Fellow Rotarians: Here we are in September; one sixth of this Rotary year is history. These past months, I have visited almost all of our under 30 member clubs. It has been a pleasure meeting so many wonderful Rotarians whose clubs do so much in their communities. As a member of a large club one might think WE are Rotary, with all we do in so many areas of service. The breadth and depth of service to community, that our small clubs deliver, is astonishing. I hold my glass up high and TOAST every club with under 30 members- without your energy and devotion to service; we would be so much less as a district.
Rotary Zone Institute is just around the corner. For any Rotarian who has never been to an International Convention, this is your opportunity to experience what that event is like. Just add thousands of smiling and friendly Rotarians, some in spectacular native costumes and you are there. Our own RID Greg Podd and Pam have created a wonderful experience right here in our back yard. I want all of you to show our fabulous Colorado hospitality to all our visitors. We will pack the hall for the All Club Luncheon and Sing and Happy Clap a Zone 21b-27 welcome to RI President Gary Huang and his wife Corinna.
But – September is New Generations Month. We recognize the importance of the service our Rotarians and Clubs provide for our youth. My heart lies with youth exchange, as most of you know, so I begin there.
Clubs and host parents recently said a sad farewell to a “new family member” or “friend for life” or received a son/daughter back, now quite different from when they let them go 11 months ago, now a world citizen. Other parents are sending their child abroad while clubs and host parents are welcoming a stranger into their homes- the process repeats itself and the world is better for all you do for these youth.
Rocky Mountain RYLA just completed three one week camps with more than 490 youth in attendance. 48 Counselors, 48 Rotarian Counselors, 6 head Counselors and 3 staff Counselors devoted 5 days of little sleep and intense support to these amazing young people. I was honored to be able to speak to this dynamic group of future leaders and wish to brag that Mary Jean and I BOTH achieved the full sit-down in the circle of trust. Eat your heart out Jim Halderman, you are not alone anymore! Any Rotarian, who wants to feel energized, should spend a day in one of these sessions. These young people are the future of Rotary, our Country and the World!
Interact is becoming active again with the return to school. District Interact clubs are growing in number as RYLA/YRYLA attendees and Exchange Students look for continued connection to Rotary. The Zone Institute will feature Youth attending the Saturday morning sessions and holding a Fall Leadership conference at the Lakehouse facility on the Westin Hotel campus. Rotarians and Clubs are asked to sponsor an Interacter for the cost of attending the Saturday events. Please contact Heather McCallin to become a Sponsor! Any Rotarian interested in Interact should plan to observe their Leadership forum Saturday afternoon. I am hopeful one topic of discussion that afternoon will be the concept of an Interact Youth Service Day all across our district with Rotarians in support.
There is so much to celebrate in Rotary and this month we celebrate all the youth that we serve. May we never forget they are our future, not just of the world BUT of Rotary. We must stay connected!
Thank you every Rotarian in District 5450. Together we are the greatest!
Please plan to attend the All Club Luncheon on Friday, September 12, at 11:30 am at the Westin Hotel in Westminster. DG Peter hopes all clubs will go "dark" that week and have a table (or two) at the luncheon. RI President Gary C.K. Huang will be the guest speaker.
Register on the District Web site for a table or individuals - blank name tags will be sent to whomever completes the registration, along with special meal tickets if needed. Cost per person is $35, Cost per Table of 10 is $350. Registration closes September 8, 2014. No Walk-ins!
Lace Up Your Sneakers & Join the 1st Annual 5K Run/Walk to End Polio Now!
Our Foundation Alumni Group has organized the first annual 5K Run/Walk to End Polio Now. This group comprised of people who have received scholarships or funds from the Foundation, will be hosting this great event September 13, 2014. They have extended the invitation to all Rotarians and community members.
It is almost time for the Zone Institute, as I'm sure you are aware. We have invited youth across districts 5450 and 5440 to attend the Saturday morning of zone (an incredible opportunity for them) and the Interact Fall Leadership Conference that afternoon.
The best part about this invitation, is that each student will only have to pay $10 to come! I am working on fundraising the additional $40 per student from Rotarians and other donors who are passionate about youth. At this point I have raised approximately $1,250, which will sponsor 31 students!
However, we are hoping to get closer to 50 or 60 students in attendance that day, so I am looking for a few additional sponsors. Please let me know if you, or someone you know, might have interest in supporting youth attendees at zone. Your gift will highly inspire today's most exceptional young people to engage in Rotary! Thank you in advance for your help!
Any contributions can be made out to:Rotary Zone 21b and 27 and mailed to: Heather McCallin, 2223 Ivanhoe Street, Denver CO 80207
Grants/Club Qualification Seminar Registration on Sept. 20 is open on the District Web site home page www.rotary5450.org. Clubs must have at least one person (two are preferred) attend one of the two Club Qualification seminars to participate in a District or International Grant in the 2015-2016 Rotary year. (The second seminar will be Dec. 6th.) The Sept. 20 seminar will be at Red Rocks Community College in Lakewood in the lower level of the West Building.
Rotary District 5450 will be awarding 3 very significant scholarships in the 2014-2015 year.
The first is the Temple Hoyle Buell Endowed Ambassadorial Scholarship. There is one $30,000 Scholarship Award for graduate level study outside the USA in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning or related subjects.
There are two $30,000 Rotary District 5450 Ambassadorial Scholarship Awards for Graduate Study outside the USA. Eligible applicants will intend to study and have future career plans related to at least one of the following focus areas:
Posted by Kim Cooper, President of Broomfield Rotary
Joe Mazzola - a great man, and an outstanding Rotarian
Broomfield Rotary recently lost a truly outstanding Rotarian. Joe Mazzola died suddenly on June 17th, 2014. Joe has been a key leader in the Broomfield Club since the early 1960's and is well known for his numerous charitable works. Joe was club president in 1973/1974 and was awarded the District's Active Senior Rotarian of the year in 2008, and received a Heart of Broomfield Award in 2011 for his philanthropic work within the community.
Posted by Debi Bush, D5450 Membership Chair and Denver Cherry Creek Rotary membership@rotary5450.org
Building A Great Team
For the past couple months I have wanted to expand my DMT(District Membership Team) in order to have fresh ideas, input and energy. Naturally everyone on my Team must be passionate about membership and value retention (engagement) as much as attraction (acquisition). In less than 24 hours I welcomed two new members to my Team: Mike Daniels of Broomfield Crossing and Dick Sargent of Lakewood Foothills. When deciding where to invest their time and talent, membership rose to the top. For this I am thankful and my entire team.
Within the last few weeks, I volunteered once again with “Crayons to Calculators “ – a Boulder Rotary Club community based three-year $120,000 grant project funded in 2005 through Impact on Education. A requirement of that Boulder Rotary grant, under the leadership of its then Executive Director Francie Anhut, was the collaboration with other organizations thus ensuring its sustainability.
Why the Abuse & Harassment Prevention Policy Is Important By Chad Stamm, Boulder, rotary@chadstamm.com
School is back and session, our Rotary Youth Exchange students have arrived, and many other youth-focused programs are in action across our district. This means it's as important as ever to make sure you're in compliance with our District 5450 Abuse & Harassment Prevention Policy.
Over the last several months, we made a strategic decision to toughen these requirements. We are also keeping better records so all Rotarians can see an accurate snapshot of who's in compliance and who isn't. These measures will better protect our district in the unlikely event something happens, but more important, they help protect the students and protected persons to whom we dedicate our time.
Please review the following flowchart to see if you're in compliance. If you're not, please follow the steps listed. We want to make sure our district is in 100% compliance.
Posted by Fred Slick, Membership Chair, Castle Rock, fmslick@comcast.net
Membership - Castle Rock Rotary
There is no secret to the success of the Rotary Club of Castle Rock. Our formula is very simple. We have lots of fun at the meetings. As Paul Harris wrote in his book about the early days of Rotary:
“Our meetings were different from the meetings of other clubs in those days. They were far more intimate, more friendly. All hampering and meaningless restraint was thrown off; dignified reserve was checked at the door; the members were boys again.”
Rocky Mountain Rotary Youth Exchange (RMRYE) got off to a great start for our 2014-15 year with a Welcome Barbeque for our new students, who will spend a year hosted by clubs and families in District 5450. These students are known as “Inbounders”. We have nineteen clubs in the district who are hosting 23 students. RMRYE also sent twenty students to live in the countries that sent the Inbounders for the 2014-15 year. These students, known as “Outbounders”, were selected in December 2013 in a two day interview process.
In order to send students Outbound, RMRYE needs Rotary clubs and families to host the Inbound students. If you would like your club have this amazing experience or if you know of families who are interested in hosting, please contact Kimberly Armitage at karmitage@denverymca.org.RMRYE is now accepting applications for Colorado students who want to spend a year Outbound in another country. The applications are due November 1st. Please have interested students visit the RMRYE website http://www.rmrye.org/programs/long-term-youth-exchange/ or contact Jerry Rohlfs at jrohlfs@comcast.net.
“Failing to plan, is planning to fail”. This is the ultimate truth and outcome of any organization or person if they don’t know where they are going. If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you ever know if you actually got there?
Every year the club President Elect fills out the form “Planning Guide for an Effective Rotary Club” (506EN). This is a tool to help clubs assess their current state and goals for the current year. It is based on the Club Leadership Plan (245EN). This document asks you to decide where your club will be in three to five years. And this is exactly where Club Visioning can be of great help.
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Our Foundation Alumni Group has organized the first annual 5K Run/Walk to End Polio Now. This group comprised of people who have received scholarships or funds from the Foundation, will be hosting this great event September 13, 2014. They have extended the invitation to all Rotarians and community members.
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