District Governor’s Newsletter

 

Introduction:

What does Vocational Service Month mean to you?  To me it means career days, classification talks and vocational service awards.  It is the recognition that all jobs and careers have value.  It is one of the Avenues of Service, a major root of the Rotary tree.  When we join a Rotary Club we join representing our profession, our classification.  http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_html/voc_service_files/frame.htm  . 

But most importantly to me, Vocational Service Month means the Four-Way Test.  For Rotary, The Four-Way Test is the cornerstone of all action. It has been for years, and it will be in the future.

Of the things we think, say or do

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

 

Time for a Review:

Well, as I write this newsletter, I have visited 63 of 65 clubs, I have circulated my goals for the district and listened to your goals and plans for the year. The Conference is over, we have held our first District Council, WCS, Interact, Foundation, and Strategic Planning Meetings.  The GSE Team from France has visited our district and we have selected a strong team to represent our district next Spring.  Youth Exchange training has been conducted and the students have arrived.  The District’s Interact and Rotaract Clubs have started their years and attend the District Conference.   After four months it is time to review where we are compared to where we want to be.  The year is not over, it has only just begun.  As your Governor, it is now time to look at the district goals and to help you accomplish your goals so that at the end of June we can say “Yes, we had a successful year!”.

We will be chartering a new club in Orleans on November 22nd.  http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=246.  I hope you are planning to attend.  Rotary International has provided me with the result of the Semi-Annual Reports which 50 of 65 clubs returned to RI (required in July each year with your RI dues).  These reports indicate a district membership of 2158 as of July 1.  District records indicate 2144 (with all but one club reported).  I wonder what the real number is?  Septembers attendance/membership reports indicate that a district membership of 2164, GROWTH GOOD and Orleans still is not counted.  But, Eleven (11) clubs still have missing reports.  Each club at my visit seemed to understand why membership growth is important, lets also commit to filing timely attendance and membership reports.

Next month is The Rotary Foundation Month and the end of the calendar year is approaching.  Lets ask members to consider making the Foundation one of this years charities and send in a contribution before the end of the year.  Clive Talbot and I are available if you want a Foundation Program.  Also do not forget Foundation Alumni (GSE Team members and Scholars)and WCS Committee members, these are the recipents of Foundation contributions.

Our Interact and Rotaract Clubs have started there years, are your mentoring the club you sponsored.  Lets make sure that the Interact and Rotaract clubs have good sponsors and advisors and are invited to our club meetings and events.  Lets volunteer to help with their events. And lets grow the Youth Exchange Program for next year and double the number of students inbound and out, short and long terms.  If you missed the conference you missed a great Youth Exchange experience.  And we were glad to have the Rotaractors and Interactors join us for lunch Saturday and participate in some of the Plenary meetings.  MIXING OF THE GENERATIONS.

I hope by know your fundraisers and community and international projects are taking shape.  Club committees busy?  Are you reviewing how well your club is operating, look at the Club Leadership Plan again.  Will it help?  I plan on looking at the Club Leadership Plan and the District’s organization.  Review is healthy.  A wise Governor said in his Official Visit presentation, “You don’t have to be sick to get better!”. 

Oh, yes leadership succession.  A reminder to all New York Clubs, nominations for Distict Governor 2011-2012, are due by the end of January 1.  You should have received the following notice:

1. Be a member of good standing of a functioning Rotary Club in the District.
2. Have full qualifications for membership in the strict application of the clubs membership provisions, and the integrity of the Rotarian’s classification must be without question.
3. Have served as a president of a club for a full term or be a charter president of a club having served the full term from the date of the charter to June 30, provided that this periond is for at least six months.
4. Demonstreate willingness, committment, and ability, physically and otherwise, to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the office of governor as provided in RI Bylaws.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of the qualification, duties and responsibilites of governor as prescribed in the RI Bylaws, and submit to RI, through its general secretary, a sighed statement acknowledging a clear understanding of them. This statement shall be also confirm that the Rotarian is qualified for the office of governor and willing and able to assume the duties of the office and to perform them faithfully.”

Note also that a Governor must have been a member of Rotary for 7 years at the time of becoming Governor.

Also remember, This is the time to plan your succession.  RI recommends that annual club elections be held not later than December 31, following the procedures of your club by-laws.   December 31st is also the deadline to report next years President and Secretary to RI for the annual Directory and to the District Treasurer and Governor-elect. Don’t wait until the last minute.  Update your club’s Profile on the website to include your President-Elect and Secretary ASAP.

Club Presidents review the RI recommended checklist and see how you are doing  http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/pres_checklist.pdf .

 

District Awards

At the District Conference numerous awards were presented for the year 2007-2008.  These are the measure of a successful year.  The awards given were:

 

Presidential Citations for 2007-08:

ROTARY CLUBS:  Alexandria Bay, AuSable Valley, Brockville, Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills, Cataraqui-Kingston, Chesterville, Clayton, Cornwall, Cornwall Sunrise, Gouverneur, Laval, Montréal-Lakeshore, Mont-Tremblant, Napanee, North Renfrew, Ottawa, Ottawa Stittsville, Perth, Petawawa, Plattsburgh Sunrise, Potsdam, Prescott, Shawville, Theresa, Watertown, Watertown Sunrise, and Westmount.

ROTARACT CLUBS: Carleton-Ottawa University and Queens University

INTERACT CLUBS: General Vanier School, Rothwell-Osnabruck and Makenzie High School

Congratulations to all, well done! Great Year Edmond!

 

2009-2010 Ambassadorial Scholars:

Our three Scholars, one Ambassadorial and two Stoiber Scholars have received their assignment and each will be going to thier first choices. 

The 2010-2011 Scholarship applications should be on the RI Website by December and information will be sent out and on our disrict  website.  Applications must be received by the District Chair Joan Heyland by March 31st and the interviews will be May 9th.   

News can be good:

Congratulations and thank you to the Bell High School Interact Club presenting $3,000 to the Nepean-Kanata Rotary Club to rebuild a school in Kenya.  The recognition of this event featured the Bell High School Interact Club, Nepean-Kanata Rotary Club and Youth Exchange Student Natalia Alburquerque,  all working together for a great cause. Thank you to the Nepeanthisweek.com.  http://www.nepeanthisweek.com/article/7021       

What Rotary Can Offer:

During my visits we have often talked about what Rotary can offer new members and their employers.  Immdiate Past RI President Wilf Wilkinson on October 6th offered his thoughts on this subject in Montréal.  His speach titled ”A Voice for Business and a Path for Peaced”  is summarized by PDG Jack Troughton for your benefit.

Past Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson gave an inspiring speech in our District. He struck very strong themes. 

He drew attention to the recent emphasis on the battle between Wall Street and main Street.  Wilf reminded the audience that “Rotary has a membership that represents both Wall Street and Main Street.”n He pointed out that Rotarians are “influenced by the ‘Four Way test’ and the core values of Rotary which are: Fellowship - Service - Diversity - Integrity - Leadership.”  He concluded that the battle between Wall Street and main Street would not be possible if all of business embraced high ethical standards.

Wilf went on to offer the idea that Service Clubs “can build Paths of Peace in a World I believe is yearning for Peace.”

 “Let’s face it”, Wilf stressed, “the biggest difficulty that threatens peace all around the world, is the economic disparity that exists between rich and poor.  Service Clubs can are effectively bridging the gap.” 

He concluded his remarks by pointing out that “Service Clubs bring people of developed and under developed countries together, both locally and internationally.  They work to serve others and by doing so create Paths of Peace.”

Conference Memories:

           

Some District Dates to Remember in November - Foundation Month

Rotary Day at the UN - November 8th  http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=234

District Council and Strategic Planning Meetings -November 15th - http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=180

Ottawa Area Membership Seminar - November 19th - http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=217

Charter Night Orleans Rotary Club - November 22nd - http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=246

Council of Governors Meeting - November 22nd - http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=192

Youth Exchange Short Term Orientation - November 29th - http://www.rotary7040.com/event.php?id=41

 

                       

Introduction

September is New Generations Month, so think about ways your club can become more involved with the next generation of Rotary – our youth. Does your club sponsor an Interact club? If so, when was the last time you conducted a joint service project with the Interactors? Is your club involved in your district’s Rotary Youth Exchange program? Does it nominate outstanding youth from your community to participate in Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA)? Has it conducted any recent service projects benefiting local youth? Don’t forget Rotaractors!

Your club’s involvement in youth programs not only can help attract younger prospective members who have families, but also can lead to increased satisfaction and retention among current members, who gain a sense of fulfillment by working with young people. As an added benefit, involving your community’s youth in Rotary’s programs and service projects teaches them about Rotary’s extraordinary work and prepares them to become the Rotarians of tomorrow.

But more importantly our involvement with youth makes these young adults better citizens of their community and the world.

District Chairs:

Youth Exchange:  Chris Edgell  http://www.rotary7040.com/program-ye.php

Interact:  PDG Bette Miller  http://www.rotary7040.com/program-interact.php

Rotaract:  Pat Brown   http://www.rotary7040.com/program-rotaract.php

RYLA:  Daniel Godbout   http://www.rotary7040.com/program-ryla.php 

All these committees need your support.  We need representation from each area of the district.  If you are interested in helping contact the committee chair.

 

Support of Youth with Handicaps:

This Summer, I was impressed with the support our district clubs give to youth with handicaps and their families. Especially the support given to two summer camp programs. On August 27th, I attended the 60th Anniversary of the Easter Seals Camp Merrywood in Perth.  I was amazed at the support this camp receives from Ontario Rotary Clubs.  In Northern New York, the Rotary Clubs in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties support the NYSARC camp at Dodge Pond.  This year a basketball court was built for the camp. These camps not only provide a quality outdoor experience to the children with handicaps, but a rest for their families. 

 

From the Character Counts Newsletter:

Lets face it.  Personal trauma and tragedy – like illness or injury, death of a loved one, loss of a job, or an unexpected breakup of a relationship – are unavoidable. The question is: Will these private calamities erode our capacity to be happy or help us become stronger and better able to live a meaningful and fulfilling life?

Consider how differently carrots, eggs, and coffee beans are affected by the extreme adversity of being boiled.

Like the carrot, adversity can soften us. We can emerge more flexible, understanding, compassionate, and grateful or we can let our life spirit turn into a soft mush. Like the egg, the boiling water can make us harder, stronger, tougher, and wiser or we can become more cynical, pessimistic, callous, and inaccessible. And like the coffee bean, we can willingly transform our lives into something better or simply lose ourselves completely.

We can’t control what happens to us, but we have a lot to say about how we react and, therefore, what happens in us. The first step to turning adversity into advantage is to get out of the hot water as quickly as possible. Don’t dwell on catastrophe. Grieve, but move on. Don’t define your life by misfortune.

Second, force yourself to move forward. Draw on inner strengths, the people who love you, and your faith to help you transform your life into something better. Formulate a vision of a more purposeful life filled with people and experiences that will help you become more fulfilled.

 

Victoria and Iqaluit

September was highlighted by the events of two weeks.  First was my visit to Iqaluit, Nunavut and the second was the Zone 22 Institute in Victoria, BC.  I have spoke of both experiences since my travels and I have been changed by both experiences.  In many ways, both were learning experiences. 

In Victoria, I was struck by the beauty and the affluence of the community, but as the Honorable Steven Point,Lt. Governor, pointed out their are still opportunities for service in the native communities of British Columbia and one did not have to go too many blocks in Victoria to see the homeless on the streets.

And during my visit to Iqaluit, I was struck by difference of the scenery compared to my Adirondack upbringing, but the beauty of the trundra and the art made by the Inuit people.  There are many opportunities for service in that community also, especially help for the children.

I have invited the Iqaluit Rotary Club to become more active in our District and would like to invite District clubs here in the south to join the Iqaluit Club in projects in their community, helping the young children.  http://www.rotary7040.com/clubs.php?scope=nu&lang=en

I also took an expedited chef training course from Chef Ray Lovell, President of the Iqaluit Rotary Club.  I still can’t cook, but I can cut a mean arctic char.

Thank you to the Iqaluit Rotary Club and President Ray!