulations to each one of our Interactors for stepping out of your comfort zone and letting your voice be heard!!!

Thanks,
Barbara Rahn
Rotarian Advisor
The Interact Club of Boone County

CambellCampbell County Rotary Club

     Members of the Campbell County Rotary were invited to attend the Trademarks and Branding seminar offered by the Intellectual Property Awareness Center of NKU.  Members were enlightened by topics such as Introduction to Federal Trademarks Search Using the USPTO TESS Directory, Fundamentals of Trademark and Trade Dress Law, and Business Banding and Business Law.  This was the third such program the Rotarians from the Campbell County Club have had an opportunity to attend.

 


LouisaLouisa Rotary Club

     
Louisa Rotary Club Presents 160 Turkeys to Lawrence County Schools Family Resource Centers.

 
Louisa Rotary Club President Greg Kiser presents a donation to Angie McGuire with KY Home Place.
Louisa Rotary Club presents a donation to Interact Club for Family Resource Centers Backpack program. This program sends food home to students in need.


WhitesburgWhitesburg Rotary Club


 

RC Whitesburg Celebrates 80 years

     Chartered on November 30, 1934, the Rotary Club of Whitesburg celebrated its' 80th anniversary with a special reception at the Community Trust Bank in Whitesburg. Club President the Rev. Jerry Utt welcomed friends and guests and Mr. Jack Burkich, 62-year member, presented history and facts about the club's long record of service and activities. Local leaders Mayor James Craft (Whitesburg), Mayor GC Kincer (Jenkins), and Ms. DJ Frazier, representing Letcher County Judge/Executive Jim Ward read proclamations honoring the club. Rotary District leaders DGE Cindy Legg and PDG Jack McAlister brought greetings and well-wishes. Everyone had a great evening and the club looks forward to many more years of service to Whitesburg and Letcher County.