Posted by DG Mary Kay Hasz (Highlands Ranch) marykaydg15-16@marykayhasz.com
As you read this newsletter Rotary will have had its 111th birthday on February 23rd. Also, our Rotary International Foundation is preparing for its centennial year in 2016-2017. We all should be proud of our accomplishments as the finest non-profit service organization in the world!!
February was Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution month. Our peace and conflict fellows are now, through service projects, fellowships and other Rotary-sponsored campaigns, training adults and young leaders to prevent and mediate conflict, and aid refugees who have fled dangerous areas. The February issue of the "Rotarian" contained several articles about our peace fellows who are on the front lines in Syria and elsewhere.
Here in District 5450 let us celebrate our Interact Conference where over 100 area lnteractors came together to share ideas and network on a recent Saturday. (This event was the first such conference in our District in over four years).
Additionally, our District will have had its first Literacy Conference in several years on February 27th. I hope each Club had a representative attend.
March is designated by Rl as Water and Sanitation Month and so it would follow that the District Water and Sanitation Committee, together with District 5440, is having the annual Water and Sanitation Symposium on March 19th at Metro State University. (Registration is available at www.rotary5450.org.)
Let us all come together to celebrate this year's accomplishments at your District Conference April 22-24 in Breckenridge at the Beaver Run Resort. Make sure your club has a display in the Club Exhibit Hall. Join together in fellowship, be motivated, inspired and enlightened. (There is a reduced cost for first time attendees who register for the full conference). Register now at www.rotary5450.org. Free parking and room reservations start at $99.
Saturday, March 19, 2016 - 8am to 5pm | REGISTER NOW!
Rotarians are invited to the 2016 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Symposium on Saturday, March 19, 2016. The symposium will feature the new WASH strategy developed from D5450/5440 experience in the field by a Vocational Training Team that spent one month in Kenya in 2013.
The all-day event, held at the Metropolitan State University of Denver near downtown Denver, will include presentations by experienced Rotarians and international WASH experts.
District 5450 is a recognized leader in the WASH field, one of Rotary’s key areas of focus. In the past 25 years, Rotarians have helped achieve significant gains in access to clean water and the improvement of sanitary conditions around the world. We expect to continue that fine effort for the next 25 years.. Progress is definitely being made in the developing world, and Rotarians are part of that success. Our objective is clean water for everyone.
Attend the symposium to learn more about our current WASH strategy and how to turn it into WASH projects. You’ll get:
Posted by Debi Bush (Denver Cherry Creek) membership@rotary5450.org
Before we know it, April 2nd will be a few days away – which means it’s time to register for the Membership Workshop & Seminarfrom 1:00 – 4:00 pm. We strongly encourage current and incoming Club Membership Chairs (CMC) to register, and it would be worthwhile for the President Elect Nominees (PEN) to attend as well.
Our topic is R-E-R: Recruitment – Engagement-Retention. Regardless of the size of a club and its tenure in Rotary, we continue to hear about and witness the same topics within membership: recruitment, keeping members involved (engaged) and preventing members from leaving a club and Rotary. Everything discussed and shared will focus on membership issues, successes and challenges.
Posted by Nan Jarvis (Mountain Foothills) johnnan@comcast.net
Together, we can keep Colorado kids healthy.
The 2016 Colorado Health Report Card, released last week by the Colorado Health Foundation, reveals that many Colorado kids aren’t getting the healthy start they deserve. Overall, the “Healthy Beginnings” life stage, which includes prenatal care, cigarette smoking, low birth weight, infant mortality, and childhood immunizations, earned a C+ grade. Colorado’s average ranking among states for these indicators was slightly better than most at No. 21 out of 50 states. Policymakers, health care professionals and families can all do better to ensure that all children receive a shot at a healthy, happy life.
Posted by DG Mary Kay Hasz (Highlands Ranch) marykaydg15-16@marykayhasz.com
Congratulations Sandy Mortensen, Summit County Rotary!
It is my pleasure and honor, as District Governor, to announce the selection of our District Governor 2018-2019. Our District Nominating Committee chose Rotarian Sandra Mortensen, a 25-year member of the Rotary Club of Summit County. Sandy has served in many capacities in her Club and with the District Visioning Team. Her classification in Rotary is Physical Therapy. Please all join me in congratulating Sandy and welcoming her "on-board."
Posted by Sharon Maybee (Commerce City) semaybee@aol.com
“You are not alone – I will listen – Let’s talk”
In January 2015, the Commerce City Rotary Club embarked on a mental health awareness initiative based on the premise that Rotary should take the lead and address mental wellness in our communities.
A crucial component and cornerstone of the initiative continues to be a strong community education and awareness program collaborating with the County’s Behavioral Health organization, Community Reach Center. Education and increased awareness does indeed work to decrease stigmatizing attitudes regarding mental illness. Evidence based Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training continues to be the best way to educate community members and increase their awareness regarding mental illness and mental wellness.
Posted by Kam Breitenbach (Parker) kamieb1234@gmail.com
Parker Rotary Community Corps Needs Your Help!
Parker RCC Members are making fleece blankets for a local hospital and people in need in the community for the 2016 Christmas Holiday. They need help cutting the fleece material - and are hoping lots of the Rotary Clubs in the District will help out!
Click HERE to read instructions on how to cut the material, size, etc. Once completed, you will mail your cut fleece to Kam Breitenbach - the RCC Members will then finish the blankets!
Get on board and make this a District-wide project!
Posted by Paulette (P.J.) Dyon (Golden) pdyon54@aol.com
The Interact District 5450 Conference 2016
What do you get when you cross a dedicated and creative group of Interactors with a day of activities and opportunities to Ignite? Answer: The 2016 Interact Conference planned, created and hosted by Chaparral High School Interact Club of Parker, CO on Feb. 20, 2016.
Over 100 members of nineteen of the 34 District 5450 Interact Clubs came together for 5 hours of fun, networking, training, a motivational speaker and a service project. What makes this event extra special is that it was “By Interactors, For Interactors”: conceived, planned and executed by the Interactors of Chaparral High School Interact Club, with assistance from their Rotarian and School Liaisons, Ken Claiborne and Carolyn Ford. To say that this was a roaring success is an understatement. WELL DONE CHAPARRAL HIGH SCHOOL INTERACT CLUB!!!
Top 10 Ways to Greet a Guest or New Member at Rotary
One of this year’s goals for our District Membership Team is to increase the amount of communication, outreach and engagement with our clubs. Regularly I receive an email with a comment or a question from the Rotary Club of Parker’s Membership Chair, Kam Breitenbach. She is a dynamo when it comes to membership and best practices. So, I asked her to share with all of us some of their “secrets” to their success. This is the first of two submissions from the Parker Rotary Club for which I am appreciative.
Below is a handy rule of thumb that Kam shared with me to share with you.
Posted by Dan Hershberger (Arvada) dmhershberger@comcast.net
20 Years of Flower Power With D5450 Clubs
The Colorado Garden & Home Show closed on Sunday, February 21 and many of the gardens at the show had many beautiful flowers in them. These flowers are pulled from the gardens, boxed up and loaded on 2 semi-trailers to be distributed to nursing homes, hospices and hospitals throughout the Denver Metro Area and as far south as Castle Rock and north to Arvada, Broomfield and Erie by District 5450 Rotary Clubs in a project called Flower Power.
The project began in 1996 when an Arvada Rotarian saw flowers being thrown away at the end of the Garden & Home Show. He asked the management of the show if the club could have them. The Arvada Rotary Club delivered 300 plants to Springwood, a local assisted living home, and Flower Power was born. Over the years other Rotary clubs joined Arvada in this project.
Posted by Jim McGibney (Denver) jmcgibney@earthlink.net
In 2016, Rotary International will be holding the International Convention in Seoul, Republic of Korea (ROK). The current projection is the meeting might exceed the current record attendance, which was in Osaka, Japan in 2004 and was 43,381. We are hoping to top 45,000 this coming year.
Rotarian Jim McGibney, Club 31, was appointed in 2011 to the position of Honorary Consul to the Republic of Korea in Colorado, and has worked to promote the relationship between Colorado and the ROK. The focus has been on Visa's, Driver license exchange, visiting Executives and much more.
For those that are interested in Seoul and Korea, Jim has developed a 30 minute program that he presented to the Rotary Club of Fort Collins and to the Denver Rotary Club. He is scheduled to give that program in Steamboat Springs in November.
In addition, members and guests of District 5450 are invited to the Rotary eClub One annual meeting in Seoul. All the details can be found at https://rotaryeclubone.org/about/joinusinseoul/.
The attached reportshows year-to-date giving to The Rotary Foundation and End Polio by club, and per capita. The District 5450 goal is for Every Rotarian to give something Every Year (EREY).
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