A rare opportunity for membership recruitment has been made available by our newest Community Partnership with the Buffalo Bills and Harrison’s Playmakers! Join us Saturday, May 4th, at the Buffalo Bills Field House to learn more about Harrison’s Playmakers and the opportunities for Rotary Clubs to get involved with this outstanding program. In addition, the Playmakers organization is offering Rotary Clubs the chance to use this event as a recruiting tool for potential new members!
Do you know someone you’d like to introduce to Rotary? Has your Club been thinking about hosting a membership recruitment event? Do you have a “list of names” of people you’re thinking about reaching out to?? Well NOW is the time! The Director of Playmakers is a Rotarian from Sacramento, California. He knows how challenging it can be to host a recruitment event and that is why he is offering this special opportunity to Rotary Clubs in our District! This is a private event for you and your Rotarian prospects. It will not be open to the general public!
The Playmakers will be hosting a one-day camp for a select group of kids from Western New York who come from challenging socio, economic and in some cases physical disadvantages. If your Rotary club currently supports kids like this, then this is an excellent opportunity for you to get more involved with new opportunities for them! Learn how the Playmakers teach the kids in their program about the Rotary 4-Way Test. Show potential new members the kinds of programs and opportunities that Rotary offers to help people in our own communities. Learn about ways your Rotary club can help serve these kids by partnering with Harrison’s Playmakers!
For D7090 Clubs looking to be more closely connected with this amazing partnership, there are sponsorship opportunities available! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of children in our own communities, along with sharing the good work that Rotary Clubs everywhere are doing, with potential new members!
For further information, please email me directly at rotarianforever@gmail.com or call my cell at 716-946-1118. We need to know as soon as possible the names of people you’d like to invite to this event, and if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor of this great program! Gather your club members together and send me a list of attendees.
For more information on the Playmakers, keep reading.
Angela Carter: We are pleased to announce that Angela Carter, a member of the Rotary Club of Fonthill, has accepted the position of Membership Director effective January 1, 2020. PDG Kevin Crosby will remain in the position from July to December 2019. Angela has served the district in many different capacities and will be a tremendous asset in her role on the Membership Team. As the Director, she will oversee the New Member Orientation, Retention, Recruitment, and Accessibility and Global Rewards committees. (Our announcement last month contained incorrect information!)
Susan Czyrny: July 1, 2018, we are pleased to welcome Susan Czyrny as our new Director of Training! Sue is a member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus (BNMC) and has been an integral part of the training team for the past few years. Susan has helped to develop the curriculum for PETS training and assisted with Club Leadership Training as well. She is currently involved with planning the District Conference taking place this Fall. If you are interested in getting involved with our training team, please reach out to Susan at smczyrny@gmail.com.
Sandy Chard: The next Rotary year will see a new face in the role of Chair for the Annual Fund. Rotarian Sandy Chard of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore has been a long time supporter of The Rotary Foundation and is excited to take the lead in inspiring our membership to support our Foundation. Sandy’s term will start July 1, 2018. If you are interested in learning more, or joining the team, reach out to Sandi at sandichard@gmail.com.
Two past club presidents, who happened to be married to each other, received special recognition as Paul Harris Fellows during the March 26 meeting of the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville. Rotarians Dr. Stephen Stratton, DDS and Patty Benton were honored by James Wakeman, Club Foundation Chair, during a presentation which was held at The Parkview in Westfield.
Pictured left to right, Wakeman, Stratton and Benton.
Wakeman stated, “Our Rotary club has other husbands and wives who are both Paul Harris Fellows, but none who received the honor at the same time. The timing associated with this shared commitment to Rotary makes this presentation that much more special.” Stratton was awarded his second Paul Harris (PH+1) pin, having earned his first in 1989. As the presentation was given, Wakeman said, “Steve joins a remarkable company of people throughout the world, who are recognized for their devotion to the ideals of good will, peace and understanding.” Upon receiving this honor, Stratton stated, “By contributing to The Rotary Foundation, I can be sure that my dollars are being spent for the most good, by the most responsible, caring people.” Benton was also honored with a PH+1 pin with a sapphire embellishment for earning the PH second level award. Wakeman announced, “In achieving the second level of the Paul Harris Fellow status, Patty is recognized for her continuing support of the ideals of Rotary and The Rotary Foundation, whose motto is ‘Doing Good in the World.’” Benton said about her honor, “I first became aware of the Paul Harris Fellow recognition when The Rotary Foundation’s Polio Plus Campaign was promoted at our club. For a relatively small amount of money, I am able to contribute immensely, and to quote the sixth president of Rotary Arch Klumph, ‘for the purpose of doing good in the world.’”
Encouraged to join Rotary in 1978 as a way to meet people in the community and to participate in Rotary activities that would benefit the local, regional and world community, Stratton has served the club as secretary, vice president, president in 1981, board member and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards chair. He hosted a Rotary Exchange student, and has been an active participant in all club fundraisers over the years. He served lunch to the masses of cross-country skiers after the annual ski marathon; parked cars for the annual Ice Castle in Mayville; and helped to build tent platforms at Camp Merz. He continues to participate in the club's highway clean-up.
Benton, who joined Rotary in 1991, became the club's first female president in 1995. She also served as secretary, vice president and board member. In 1993-1994, she hosted a Rotary Exchange student from Colombia. She reluctantly resigned from Rotary in 1998 due to career obligations. During the years when she was not able to continue her membership, Benton still helped with the club’s annual Gold Rush and auction events. After she retired in 2017, she rejoined Rotary. She currently serves as a board member and community service chair. As a member “back in the day,” she participated in all of the club’s fundraisers and activities, including Ice Castle parking, Camp Merz tent platform project, and highway clean-up. For years, Benton helped with the annual Gold Rush event by procuring all of the food, as well as baking 300 potatoes in a pizza oven! She currently chairs the “Rotary Scholarship Pancake Breakfast.”
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville congratulates Steve Stratton and Patty Benton on earning their Paul Harris Fellow awards, and it offers its gratitude to them for their commitment to service and to the ideals of The Rotary Foundation and Rotary International.
Topping off 100 years of Service Above Self this year, the Rotary Club of Batavia was recently recognized by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce for their unique service to the community.
The Chamber of Commerce recognizes local businesses and individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the community. For the Rotary Club of Batavia that meant being honored as the recipient of the Special Service to the Community Award.
Pictured are the Rotary Club of Batavia Members who attended the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Awards Dinner.
Congratulations on reaching this milestone and the award, Batavia Rotarians!
The Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew was pleased to host PDG Jack Amico for a discussion on district happenings, Gift of Life, and to present our annual contribution for the Million Dollar Challenge.
Shown, Immediate Past-President Rob Benzel presents the club's annual contribution to PDG Jack Amico.
On March 13, District Governor Melisa Schrock visited the Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY & Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON. She led an inspirational open discussion of the challenges for Rotary moving ahead that was truly motivating and, above all, honest.
While there, the club presented her with its annual donation to Polio Plus. Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 30 years. Rotary has helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. So far, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion toward eradicating the disease worldwide.
Pictured are District Governor Melisa Schrock (right) with the flags and (left) with President John Cich and the "big check".
The Rotary Club of Hamburg inducted Ed Hamerski at its February 26 meeting. President Brandi Reed, left, and Rotarian David Evans, right, who sponsored Hamerski, conducted the ceremonies welcoming the new Rotarian into the club that was founded 77 years ago.
Ed lives in Lake View, is employed by the New York State Department of Transportation and owns Classic Image Landscape.
While in Portugal, Assistant Governor Coordinator, Robert Morrow, delivered the donation from the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise to a charity which is working to replace the tattered uniforms of the “bombeiros” (volunteer firefighters) in the Algarve. After battling forest fires for months, their uniforms were basically destroyed from sweat and burns.
To raise the money to replace the uniforms, the club held an event in association with a local satellite (club), and the a local chapter of the Rotary Wine Appreciation Fellowship. The evening was warm with wonderful fellowship and resulted in enough money to buy four uniforms (about 1400 Euros or C$2000).
This is just another example of the wide reach of Rotary throughout the world - Being an Inspiration to others.
The Rotary Club of Amherst, Mike Randall, president, hosted an Area 11 mixer at Risotto. About 30 Rotarians came together and enjoyed both a nice meal and a lot of good fellowship. Accomplishments and ideas were exchanged among club leaders.
Likely the most inspirational presentation was given by Evan Pleasanton-Pruitt, president of the Amherst Early Act Club, pictured right with his mentors. He collected funds for their Purple Pinkie project and a pie auction which yielded $227, donated to Polio Plus.
DGE Bob Artis and AG Rob Benzel are shown in the picture to the left.
It's cold out there! The Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) was held on Saturday, February 23, 2019. CNOY is a family-friendly national walk-a-thon that helps raise funds for charities that serve hungry, homeless and hurting people in your town, and in 136 communities across Canada.
Martha Kralt, Margaret Andrewes, Sue Foster, Rob Foster, Lindsay Dresse, Joe Lowes, Gayle Lucas-Roth, Paul Roth and non-Rotarian friend Cathy Davies walked and/or volunteered throughout the event!
The pink flamingo of change also participated in the walk! #pinkflamingoofchange #rotarydistrict7090.
Much fun was had as Lincoln Rotarians connected with others in the community all supporting this very important event. From volunteering in running the event, walking, being chili cook off judges and sponsoring its team, the club made an impact on the lives of many often overlooked individuals and families.
Thank you to the Rotarians who participated and donated to this cause. Over $43,000 was raised with the club raising a total of $2,400 the 4th highest team total for the area.
The national goal was $5,000,000 which was surpassed with a total of $5,474,463 with donations being accepted until March 31, 2019
Grand Island’s EarlyAct clubs (with help from Grand Island’s Interact clubs and the Buffalo Rotaract Club) raised over $600 for End Polio Now by holding a set of Purple Pinkie sessions at their schools. Students and their parents donated to have their pinkies purpled, just as happens in Afghanistan / Pakistan when polio drops are administered.
Now the Rotary Club of Grand Island is using the kids success to ‘shame’ their fellow Rotarians into writing their checks for the End Polio Now drive!
All are invited to COME to the dinner celebration on Wednesday May 1st and meet this exceptional VTT (Vocational Training Team) and participate in their presentation as our Brazilian District 4480 Hosts will hear. You will be sending them off in style as they embark on their trip from May 8 -29th.
The dinner, 6-9PM, will be held at the Holiday Inn & Suites Parkway Conference Centre, 327 Ontario Street, St Catharines, Ontario. Reserve your spot by registering by April 25th at https://rotary7090.org/event/bon-voyage-for-vtt-to-brazil/.
Enjoy dinner for $30 CA, including tip and tax.
Tossed Garden Greens with Cherry Tomatoes & Cucumber Slices drizzled with House Dressing
Bakery Fresh Rolls & Butter
Sliced Ham with Apple Calvados Sauce
Roasted Potato & Vegetable
Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Strawberry Sauce
Freshly Brewed Coffee, Decaf & Tea
Like and Follow us on Facebook at “VTT 7090 to Brazil 4480”
Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor dark of night kept three Norfolk Sunrise Rotarians from traveling to the remote northern community of Pikangikum to deliver much needed supplies and offer basketball clinics. Jim and Marjorie Dawson, along with Pete Wheatley drove 4,400 km over six days, pulling a trailer which included mountain bikes for the bike program, 25 basketballs courtesy of the Toronto Raptors, instruments for the music program, over 100 skates, and 75 boots that were donated by generous local groups, businesses, and individuals.
Pikangikum is located approximately 100 km northwest of Red Lake, Ontario and is one of the largest First Nation communities in northern Ontario, with the highest on-reserve population of approximately 2,300. An estimated 75% of the population is under twenty-five years of age. The large population has had a significant impact on infrastructure, programs, and services available at the community level. Community based programs are under-resourced, thereby compromising the community’s ability to meet their needs. Consequently, the community often faces health, social, and crime-related crises (such as medical emergencies, suicides, alcohol/drug/solvent misuse incidents, and a higher crime rate). From January to the end of March, Pikangikum is accessible by vehicle on the winter ice road.
The three Rotarian travelers enhanced the lives of the Pikangikum youth by exposing them to some much needed diversion. Peter Wheatley, an accomplished basketball player and coach, provided a basketball clinic for the senior boy’s team and introduced the girls to basketball. It is uncertain if these Rotarians, when deciding to drive, fully realized the impact of dodging severe weather conditions to make the three day trek. The winter ice road was described as a “roller coaster” made of sheer ice and to add to their adventure, they learned the art of squeezing to one lane when traveling over swampy areas while dodging transport trucks. The winter road is only open for six weeks annually and is the main source of supplies for the community. Continue......
RotaryHIP (Honouring Indigenous People) is an organization dedicated to promoting awareness of indigenous knowledge systems, language and culture. HIP seeks to build relationship and connects Allies with indigenous communities to remove obstacles and to inspire learning.
Jim and Marjorie Dawson of the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise have agreed to help form the district committee to help clubs become involved in the HIP goals to educate first of all ourselves in Indigenous issues, then broaden that to community and also to focus on improving education outcomes in First Nation schools. If you are interested in joining the District RotaryHIP committee, please contact Lisa Bishop at delhipeople@sympatico.ca.
The prime role of the committee will be to act as a clearing house to share ideas across the district, to help clubs become informed of indigenous issues, help clubs connect with local First Nations communities and to work on service projects together. There are a number of clubs working on service projects and with connections to First Nations communities and this is a chance to share that knowledge and strategies and to encourage the involvement of individual members or clubs. If you have projects or connections, please let us know so we can build a list of all projects that are ongoing in the district.
Clubs are encouraged to join RotaryHIP.org and check out the many resources on the website. There are speakers available for clubs to educate themselves on Indigenous issues and ideas for service projects. For more information or if you have questions please contact Marjorie Dawson at MEVDawson@gmail.com or call 519 5833328.
Gui grew up in Brazil and did a Rotary Youth Exchange in Canada in 2016-17. He is currently taking pre-med, hoping to qualify for med school next year. Here is what he had to say about his year here.
As a teenager growing up in Brazil getting up early was not something I did. On exchange, I was allowed to join the rowing team and I had to get up Monday through Friday at 4am (!) for rowing practices before school started. Funny enough, that has become one of my best memories of my exchange.
As a Rotary Youth Exchange Student inbound, I got to explore other people’s culture and understand the way they live. That led me to a better understanding of the diversity of peoples, their religions and their behaviours. As a consequence of that, I feel much more tolerant and capable of sharing respect with others. That was only possible because the program allowed me not only to go to school in a different country, but also live with people that were willing to host me in their home. It was a unique experience that gathered responsibilities at school and at home, but in a fun way as I discovered new things every day. Sharing my knowledge with my host parents, host siblings and friends felt like I really am a person capable of contributing to society through friendship, and so I feel much more connected to people as I have many friends not only in Canada but worldwide. Plus, facing adversities in another country made me realize that becoming an adult brings you responsibilities, and it doesn’t matter where you are. Having full support of the Rotary members and my host families helped me go come through the difficult times, especially when I missed home.
Rotary’s goal of having the youth grow with a better understanding of the world and its peoples was certainly achieved during my experience. I recommend it to those who want to have a great time and make lifelong friends while they keep their studies up, and also enter other people’s homes and culture with much respect and an open mind.
Being back in Brazil, I truly miss the family and friends I made whilst on exchange. Thank you Rotary for extending my world view!
Did you know that Rotary International has recognized January as Vocational Service Month? On January 22nd, over 140 students had the opportunity to explore different careers. The day was filled with professionals talking about their careers and the career opportunities in their respective fields.
Grade 7 & 8 students at Cathy Weaver School started the day off with a motivational talk from local artist Dejehan Hamilton. Dejehan is an alumnus of the CORE Kids After School Program both as a participant and volunteer, and a former camper in the Rotary Summer Literacy Program. Recording artist, songwriter, musician, entrepreneur and international award-winning speaker: Dejehan Hamilton, went from a poverty stricken environment to a being the first Canadian steel pan graduate on scholarship at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.
Students had the opportunity to learn about several different career paths and opportunities through speakers, presentations and hands on activities. Topics included Trade Skills, Entrepreneurship, Emergency Services and Athletes with two athletes speaking to the students including a Hamilton Ti-Cat.
The Career Exploration Day is part of the ongoing CORE Kids Programing supported by the Rotary Club of Hamilton and our funding supporter the Hamilton Community Foundation ABACUS Project. The goal of the event is to expose the students to various career paths, encouraging them to explore opportunities in education and provide them with positive role models in our community.
Lisa Bishop:Effective July 1, 2019 Lisa Bishop has agreed to step into the role of Director of Service Projects for District 7090. She will be replacing John DePaolo whose term ends on June 30, 2019. Lisa is a member of the Rotary Club of Delhi and has been very involved at the District level. She currently serves as Assistant Governor for Area 1, and recently served as the 2018 District Conference Co-Chair. Lisa is passionate about Rotary and is dedicated to finding ways to serve others. As the Director of Service Projects, Lisa will oversee the International, Vocational, Literacy and Community Service Committees. If you are interested in serving on any of these committees, please email Lisa at lisabishop@icloud.com.
Angela Carter: PDG Kevin Crosby will be completing his term as Membership Director at the end of this Rotary year. We are pleased to announce that Angela Carter, a member of the Rotary Club of Hamilton Tonic has accepted the position of Membership Director effective July 1, 2019. Anglea has served the District in many different capacities and will be a tremendous asset in her role on the Membership Team. As the Director, she will oversee the New Member Orientation, Rentention, Recruitment, Accessibility and Global Rewards Committees. If you are interested in serving on one of our Membership teams, please email Angela at angela@angelacarter.ca.
Julie Klotzbach: The Rotary Club of Akron Newstead is pleased to announce that their President, Julie Klotzbach, will be stepping up to fill the role of Assistant Governor for Area 12 which was recently vacated by Keith Artis. District 7090 would like to thank Keith for all of the time, effort and passion that he poured into his role as Assistant Governor. It is because of the dedication of Rotarians like Keith that our lubs are able to thrive and be #changemakers!
Rob Benzel: As a Past President of the Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew, Rob Benzel carries a skill set that will serve him well as our newest Assistant Governor for Area 11. Recently, Katie Biggie had to step down from her role which she has served in for 2 years. District 7090 would like to recognize Katie for all of the help she has given to the clubs in her Area. Dedicated Rotarians like Katie are the glue that help to hold our Area clubs together.
John Weismantel: No photo.
The Rotary Club of Ellicottville is honored to have their sitting president step into the role of Assistant Governor for Area 15. John will start his term as AG immediately and will replace Rotarian Lisa Yaggie who served our district for 3 years in this role.
Shirley Molloy: District 7090 is thrilled to welcome Shirley Molloy as the newest Assistant Governor for Area 3. Shirley will replace Allyson Wenzowski who resigned her position in December. Shirley is a member of the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise.
On Thursday November 29, 2018, over 60 Rotarian curlers met at the St. Catharines Golf & Country Club for the 43rd Annual "Bill Ford" Bonspiel, held in honour and memory of long-time Rotarian (and avid curler) Bill Ford. Jointly sponsored by the Rotary clubs of St. Catharines; St. Catharines South and St. Catharines Lakeshore, participants enjoyed lunch, dinner and a free try at a Closest to the Hole Golf contest held at the golf club’s indoor virtual reality golf course facility.
The winning team for 2018 was skipped by Dennis Gilmore from the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls Sunrise. He was joined by vice Bruce Raham; second Ged Leahy and lead Jim Hooper. PDG Reg Madison was also a participant as skip of the Brantford AM team, which finished fourth overall.
Pictured (left to right) are Rotarians Frank Parkhouse, Brian Hughes and Don Fretz, all from St. Catharines South Club.
We invite all curlers to mark Thursday November 21, 2019 on their calendars for this year’s event!
Come Sail-ebrate the 2019 Rotary District Conference with your fellow Rotarians, guests and friends aboard the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas departing October 20, 2019. Enjoy 7 days at sea aboard one of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world.
We will be updating the conference website with more information on the Rotary on-board and off-board activities as they are developed, but you can go ahead and register now for a cruise and conference to remember!
Questions?
Contact: Mr. Domenic Cortese Group Leader Daytime:(716) 583-0029 Evening:(716) 759-2609 Daytime:(716) 683-2100
It seems a long time to the next Christmas season, but the Rotary Club of Grimsby has already kicked of its 2019 signature funding raising and community event.
Pictured right is Marilyn Cornell, 2019 Fantasy of Tress organizer - for the second year, Mario Bruno, General manager of Grimsby Hyundai and Jim Howden, Past President. They are wearing the Red Scarfs that kick off the 20th Anniversary campaign. The kick off launched on January 30th, which was both a cold and snowy day.
Last year the event raised $21,000 for local charities. Each year the event continues to grow and evolve.
On Feb 9th, members of the Rotary Club of Le Roy kicked off a new partnership under the Pink Flamingo of Change with the Hope Center of Le Roy, NY. The Hope Center currently provides various programs for all ages in the community including an after-school program for youth, a support program for mothers of young children and a meeting place for the “more mature”. They are expanding into the building next door on Main Street in Le Roy.
The paint job pictured left, involved stalwart Rotarians Tammy Arneth, Andy Rich and Jim Ellison. They were supported by Jim Frascati who provided some excellent bruschetta at his restaurant during a social which followed the painting. Also, please note the presence of “Penelope, the club's Pink Flamingo” who accompanied them on the new venture into hand-on projects in the local community.
The Snoezelen Room is a welcome oasis for both children and adults who regularly participate in the many programs offered by Community Living at its C.D. Hopkins Centre in Beamsville. When Lincoln Rotarians learned that this well-used space was in serious need of an uplift, they jumped at the opportunity to meet with France Vaillancourt, Executive Director, Community Living Grimsby, Lincoln and West Lincoln, and scope the project.
Over the past few months, the club has worked with Community Living staff to undertake the project valued at $4500. With a new coat of paint, new wheelchair accessible carpeting, old furnishings cleaned and repaired along with the installation of three new pieces of equipment, the Snoezelen Room is open for use again.
Snoezelen Multi-Sensory environments are relaxing spaces that help reduce agitation and anxiety but they can also engage and delight the user, stimulate reactions and encourage communication. There is no restriction in terms of age or ability. Snoezelen is for everyone living with challenging behaviour, autism and brain injury. For more details -Snoezelen
Lincoln Rotary was enabled in this project by The Rotary Foundation (TRF). Established 102 years ago as the charitable arm of Rotary International, TRF helps Rotary members change lives and improve communities all over the world. It is through TRF District Grant Program that the club secured 50% of the funding required to cover the project.
Rotarian Martha Kralt highlights, “It’s an exceptional opportunity to be able to double the value of the funds raised by the club for doing good things in our local community. With our TRF District Grant, Lincoln Rotary was able to purchase new equipment in addition to affording the basic upgrades required for this project all in support of Community Living, an essential service organization in our community.”
Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew members recently enjoyed a tour of the Hull House and lunch at the Hull House Tea Room. Significant restoration progress has been made since the club last visited - a few years ago.
Pictured above, president Ken Graber presents a club check to Hull House Executive Director Gary Costello.
Built at the time the Erie canal was being dug, Hull House is the oldest stone structure in Erie County.
The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, ON handed out the last of our Winter Survival Kits to the Niagara Falls Soup Kitchen. The Winter Survival kits are compromised of various items such as gloves, winter hats and toiletries.
On that same night, club members volunteered their time serving dinner to the patrons of the Soup Kitchen. It is always a great opportunity to give back to the community by helping others during this cold winter season.
Additional kits were provided to the Salvation Army.
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise had community members trying to “Catch the Ace” for a very long time. The draws were held each Friday at the Port Dover Legion. It was never anticipated the Ace of Spades would be revealed with the 52nd card and would last the full 40 weeks, the maximum number of weeks allowed by County gaming rules. Every week, until the Ace was revealed, a lucky winner received $500 in prize money. In total $100,000 was raised with $30,000 going to the winner, $20,000 given out in weekly draws, and $50,000 going to Rotary for distribution into the community.
On January 4, 2019, a standing-room-only crowd attended for the final night, The excitement was electric until the Ace of Spades was revealed and the winner, Nadia Waiton, was announced and took home the $30,000 winner’s cheque. This fundraising event had supporters on their feet each time a winner was announced. In the end, it came down to the last envelope, which by the process of elimination, had to be the Ace of Spades. The crowd erupted when the winner of this progressive draw was finally announced.
This popular fundraiser was organized by The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise once before and that too yielded a successful response, running its full course, just as the event did this year. Thanks to all the Rotarians who volunteered for this event. A special note of gratitude goes to the Rotarian organizers - Gail Catherwood, Gail Bouw, and Sue O’Dwyer. Their leadership and dedication is what made this fundraising event such a great success! Our community will certainly benefit from this fundraising initiative.
Pictured above from left to right: Rotarians - Sue O’Dwyer, Gail Bouw, and the Winner - Nadia Waiton, holding the winning Ace of Spades. Pictured right: Rotarian Gail Catherwood, Catch the Ace Organizer ready to spin for a winning ticket.
Brazilian Sao Paulo Rotary District 4480 will host District 7090 Vocational Training Team (VTT) and provide the opportunity to experience the medical expertise of the Brazilian world renown medical facilities and personnel in Cancer, Ophthalmology and/or Heart and Coronary procedures areas. The team will be in Brazil departing May 8th and returning May 28. The goal of the VTT is to share best practices, research, help others and improve quality of life.
Pictured center bottom is Team Leader Jennifer Schoenhals, behind her is (left to right) is Anna-Marie Wysynski, Thomas Gerbasi, and Claire Harkness.
Team Leader, Jennifer Schoenhals, RPh is a member of the Niagara Falls Sunrise Club and has been a Rotarian for 24 years. She has been a Pharmacist for nearly 35 years plus owns and manages Fall Pharmacy in Niagara Falls, Ontario. She has expertise in Compounding and is the creator of several customized medications.
Anna-Marie Wysynski HBSc, MD from Burlington, Ontario is the Medical Director at Vitality Anti-Aging Centre. She also has 15 years as an Emergency Physician at Alexandra General Hospital practicing allopathic medicine. As a general practitioner, she is knowledgeable in all areas of medicine, including oncology, ophthalmology and cardiology among others. Anna-Marie is also experienced in integrative medicine focusing on lifestyle and spiritual/introspective practices that transfers across nations and ethnicities.
Thomas Gerbasi, MD is a Pediatrician from Lewiston, New York who retired from his practice in July 2018. He is a board certified pediatric specialist with special training in teaching medical students. His expertise includes treatment of children with cancers as well as congenital heart disease working with District 7090 Gift of Life Committee for 18 years. His experience also includes various areas of ophthalmological disease. Tom is a Paul Harris Fellow, and member of the Lewiston-Niagara on the Lake Club, having held positions of President and currently Secretary.
Claire Harkness from Hamilton, Ontario is a very energetic Registered Practical Nurse at Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario working on an Oncology/GI unit. The Juravinski hospital is the only site in the region treating all cancers and is home to the region's only stem cell transplant, acute leukemia and blood cancer programs. In addition, Claire is also enrolled in full-time studies doing a collaborative degree completion program through Conestoga College and McMaster University to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Claire is a member of the Rotaract Club at McMaster University, former Rotary Youth Exchange student to Newcastle AU, and is a Paul Harris Fellow.
On Saturday, February 16, 30 teams of six players packed the dining hall of The Gow School in South Wales, NY, for the East Aurora Rotary Club’s Quiz Night. Some groups came with loaded with snacks and a bevy of (mostly adult) beverages, a clear indication they were ready to have some fun. Each team was invited to come up with a creative team name to distinguish themselves as they competed through four rounds of trivia on topics including science and nature, and sports and leisure. With each question, the teams would write down their answers on a sheet that would be turned in at the end of the round, making this trivia challenge a test of knowledge, rather than speed.
Pictured left, members of Team Copernicus gather around a photo of their mascot, Nicolas Copernicus, as they competed in the East Aurora Rotary’s annual Quiz Night at the Gow School.
All teams were invited to come up with creative team names to identify themselves throughout the night.
As 4 Rotarians feverishly graded quizzes at the conclusion of the each round, there were further opportunities for bonus points. With the admission of $1, each team member had the opportunity to participate in “dead or alive” rounds that could help them earn bonus points for their team. All participants stood along the perimeter of the room, and the emcee would ask a multiple-choice question that had two possible answers. The responses would be recorded by a raised or lowered hand, and those who were incorrect would be eliminated. After a number of questions had been asked, the few left standing were awarded bonus points for their team.
The night was complete with food, drinks, a 50/50 drawing and a large basket raffle with over 70 donated prizes from Rotarians and area businesses. This year’s Quiz Night was sold out, as many of the teams are regular participants, who look forward to this event every year. It is always a great fundraiser for East Aurora Rotary, and the club would like to extend a thank you to its member, Dr. Amy Suda, for her organizing and hosting of the event, as well as the several Rotary volunteers who made the night a success.
The Gow School’s dining hall was packed with 30 teams of trivia buffs on Saturday night. Through several rounds of questions straddling numerous topics, teams jockeyed for first place position. The winner of this year’s Quiz Night, sponsored by the East Aurora Rotary Club, was the team “Questions and Banthas.”
The Rotary Club of Kenmore and their sponsored Interact clubs at Kenmore East and Kenmore West performed their annual Purple Pinkie Project fundraiser in the Ken Ton School District in late January. The volunteers painted Purple Gentian Violet on the pinkie finger of students who donated a dollar toward Polio eradication. The students wear their purple pinkie badge of honor as a reminder of the impact they have made. They also receive a lifesaver piece of candy as a thank you and to symbolize the life they have saved with the donation.
The heaviest of the lifting was shouldered by teams of Kenmore Interactors performing the event at 5 different schools. It was also made possible, however with help from Rotarians in neighboring Amherst Rotary and some special EarlyActors from the Clarence YMCA club. Pictured (left) is the Gabe Maddalena family who visited their home club's meeting, Rotary Club of Amherst, with newly acquired expertise on how to execute the fundraiser.
Pictured are (L to R) Gabe, wife Kim and their two children, Anna and Anthony, Fiona Barretto, President Mike Randall.
The kids' EarlyAct Club is soon to be chartered. The famous Pink Flamingo was on hand to witness the festivities.
Pictured (right) at Franklin Middle School is Kim and Anna Maddalena with Kenmore Rotarian Larry Coon.
Also volunteering at the event was the University of Buffalo Rotaract Club President Evan Gestwick who helped provide supplies through a grant that his club received through the 2018 District Conference Shark Tank Competition.
$8400 was generated for Polio vaccines after $1400 was raised and matched (1:1) by Kenmore Rotary and (2:1) by the Gates Foundation.
Recently, at its February 19, 2019 meeting, the Rotary Club of Westfield Mayville presented Janese Berkhouse with her first Paul Harris Fellow. Janese, who is the Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, received this special honor for her contributions to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.
Pictured with Janese is Foundation Chair Jim Wakeman who made the presentation
Rotary Club of Fonthill member, and District Governor Nominee (2020-21), Frank Adamson is not taking retirement well. Not if you think retirement means slowing down, doing less, or taking it easy. Quite the opposite; Adamson was recently named the 2018 Pelham Citizen of the Year by the Fonthill & District Kinsmen. In other words, the year 2018 for Adamson was busy, busy, busy, as he participated in ways big and small in initiatives around town, while running his business and conducting the business of being a higher-ranking Rotarian within District 7090.
"What this award does is encourage others to get out in the community and help out. Go help with a food drive, pick up garbage, or join or help a service club,” he told a reporter at the Welland Tribune.
Adamson’s list of volunteering is long indeed, and goes back many years for the former paramedic turned fitness club owner. Before joining the Rotary Club of Fonthill, Adamson spent a couple of years with the club in Welland. A former hospital administrator, he also joined the United Way board before moving to the Cambridge area to become executive director of the United Way there. He was also involved with the Ontario Paramedic Association and taught at Niagara College for 11 years. As a founding member of Heart Niagara, Adamson taught CPR and defibrillator use to thousands of people over the years.
During his time as a Fonthill Rotarian, he has served on the board for several years, including as President, and he founded the Niagara Mudfest event, which has raised funds for many worthwhile causes. To learn more about him, visit the 7090 website profile.
Many of Adamson’s former and current Rotary club friends will join him March 5, 2019 at the Old Pelham Hall to celebrate his honour as 2018 Pelham Citizen of the Year.
RIPE Mark Maloney’s Rotary Theme for 2019 – 2020 is “Rotary Connects the World”. How true this has proved out to be in my life.
In November 2015, while attending Rotary UN Peace Conference in NYC, I witnessed a Rotarian (Lucy) from the state of New South Wales, Australia receive a recognition for her work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Later that evening at JFK Airport, we happened to be in same waiting area for our flight home. I introduced myself and congratulated her on receiving the special recognition. Lucy said, “It was for work I do for” Clay Partners.
I was awe struck because few years before meeting Lucy, a Rotarian from our district, Janny Jinor, was chosen as a Peace Scholar to complete an eight week course in Conflict Resolution in Bangkok at Chulalongkorn University. Prior to being selected as our Peace Scholar, Janny had completed an assignment in the DRC for John Hopkins University. The work was for healing and nurturing mentally and sexually wounded women. Many were marginalized, traumatized, disfranchised, and sexual assaulted by their husbands, rape victims and often left as the sole supporter for the family.
Upon meeting Lucy, I thought, what an opportunity to connect Lucy with Janny. A digital introduction was made and they collaborated on several joint projects. “Rotary Connects the World”.
In October of this year, I led a team of Rotarians from our district on a Rotary Friendship Exchange to Thailand. In Thailand I was able to Connect with Janny who now resides in Bangkok and our Bangkok team was invited to dinner in her spacious 30th floor condo for scrumptious Asian African Cuisine. Another connection was made with our Bangkok team. Janny has been invited back to Chula several times as visiting Instructor and has connected with other Peace Scholars some of which are members of our global Rotary E-Club, Social innovators (RESI). Our very own Dr. Janny Jinor has completed her PhD and now has an established practice.
On New Year’s Eve, Corine and I were celebrating with friends and I ‘overheard’ a young student say she was going to Australia and I inquired as to where? To New South Wales she replied. Immediately I thought of Lucy of which I immediately fired off an email (1AM here was ~ 1PM there) requesting a connection with our friend’s daughter. Much to my surprise I received an immediate reply of absolutely! Our friend’s daughter, her mom and dad were met by Lucy a few days ago and another connection was made.
As Paul Harvey would say “Now you know the rest of the story.” Rotary Connects the World.
What an amazing group of Rotarians across our District! I have been greatly impressed by you as I have gotten around to many of our clubs in preparation for my upcoming governor role. You are impacting the lives of those we serve both locally and internationally. Thank you District 7090 Rotarians!
By now, you will have received the email announcement that we have opened registration for District Conference 2019 – Sail-abration. Come - enjoy 7 days at sea with your fellow Rotarians, partners and friends aboard the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas – one of the most luxurious cruise ships in the world. We depart Fort Lauderdale October 20, 2019. For more information go to our conference website http://www.districtconference7090.org.
Another announcement for activities on the horizon include a one-day Rotarians in Action event, scheduled for September 28. Stay tuned for more on this exciting day of action. And, this year we are the host district for the Zone Conference, September 19 - 21. As host district there are a few expectations of us. I will be sharing more specific information as I receive it.
Earlier this month Corinne and I attended the Rotary International Assembly (RIA) in San Diego. It was, as reported by our PDGs, awe inspiring with general assemblies that were laden with outstanding speakers on a variety of Rotary related stories that connected, captivated and prepared each and every District Governor Elect for the 2019-2020 Rotary year. There were upwards of 500 of us there with our partners. Our Rotary International President Elect (RIPE) Mark Maloney unveiled his theme, Rotary Connects the World. It holds special meaning for me as my life’s journey has been truly enriched by my connections with my global Rotary family. Pictured are Corinne and I with RIPE Mark and Gay, his wife.
My preparation to be your DG is not unlike a roller coaster ride. But, I am humbled to serve you. Thank you for your support and patience.
The Rotary Club of Buffalo held a Toys-4-Tots drive with Marines at its holiday party. Two Marines were guests of the Buffalo Rotarians and enjoyed the party also. They just barely got all the toys into their vehicle at the end of the evening! The great success of the toy drive is due in large part to Past President Laurie Albertsson. Laurie, who hosted the Christmas party at her home, asked her guests to bring toys rather than a dish to pass. What a great idea!
Tamara Lynn Bennett (a.k.a. Coleman-Lawrie) was born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario with her loving family and many siblings. Tamara graduated from Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology in Business Marketing. Since expanding her education in areas of philanthropy, legacy giving, social investment, community impact and development through the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Buffalo State University Grant Institute, the Tamarack Institute and University of Pennsylvania, she has contributed nearly 20 years of expertise and knowledge in the social, human and philanthropic sectors.
Tamara’s professional experiences include: Executive Director for United Way South Niagara, Regional Director of the Autism Ontario – Niagara Region Chapter, Development Director for Wesley Urban Ministries in Hamilton, Development Officer for the Women’s Place South Niagara Nova House capital campaign, and is currently the Director of Community Impact for United Way Niagara in Ontario.
From a young person, Tamara understood the value of volunteerism and giving back to her community. Over the past 25 years, Tamara has invested countless hours of her personal and professional passions in many worthwhile causes to improve the lives of others. Her volunteer and leadership contributions include Chair of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners Niagara Golden Horseshoe Chapter, Chair of the Niagara Golden Horseshoe LEAVE A LEGACY™ Program and 8 year National executive committee member, Board Member of the Western New York Community Services for the Developmentally Disabled Foundation, past member of the Zonta Club of Niagara, volunteered with Habitat for Humanity builds and most importantly her time, talent and treasure she has committed to Rotary. Tamara is a Past President of the Welland Rotary Club, current Assistant Governor of Area 7, Chair of the District Membership New Member On-Boarding Committee and supports other District-wide initiatives. Tamara is a proud two time Paul Harris Fellow and lives out her commitment to her community through Rotary.
While Tamara works in Canada and is a member of the Rotary Club of Welland, she lives in Western New York in Marilla. She is married to her best friend and husband of eight years, David Bennett, and lives in Marilla with David and their daughter Zoey. Her most pride and joy comes from their daughter Zoey, her tenacity for life and their loving friendship.
The Ride For Roswell is one of the nation's largest cycling events - a life-changing experience for riders, volunteers and cancer patients who benefit from the funds raised. It's a charity bike ride that brings people together to celebrate survivors, pay tribute to those we've lost and share in the passion that connects us all: finding a cure for cancer.
We’d like Rotarians to get involved—as volunteers or riders. Rotary for Roswell is a district-wide effort to support the Ride for Roswell fundraiser on Saturday, June 22, 2019 for cancer research at Roswell Park in Buffalo.
7090 is seeking volunteers to staff the rest stops, give directions and help with logistics. Interested participants can find out more and register to volunteer on the district website. Contact Shefali Clerk at sheelsaju5@hotmail.com if you have questions about volunteering. We are also seeking interested cyclists to join our team and ride a route from 3-100 miles. There are 10 routes including two that cross into Canada. We have established the Rotary for Roswell team of cyclists. Register to join our Rotary riding team here. Contact the Rotary Riders team captain Anthony Billoni for more ride info.
The purpose of District 7090's International Service Committee (I.S.C.) is to stimulate and assist clubs or groups of clubs to undertake International Service to improve lives and meet human needs, and thus advance world understanding, good will and peace. One way the I.S.C. does this is by publishing a catalogue with information about several ongoing projects approved by the District Council. Recently, some new projects were added. Please take a look and see if there is a project your club would like to support. District 7090 encourages participation of all District 7090 clubs in these projects. The criteria for an approved project is listed on page 3 of the Approved Projects Catalogue.
On January 22, 2019, the Rotary Club of Welland sponsored a No-Sew Blanket making event in place of its regular meeting. The Club’s meeting host, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, as part of its community outreach, has developed a hygiene ‘bank’ where members of the community can collect needed items on the 3rd Thursday of each month. In September, the church also started a community outreach dinner on the same day. Welland Rotary has partnered with the Church to prepare and serve at the monthly dinners volunteering time and funds.
Based on the success of the No-Sew Blanket project at the District Conference, it was decided to sponsor one in our community and to provide another avenue for Holy Trinity to assist the community. 22 Welland Rotarians and family, our Youth Exchange Student Carmen, 3 members of the Rotary Club of Fonthill including President Mel Groom and DGN Frank Adamson, special guests Governor Melisa and John, incoming Governor Bob Artis and approximately 20 members of the Holy Trinity congregation and friends all came together to put together 33 blankets. Holy Trinity provided the lunch and DG Melisa delivered the project enthusiasm. Community cable television YOURTV covered the event. https://www.yourtv.tv/node/155096?c=niagara
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise decked the halls with boughs of holly and invited the community for a free Breakfast with Santa. Through the eyes of animated children, the 20 volunteer Rotary elves, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and a special guest (The Pink Flamingo of Change) enjoyed the magic of the season. Laughter, music and excitement echoed out of the Junior Farmers Building in Simcoe. More than 240 community members enjoyed pancakes, sausages, and fellowship to usher in the excitement of the Christmas season, provided by Norfolk Sunrise Rotarians in cooperation with the Christmas Panorama. Even the Pink Flamingo of Change was an active participant and “photo bombed” the pictures taken with Santa.
The Rotary Club of Akron Newstead, students from Akron High School and its Interact club partnered over the holidays to provide humanitarian assistance in the town of Bani, Dominican Republic. The visit was coordinated through the Rotary Club of Bani and its Interact club and was the third year of the partnership in Bani.
Led by chaperones Marlene Stone, the head softball coach at Akron High School, Rotarians Patty Buckley and Kevin Stone, the group’s focus was capital improvement projects at the Elizabeth Seton Nutrition Center that included building organic gardens and new concrete in the playground area. The center provides sustainable, locally-controlled quality services for children and their families that include health care, nutrition, childcare and education in resource - limited communities around Bani. The students also held a holiday party for the children. Along with the party, the Akron softball team played its third annual softball game at the center; softball equipment and sneakers were once again donated by the team. Before departing a donation was made to the Bani Medical Dispensary.
As always and in the spirit of Rotary many new international friendships were made and former ones renewed. The students and their chaperones represented Rotary and the US in an exemplary manner.
Pictured - Rotarian Patty Buckley (2nd from left) and Akron High School head softball coach Marlene Stone (2nd from right) accept a certificate of appreciation from Jose Gonzales of the Rotary Club of Bani. Looking on are two members of the local Interact club of which Jose is its advisor.
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville proudly announces its three newest members Edward Brooks, Roxanne Buxton and Thomas Vitale, who were inducted on December 18, 2018 at Webb’s Captain’s Table in Mayville during a Christmas gathering of this Rotary club’s members and guests. The induction ceremony was led by Peter Bills, Membership Chair, and John Hamels, Past Assistant Governor, who assists with new member orientation. The new Rotarians were each given their Rotary pins and name badges, as well as Rotary information. Mary Swanson, President, congratulated and welcomed these three new members.
Edward Brooks is the Director of Business Operations at Westfield Memorial Hospital. A resident of the West Ellicott area of Jamestown for over 20 years, Brooks is a board member of the Southwestern Central School District and serves on the Chautauqua County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Council. Brooks said, “I was asked to join the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville to represent the hospital after a longtime colleague, who was a Rotarian, passed away. Because I have known about all that Rotary does for the Westfield Memorial Hospital, the community and world-wide causes, I was happy to join.”
Roxanne Buxton is the Patient Access Supervisor at Westfield Memorial Hospital, which is part of the Allegheny Health Network (AHN). Also, she is an active member of the Westfield Memorial Hospital Auxiliary. She has been a resident of Mayville for 18 years. Buxton stated, “I joined Rotary to represent the Westfield Memorial Hospital/AHN and to become part of a service organization for Westfield and Mayville, two of the communities which our facility serves.”
Thomas Vitale is the Director of the Patterson Library in Westfield. Originally from Long Island, NY, Vitale has resided in Jamestown for one year and in Brocton two years prior to that. Though Vitale is new to the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, he is not new to Rotary. He explained, “I transferred my membership to the Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club from the Jamestown Rotary Club (noon), in order to better immerse myself into the community, and to work with my fellow local Rotarians to serve the Westfield and Mayville communities.”
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville happily welcomes Ed, Roxanne and Tom to its membership, and it looks forward to participating with them in volunteer service opportunities in the five communities which this Rotary Club serves.
On Tuesday, January 15, 2019, the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, NY joined the family of the late Rotarian Harvey Albond in a memorial service in his honor at the Temple Beth-El in Niagara Falls, New York. Harvey's daughter Roxanne gave a powerful tribute to her beloved father in which she shared that he moved to Niagara Falls from the State of Minnesota in 1967 and remained a resident until his demise in September 2018. He held many prominent positions in city government that include director of planning and city manager. He sat on the board of numerous local organizations. According to his daughter Roxanne, Rotary was above all other organizations of which he associated.
Harvey was a member in good standing as president and foundation chair. His membership in the club lasted for 50 years of which 25 years was a perfect attendance record. He received a Paul Harris Fellow in 2010 at a dinner presentation. According to his fellow members, "Harvey Albond had an impeccably good sense of honor and his friendly demeanor will be missed quite profoundly."
Pictured are (top left to right) Rotarians Richard Earne, Otto Redanz, Michael Cushman, John Cooper and Harvey Albond’s daughter Roxanne and family.
Rotary Club of Lockport is thrilled to announce its recent chartering of an EarlyAct club at DeSales Catholic School! This service club is for 4th and 5th grade students. The club is looking forward to sharing Rotary values and the importance of Service Above Self. The photo to the right, is a brainstorming exercise by the EarlyAct-ers, who are excited to start meeting and serving.
On January 23, 2019, the Rotary Club of Welland was presented with a Director’s Recognition Award by the District School Board of Niagara (DSBN) in recognition of its contribution to the public school system and its students stretching back to 1943 when the Club sponsored an elementary school playground. In 1946, the first High School scholarship was awarded. Since 1963, bursaries, in various formats, have been awarded annually assisting over 200 students. The club has also contributed to breakfast, Read to Feed, and anti-bullying programs along with a contribution of over $35,000 for educational technology upgrades to four DSBN elementary schools utilizing District Grants. Other programs having an effect on the School Board and its students include Niagara Nutrition Partners, Youth Exchange, and SLAPSHOT.
The Rotary Club of Batavia is excited to welcome another Rotary Youth Exchange Student. Steven Cunningham is a 16 year-old from Hamilton, Australia. After 18 hours in the air, he finally arrived in Buffalo for his year long stay in Batavia. Steven will be attending Batavia High School. Steven presented our club with a banner from Australia.
Pictured are President Laurie Mastin and Steven Cunningham, Rotary Youth Exchange Student.
Rotary District 7090 and District 4480 are offering men and women in the medical industry a new Vocational Training Team (VTT) experience to Sao Paulo, Brazil about May 7 to 28, 2019.
This Vocational Training Team will offer Team Leader Jennifer Schoenhals (pictured) and 3 Team Members (to be chosen Saturday, January 26) the opportunity to experience the expertise of the Brazilian world renown medical facilities and personnel in the Cancer, Ophthalmology and/or Heart and Coronary Procedures areas. The goal is to share best practices, research for helping others and improving quality of life.
Jennifer Schoenhals is a member of the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls Sunrise and has been a Rotarian for 24 years having served as president twice, current secretary and has been a member of the Gift of Life Committee for 18 years. She has been a pharmacist for nearly 35 years and owns and operates Falls Pharmacy in Niagara Falls, ON. Her particular expertise is in compounding and she is the creator of several customized medications. She will lead a 3 member VTT composed of medical professionals and represent our district and Rotary with distinction.
We hope your club has met the qualifications to apply for district grants. If so this news is for you.
The 2019-2020 district grant application will soon be available on the District 7090 website. We have some changes this year hopefully to allow clubs to pursue larger projects.
The grant application period will be January 10 through March 15 2019.
Project must not start before the grants are approved and the budget is voted into place. The anticipated date is August 1 2019. All successful grant applicants will be informed of the start date as soon as the vote is approved. Grants and reports must be completed by May 1 2020.
We now will match up to $3000 US per project.
Projects will be first come first served until allocated funds are used up.
All phases of the application must be executed and reported on to be eligible for the matching funds.
If funds are not all used after each club has had their first application processed, we are allowing a second project for each club until the fund is fully allocated. If applying for a second project, please mark second project on the application. These second projects are going to be marked and handled first come first serve and approved until the fund is used up.
The district grants subcommittee contacts are listed on the application. Please use us as resource to help get your project approved.
Pictured left Rotary Club of Clarence President and Paul Harris Society (PHS) member Paul Justinger and member Joe King, on left. Joe is receiving a multiple Paul Harris Recognition to go along with his 55+ years of PERFECT ATTENDANCE.
Vincent Amigone (right) receives his new shirt identifying him as a Paul Harris Society member. Along with his multiple Paul Harris pin and PHS chevron, Vince now has a wonderful Rotary shirt with logo and PHS identifier embroidery to wear at club and community events.
Paul Harris Society member Rick Smith (left) receives his PHS Rotary shirt from District 7090 PHS Coordinator Jim Morabito at a recent club meeting.
Laura Hills from the Rotary Club of St. Catharines is the newest member inducted into the Paul Harris Society on November 10, 2018.
Laura was presented with her Certificate of Membership and a special chevron to wear with her Rotary pin by the District PHS Coordinator Jim Morabito on the left and IPDG Reg Madison on the right.
The Paul Harris Society recognizes supporters of The Rotary Foundation who pledge an annual contribution of $1000.00USD to one (or more) approved TRF categories. Laura joins a select few in District 7090 in PHS membership, and all of us congratulate her on this achievement.
TRF is one of the great foundations worldwide and it's continued 4 star rating (highest available) from Charity Navigator provides confidence to donors that their contributions help to "Make a Difference in the World".
Thank you again, Laura, for your most meaningful commitment to Rotary and The Rotary Foundation.
There was an amazing turnout at Food4Kids annual breakfast. Food4Kids raises funds to provide a weekly supply of healthy foods for children for weekends. Presently 1400 children receive these nutritious meals Thank you to the Rotary Club of Hamilton Mountain who were the initial donor to fund this cause and are shown here presenting another contribution. Pictured are Bruno Uggenti, Lena Basford Executive Director for Food4Kids, Brenda Campbell, Judi Emerson, Clement Feierabend and Bilal Mirza presenting the donation to Lena Basford.
Assistant Governor Marta Stiteler takes aim as she learns the use of one of the standard rifles at the Hamilton Armouries where she arranged both an area meeting and a social/educational event for local Rotarians and Rotaractors. What a great evening! Wonderful hospitality from the local reservists under the direction of Lt. Colonel Gary McQueen, a well-attended and conducted area meeting… and, the opportunity to learn what our forces are doing “behind the scenes”. The group did a tour of part of the armouries learning how technology has been used to update artillery fire, and sitting in on a class where rifles and bazookas were being used. The opportunity certainly “hit the mark” and the group targeted a number of areas that they will focus on in the coming months.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg partnered with the Salvation Army with food distribution under the bridge of the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library in downtown Buffalo on Veterans Day. Volunteers spent about two hours working with the organization serving hot meals to homeless and individuals in need. Those Rotarians who participated said it was an incredibly rewarding experience.
Pictured from left are: Barbara Stanley, Brandi Reed, Bill Bredenburg, Jack Flint, John Nowak and Maria Guizzotti, along with two unnamed children of Salvation Army volunteers.
Developing News from the District President-Elect Training Team. The District President-Elect Training Team will be moving PETS 2 training back to the District in 2020. We have had a great run with MDPETS in Toronto for the past decade, however we feel our Presidents-Elect can be well served by keeping the event in the District with less commuting time and a reduced cost. PETS 1 online will continue as per normal.
Please note that MDPETS for this present year’s PEs will be in Toronto on March 1 & 2, 2019 and we ask that Presidents-Elect register for both PETS 1 online and MDPETS through the District web site ASAP.
Looking ahead to the Rotary year 2019 - 2020 we are interested in having three additional Rotarians join our standing committee to rollout PETS 1 online and PETS 2 advanced training. If you are interested, please contact Alexander Lutchin - al@careercompasscanada.com or Susan Czyrny - smczyrny@gmail.com to discuss the opportunity and expectations. The PETS standing committee members will be appointed to a three year term. The one day PETS 2 training event will alternate between Greater Buffalo and St. Catharines/Niagara and will be held in an appropriate venue with easy highway access and be able to accommodate the necessary resources needed.
At their Annual Christmas Party at the Como Restaurant, the Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY & Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON gave donations to help others in need at this time of the year. Pictured are Rotary Club President John Cich and Club Secretary Tom Gerbasi with representatives of the Care and Share Food Pantry, Heart, Love and Soul, and Newark Neighbours. Not Pictured are Maternity Services at Mt. St. Mary ’s Hospital, the Terry Fox Run at Niagara-on-the-Lake, and the Autism Center at Oishei Children’s Hospital.
On November 28, 2018 the club made a donation to help support Camp Hope and Teen Hope, projects of Niagara Hospice, which, every summer, provides a learning experience for children who have experienced a bereavement. Pictured are (L to R) Rotary Club Secretary Tom Gerbasi; Dr Sam Pappilardo, representing Camp Hope, and Club President John Cich.
In 2009, the Rotary Clubs of Fonthill, Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls Sunrise, St. Catharines and Welland joined together to develop a Rotary Mega TV Auction. Prior to this, there were 3 individual TV Auctions, some dating back for over 20 years. This year, we celebrated our 10th anniversary working with what is now YourTV, formerly Cogeco. This is also our second year of on-line bidding.
For these many years, Jack Custers and Darryl Day of YourTV have generously supported our endeavours to raise funds for the good of Rotary. They are part of our organizing committee and contributed vast amounts of personal time to make sure that our event runs seamlessly.
On Friday, November 30, 2018, while on air, it was a pleasure to recognize Jack and Darryl as Paul Harris Fellows on behalf of the 6 founding Mega Rotary TV Auction Clubs – Fonthill, Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls Sunrise, St. Catharines and Welland. You are both truly deserving for helping us all achieve our goals.
Picture: seated Left Darryl Day; Right – Jack Custers
Bids were flying at the Rotary Club of Akron Newstead’s 29th Annual Christmas Auction that benefits those less fortunate in the local community. Over 100 guests enjoyed a fun evening filled with good fellowship, good food and drink and tremendous generosity. The auction is one of the club’s largest fundraiser with this year’s event realizing nearly $18,000. Guests got into the action through live, Chinese and silent auctions. Also popular was the Rotary Angel Christmas Tree with ornaments that contained Christmas wishes of children. Guests became Angels when they adopted a child’s ornament. It wasn’t surprising that at the end of the evening all the children were “adopted”. The club works closely with the Akron Central School District in identifying where assistance is needed in Akron Newstead. Also, another example of the solid partnership between the club and the school is the high school’s vibrant Interact Club. Some of the club members showed Service Above Self when they were important helpers at this year’s Christmas Auction.
Pictured are(left to right) Mike Bakos, silent auction chair; Christina O’Mallory, Interact advisor; Julie Klotzbach, club president; Marlene Gehl, Chinese auction co-chair and Wally Smith, Chinese auction co-chair.
November 18 the cast party was held at Trinity United Church and the success of the 15th production was celebrated! "Family Footprints in Lincoln" - The extraordinary team of actors, writers, directors, crew and all volunteers who committed their time and efforts to make this show come to life are to be commended and celebrated as they helped "Make a Difference" in the Lincoln community. Since 2003, the annual tour has enabled the Rotary Club of Lincoln to contribute $190,000 to two significant community projects. As the tour continues to flourish, the club can consider financial support to other community projects.
The funds raised from the Lamplighter Tour are dedicated to building community through special projects that foster civic pride and enable the advancement of cultural and economic development in the Town of Lincoln.
Special thanks to Martha Kralt who took on the role as Producer and her Production Team as this year was a transitional year from an earlier production team, and a first year for Martha.
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville recently collected over 112 donated items for four local food pantries in Westfield, Mayville, Brocton and Ripley. Donations were dropped off at KeyBank in Westfield, and they were distributed the week of December 10. Shown are Westfield-Mayville Rotarians Ellen Luczkowiak (left) and Crystal Schrantz (right), two employees of the KeyBank Westfield branch who organized this food drive.
Eight members of the club gathered on November 15 to sign 633 holiday greeting cards, which were delivered in December to residents of veterans' medical facilities and area shut-ins. Plus, another 218 cards were given to Meals on Wheels program recipients and residents of a senior living facility. Shown (left to right) are Rotarians Linda Dunn, Sue Hammond, Mary Swanson, Sheila Chapman (project chair), Patty Benton, Steve Stratton, Jim Wakeman and John Hamels.
On December 1st, Buffalo Rotary President, Bill Larkin, spoke at the annual Tree Lighting at Rotary Rink at Fountain Plaza. The event also included holiday entertainment and visits with Santa. Under the leadership of then President, Joe DePaolo, Rotary Rink was officially dedicated in 1993 as one of our major projects in the City of Buffalo, allowing residents to ice skate for free. In the summer, the Rotary Rink serves as a fountain.
Grand Island Rotary tried something new this year – G I Chamber of Commerce had Light Up Boulevard parade as holiday season started on December 1. A surprising number of spectators watched us march, including 3 Interactors, with Rotarians at Work banner. A truck with lighted reindeer followed in the gloom. Yes, it was drizzling, but not bitter cold. We even received some good comments on our hardiness!
Grand Island Rotarians teamed up with their Interact groups at GI High School and Middle Schools, plus younger EarlyAct elementary students, to raise funds for the local Salvation Army. Salvation Army’s fund drive at our local Tops supermarket works best when animated, interested, bell ringers catch the eye of patrons; that takes effort, but the reward is cash in the Red Kettle! Half way thru our weekend sessions this holiday season and about $1000 has been raised. Here Rotarian Kyle Clayton, with Mike Malaney, plus Interactor Allison Hill take a break from interacting with patrons, for a photo!
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore Club is proud to receive the 2018 Literacy Project Award from the Literacy Rotarian Action Group. The Club’s project, “The School to Home Reading Program” in 4 local schools, offers 3 English and 2 French programs to encourage fluency, comprehension and the joy of reading. Selected students from grades 2 to 5 read to a volunteer (Rotarians & College/University students); take a book home to read to their family and the process repeats weekly from October to April. Leveled books are purchased yearly by the Rotary club and the average rise in literacy is between 4 to 9 levels. “Most Improved Reader Awards" are presented in June.
Foundation Chair, Sandi Chard with the assistance of past President Kent Chisholm, presented a banner to the club recognizing our members’ generous contribution to Polio+. During National Polio+ day last month (November 24, 2018). The club collected an additional donation at the dinner registration desk plus a $400. anonymous donation following the meeting. Our efforts netted over $3,000.
Congratulations to four new members, three of which were inducted at the regular meeting. The club welcomed Susan Knighton, Courtney Usborne and Carol Ann Shaw. Silvia Dimitrova will be inducted in January. Pictured are President Ellen Wodchis, left, followed by Susan, Courtney and Carol Anne.
December 3rd: Rotary Club of Jamestown President Katie Geise welcomed the many members, visiting Rotarians and guests and introduced Norman Lydell, Conductor of the Jamestown High School A’Cappella Choir who is performing their 94th concert series.
Mr. Lydell introduced the choir’s accompanist Brian Bogey, who preceded Mr. Lydell as its director. The choir will perform its annual Vespers concert at First Lutheran Church twice, including on December 16 at 4PM.
A’Cappella was started in 1924 by Miss Ebba Goranson and their Vespers performances have become a precious local holiday tradition. Additionally, The Rotary Club of Jamestown purchased the hand-held electric candles the A’Cappella choir carried in 1959!
The choir performed Kyrie Eleison – normally a processional, but this day, for the sake of time was performed with the choir standing in place on the risers. Other numbers performed included: Carol Noel, All is Well, Winter’s Night, Jesu Bambino, Little Innocent Lamb and several others. The concert ended with the traditional recessional to Silent Night.
The club keeps this traditional meeting to welcome in the Christmas holiday.
Who do you suppose turned up at the Speakeasy at an undisclosed location near Long Point on November 10th? All the local socialites were there, imbibing all manner of prohibited substances, when IPDG Reg Madison made a surprise appearance, dressed appropriately for the occasion and ready to play. Paulie guarded the door and ensured no riffraff gained entry. The poker table was busy all evening and no snitches ratted out the location. All was kept under wraps.
Chef Tracy and her crew provided delicious treats, generating rave reviews throughout the evening. A pianist and soloist regaled the patrons with songs of yesteryear.
On November 28th, the Rotary Club of Hamburg Sunrise inducted two new members, Rhonda Janks and Greg Roberts. The induction ceremony was conducted by PDG John Rydzik and Past President Mike Reilly. The Rotary Club of Hamburg Sunrise is now at 18 members and growing.
The club also recently held its 17th Annual Veterans Appreciation Dinner on November 17th. Each year the club honors three members of the various posts and awards a scholarship to a veteran currently enrolled at Hilbert College.
Christmas isn’t just a day…it is a frame of mind! You made magic happen yesterday for over 725 children at Cathy Wever School. We should all be proud to be Rotarians today. Not only did we have our Rotary Club’s largest hands on service project, but we raised a record amount of funds to cover all the costs associated with the Children’s Christmas Celebration.
There are so many outstanding stories from the Children’s Christmas Celebration. The children, the food, the computers, ice cream, books, gifts, singing, dancing and yes many volunteers helping make this a magical day!
There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as the power of a small group of people who do something good in the world. That is exactly what happened…. We filled tummies and put smiles on the faces of the children. You made Christmas happen for these children.
So many THANK-YOU’s are required – All the volunteers, the sponsors, virtual stocking donors and the members of the Rotary Club of Hamilton who make the Children’s Christmas Celebration possible for 725 inner city children. We could not have done it without the help of each and every one of you.
As we take time over the holiday season to spend time with our own family and friends, may you know that your efforts have made this Christmas special for many children in our community. Thank you!
Take a rest, enjoy the holiday season and remember the words written in Charles Dickens -Scrooge. “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year!”
The Vocational Training Team Committee is seeking 3 Team Members to Sao Paulo, Brazil, District 4480.
The deadline for candidates to apply is December 31st. Team Member applications can be obtained from the District Web Site. The cost of the VTT is covered by a District Grant and the hosting Rotary District. This includes all air and local transportation, accommodation and meals.
For further information contact VTT Chair Dan Smith at 716-269-9900, dsmith4416@gmail.com.
This VTT will offer participants the opportunity to experience the expertise of the Brazilian world-renown medical facilities and personnel in the Cancer, Ophthalmology and/or Heart and Coronary Procedures areas. The three VTT Team Members, qualified medical industry personnel, can be either Rotarians or non-Rotarians. There are no age limitations.
Can you think of one item that frustrates all six of Rotary’s areas of focus? In mine-affected countries, promoting peace, fighting disease, clean water, sanitation and hygiene, helping mothers and children, education, and local economies are all held back by one thing: landmines.
The Canadian Landmine Foundation is asking Rotarians to renew their commitment to eliminating these terrible weapons and helping those who live in fear of them.
Support for mine action is a time-tested way for Canadian Rotarians to advance all six of Rotary’s areas of focus. Rotarians and Rotary Clubs have helped the Canadian Landmine Foundation fund projects that cleared mines and assisted survivors in places like Bosnia, Mozambique, and Afghanistan.
Today the Canadian Landmine Foundation supports mine action in Cambodia through a partnership with a grassroots organization called Cambodian Self Help Demining which operates demining and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams in rural areas. When villagers find mines and other explosive remnants of war, one of their five EOD teams are dispatched to neutralize the explosives and conduct mine risk education.
How does mine action benefit Rotary’s areas of focus?
Mine Action Promotes Peace Landmines and explosive remnants of war claim lives long after the fighting ends. Mine action assists victims, fosters cooperation, and saves lives. Mine action helps people live in peace.
Mine Action Fights Disease Landmines and explosive remnants of war prevent clinics from opening and sick people from travelling to them. Mine action improves access to care for all.
Mine Action Provides Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Landmines and explosive remnants of war contaminate wells and aquifers, and prevent the construction of modern infrastructure. Mine action clears the way for safe access to housing and the sustainable development of basic services.
Mine Action Saves Mothers and Children Landmines and explosive remnants of war harm anyone who comes in contact with them and restrict access to crucial child and maternal care. Mine action removes these obstacles to help families grow safely and securely.
Mine Action Supports Education Landmines and explosive remnants of war endanger children on their way to school and keep them from attending for fear of injury or to care for injured loved ones. Mine action allows the safe construction of schools, and teaches children how to stay safe through mine risk education.
Mine Action Grows Local Economies Landmines and explosive remnants of war keep land from the plough, and block transportation routes. Mine action releases land for agricultural and industrial use, and (re)opens value chains and markets.
On behalf of the Canadian Landmine Foundation’s Rotary Engagement Committee, we ask that you consider a commitment to this worthwhile humanitarian cause, in keeping with this year’s Rotary theme to “be the Inspiration.” For more information on how your club can become involved, email us at admin@canadianlandmine.org or visit canadianlandmine.org/rotary.
All the best,
Wilf Wilkinson President of Rotary International 2007/08 Chair of The Rotary Foundation 2012/13
An annual scholarship was established by the Rotary Club of Lockport and the Lockport NY Rotary Foundation in memory of Norman W. Sinclair. Mr. Sinclair was a long time Lockport Rotarian and past President of Lockport Savings Bank. He was a founding member of the NCCC Foundation of Niagara County Community College (NCCC) who dedicated more than 24 years of service, tirelessly fundraising to help make NCCC an exceptional institution of higher learning.
This scholarship benefits students pursuing higher education at NCCC while recognizing in perpetuity the importance Mr. Sinclair placed on his relationship with the college and the significance of his contributions.
This Endowed Scholarship Fund is to be awarded to an incoming NCCC student who is enrolled full-time, resides in the Lockport School District, and is a graduate of the district high school or a regional private or parochial high school. The recipient must be of good character, have scholastic achievements, and demonstrated participation and leadership in extracurricular and community activities.
The Rotary Club vision for the NCCC scholarship in Norm Sinclair’s memory emerged from a strategic planning program conducted several years ago. Many Rotary club past officers and the Lockport NY Rotary Foundation officers have been committed to achieving this goal. It was with pleasure and pride that $10,000 was awarded to the NCCC Foundation to further sustain Mr. Sinclair’s Legacy.
Niagara County Community College Foundation, Inc. is a New York not-for-profit corporation and sole repository for philanthropic contributions to support Niagara County Community College (NCCC). Lockport NY Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation supporting the Rotary Club of Lockport in its mission of to fulfill community needs and advance world peace and understanding through programs and projects to support health care, youth development, sustainable communities, and cultural exchange at the local, regional and international levels.
On August 23rd 2018 the 4 Rotary Clubs in Norfolk County, Ontario (Simcoe, Delhi, Norfolk Sunrise and Norfolk Rotaract) held a joint work party to assemble and distribute floral arrangements to all 12 Norfolk County nursing and retirement homes. The Action Day was held at King's Garden Centre near Simcoe.
District Governor Melisa Schrock participated throughout the day alongside the other 70 volunteers. 180 arrangements were assembled and delivered to adorn the dining room tables and bring joy to some of the seniors in the Norfolk community.
During the Action Day, Rotarians also provided assistance to the Christmas Panorama, through paint touch-up of the Fantasy Castle display and building a new deck for a trailer.
The event culminated with a dinner and fellowship, a truly successful day of caring by and fellowship with Rotarians and friends in the Norfolk community.
Awarded to a student whose permanent address is within the boundaries of District 7090.
Scholarship Type
A general scholarship awarded to a student who at the time of application is in their first year of post-secondary education.
Scholarship Description
The scholarship will be based on the following criteria:
academic merit;
a demonstration of “Service Above Self”; and
an essay about the ideals of Rotary
The scholarship is open to any area of study.
The scholarship must be used towards full time post-secondary study at a University, College, or Community College.
The student must have their permanent address within the boundaries of District 7090.
Rotary’s conflict of interest policy does apply to this scholarship and as a result cannot be awarded to the following:
a Rotarian, including honorary Rotarian;
an employee of a club, district, or other Rotary Entity, or of Rotary International;
a spouse, lineal descendant (child or grandchild by blood, legal adoption, or marriage without adoption), spouse of lineal descendants, or ancestor (parent or grandparent by blood) of person(s) in the above categories;
an employee of an agency, organization, or institution that partners with The Rotary Foundation or Rotary International;
a former Rotarian or honorary Rotarian who has terminated membership within the preceding 36 months; or
a person who is ineligible based on a familial relationship to a former Rotarian or honorary Rotarian, for a period of 36 months after termination of family member’s membership
The application deadline is December 31 in the year that their post-secondary study has commenced.
The scholarship will be awarded by January 31 of the academic year in which their post-secondary study has commenced.
For an application, go to the Scholarship page on the District 7090 website. You can also email Scholarship Chair, Steve Keefe.
The Rotary Club of Dundas Valley recently celebrated the commitment of several non-Rotarians for their contributions to the local community. At its Annual Paul Harris dinner, the club granted Paul Harris Fellowships to four very worthy individuals.
Bill Parkes, retired executive director of HARRRP, has worked for over 8 years to provide clean and secure space for members of the local community to set up and run programs – about thirty in total, ranging from potter and painting to an excellent self-run choir.
Alan Hansell has personally managed a large number (600) of volunteers and guests to clean up Cootes Paradise – in an attempt to bring it back to its name, a paradise. His weekly cleanup efforts are complimented by a growing stewardship program. Alan is currently the Executive Director of the Stewards of Cootes Watershed.
Mary Bannatyne is always in the background, working to make things better for the citizenry of Dundas. She helps with St. Mark’s church, the monthly community dinner, Meals on Wheels and projects of the Sunrise Rotary Club.
Isabella O’Brien is one of the top young environmentalists in Canada; her science fair projects, all with a distinct environmental focus, have won international renown. In addition to her dedication to environmental concerns, Isabella has also served as a page in the provincial legislature and is an Ocean Youth Ambassador promoting awareness about ocean acidification. She was the youngest Canadian ever to be a global finalist in the Google Science Fair. Indeed, her bright, young (16 years of age) curious mind and her dedication to project follow-up are commendable qualities.
We congratulate all those who have made contributions to making Dundas a better place to live.
Flanked by District Governor Melisa Schrock and Club Foundation Chair Jessica Brennan are the new Paul Harris Fellows - William Parkes, Mary Bannatyne, Alan Hansell and Isabella O’Brien
The 98th annual Hamilton Fall Garden & Mum Show kicked off October 25, 2018 with a special preview of the Mum Show. The annual Mum Show is themed “Once Upon a Toy” and the Rotary Club of Hamilton is pleased to be a partner. Rotary Club of Hamilton has been recognized for our partnership, being the presenting sponsor of the Family Zone.
The Family Zone encourages children and families to enjoy hands on activities, movies and more. The Literacy Wall is a great addition and has great meaning for the Rotary Club of Hamilton as we have a focus on literacy. The club is expecting that over 12,000 visitors will have enjoyed the show and the Rotary Family Zone!
The Rotary Club of Ancaster AM held its annual Autumn Stroll event on September 9 in collaboration with local restaurants, wineries, and breweries. The "Stroll" takes place in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, and guests get to spend the afternoon in the middle of a forest sampling award-winning cuisine. This year, the club made $66,000 in ticket sales, and sold out ten days ahead of schedule!
Congratulations to member, Marc Johnston, who is the club's latest Paul Harris Fellow. He was recognized because of his tireless contribution to fundraising which sets the bar at a new high. President Ellen Wodchis and member Marlene Mader are pictured presenting the Paul Harris to Marc.
LITERACY… IS ALIVE AND WELL and now in very capable hands since the hiring of student, Sarah Andrews. Sarah was selected to oversee the club’s Literacy School to Home Reading Program. Her responsibilities include advertising, interviewing and selecting volunteers for our reading programs. A new school has been added this year making it a total of 4 schools and 5 programs now requiring hands on ‘readers’. This requires a fair bit of scheduling and tracking of volunteers to ensure that the schools receive the hands on support that our students need. Pictured are committee chairs Linda Landy (middle) and Milica Kovacevich (right) with Sarah Andrews (left).
Attached is a photo of Dr. Joe Girardi, member and past president of the Lancaster-Depew club. One of the club's most enjoyable ways to earn money as a group, to support college scholarships, is
through selling food at football concessions. Cooked hot dogs are just one part of the menu.
2018 was the 60th year that Lancaster-Depew Rotarians provided grant-type scholarships to graduating high school seniors.
The Rotary Club of Stoney Creek members along with their friends of Rotary once again demonstrated that Rotarians are truly People of Action. Everyone’s efforts during the club's 18th Year at the Winona Peach Festival was an Inspiration. Over 150 volunteers worked hard raising funds to be used to help people in the community and aid in improving conditions for people around the world.
Buffalo Sunrise bartenders Daniel Day (left) and Denis Lefebvre with PDG Kevin Crosby (front) at the Soho Bar “Drink responsibly but tip irresponsibly.” fund raiser.
The Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY & Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON held their last Picnic meeting of the Summer at the home of President John Cich and his lovely bride Barbara on August 22.
At that meeting, the club awarded a scholarship to graduating Lewiston Porter student Natalie Smith. Natalie will be attending the University of New Hampshire to pursue a Pre-Veterinary program of study.
Pictured are (L to R): Seated-Grandmother Barbara Johnson & Recipient Natalie Smith. Standing Secretary Tom Gerbasi & President John Cich.
Niagara Wheatfield Eco Campus Revitalization: A Rotary / Greenway Project. On the morning of October 13, 2018, threatening storm clouds rolled across the dark sky above the Niagara Wheatfield School Campus, not far from the US side of the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. A light rain was falling as Interactors and other students, teachers, Rotarians and other community volunteers gathered to transform three neglected and overgrown gardens along the trail that was created on the school campus as part of the Niagara Greenway project.
The spirit of students and community volunteers could not be dampened. As the work began, the rain subsided and the sun began to break through the clouds. Just two-and-a-half hours later, the transformation was complete, the tools were put away and folks gathered around the Rotary refreshment tent for a final cup of cider or coffee, Timbits, apples and popcorn. It was time to celebrate a job well done.
Kudos to the Rotary Club of Niagara County Central under President Dave Evans and the leadership of Past President, Pat Sullivan, who organized the project. With the support of student clubs, faculty, Rotarians and other volunteers, they managed to remove overgrown plants and weeds in three gardens, install 64 trees, shrubs, native grasses and flowers, and apply mulch. All of this in less than three hours. The “before” (left) and “after” (right) photos tell the story.
Albion Interactors joined Albion Rotarians on Thursday in filling about 100 bags with personal care items. These Interact members pictured include, from left, Susan He, Trinity Allen and Avalina Hand.
They joined Rotarians in filling the bags that are going to Medina Memorial Hospital. The Rotary Club also will be giving new shirts, sweatpants and underwear for the hospital to give to sexual assault victims. Those victims often have their clothing taken to be used as evidence.
The hospital sees about 50 sexual assault victims – females and males – each year at the emergency room. Sometimes the hospital has to give them gowns or surgical scrubs because there aren’t other clothes available.
Cindy Perry and Jessica Downey from Community Partners at Orleans Community Health will deliver the personal care items to the hospital. Pictured, from left, include: Cindy Perry, director of outreach, education and marketing at Community Partners; Michael Bonnewell, Albion Central School superintendent and a Rotarian; Jessica Downey, health educator with Community Partners; and Trinity Allen, Avalina Hand and Susan He, members of the school’s Interact Club, which is sponsored by the Rotary Club.
In June of 2018, at the end of IPDG Reg's term as governor, it finally came together. A celebrating document of over 90 years of Rotary in Norfolk county. All four Norfolk County clubs: Delhi, Norfolk Sunrise and Simcoe, plus Norfolk Rotaract, participated. It was and is an amazing effort to raise the awareness of Rotary in their neighborhood. They were thoughtful to forward the link to the newspaper style publication to share with D7090 Rotarians. The editor of the publication is Dave Douglas, Rotarian and member of the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise. Click on the link below to review the publication.
Max Hufer, Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Germany sponsored by the Buffalo Sunrise Rotary Club, is welcomed at the Buffalo Airport by host family Melanie and Tom Morse and their son Charlie.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg recently inducted Sarah Fiorello into Rotary. President Brandi Reed, right, conducted the ceremonies welcoming Sarah into the club. She is a first grade teacher with the Eden School District. The club meets at 6 p.m. in the evening, which allows this teacher to participate.
Aligning with the thoughts of Rotary International President, Barry Rassin, we need to embrace change and must address the present global challenges through the work of our Rotary/Rotaract clubs. In recognition of our said values, the Rotaract eClub of Social Innovators (RoeSI) was formed to leverage opportunities for creating an impact on a global scale. On October 20, the club is formally recognized with it's Charter presented by President Barry himself at the District 7090 Conference 2018 at Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre.
Pictured are Emma Woodbeck, RoeSI Treasurer and Mayur Mukai RoeSI member with President Barry after accepting the charter.
Many great things happened at the 2018 District Conference. It was impossible to leave without learning something new about our leadership possibilities through Rotary. One presentation that was little noticed was to PDG Karen Oakes and Wolfgang. They entered their beautiful Corvette in the Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew Car Show, but left before awards were presented. Their car received Best New Millennium Vehicle. Immediate Past President Rob Benzel had the pleasure of catching up with them to present the deserved, but overdue award at District Conference.
Just a few months ago the IPDG, Reg Madison, welcomed a group of 10 Rotarians from Thailand and now we have the honor of fulfilling our exchange with them.
A "RFE" Rotary Friendship Exchange is furthering relationships with Rotarians in another country. Bringing ideas together to enhance the spirit of fellowship and togetherness as a global organization. Usually visiting Rotarians are hosted in homes of the host country, provided an opportunity to experience various sights and taste exotic foods.
Those on the team pictured left to right are: Barb Babij, Dundas, Anka Masek, Tonkovic, Osijek Croatia, Bob Artis, Clarence, Walt Veckie, Dundas Valley Sunrise, Elizabeth Fisk, Grimsby, Bill Greenwood, Niagara Falls, ON, Dave Fisk, Lincoln, Barb Greenwood, Niagara Falls, ON, Terry Babij. Not pictured: PDG Charolette Herlong, Dunkirk Fredonia, PDG Pravin Suchak, Amherst, Andy Rich, LeRoy, Anne Marie Dean, Dunkirk Fredonia.
First leg of our visit is to Bangkok and Pattaya, some opted to visit Chiang Mai, where we will visit The Royal Palace, see the Golden Budah, the floating market and oh yeah, massage therapists to revitalize our frail frames.
It is our expectation that this exchange will offer chances for unique cultural immersion and interchanges, as well as offering educational and professional opportunities to build a network of global partners.
The Rotary Club of Hamilton presented the Vision Cares Project with a $15,000 cheque at their last Rotary meeting. The Vision Cares project is part of the District Matching Grant (matching $2000). The Rotary Club of Hamilton helped pilot the Vision Cares project a number of years ago. The concept was to have all children at Cathy Wever School have eye exams and supply glasses and frames to those who require them for free. The pilot showed the great need for eye care in schools, helping many children to see and engage in learning and literacy. The Vision Cares program has grown to include every elementary and high school in Hamilton. Over 5,000 children have had vision testing and more than 400 will receive eye glasses for a minimal cost of $10 and another 409 were to see the Pediatric Ophthalmologist at McMaster. The Rotary Club of Hamilton was able to leverage their funds with a Rotary District Grant to support the Vision Cares Program with a $15,000 cheque. The picture was taken at our weekly lunch meeting to demonstrate the impact Rotary can make in the lives of children across our community.
Pictured (L to R): Past President Alex Moroz, President Nancy Baker and Past President Brad Spencer.
A group of volunteers under the leadership of David Fisk invaded the Grimsby Farmer's Market on August 16, 2018, to answer questions about the Lamplighter Tour and to recruit actors and volunteers for this year’s performance. Props were used and free bookmarks handed out to the crowd containing pertinent information for this year’s Lamplighter Tour being held Nov. 16-18, 2018.
As a result of the 2016 Council on Legislation resolutions, Rotary clubs have much greater latitude to define special membership types – such as Corporate, Family and Associate memberships. Keep in mind that these are club-defined categories. Rotary International doesn’t recognize or define the criteria for these categories. RI simply recognizes Active and Honorary members. If your club would like to create a special category of membership, like “Corporate Member” there are two important things to keep in mind:
Thing 1: Your club is free to offer alternative membership types of any kind, as long as new members are counted as individuals — corporate members for example — rather than the corporations that sponsor their membership. Only people are members, not organizations. If the members pay RI & district dues, they will be included in your club's official membership count and receive all the benefits that other active, dues-paying members enjoy. Only those individuals for whom RI & district dues are paid will be considered as active members of your club by RI. So, we recommend that the dues paid for individuals joining through a group membership cover the RI and district dues. Currently, the combined RI and district dues are less than US$115 per person per year. It is less for members who join after January 1 since those members pay only half of the RI dues until the next Rotary year.
Thing 2: Your club can have different policies for these members, e.g., club dues, meal costs, attendance requirements, or service expectations, as long as these policies are reflected in the club bylaws.
The club's 9th annual concert season wrapped up August 28th. Sunset Music Series fans have enjoyed another terrific concert series. With some 50 talented musicians performing at the Rotary Shell against a backdrop of spectacular sunsets at 9 weekly concerts at Charles Daley Park in the Town of Lincoln. The Sunset Music series is a self-sustaining community project involving a host of community partners and volunteers under the leadership of the Rotary Club of Lincoln.
It is with the combination of funds raised through weekly collections from the audience and annual sponsor donations that the Rotary Club of Lincoln was able to offer FREE ADMISSION to each concert for all members of our community no matter what their means. The club thanks all its Sunset Music Series fans and sponsors for helping to make this possible once again.
On September 12, 2018, Welland Mayor Campion, representatives from Habitat For Humanity Niagara and Members of Welland Rotary gathered at the intersection of Frazer Street and Mill Street in Welland to ‘unveil’ a new street sign.
This sign is a new concept for the City. The Commemorative Street Naming Program recognizes local organizations that have made contributions in the community based on historical content and/or community involvement. Although Frazer Street will retain its legal street name, the new Welland Rotary Way will stand as a reminder and observe how the Rotary Club of Welland made significant contributions to the Habitat for Humanity Niagara build on Frazer Street.
“I’m proud of the leadership Rotary Members provide both within the local community and the community at large,” said Welland Rotary President David Alexander. He continued, “In this case, four Rotarians, Nick Bodo, Paul Leon, Roman Groch, and Graham Speck, stepped up and supported this initiative. We are also proud of our partnership with Habitat For Humanity Niagara.”
The Rotary Club of Jamestown enjoyed a wonderful performance recently from Joseph Tancredi (vocalist) and Martin Dube (pianist) from the Chautauqua Institution School of Music. Kevin Sixbey introduced both to the club. So far, the club has provided over $16,000 in scholarships to music students at Chautauqua Institution.
Pictured (L to R): Martin Dube, Joseph Tancredi, Cheri Krull & Kevin Sixbey.
Two new members were recently welcomed into the Rotary Club of Jamestown. Kathy Burch and James Gamina received their Rotary pins and plaques at a ceremony held in early August. Kathy is the Financial Officer at the Gebbie Foundation. In the past, she worked for the Chautauqua County Health Network and American Red Cross. Kathy and her husband live in Onoville, and run the Kinzua Campground. Kathy is also Past-President of the Olean Rotary. Her sponsor was Tory Irgang.
James is the President of the Jamestown Music Association. A retired Army colonel, James lives in Bemus Point. He was a past Rotary member from Oil City, PA. James’ sponsor was John Lloyd.
Pictured (L to R): Membership Committee Member Tory Irgang, Kathy Burch, Rotary Club President Katie Geise, James Gamina, Membership Committee Chairman Randy Sweeney
We are just 14 days away from the upcoming District Conference! If you haven’t signed up yet, please take a moment and view our video “10 Reason’s Why You Should Come to the District Conference - part 1”! Future Rotarian DGD Erin (District Governor Daughter) has laid out the first 5 reasons “WHY”!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian Rotarians! For the American’s celebrating Columbus Day, enjoy!
Nope! That is NOT a typo! RI President, Barry Rassin, will be joining us live – in the flesh – at our upcoming District Conference on October 20, 2018! This is truly a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for you to meet our current RI President, up close and personal! Click here TO REGISTER.
Nope! That is NOT a typo! RI President, Barry Rassin, will be joining us live – in the flesh – at our upcoming District Conference on October 20, 2018! This is truly a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for you to meet our current RI President, up close and personal! President Barry was overwhelmed by our 7090 Rotaractors at the recent RI Convention in Toronto. When he found out they were the ones to start the “BARR – Y, BARR-Y” chant, and subsequent dance party on the hall floor, he immediately replied, “Those were YOUR Rotaractors?! For them, I will be there!! We need to make this happen!” So fellow Rotarians, please join me in showcasing District 7090 to our President, Barry Rassin!
Registration is open now. In addition to having the “ultimate guest speaker” to open our Conference, we have planned a day filled with education, engagement and entertainment! Over the remaining 29 days until our conference, we will be sharing information about all of the activities available on that day. You can also check out the conference website at www.districtconference7090.org or further details. We are requiring registration for the various service “engagement” projects being offered, as space is limited for each.
Mark your calendar, plan your day and join us on October 20, 2018. Expect to be re-energized with Rotary enthusiasm that always comes by spending time engaged in service and fellowship with other Rotarians. Walk away knowing that you too, can “Be The Inspiration” when we all work together to practice Service Above Self.
PLEASE NOTE - VIEW THIS IN WEB BROWSER TO SEE YOUR PERSONAL INVITATION FROM MELISA AND BARRIE!!!!
>RI President Barry Rassin Attends 7090 Conference<
We all get many, many emails from Rotary and on Rotary related topics. I'm respectfully requesting you give your attention to this one. Our topic is the upcoming event planned for September 20 - 22, 2018 in Montreal.
Formerly known as the Zone Institute, we have renamed it the Zone Conference. So, what's the same, and what's the difference? The institute was originally designed to motivate, inspire and educate past, current and incoming district governors. That has not changed. We want and need as many past governor in attendance because we know there is a critical
mass of that talent and leadership that can make an event magical. The pledge of the entire planning team is that the event will be worthy of your time and resources.
What has changed. Historically, attendance at a Zone Institute was restricted to those in the governor line. If that wasn't you, you weren't allowed to register for the entire event. What we know though, and there are examples repeated over and over again, is that club and district Rotarians who have been able to interact with District Governors (past, present and future) get inspired by them and become more engaged in our organization. They get more involved. They aspire to higher levels of leadership, some of them even getting on the governor track. (Our organization and our Zones need more of that engagement NOW).
We decided to facilitate that process and open up Montreal to ALL Rotarians. We want to facilitate and be a catalyst for that engagement between our governors (their knowledge, leadership skills, and commitment) and club and district Rotarians. The goal is that it will be meaningful for all. The goal is that it will speak to all who attend.
Pictured to the right, Debbie Burkhard receives her Above & Beyond award from fellow Ellicottville Rotarians John Weismantel and Greg Cappelli.
Debbie Burkhard received a special award from her club at the annual Officers Induction Dinner at The Public House in Ellicottville NY. “Debbie always goes above and beyond the norm when it comes to helping with our local projects,” said Greg Cappelli, the past president. "She puts all of her effort to make sure that the particular event is a success. Whether it was the Facebook page or Chili Cook Off or Tuscan Moon or Irish Christmas, Debbie was front and center as a volunteer, insuring our success."
The entire club appreciates her dedication and selfless attitude.
For at least the past two decades, the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville has provided thousands of dollars in financial contributions to the Chautauqua Foundation, specifically in support of scholarships for music students who are enrolled in the Chautauqua Institution School of Performing Arts. This year five talented students, who benefited by the $1,000 partial scholarship donation made by the Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club, gratefully offered a special performance at this organization’s July 31 meeting, which was held at the Lakeshore Assembly of God Church in Westfield.
Helen Baran, a past president of the club, who had arranged for this program, welcomed and introduced the five scholarship recipients. Pictured (L to R): Matthew Pearce, Youjung Won, Matthew Soibelman, Gretchen Pille and Jinhee Park and Helen Baran. Pearce, Won, Pille and Soibelman, who are enrolled in the voice program, each sang one or two selections. They were accompanied on the piano by Park, who is also studying at Chautauqua Institution this summer.
Matthew Pearce, from Union, Kentucky, is a tenor in the voice program. He is in his second year of his master’s program at The Julliard School. He performed ‘O Sole Mio [lyrics by G. Capurro; music by E. di Capua and A. Mazzuchi].
Youjung Won, a soprano in the voice program, is from Seoul, South Korea. She is enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music. She performed Heart, We Will Forget Him [A. Copland] and Will There Really Be a Morning? [R.I. Gordon].
Matthew Soibelman, whose hometown is Tarzana, California, is a bass baritone in the voice program. He is entering his senior year at California State University. He performed I’m a lonely man, Susannah [C. Floyd].
Gretchen Pille, a soprano in the voice program, is from Papillion, Nebraska. Having just graduated from the University of Kansas, she will be moving to New York City in the fall. She performed Loveliest of Trees [AE Housman, J. Duke] and Forever Young (from “Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan”) [J. Corigliano].
Jinhee Park is a pianist from Seoul, South Korea, and she currently lives in New York. She obtained her Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School and she is enrolled in post-graduate studies at The Manhattan School of Music. As the four vocalists sang their selections, Park accompanied them on the piano.
My fellow Rotarians, our District Governor Melisa, #Changemaker, wants you to "be the Changemaker". Each year our Rotary World use the same membership numbers 1.2M Rotarians. Let us begin to INSPIRE & INFLUENCE young professionals in our Rotary world, District 7090, and increase our numbers like never before. We can do it - be the changemaker.
Please join me and watch a Young Professional, Mitty Chung, e-club of Silicon Valley tell it like it is! Click HERE to view the video.
District 3360 just completed their exchange with us and are inviting us to visit them from October 25 to November 15, 2018. The exchange will visit Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Northeastern Thailand.
Rotarian Kate Stratford of Simcoe is our Travel Agent and says, "Round trip air fare via Eva Airways from Toronto to Bangkok is the best value at $1,146.40 CN including taxes and fees." You may also use travel reward points. For those departing from US side, I suggest Mega bus or share ride.
These are a few venues in Bangkok, the city that never sleeps and Pattaya:
On July 10 the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville welcomed Sheila Chapman, a Brocton resident, as its newest member. Pete Bills, Membership Chair, led the induction ceremony, which was held during this Rotary club’s installation banquet at Noble Winery in Westfield.
Chapman, who has lived in Brocton for 13 years, is a retired high school math teacher. When asked why she elected to seek membership in the Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club, Chapman responded, “I enjoy volunteering and giving back to the community. This seemed to be the essence of Rotary, and it made me want to be a part of this organization that gives back to so many.”
She is a volunteer instructor for the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) Driver Safety Program, and she also serves as its district coordinator and trainer. Her hobbies include quilting, reading and helping at her church. She started a Christian book club at the Ahira Hall Memorial Library in Brocton. Her spouse is Charlie Chapman, and they have four children and two grandchildren.
Buffalo Sunrise volunteers Angela Hintz, Liz Hole, Barb Ochterski, PDG Wally Ochterski, Bruce Baum, Dick Malo (not pictured) sort food collected at the Erie County Fair.
Recently, District 7090 hosted a Rotary Friendship Exchange from Thailand, District 3360. The team of 24 was comprised of twelve Rotarians; one past district governor, ten past presidents and one guest.
Pictured is the RFE team with Dick Beyers "The Destroyer", a WWWF Champion and wife. Both are members of DG Melisa's club, the Rotary Club of Akron. These are but a few of the highlights of participating clubs:
The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, ON and Niagara Falls Sunrise treated the team to a Canadian Day celebration and turning on the falls lights, visits to wineries and of course, the team's favorite, shopping, as well as Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.
Then on to be hosted by the Rotary Club of Welland where they saw the Welland Canal in action, moving tons of cargo through narrow locks. They also met the mayor and other city dignitaries.
Visiting the Rotary Club of Dunkirk-Fredonia they were treated to a fly-in breakfast with several members taking a vintage airplane ride. They were treated to a visit to the University of New York at Fredonia, as well as an annual Italian festival.
The Batavia and Le Roy clubs took the RFE team to see the beautiful nature of Letchworth State Park and, of course, Niagara Falls on USA side. Then they went on to attend one of America's favorite summer sports, baseball; for most of the team this was the first time watching in person and up close.
The Rotary Club of Clarence took the team to visit and explore the diversity of our religious faiths by visiting churches of different beliefs. They also involved the team in a hands on project: food packing at Buffalo City Mission.
They were hosted by Rotarian Shefali Clerk of the Rotary Club of Amherst South for their farewell party.
The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, Ontario has had a busy and fun June and early July. Eight members and two spouses attended the Rotary International Convention in Toronto and had a great time. Arriving home from the convention, the club participated with other District 7090 clubs to host twelve Rotarians on a Friendship Exchange from Thailand. Clubs from Buffalo, Niagara Falls ON and Welland were involved. Ron Lyons, the club's International Service Director arranged three full days of touring in Niagara Falls escorting the guests to Welland. Our guest Rotarians were home hosted by club members. Five of the Thai Rotarians attended the RI Convention in Toronto and seven flew in to Buffalo via New York.
Pictured are the Thai visitors with President Jim Craig at the club's meeting on July 3rd.
The Rotaract Club of the University at Buffalo held their chartering ceremony on Tuesday, June 19, aboard the USS Little Rock, which is part of the Buffalo Naval Park, located in beautiful downtown Buffalo. Between ticket sales and the 50/50 raffle, they were able to raise over $2,000 for their operational budget for the upcoming academic year. The club would like to thank their donors, Bing’s Catering and Flying Bison Brewery, as well as the attendees for the support they received in the form of ticket purchases.
The Rotaract Club of the University at Buffalo will be entering its third year of operation, and looks to continue assisting with planting trees at Lake LaSalle, located on UB North Campus, under the direction of Molly Dreyer, a recent UB graduate. The club will also use funds raised during this campaign to move forward with their own projects, including a coat drive and a food recovery initiative.
Over the Canada Day weekend, the Rotary clubs of Waterdown and Flamborough AM held their 9th Annual Oh Canada Ribfest, a fundraiser for the two Rotary clubs. From the photos, it looks like Governor Melisa was having a great time posing with awardees.
On the right, do you think DG Melisa was trying to explain to Bucky, the event's mascot, what a #Changemaker is?
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville recently contributed $500 in support of the Village of Westfield Recreation Department’s pool program for youth at its Welch Field Pool, which was opened to the public on August 13, 1967. The Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club was the original lead organization that encouraged the Westfield Village Board officials to accept its swimming pool proposal, and it raised about $50,000 during the 1960’s towards construction costs.
Andrew Webster, Westfield Recreation Department Director, accepted this Rotary club’s $500 donation and came to its June 19 meeting to thank the group and to speak about the pool and various aspects of the Westfield Welch Field Summer Program. Webster stated, “The Village of Westfield Recreation Department is one of only three in Chautauqua County, with the other two being in Dunkirk and Jamestown, more urban settings. As far as I know, our Welch Field Pool is the only public outdoor pool in the county. Last year, the pool celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville played the major role in establishing the pool. We are very grateful for this Rotary club’s support and its $500 contribution.”
He continued, “About 75% of our summer recreation activities involve the pool program. Annually we need at least $3,000 in donations to help offset associated costs, such as the four to five lifeguards, pool chemicals and minor expenses. We offer 100 open swims during the summer, and both youth and adult programs. The donation from your Rotary club will help us to continue to offer free swimming for youth under the age of 18, including swim lessons and swim team opportunities.”
Though the pool program is the most popular, Webster noted that the Westfield Recreation Department also offers field activities and a drama program. There are numerous outdoor activities, indoor games, field trips, arts and crafts sessions, special events, a skate park, free movies in Moore Park and Welch Field, special events and a bike tour. There are youth, adult and family programs.
After Webster concluded his presentation to the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, he had an opportunity to meet and briefly speak with Steve Elliott, the only current club member who remembers this organization’s campaign to establish the Welch Field Pool. Elliott, who has been a continuous member of Rotary since 1960, said, “Members of our Rotary club worked really hard to have this public pool become a reality. We had a lot of fundraisers, such as chicken barbecues, to raise the thousands of dollars that were needed.” Pictured is Steve Elliot (left) with Andrew Webster.
In the 1960’s this Rotary club led a campaign to generate support of its pool proposal and it then raised about $50,000. Other groups and individuals helped to raise another $25,000 to build the pool. On May 9, 1967, a ground-breaking ceremony for the pool was held. The pool and a bathhouse were open to the public on August 13, 1967. Thanks to an anonymous individual, the girls’ locker room of the bathhouse was recently renovated. The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville is proud of its history with the Welch Field Pool.
On Monday, June 25, 2018, the Rotary Club of Waterdown hosted their changeover meeting with several guests present to recognize PDG Bob Bruce with The Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award. PDG Bob was nominated for this award by PDGs Karen Oakes and John VanLaar with endorsement by IPDG Marlee Diehl. Bob was escorted to the front of the room by IPDG Marlee and DG Reg Madison. Others PDGs in attendance were PDGs Don Hilborn, Art Wing, Joe DePaolo and DGE Melisa Schrock with numerous other PDGs sending their congratulatory wishes to Bob.
Pictured left to right are PDG Art Wing, PDG Joe DePaolo, PDG Don Hilborn, PDG Karen Oakes, PDG Bob Bruce, PDG Marlee Diehl, DG Reg Madison and DGE Melisa Schrock.
The Rotary Club of Waterdown is notably proud of this recognition to their fellow Rotarian Bob Bruce as he was one of only 50 possible recipients from around the globe recognized for their exceptional service to The Rotary Foundation. Well done, Bob!
It was a great evening of laughter and fellowship as Rotarians and guests celebrated many other significant milestones, including new member inductions, anniversaries, honouring special Rotary Foundation supporters as well as a review of the exceptional year under the leadership of President Sabih and welcoming incoming President Sue to the helm.
On Monday of the Rotary International Convention, delegates have the opportunity to venture into the community surrounding the convention and be “home hosted” by a Rotarian (and significant other) in their homes. Occasionally, the venue has been a centralized barbecue or other meal, but, for sure, being in a Rotarian’s home for a few hours, sharing Rotary stories and ideas is a wonderful way to “get away” from the hustle and bustle of the convention.
This year, District 7090, under the leadership of Anne Bermingham, hosted about 150 people for dinner on Monday, June 25th. They came by bus – and that was an adventure in itself as a bad car accident closed the Queen Elizabeth highway and changed a 1 hour trip into a 3 hour trip from Toronto to Hamilton; however, Anne quickly reorganized and we extended the stay of our guests for an extra hour or so. Pictured left is Anne Bermingham, center front, with her guests at her home in Highview.
Talk about hospitality! Rotarians stepped up from all over the area - the Rotary club of Hamilton AM, Hamilton, Hamilton After Five (Tonic), Hamilton Mountain and Dundas Valley Sunrise all got involved. Some Rotarians hosted two couple, four couples or even ten couples in their homes. The Hamilton Mountain club entertained 20 at the yacht club, the Rotary Club of Hamilton After Five (Tonic), had 18 at Rotarian Marcel Mongeon’s back yard. One Rotarian, Michael Howes, hosted the couples at his boat dockside. People were entertained on boats, in gardens and backyards and around dinner tables in Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Ancaster, Aldershot and Dundas.
It was an amazing effort by many amazing people. MANY, MANY thanks to all those who were willing to host, transport or do any of the other many roles to make this a successful evening; but special thanks to our bus monitors – David Williams, Leo Johnson, Tim McClemont, and Rotaractor, Jelaine Foster – as well as our fearless leader, Anne.
Pictured right is a photo taken by hosts Helen and Wayne Massey, Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise, at their home as the group was preparing to disperse having been wined (lots) and dined on Wayne’s special treatment of steak and salmon, preceded by charcuterie and salad, and then topped off with strawberry cake and rhubarb crisp and icewine. The guests are Tom and Stephanie Smith from Tsawassen, British Columbia, Karen and Ted Ellis from East Rutherford, Texas, and the hostesses with the MOSTEST, Helen Massey and Lynne Morrow.
District 7090 was the only District in Zone 24 with more than 2,000 members to increase its membership in the 2017-18 Rotary year.
Over the 2017-18 Rotary year, District 7090’s membership grew by 40 from 2,124 on July 1, 2017 to 2,164 on June 30, 2018. District 7090’s membership growth last Rotary year came from an increase of 46 new members in our new Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators (RESI) with the membership of all other District 7090 clubs collectively decreasing by 6 members.
Our membership growth during the 2017-18 Rotary year further solidified District 7090’s position as the largest Rotary District in Zone 24 East by widening our lead over District 7070, that includes the City of Toronto, York Region and Durham Region, which lost 36 members from 2,003 on July 1, 2017 to now sits at 1,967 members as of June 30, 2018.
Within all of Zones 24 & 32, membership decreased in the 2017-18 Rotary year by 1,207 from 60,415 on July 1, 2017 to 59,208 on June 30, 2018.
In fact, among the Zone 24 Districts with more than 2,000 members on July 1, 2017, District was the only one to increase its membership during the 2017-18 Rotary year.
District 5050 (BC and Washington State) stayed at 2,511 members from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018; while District 5060 (parts of B.C. & Washington State) lost 32 members from 2,637 to 2,605 and District 5370 (parts of Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan & Northwest Territories) lost 94 members from 2,130 to 2,036 over the same period.
As a result, District 7090’s membership passed District 5370 to become the third largest District in Zone 24 during the 2017-18 Rotary year.
Karen Sawicz, right, was sworn in as the new president of the Rotary Club of Albion on Thursday night by Tracy Ford, Assistant Governor. This will be the third time she will be the president of the club. She is the owner and publisher of The Lake Country Pennysaver and Orleans Hub.
Mike Bonnewell, right, receives a plaque and president’s pin from Rotarian Ed Fancher after Bonnewell served the past year as president. Bonnewell is the superintendent of Albion Central School. He also was named a Paul Harris Fellow, the club donating $1,000 in his name to the Rotary Foundation for its humanitarian work.
Members of the board of directors take their oath of office including, from left: Mary Anne Braunbach, Heidi Truschel, Doug Farley, Deb Boyer, Ed Fancher and Mike Bonnewell. Dick Remley, Bruce Landis and Becky Karls are also on the board. AG Tracy administered the oath.
The Rotary Club of Jamestown held its annual Recognition Dinner recently at Moon Brook and honored its outgoing officers and directors including President Joelle Washer as well as inducting its new President Katie Geise.
President Joelle was presented with a Paul Harris Fellow Recognition for her leadership in 2017-18. In receiving her award, Ms. Washer is entitled to name another individual to also be honored and she chose her husband Dana Washer. She stated, "Dana is my rock. Without him, I would be unable to participate in all of the volunteer activities I have been involved with.” Pictured left (Left to Right) are Greg Jones, Rotary Foundation Chair congratulating Joelle and Dana. Pictured right (Left to Right) are Lisa Yaggie, Assistant Governor installing Katie Geise as President for 2018-2019.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg on July 11, 2018, recognized member, Patricia Castiglia, for exemplary service, giving her a few special gifts from the club from the recent Rotary International Convention held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Hamburg Rotarians who attended the convention: Dale and Barbara Stanley, Lisa Avery and Eileen Hotho brought back a convention t-shirt, visor and travel tags for Castiglia who has served as president two times, currently chairs two district committees and most recently has served as club secretary for two consecutive terms. Pat is shown modeling her new swag.
Throughout the 107-year history of the Rotary Club of Buffalo, it has given back to the City of Buffalo through the generous contributions of its many members. To date, the club has given out over $1.9 million in local grants.
Buffalo Rotarians are very concerned with the future of children in the community and understand the impact that local libraries have on the lives of those children. On June 27, 2018, the club presented the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library System with a major project grant award, “Rotary Reads – Kids Club”, in the amount of $116,675 for the rehabilitation of the children’s sections of 8 City of Buffalo libraries. This project was selected from over 30 applicants.
Pictured left – Kathy Trost and Jill Dunn present a $2,000.00 check to Sydney Sanders from EFD Explorer Program. For the third year in a row the Rotary Club of Ellicottville Foundation for Youth donated $2,000.00 to the Ellicottville Fire Company. This donation will help fund new members in 2018 for the EFD Explorer Program. This program, in conjunction with the Boy Scouts of America, provides an opportunity for any child (aged 13 – 16) to become a volunteer fireman in training. Zach Golley, Kyle Germain and Daniel Tapikin are 3 young men from the Explorers who have joined the regular ranks of the Volunteer Firefighters over the past years.
“This type of program fits perfectly with the Rotary Foundation for Youth’s mission and we are happy to help," said Kathy Trost, Secretary of the Rotary Club of Ellicottville. She continued, “Our intention is to try to support two new members every year. We believe that this helps the Volunteer Fire Company maintain and grow the EFD who provide a tremendous service to our community." Jill Dunn added, “We are able to provide this funding because of the generous support for our fundraisers like Tuscan Moon.”
"The high cost of equipment for volunteers has been a limiting factor for growth of the program. This generous donation will help us grow the program and add much needed help to the company," said Debbie Golley from EFD.
There are currently seven members of the Explorer program. Explorer members get to participate in meetings, work nights, as well as in fire and ambulance calls. During work nights they learn about various fire trucks and equipment, like airpacks and they get to practice running the hose. While attending an actual fire, there are restrictions to what they can do to ensure safety, while allowing them to learn. At the scene they report to the assistant chief or captain for their assignments.
On Wednesday, June 27th the East Aurora Rotary Club hosted their 2018 Induction Dinner. Members welcomed new President Bob Young and also inducted Jim Schneider, Paul Blowers and Ted Borowiak as new board members for next year.
Pictured is (left to right) 2017-2018 President Doug Harty with 2018-2019 President, Bob Young.
A chance meeting on a bus when attending the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta (2017) lead to a visit from Rotarians from Cupertino & San Jose clubs on their way to Rotary International Convention held in Toronto June 23-27, 2018.
The nine Californians, after an exchange of e-mails, were invited to attend the Rotary Club of Lincoln's Changeover, where the old board finishes their term and the new president and board begins their term for the new Rotary year. The club called it the "Carry On" as the president and board have all agreed to stay on for a second year.
Attending from California were members of the Rotary Club of Cupertino: Orrin Mahoney, Outgoing Governor District 5170, Hung Wei, Membership Director, District 5170, Helene Davis, 2018-19 Club President, and her husband, Jim, and Rotarians Dana Stern, Jayne Ham and Janet Breen.
In addition, Kathleen Thomas from the Rotary Club of San Jose, Janel Breen from the Rotaract Club of Silicon Valley and Collin Breen, District 5170 Governor of Rotaract.
An exchange of flags with President Sue Foster and then the barbecue and fellowship began.
The group from California were billeted by member Barb Mitges and her husband, George, as well as member Ron Kielstra and his wife, Ingrid. A two-night stay with a tour arranged for Friday and then a ride to Burlington to catch the Go Train on Saturday where the group would be attending the convention in Toronto.
A chance meeting, an exchange of contact information and the meeting of like-minded Rotarians that became friends.
On Wednesday, June 20, 2018, The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls hosted their Annual Golf Tournament at Grand Niagara Golf Club. It was a great success with over 70 golfers, and due to the committee’s hard work, the tournament managed to raise $7,700.00!
Thank you to Meadows I.D.A and Beatties Basics for sponsoring the event! We also had a great deal of businesses and Rotarians throughout our community who donated prizes for our raffle table, and who also sponsored the event by signing up to be a hole sponsor.
It was a fun and successful day, and the Rotary club looks forward to next year’s golf tournament already booked at Grand Niagara for June 19, 2019!!
Looking for a way to get involved in the District? Looking for a way to support the successful on-boarding of new Rotarians? We have the perfect role for you!
Join the District New Member On-Boarding Committee and help plan, develop and implement strategies and activities that support the successful orientation of new Rotarians to their club, the district and Rotary International. Our work supports the growth and development of the membership in our clubs/district, creates tools, hosts training sessions and more. Committee meetings are online via Zoom once per month the second Thursday of each month at noon. For more information, contact Tamara Coleman-Lawrie at tamara@d7090.org.
Have you visited our District 7090 Resource Food Truck lately? Check out the tasty recordings and PowerPoint presentations from our great series of webinars on membership – including topics like “5 Key Elements of an Effective Membership Plan,” “Recruiting & Retaining Young Professionals,” and “Best Practices for Onboarding New Members.” You may want to share these treats with other members of your club. They’re non-fattening, but might result in added members to your club. You can find the Food Truck parked here.
This was the theme of the Rotary International Convention which recently took place in Toronto, Ontario. District 7090 was out in full force, with over 300 Rotarians in attendance. As the incoming District Governor, this was the major kick off for my Rotary year and what a blast my husband John and I had! We had the opportunity to hear some amazing speakers such as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne, current and incoming RI Presidents Ian Riseley and Barry Rassin and many, many more! The speeches were electrifying, the House of Friendship was overflowing with amazing projects, and the Rotary vendors hocking the latest in Rotary “fashion” were everywhere!! However, in my opinion, the best part of it all, was connecting with old and new friends alike. As my husband tells it, “Every 5 feet we ran into someone we knew, and she’d spend another 10 minutes talking!” While I’d like to say he’s exaggerating, the truth is… he’s not! I love to talk to people about Rotary. Put me in a venue with 26,000+ of my favorite kind of people and “poof” … I’m in my version of heaven!! How can you NOT talk about Rotary! Couple that with meeting other Rotarians and Rotaractors from our own district and you have nothing short of a recipe for great success!! We talked, collaborated, brainstormed and got really excited about how to bring this inspiration back to our district! I saw once “shy” club presidents getting excited about partnership connections; I watched as some of our Rotaractors started dreaming of water projects that we could collaborate with in New Mexico. I ran into my fellow district governors who were also getting ready to start their governor year like myself. We talked about our fears, our plans and our goals – celebrated with some drinks and just enjoyed the overwhelming joy of being at the convention, getting ready to Be The Inspiration!
Now our new Rotary year has started, and I am so excited to be on this journey with you! Sometimes the thought of trying to be inspirational is a bit overwhelming. Take this article for example! Imagine the pressure of writing your very first newsletter article as the District Governor. No pressure at all. As I sat down to write this, I hoped that Inspiration would just ooze right out of my brain to my fingertips and translate into an amazingly written piece worth framing!! Not so much. I put way too much pressure on myself and had a brain freeze instead! So, I went “back to basics” and made of list of everything I’ve been doing since my official role started. And then it happened… inspiration came so fast and furious I wasn’t sure how to keep up, or how to keep this article under 10 pages... (just kidding, it’s not that long!).
I draw my energy and inspiration from YOU, the Rotarians I am honored to serve this year. I was invited to the changeover ceremonies for the Rotary Clubs of Fonthill and Niagara On The Lake as some of my first official duties. What a pure honor it was, to meet the club members, listen to the projects and achievements of the clubs and to hear the hopes, dreams and goals of the incoming presidents! As you’ve heard a million times from other district governors before me – it is truly a humbling experience. Between these two clubs they have used grants to help fund a computer and skills program targeting women and youth through Niagara Peninsula Homes, funded a sensory room in conjunction with the Red Roof Retreat, and raised thousands for dollars for Polio Plus and other local programs!
Next I met Sue Collins and Ryan Bridge from the Rotary Clubs of Waterdown and Flamborogh AM respectively. Together, these two clubs host the wildly successful Waterdown Ribfest. Practically every member of their clubs participated in one way or another to make this fundraiser a success. I was invited to attend and help “serve some suds”. But in true Rotary spirit – once I arrived my duties expanded, and I could not have been more thrilled to pitch in and help out! At one point in the day, I had the pleasure of sitting down with President Sue and asked her what her vision was for her year. The vision she shared was moving, inspirational and almost brought me to tears. Sue’s dream is to help her club realize their goal of building more affordable housing for the elderly in her community. Wow. Not much more I can say about that. The level of “Service Above Self” that I see everywhere I go is just amazing. Everywhere I look, I see #Changemakers! People tirelessly dedicated to being People of Action. Rotarians dedicated to improving the communities they live in and even the ones they don’t.
My goal for this year, is to share this inspiration with all of you. To connect us with each other. To open your eyes to the larger world of Rotary. To inspire you to take action and create lasting change. I truly believe that we need to look no further than our own district, to see first-hand, the up close and personal impact that we as Rotarians are making in our own communities and around the globe! I am so proud to be serving you and our district. Thank you for giving me this incredible opportunity! Please follow me on Facebook at Melisa Schrock – Rotarian. There you will find updates on what other clubs are doing, learn about new initiatives from Rotary International, and get a glimpse into a “day in the life” of a district governor! Some days, you might be moved to tears, other days you’ll laugh at my crazy life – but I promise that every day will be inspired!!
Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew held the first meeting of their new year on Thursday. Shown above are Robert Benzel, Immediate Past President, with President Ken Graber and President Elect Adam Guglielmi, following his swearing in.
The group is readying for their second annual Antique & Classic Car Show to be held early August. See Club Events section of newsletter.
If you don't like What you got Why don't you change it If your world is all screwed up Rearrange it
Raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell Raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell
If you don't like what you see Why don't you fight it If you know there's something wrong Why don't you right it
Raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell Raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell, raise a little Hell
If ever a song was handcrafted and tailor made to sum up the personality, enthusiasm, and absolute spunk of a human being, than “Raise a Little Hell,” by Trooper, is the banner song for Melisa Schrock, District Governor Elect of 7090. Melisa embodies a new vision, an inner strength, a purposeful direction to lead, govern, solidify, and expand the Rotary Mission; one we all know and love. Her formidable savvy and grit is contagious...so look out District 7090 Rotarians, are you ready to “Raise a little Hell?”
Almost a decade and a half ago, this Energizer Bunny, an eternally optimistic, charismatic, and service above self kind of gal; our very own Melisa Schlock's world changed, when she became a Rotarian and joined the Rotary Club of Akron. Not only did she discover an additional and profound purpose in her daily existence, but she also found the love of her life; her soulmate and best friend, John Schrock. While both of these dynamos lived and worked in Akron, they did not know one another. As the stars aligned in the Rotary heavens and blue and gold fate would have it, that all changed during one Business to Business Tradeshow where the future lovebirds had display booths directly next to one another. John was an Akron Club Rotarian; Melisa had never heard of Rotary and John invited her to a meeting. As John’s guest, she attended her very first Rotary meeting in April of 2003 and became a member in June of the same year. “If you don’t like what you got, Why don’t you change it?”
That grand moment of becoming a Rotarian and following through with active participation, supported her during a challenging but not back breaking, life situation. The struggle, hurt, and emotional hardship of divorce was ever present in our District Governor Elect’s life in 2003. Melisa has commented that she was going through, “a horrid divorce at the time, I joined Rotary and it gave me a whole new group of friends who became my strength that saw me through some dark days. Rotary gave me the opportunity to help people.” Her lifelong passion and hope of helping others came to fruition as a new Rotarian while her heart and soul was supported by newfound Rotary friends; the rough spot started to heal and morph into a shiny new interior and exterior. “If you’re world is all screwed up, rearrange it!”
“Rotary was the bomb, I didn’t think it could get any better,” says Melisa, when reflecting upon her early years as a Rotarian. Yet, it did get better; the Rotary Mission, Melisa’s passion, and the profound desire to graciously and bravely live up to service above self, soared exponentially to new heights when Melisa went to Africa in 2013. Stepping off the comfort and security of an international jet plane and descending steps into the unknown, a world of “...poverty, disease, starvation, everywhere! Children were hungry; women and their little ones walked miles each day for water; girls were not allowed to attend school, homes were literally huts which were made of mud. It was just SO much to process and completely overwhelming.”
Doing all, being all, donating all, isn’t possible for every Rotarian. Melisa is the type of individual who rolls up her sleeves, walks in the mud, trudges through the poverty and contaminated water, to be a #changemaker. She fully embraces the fact that she is unable to donate one million dollars to the End Polio Now campaign; she admits she has not orchestrated massive global grants to build hospitals in third world countries, but in Melisa’s words, the moment she saw the fruits of her work in Africa, she knew she “...made a big difference to the people in African Villages and it made an even bigger impact in my heart.”
The gentleman, friend, business partner, and Rotarian that Melisa married is a second dad to her two beautiful, intelligent, and young Rotarian at heart daughters, Lindsay and Erin. Another generation has sprung forth, service above self has flourished, and the girls have been involved in Rotary from the time they were 3 and 5 years old. Selling 50/50 tickets, helping at spaghetti dinners, Christmas auctions and highway clean ups, as well as starting an Early Act Club at their school, to joining Interact Club. Lindsay accompanied Mom to the RI convention in Atlanta and discovered her passion in learning about Human Trafficking and is now looking for ways to become more involved locally. Erin has been inspired by Mom’s trip to Africa and subsequently went with Mom on a Service trip to Haiti and has been selected for Youth Exchange and will be going to Paraguay this year! During the Christmas Break Erin and Mom went to the Dominican Republic for a service project with their Interact Club. The future Gov chaperoned 9 hormonal, excitable, and overly talkative teenage girls. Who will be the Rotarian in our District to find Melisa’s Super Hero Cape? She surely most sport one on occasion! “I’m raising Rotarians; we are truly a family of Rotarians,” Melisa often states in that proud Akron Club, District 7090, RI, sort of way! This “Raising a Little Hell” DG Elect gleefully sings about the love that she never knew. Her heart belongs to her faith, her hubby, her children, and our Rotary! We are now all, future “Hellraisers!”
Fellow Rotarians, be prepared for this vigorous and enlightened gal who truly has been Raising Hell in the best way possible since 2003! Let’s go 7090...be inspired to partake in an international service project, sign up to work one more community event, and let your Rotarian commitment and pride shine, for all to see. Hang on tight, it’s going to be a superb District 7090 kind of year! Be a #changemaker that welcomes “Raising a Little Hell,” let your Rotarian beliefs and pride burn bright as we welcome our District Governor, the one...the only... Melisa Schrock!
By the way, husband John, surprised Melisa with a 50-1, birthday party following the changeover ceremonies. Yes, the man bakes - cakes, cupcakes and surprises! For more photos of the changeover, go to https://www.facebook.com/RotaryDistrict7090/.
This past spring semester the Buffalo State Rotaract Club participated in a whole host of events, including two bake sales and volunteer opportunities to help with its host club, the Rotary Club of Amherst South's events. Additionally, the club participated in its first annual Earth Day Shoreline Pickup. Its main fundraising event was the H.O.P.E Haiti fundraiser.
During the months of February and April, the club held two bake sales. Its no bake peanut butter chocolate bars and vegan chocolate chip pumpkin cookies were delicious and resulted in combined sales of over $570. During March, members participated in the Rotary Club of Amherst South's 5th Annual Bowl-A-Thon. There members raised funds by participating on two teams of 4-5 members and were able to bowl, win prize basket raffles, and enjoy food with friends. During April, Rotaract members helped the Rotary clubs of Western New York, Buffalo State’s Great Lakes Center, the Greenway Commission, along with the West Side Rowing Club perform a trash clean up at the Black Rock Canal. Members aided in reducing the amount of nearby trash, invasive plants and debris.
Its main fundraising event was the H.O.P.E. Haiti fundraiser held to raise money to improve the main community library for the community of Borgne, Haiti. This event was held at the Marcy Casino on April 26th. The event included live music, a cash bar, hors d'œuvres, and over 60 raffle baskets. From this event, the Buffalo State Rotaract Club along with the help of Nutrition Club and PHI-Upsilon Omicron and the Equal Opportunity Program raised $4,657 for the community of Borgne, Haiti!
The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, New York held another high profile guest speaker luncheon meeting on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, at the beautiful Savor Restaurant on the downtown campus of the Niagara County Community College Culinary School. Edward Riley, the guest speaker, is the Hotel Niagara developer. He discussed detailed plans for the city's landmark restoration, which should be completed by 2020. He also described his latest completed project, the Hotel Syracuse. In the audience were community leaders, including Mayor Paul A. Dyster, Councilman Chris Voccio and School Superintended Mark Laurie, among others.
The Hotel Niagara of yesteryear hosted these prominent guests - US President John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe while filming the movie Niagara in 1952 and Al Capone. In 2008, the hotal was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The event was very well attended and the eloquent delivery presentation of developer Ed Riley received quite enthusiastically. The club intends to invite him back in the future for the project updates.
While volunteering in Sri Lanka in July 2017, Neil Chopp, met the dedicated men and women in the Rotary Club of Kelaniya, near the capital city of Colombo. Eight months prior, Neil Chopp and Bill Armstrong initiated a plan in which the Rotary Club of Dundas and the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise would support a clean water project in the country of Sri Lanka. Sarath Gunawardane, Chairman, Projects, of the Rotary Club in Kelaniya acted as the primary contact regarding the process and completion of the reverse osmosis (R.O.) plant project. A $6,500.00 grant would be necessary for the construction of the R.O. plant; each Dundas club allocated $2,250.00 toward the project with an additional $2,000.00 matching grant from District 7090.
A team of six Rotarians from Rotary Club of Kelaniya together with the Sri Lanka Civil Defence Department (who would take over the maintenance/security of the plant and the sustainability of the project) worked to find a suitable location to fix the R.O. plant. A village called Kabithigollawa was selected where there have been several people affected by Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD). Some of these victims either have received kidney transplants or are undergoing periodic dialysis treatment. The village selected has about 500 people, who would be the beneficiaries of clean water for drinking and cooking purposes. We selected a vendor who has installed several such R.O. plants in CKD affected areas in the North Central province. Incidentally the vendor is part of a Buddhist organisation whose single objective is to alleviate the sufferings of CKD affected people and does the installations of R.O. plants on a non-profit basis. Additionally, these R.O. plants were the least costly.
The selection of the location was done in November 2017. The construction work; however, could not begin due to the monsoon which prevailed in December/January period. The local community took part in clearing the location, cleaning up an existing water well and formed a leadership team to support the Sri Lanka Civil Defence Force in the sustainability of the project. The construction of the plant house began in February 2018.
A leadership team among the villagers was formed to oversee the operation during construction and thereafter. The Sri Lanka Civil Defence Force (with the consent of the hierarchy of the SL Civil Defence Department) was requested to take over the management where a nominal amount will be charged from the consumers (Cents 50 per litre of water) as maintenance cost for the replacement of filters and other consumables. The vendor will continue to do the service maintenance of the plant. The expected long-term impacts of this projects are:
To purify polluted water and provide pure water with the intention of preventing disease.
Making purified water available for a village and its local schools.
Improving the villager’s health, productivity and happiness.
The Rotary clubs of Dundas with the overseas partner, the Rotary Club of Kelaniya, worked diligently to provide the villagers of Kabithigollawa with sustainable access to safe and clean drinking water. Reports are forthcoming from Sri Lanka on the activation and commissioning of the R.O. plant on 19th of May 2018.
Saying goodbye is never easy, but on June 3, 2018 about 40 Rotarians and guests gathered at Johnson Estate Winery in Westfield, NY, to honor the four Australian Vocational Training Team members from Rotary District 9790 and to enjoy appetizers and a delectable multi-course dinner with samplings of quality wines of Johnson Estate. This VTT “Farewell to U.S.” Rotary dinner was the send-off celebration for VTT Leader Les Mitchell and Members Elizabeth Mace, Jonathan Van Popering and Ross Abberfield, who were in the U.S. area of our Rotary District 7090 from May 23 to June 3 to learn more about fruit farming in the western NY region. Experience topics included production, pest control, water management, geography, labor methods, government influences and marketing. From June 4 through 16 the VTT members have been touring the Canadian side of our Rotary District.
Johnson Estate Winery proprietors Fred and Jennifer Johnson welcomed all to the venue and were wonderful hosts. Fred Johnson was an outbound VTT member to the Melbourne area of Australia from February 25 to March 19, 2017.
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville was the host club of this VTT special dinner. Dan Smith, Westfield-Mayville Rotarian and District 7090 VTT Chair, led the program. Special recognition was given to the VTT Committee and Coordinators Janet Walker (U.S.) and Tom O’Neill (Canada) for their great efforts with coordinating the VTT schedule and wonderful experiences. Also, thank you was given to the host families in the U.S. who shared their homes and who helped to make the VTT members feel welcome in various communities. Gratitude was extended to the many farms, businesses, and other sites who offered tours.
Each of the four VTT members offered highlights of what they learned about fruit farming in this region, how it differs from that in Rotary District 9790 in Australia, and what their goals were for incorporating various aspects of their educational experience with their professions. The evening concluded with Team Leader Les Mitchell strumming the guitar while the team members led everyone in the singing of a rousing rendition of “Waltzing Matilda.”
The VTT members presented Janet Walker with a basket of beautiful flowers in gratitude for her hard work with coordinating their jam-packed schedule of many valuable experiences during their U.S. stay. Various parting gifts of trading club banners and also some shirts were given to the team members. To our new Aussie VTT friends, we say, “G’day, mates,” as we bid them farewell from the U.S. part of Rotary District 7090 and wish them many wonderful experiences in Canada and safe travels back to Australia!
Pictured above, some of the special attendees at the June 3 "Farewell to U.S." dinner at Johnson Estate Winery in Westfield, NY were (left to right) VTT Leader Les Mitchell, District 7090 VTT Chair Dan Smith, VTT Member Jonathan Van Popering, Johnson Estate Proprietors Fred and Jennifer Johnson, VTT Member Elizabeth Mace, VTT Member Ross Abberfield and VTT Coordinator (U.S.) Janet Walker.
On June 7th the Rotary Club of Hamilton held its annual Rotary Celebrates evening at the prestigious Hamilton Club. The annual event is an opportunity to celebrate the Rotary year, recognize President Brad Spencer for his accomplishments during the 2017-18 Rotary year and to welcome incoming President Nancy Baker.
Rotarians and friends enjoyed an evening reception on the outdoor patio followed by a buffet dinner and then the presentation of awards. The Rotary Club of Hamilton celebrated the many projects and initiatives that they participated in the 2017-18 Rotary year. Over 9,000 local children & youth benefited from the multiple projects and initiatives of the club this year. Some of these projects include the Rotary Summer Literacy Project, Books, Books, Books and the CORE Kids After School Project. The 2017-18 Rotary year was very busy with many service projects and initiatives.
The Rotary Club of Hamilton also presented two Paul Harris Fellows at the event. The Past Presidents' nomination committee selected two worthy recipients from the nominations made by club members.
The internal award was presented to Past President & Rotarian Kevin Anstee. Kevin was recognized for his ongoing efforts and behind the scene work. Taking on the role of treasurer during his year as President, creating our new procedures without a club administrator and setting up the club's financial records with a new bookkeeper going line by line. Kevin is very involved in all Rotary activities, fundraising and service projects often bringing his children to help and showing them how important service above self is. Congratulations to Rotarian and Past President Kevin Anstee.
The external award was presented to Ryan Ellis. Ryan grew up in Freelton and went on to play professional hockey. He is currently a defenceman with the Nashville Predators of the NHL. Ryan continues to give back to the community with various appearances in Nashville, but has continued to give back to his hometown of Hamilton. He started Ell4Kids Foundation to raise funds to support building play structures for kids. Over the past 3 years, 4 playgrounds have been built so kids can be safe and have fun while playing. Last year North Central Park (Keith Neighbourhood) received a new play structure and this summer Woodlands Park will receive one. As part of the event in July at Woodlands Park, our Rotary Summer Literacy kids will help with the build and Ryan will visit the participants. The Elly4Kids Foundation has supported other great causes in Hamilton including our Rotary Children’s Christmas Celebration each year. Congratulations to Ryan Ellis.
Early June, the Rotary Club of Dunkirk-Fredonia said a sad goodbye and fond farewell to its amazing international exchange student Matheus di Silva Santos from Brazil. Pictured (right) are Youth Exchange committee members Doug Manly and Brenda Hayes, and (left) Matheus and members of his three host families: the Davises, the Kinkellas and the Powell Fortnas.
On May 23, the Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY and Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON was delighted to welcome Greg Lidstone to become a member of the club as well as rejoice that Leslie Scibilia (past president x2 ) was able to rejoin the club after an absence of a few years.
Pictured are President Ron Danielewicz with Greg Lidstone (classification, Neuro Rehab Therapist), Leslie Scibilia (classification, Counseling for Children with Special Needs) and newer members Jayne and Don Anderson, who have been involved in the hospitality industry in restaurants, banquet facilities and casinos. The club takes great pride in adding this diversity of professions to its membership and notes, "Diversity in membership makes Rotary more welcoming for all!"
Linda Dunn, a Westfield resident and a 31-year member of the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, was honored with her Paul Harris Fellow +1 (Level 2) during the club's May 19, BBQ & Auction fundraiser at Eason Hall in Westfield. Jim Wakeman, the club's Foundation Chair, made the presentation and gave Dunn her pin. The hundreds of community members and many Rotarians offered their congratulations to Dunn, who said, “I thought this presentation was for someone else, and was quite surprised when I was asked to come forward. Thank you!”
Dunn has shown dedicated commitment to her Rotary club, her community and beyond. She served as the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville’s second female president in 1996-1997, and throughout the years as club treasurer, youth exchange chair and board member. In addition, she has chaired numerous club events. Always willing to help, Dunn’s guidance and insights from her years of leadership experience, as well as her quick wit, are welcomed by club members.
She is a former Mayor of the Village of Westfield and business owner. Her strong commitment to volunteerism is shown by her many years of involvement with various community and area organizations. Some of Dunn’s activities include serving as The Patterson Library Board of Trustees Member and Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care Board Member. Also, she assists with the Chautauqua County Historical Society and the McClurg Museum.
An avid traveler, Dunn’s visits to many other countries have provided her with firsthand experiences of global concerns and the importance of The Rotary Foundation’s significant projects and programs and their positive impact on many people. The Rotary Foundation, which has distributed over 3 billion dollars, was named by the Society of Fundraising Professionals as the outstanding 2017 charity in the world.
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville proudly congratulates Linda Dunn on earning her PH Level 2 Award and commends her on her many years of dedicated service and countless hours of volunteerism.
The Rotary Club of Flamborough AM Club along with the Rotary Club of Waterdown helps children during the summer supporting a project known as FOOD4KIDS. The project supports children in the Waterdown school area, with snacks over the weekend, so that they do not go hungry. They are currently looking at including a second school. Pictured are Rotarians Margaret Robertson and Frank Spiridoulias enjoying themselves while packing food.
The Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise held its most successful Shredding Day community service project diverting 13 000 lbs. of paper from landfill to recycling and earning $4000 in the process. After 5 years, the event that runs each spring and fall is so ingrained in the community that folks often take home empty banker boxes to fill for the next Shredding Day. It is great to know that the club is making a difference and members feel it when many community members refuse to take change from their payment because, “This is Rotary. Keep the change!”
Besides the sweat equity of club members like Wayne Massey, a number of member grandchildren like Ethan Stoltz volunteer and receive credit towards their high school community service hours. Pictured are Ethan and Wayne.
Hundreds of children (and parents who wished they were!) explored over 20 workshops on June 2 in Hamilton's spacious Gage Park. Activities ranged from dance to puppetry, play with clay and T-Shirt making and too many more to mention here. A dedicated committee, led by Hamilton AM Rotarian and Founder Sharon Levy-Cohen, continually came up with new activities for the 8th annual event so there was something for every one. Also, every child left with a free book, donated by Frontier College and First Book Canada. There was magic in the air in the Magic Tent where Hamilton AM Rotarian Tim Dickins and two colleagues enthralled everyone with their prestidigitation! No worries about hunger with Hamilton AM Rotarian Paul Reardon on the Hot Dog Cart! This event is hosted by the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM and supported by many local businesses including the Hamilton Spectator. This was the club's 8th Annual Imagine in the Park children's arts festival and the the biggest one to date!
On Tuesday May 29, 2018, the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls held their 10th annual Lilac Luncheon. Fifty years ago the club purchased 100 lilac bushes to build the Memorial Lilac gardens. But, this year, the club wanted to learn about the Indigenous people whose land this once was. Jim Hill, the superintendent of heritage for the Niagara Parks Commission took the Rotarians on a walking tour of Queenston Heights after speaking to them during lunchtime about the role that Indigenous people played during the Battle of Queenston Heights. Jim Hill was an amazing guest speaker and shared with the Rotarians that they were eating lunch at the spot where 12,000 years ago, it was part of “massive” Lake Iroquois, which started draining out toward the Atlantic Ocean. What a fantastic Lilac Lunch and learning experience!
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise held its changeover on Monday, June 18. A comparison of banner sizes left poor incoming president Keith Jones at a loss! Not to worry President Keith. You will get the right sized banner before long. So will the rest of our incoming presidents. Hang tight!
Pictured here Keith Jones and outgoing President Gail Catherwood comparing their banners - and hoping to tease incoming DG Melisa.
And now, the end is near and so I face the final curtain….how time has flown! It seems like I was just starting my year and here we are just days away from a new Rotary year-end, the start of another very exciting year with Melisa Schrock, the #Changemaker, the incoming District Governor for 2018-19. Speaking of Melisa, we celebrated the District Changeover in Akron last Saturday at their home. What a very different and fantastic event! John Schrock did a fabulous job in organizing and conducting the event in their back yard and a great time was had by all. Seen here, is the property with Rotarians - a small Rotary planet on a beautiful day for a changeover. Thanks, Paul McAfee for the changeover photos - yes, a drone was involved.
Many thanks to the District Leadership Team and all the Club Presidents for making this year so special for Loretta and me. In addition to the many results we’re so proud of, we were shown such wonderful hospitality at the official club visits and functions we attended. It was indeed a memorable year on so many fronts. I wish each Rotarian could experience a year like this to truly understand Rotary and what Rotary is and does. Our deepest gratitude goes to all of District 7090 for Making a Difference and making so many special memories and friends.
While I may have thought the load would lessen as we neared the end of my DG year, I was wrong. It has been an especially busy time in May and June, starting with attendance at the Rotary Club of Dundas' 70th anniversary. What a wonderful night highlighted by the sharing of the history of the club. President Judy Shepalo, who had to step up at the last minute as president, has done a great job leading the club.
Then the Australians came to town. The Erie Canal was the venue for the Australian Vocational Training Team to District 7090, hosted by the Lockport club. A very interesting speaker contributed to the brunch as a welcome and prelude to their ride up the canal. Then it was Lobsterfest at the Harry Howell Arena in Waterdown hosted by the two Dundas clubs. Another great event with two happy people going away with wheelbarrows of beverages.
Our next stop was the Waterdown club’s annual Paul Harris night where we enjoyed a wonderful evening of fellowship, food and new Paul Harris Fellows. Next it was on to Queenston for the Niagara Falls Lilac Luncheon and a very interesting presentation and tour of the history surrounding the War of 1812. Congratulations to organizer Barbara Greenwood and President June Mergl for hosting a memorable event.
Into the month of June and our busy schedule continues. Early June we were back to the US for the final District Council meeting of my year where our new Strategic Plan was approved. It will be introduced in July. Later that week we were again hosted by the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, this time to welcome the visiting Vocational Training Team to Canada for the balance of their visit before returning to Australia on June 16th. Thank you to Chair Dan Smith and our VTT committee, all the Rotarians and clubs who hosted Elizabeth, Jon, Ross and Team Leader Les. They were most impressed by the kindness and hospitality of the Best of Friends District.
We returned to Lockport a few days later for a very different Paul Harris evening. We installed 16 new Paul Harris Fellows that evening! President Ellen Schratz should be so proud of the Rotary Club of Lockport becoming an “All Paul Harris” Club. Up next for us was a first in our district as both in-bound and out-bound Youth Exchange Students were joined by host parents, past exchange students, RYLA grads and Rotaractors for a spectacular event. Hats off to the YE committee for this new initiative. That same Sunday, Phil and Paula Race, Brantford Sunrise, hosted a farewell BBQ for the Australian team where we said our final good-byes.
Within days I was with members of our College of Past District Governors to bring them up to speed on the progress of the district. Dean Nick Norton welcomed the attendees. In addition to my talk, DGE Melisa, DGN Bob and DGND Frank addressed the group prior to a lively and healthy exchange. Later that week there was one more Paul Harris evening, as Buffalo Sunrise honored two outstanding citizens at their gathering.
Finally, we had a most enjoyable time at the RYLA dinner in Fredonia at the State University of New York. I presented Certificates of Appreciation to Sue O’Dwyer for her many years of leading RYLA and to Mike Taylor for his Youth Exchange service over the past 4 years. We are pleased that Darren Luong has stepped up to replace Sue and Jill Norton will replace Mike.
One last tribute to someone so very special to me, my official aide and spouse Loretta. She gave so much to me in handling tasks and giving incredible support. Loretta you are very special and I owe you a huge debt of gratitude. Thank you so much!
And to all Rotarians and spouses, thank you for an unbelievable year and thank you so much for Making a Difference! Now let’s rally around our new DG Melisa #CHANGEMAKER!
The Rotary Club of Lockport celebrated its distinction as a 100% Paul Harris Fellows Club at its annual dinner on Wednesday, June 6, at the Spring Lake Winery. Pictured are 16 new Paul Harris Fellows, along with District Governor Reg, who attended this momentous event.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg supported an initiative of Rotary International in securing and helping to plant trees at the Town of Hamburg’s 18 Mile Creek Golf Course this week. President Jerry Bastedo thanked Gullo’s Garden Center for donating 31 trees (crab apple and flowering pear) to the service club’s effort. Ian H.S. Riseley, 2017-18 President of Rotary International, asked all clubs throughout the world to plant a tree for each member, with an expected total of more than 1.2 million new trees planted by July 1, the beginning of a new Rotary year. Rotary’s effort is part of an ecological effort to counteract global warming. Additional trees will be planted at the Taylor Road Cabin and Park.
Pictured are from left, Rotarians Dale Stanley, Barb Stanley, Patricia Castiglia, John Nowak, Jerry Bastedo, Jack Flint, Brandi Reed, Amanda Black and Amy Rooth.
The Rotary Club of Lincoln purchased thirteen new storage lockers, which are installed at Khazimula Children's Centre (www.khazimula.co.za) located in Lidgetton, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The locker project was made possible through a matching District 7090 grant. It has now been completed and the project report has been submitted to the District.
Khazimula provides a safe and loving environment for some thirty homeless children, 6-18 years. Since the centre opened in 2007, it has been home to more than 270 vulnerable children. The purpose of the new lockers is to provide the children with a secure place for their personal belongings and a sense of dignity in having their own private space. Pictured are the lockers received and installed.
In other club news: A barbecue was hosted by the club and Torrie Warner a member of the VTT from Canada that visited Australia last year. Torrie owns and operates a local farm in Lincoln. A great time touring the farm, barbecuing some steaks and ribs and getting to know and exchange ideas with our visiting Auzzies.
Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew President Rob Benzel and honorary member Doris Huber had the pleasure of delivering the Baby of Liberty Doll to the lovely home of Dr. Jim Burdick, our Area 11 raffle winner. The donated doll was designed and produced by Doris Huber. Proceeds of the raffle go to the It Happened to Alexa Foundation, which benefits women that have been sexually abused. The clubs joined together for an Area 11 project that ended up creating over 200 clothing and cleanup kits for donation to ECMC. Shown in the photograph are Dr. Burdick and Doris. Photo by: Rob Benzel.
In other news, the club is pleased to give five college scholarships this year: four go to Lancaster High School graduating seniors and one to a graduate of Depew High School. Early on scholarships were in the form of Interest Free Loans. However in 1959, they transformed into the present grant form. Therefore, this marks the 60th year that Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew has given back to the community this way.
The clubs in Area 1: Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise, Rotary Club of Simcoe, Rotary Club of Delhi, and the Norfolk Rotaract Club, have a lot to celebrate this week. They banded together with a public image piece highlighting Rotary and the Area 1 clubs. Dave Douglas from RCNS spearheaded the project and about 10,000 copies will be circulated to Norfolk County residents this coming week.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg, at its June 12 annual spring picnic, recognized two of its own with a Paul Harris Fellow. From left, are Club President Jerry Bastedo, Patricia Castiglia, placing the pin on the lapel of recipient Jim Loomis, Tom Johnston and recipient Tim Hoelscher. Both Jim and Tim have served the Rotary Club of Hamburg and the greater community well as active members.
In other news, at its June 5 meeting, the club awarded $1,000 college scholarships to local high school seniors. From left are Rotarian Earl Knauss, Hamburg High School student Aydon Stormer, Frontier High School Student Tom Notto, Rotary President Jerry Bastedo, St. Francis High School student Dante Guizzotti and Rotarian Patricia Castiglia.
And, at its May 29 meeting, Rotarians welcomed Hamburg High School students Dakota Reynolds and Christina Birt, along with their parents, and Hamburg High School Academy of Finance teacher Krissy Lawrence. The students shared photos and spoke to the Rotary Club about their recent experience at Rotary District 7090’s SLAP SHOT Program in Welland, Canada. The club sponsored the students who were referred by Ms. Lawrence, who herself once attended the Rotary Leadership Youth Award, RYLA program for college students. Pictured are from left, Rotarian Tim Hoelscher, who also works with the Hamburg Finance Academy, Christina Birt, Dakota Reynolds and President Jerry Bastedo.
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore recently recognized Dr. Al Scales with a Paul Harris Fellow. Al is the club's Youth Services Chair and liaison officer with 4 local high schools. He is involved in coordinating candidates to Slapshot and RYLA and ensures the club’s presence at all convocation ceremonies.
The Ultra-Poor make up over half of the estimated 797 million people living in extreme poverty. As Nelson Mandela observed, “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right; the right to dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.” In 2015, 193 countries, together with the World Bank and the United Nations (UN), jointly declared an intention to achieve one of the most ambitious goals in human history: “By 2030, nobody will live in extreme poverty, anywhere in the world.”
What is required now is a shared, multi-sector commitment to immediately direct the resources and enact the policies required to do so.
On Thursday, June 28, 2018, immediately following the Toronto Rotary International Convention, District 7090’s Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators (RESI) will host - at the Westin Harbour Castle Toronto Hotel, 1 Harbour Square, Toronto, Ontario M5J 1A6 - an Ending Ultra-Poverty Summit. For more information on the summit and tall ships event please click here.
The 2018 District Conference was launched by DGE Melisa Shrock on May 5, 2018 at Club Leadership Training. District Conference 2018 - ROTARY RESET, will be a fun ONE DAY District Conference held on Saturday October 20, 2018, at the low cost of $100, including dynamic speakers, engagements projects focusing on water & sanitation, polio eradication and awareness, literacy and more....all encouraging you to, Be The Inspiration in 2018-19. The main conference runs 8:30 am -4:30 pm and includes fun food experiences for breakfast, lunch & coffee breaks.
ROTARY RESET is to be held at the Niagara-on-The-Lake Community Centre easily accessible to the historic old town, local craft stores, world class theatre, breweries and wineries that make Niagara-on-the-Lake a destination of choice for weekend getaways. Come for the day or add on a night or two as you choose at local Bed & Breakfast, Hotel or motel, for a getaway and more Rotary fellowship.
Come for one day or stay the weekend! Extra opportunities you may want to add on are (to be added on website soon), Friday Evening at the wonderful Oast Brewery in their, Hayloft Room, for a relaxed evening of music and fellowship for those arriving the night before. On Saturday evening, more fun with a meet & greet social, onsite dinner and “Shark Tank Event” whereby Rotaractors compete for funding for their charity projects and yes, the sharks are past district governors putting them through their paces.
Once again, the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM is delighted to participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. At a recent meeting outbound student Skye Balice, pictured, was a guest and told us about her preparation for the year ahead in Zagreb, Croatia. She has been learning about youth exchange and participating in district events, but now has the contact information for her first host family so the anticipation is growing. Skye has a special interest in mental health issues and is looking forward to learning about the difference between Canada and Croatia in provision of programs.
The club is looking forward to hosting our incoming student Simona Schumacher from Switzerland.
Join my husband John and I for a relaxing afternoon in our hometown of Akron, New York. We will be celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of District Governor Reg Madison and his fantastic team of hardworking Rotarians. Tickets are $40US each and can be purchased online at www.rotary7090.org - also see Upcoming Events in this newsletter. Please register by June 1, 2018. We look forward to welcoming you to our home and celebrating another great Rotary Year!
The Rotary Club of Hamilton held its annual Past Presidents' Day on May 10th. The Past Presidents' Day is an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate those who have led our Rotary Club.
For the past 105 years, the Hamilton club has brought together business and professional leaders in the name of Rotary. As Hamilton’s oldest and original Rotary club, we are honoured to have many great leaders serve as president.
There were 18 past club presidents in attendance this year. Our past presidents have demonstrated Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self”. Each past president was provided a special plant, to enjoy and be reminded about the seeds they planted and to enjoy and what the growth and bloom.
Holley recently inducted its youngest member, 19 year old Jessica Mandigo. Jessica was a SLAPSHOT participant two years ago. Upon returning to her high school Jessica provided the leadership for forming an Interact Club at Holley High School. She served as its first President and oversaw its growth from 15 members to 39 members. Jessica is now attending a local community college while also working in retail. After expressing an interest to Rotarian John Heise about being part of a community service organization, Jessica was invited to join the Holley Rotary Club.
In the photo, Holley Club President Brian McKeon welcomes Jessica to the club with her name badge and a club golf shirt.
12 Niagara Area Rotary clubs had the annual joint club luncheon on April 18th at Club Roma in St. Catharines. Hosted by the Rotary Club of St. Catharines South, we had 115 Rotarians come together for fellowship, to see a slide show reflecting the various service projects of each club and to hear a great guest speaker, Ellen Schwartzel, Deputy Commissioner from the Commissioner’s Office of the Environment. The theme of the meeting was Earth Day and the luncheon was held just before world Earth Day. One of the highlights was a special video message from RI President Ian Riseley. We also raised $413 for Polio Plus from the generous cash donations at each table. Attached is a picture of the 12 club presidents or club representatives.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg inducted Mark Kurzberg April 17, 2018. Rotary President Jerry Bastedo, right, conducted the ceremonies welcoming Kurzberg who relocated from his native Massachusetts recently to join Key Bank.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg has also welcomed into its ranks Dr. Richard Hughes, who transferred his membership from the Mohawk Valley Rotary Club to Hamburg. Dr. Hughes joined the local club after becoming superintendent of the Frontier Central School District and relocating from the Adirondacks area of New York State. Rotary President Jerry Bastedo, right, is shown with Dr. Hughes.
The Rotary Club of Brantford donated $2,000.00 to Grandview Elementary School for fundraising efforts put on by faculty. The Autism Classroom teacher, Kat Trinder, is fundraising for the creation of a Snoezelen room in the school to promote positive mental health among all of the students and staff members. The Snoezelen room is a multi-sensory environment that is comprised of soothing lights and sounds, cultivating aromas, comfortable seating, and gentle movements to encourage the user to meet their sensory needs and find their focus when they are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or upset. They’re fundraising goal is $30,000 and with this donation they’re currently at $8,000 raised.
Ellis Katsof, a member of the Rotary Club of St. Catharines, has been sharing the finding from his new book, “Life 3.0: Protirement NOT Retirement" at local Rotary clubs. He will now be speaking at the Rotary Convention in Toronto this June.
Life 3.0: Protirement Not Retirement
Tuesday, 26-Jun-2018, 15:00-16:00, Room 718B
You are invited to explore “protirement” through the eyes of 100 baby boomers — men and women who reached the next chapter of their lives and wondered, “What’s next?” This session will provide you with advice from people who’ve already begun the third chapter of their lives, thriving in 17 different “protirement activities.” Learn how your Rotary world fits into this exciting protirement lifestyle.
Workshop Description:
People are living 20 or more years after they retire’ as a result, Boomers have reinvented the retirement concept; retirement is no longer a destination for Boomers. Few people develop thoughtful retirement “lifestyle plans” before they retire. Research has shown that developing lifestyle plans, along with financial plans, BEFORE retirement, results in a more fulfilled retirement/protirement and a more comprehensive financial plan.
Based on advice from 100 retired people, from all walks of life, including many Rotarians, this Workshop will teach participants how to use a simple “Protirement Lifestyle Planning Framework”. Participants will learn why it is important to make lifestyle changes while still working, to enhance their Protirement.
Clarence Rotarian Dominic Cortese (left) is presented with his PH+3 pin as he is welcomed into the Paul Harris Society by District 7090 Paul Harris Society Coordinator Jim Morabito, also of Clarence. Dominic becomes the 5th member of the club to join the Paul Harris Society, which signifies a significant annual contribution to The Rotary Foundation. More and more Rotarians are embracing the top-rated foundation as they become aware of all the good provided by The Rotary Foundation worldwide. And consequently, they are naturally drawn to the prospect of doing more by virtue of society membership. Are you next? Contact Vincent J. (Jim) Morabito at the Rotary Club of Clarence, NY to learn more.
The Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY & Niagara-On-The-Lake , ON celebrated the 80th Anniversary of its' Chartering by successfully sponsoring its 4th annual "Pints & Polish Platter" Autism fundraiser at historic Gadawski's Restaurant on April 21, 2018. Over 100 attendees enjoyed fine Polish cuisine, micro-brew and Polka music while helping to support the Autism Spectrum Disorder Center at Oishei Children's Hospital .
The club was grateful that District Governor Reg & Loretta, PDG Karen Oakes & Wolfe, PDG Dick Earne and friends from Niagara Falls, NY and Grand Island, NY Rotary clubs honored this historic milestone in the life of the club by attending.
Pictured are Rotary President, Ron Danielewicz, presenting Center Coordinator, Jana Mertz, with a $1500.00 donation.
On Thursday, April 20, 2018, the Niagara Falls Education Foundation, Inc. held its 8th Annual Scholarship and Alumni Recognition dinner supporting Niagara Falls City School District Students. The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, NY, participated as one of the scholarship sponsors for the first time. The club is hoping to make this event a constant as Basic Education and Literacy is one of the Six Areas of Focus of Rotary International. Niagara Falls, NY Rotarian Judie Glaser presented the club's scholarship award to Ms. Ariana Sanders. Judie is the club’s Public Relations Chair and also the Public Relations Director at the Niagara Falls School District.
Our Swiss inbound exchange student, Lara Braun, recently shared her experiences with Holley Rotarians and their partners. After the meal, Rotarians were treated to a special Swiss cake baked by Lara. There was one cake left, which was auctioned off for the Rotary Foundation. It raised $100. Pictured left is the Holley Rotary family with Lara’s host families. Pictured, right is Lara and Rotarian Dave Mitchell who successfully bid on the remaining cake.
Batavia Rotary hosted its second annual “Meat Raffle”. It was held on April 21, 2018, at the Sacred Heart Social Center. The Meat Raffle started last year as a way to replace our annual car raffle. It has been a huge success both years. The event was sold out this year with 371 participants. This event is “tailgate style” where we encourage people to bring whatever snacks and food they would like for a great night of fun! Participants bought chances to win packages of meat, from hamburger to bacon and steaks to shrimp. There were also side raffles for chances to win prizes which included A Wheelbarrow of Booze (what goes better with Meat?), A Grill, Lottery Tree, A Yearly Membership to the YMCA and more! The club is already looking forward to next year.
The Rotary Club of Hamilton’s commitment to literacy continues as the Rotary year nears an end. On June 12, 2018, Hamilton Rotarians will hold their annual Books, Books, Books Program making sure every child has a book at home.
The Books, Books Books program offers children the opportunity to select a book encouraging them to read at home. Every child will receive a book at Cathy Wever School as part of this program. Over 750 students will enjoy the gift of literacy. This Rotary year, the Rotary Club of Hamilton in partnership with the Hamilton Public Library and FBC have given out over 3,200 books. The Books, Books Books program was started 2 years ago as part of the club’s literacy initiatives which include the Rotary Summer Literacy Program. “It is a wonderful day, as you see the excitement of the faces of children when they get their book,” said President Elect Heather Moroz.
Michael Hahn Membership chair inducted David Fisk and Phil Goodwin into the Rotary Club of Lincoln at its morning meeting on May 8, 2018, with President Sue Foster doing the pinning.
David Fisk (pictured left) is a twenty-year Rotary veteran from Guelph/Wellington Rotary Club, who moved to the area. He checked out the club's website when looking for a club to become involved again. After an invitation to a meeting and joining some of the club's social activities, he decided the Rotary Club of Lincoln was the club for him on his Rotary journey.
Phil Goodwin (pictured right) also recently moved into the area and friend, Barb Mitges, one of our Lincoln Rotarians invited him to a meeting. After a Fireside Chat and joining us in some social events, Phil decided to join Rotary.
According to President Sue, "Both David and Phil have jumped in with both feet and become involved with fundraising and programs. We are confident both are great additions to our Rotary family".
On Tuesday April 17, 2018, at Twenty Valley Public School, a very successful Bike Safety Rodeo was held. The Rotary Club of Lincoln, in partnership with Heart Niagara, put on the safety rodeo for grades 5 & 6 students. Community partners included Public Health, School Boards, School Board's Transportation Consortium, Active Transportation groups and Municipalities. Funding is from the Government of Ontario and the Rotary Club of Lincoln.
Certified CAN-BIKE instructors ( Canada's leading cycling education program) taught cycling safety, such as hand signals, required safety gear, bicycle/helmet fit, bike safety, traffic safety and rules of the road. Bike mechanic volunteers Rotarian Michael Hahn and community volunteer Jarret Gnys from Mountainview Cycling did a thorough inspection of the kids bikes and did minor repairs such as brake adjustment inflating tires, brake line replacement and installation of bells if the bike did not have one. Thank you David Fisk official pump mechanic insuring all tires inflated to required specifications and Valerie Pitt the official bell installer for the rodeo. Rotarians Martha Kralt, Barb Mitges, Sue Foster and community partner Christine Hahn helped with the instruction and provision of snacks for the participants.
Yolanda Henry, an invested volunteer with the Tabitha Foundation, shared its goals and accomplishments of "Building Dreams for Cambodia's Poor" at a recent Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore meeting.
The Savings Program is the cornerstone of Tabitha's work. It encourages families to save their money in order to break the cycle of poverty. How it works is families achieve 4 to 6 dream items each year, ranging from basic necessities like a cooking pot, a sleeping mat, a bicycle and/or a child's education. Tabitha's relationship with a family will last for approx 5 to 7 years. This is long enough to allow families to break the cycle of poverty and graduate to complete financial independence.
Besides the Savings Program, the Foundation's team of volunteers builds homes, wells, schools and is currently invested in the building of a hospital to serve the health needs of women.
Tabitha Foundation is a registered Canadian charity. 2% of all funds raised in Canada are used for Canadian Administration. For more information go to www.tabitha.ca
The Rotary Club of Ellicottville has donated a bench in the Ellicottville Memorial Library to honor their great friend Bob McCarthy. Bob was always strong supporter of the library and was involved in establishing the Rotary Tree project in the library. So when the library decided to add benches (created by Bart Frank) around the tree in the entrance to the library, the club felt it was fitting to honor Bob with his own bench.
If you don’t know - the tree sponsored by 25 members of the Royal Oak Society was designed and made by the late Simon Griffis. As part of the funding every year a class from ECS spends a day at Essex Arts Center in Buffalo designing and creating leaves for the tree. Bob’s bench also is adjacent to a Brian Naber stone sculpture of Bob and donated to the library by Jane & Paul Hilbert. You will find creations by Bob throughout the library which had a special place in his heart.
Bob McCarthy was known as the “Voice of Ellicottville” and is sorely missed by many in our town. In early December, the Rotary Club of Ellicottville holds “Bob McCarthy’s Irish Christmas” to support his favorite cause, Santa’s Workshop.
If you are down Ellicottville way, please take some time to visit the library and tip your hat to Bob. You may hear a little blarney if you listen hard enough.
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise "RCNS" planted 50 trees in 90 minutes along the Norfolk Sunrise Trail beside the Lions Park in Simcoe, ON. The Norfolk Environmental Stewardship Team (NEST) helped. Pictured is the team of RCNS and NEST. RCNS members Jim Peters and Andy Kooistra are absent from the photo but were critical members of the crew; it was Andy that ran the skid steer with auger to drill the holes. The Rotarians were quite proud of their cool new yellow #RotaryNorfolkSunrise #RotaryatWork shirts.
On April 23, members of the Rotary Club of Fonthill joined current and former staff, along with students and community members for a special tree planting at E.L. Crossley Secondary School in Fonthill. Members of the school’s Interact Club and teaching staff spent time honouring the memory of Sharon Keller, a special science teacher who passed away suddenly last fall. A teacher at the school since the beginning of her career in the mid-1980s, Ms. Keller, as she was known to her students, was much more than an amazing educator; she was an environmental leader and tireless promoter of all things science and technology. In her honour, the club donated a tulip tree, which has been planted on the west side of the school property.
During the sunny Monday event, the club also donated several maple trees to the school, which the Interact Club will help plant in various places around the school property.
The tree planting was done in time for Earth Day activities, but also to fulfill the request of Rotary International President Ian Risely, who asked that 1.2 million trees be planted in 2018 around the world. This represents one tree for every Rotarian.
On March 23, 2018, Rotaractors from McMaster Rotaract Club travelled to Hess Street Elementary School in Hamilton to facilitate an Arts & Music Session for their after-school program. The children, from grades two to eight, were delighted by workshops on ukulele playing, origami folding, and bracelet making. Furthermore, they were introduced to the various causes of Rotary International and ways of getting involved. McMaster Rotaract Club is looking forward to more collaborations with local schools. For more information about this project, or interest in joining or collaborating with McMaster Rotaract Club, please email rotaractatmac@gmail.com, call 416-558-7188 or contact us on the "McMaster Rotaract Club" Facebook page.
Rotaract Clubs in District 7090 are growing, and filled with young adults excited to engage in service at home and abroad! Our clubs need referrals from Rotarians to help continue this growth. Every Rotarian knows a handful of young adults (ages 18-30) in their family, at work, and in their communities. Imagine how District 7090’s membership would grow if every member referred one Rotaractor! If you know of a civic-minded young adult interested in joining the Rotary family, please directly contact one of these Rotaract Clubs or send potential membership referrals to Rotaract Co Chair, Larry Coon at loreenzocoon@yahoo.com or call 716-870-9721.
Rotary International Convention and Rotaract PreConvention
The District 7090 Youth Services would like to thank all of the Rotary clubs who are directly or collectively sponsoring Rotaractors to attend the RI Convention in Toronto. Over 25 Rotaractors from our district are registered for either the Preconvention or the Convention, and that number is still growing! This is an amazing opportunity for our Rotaractors to meet others from around the world to encourage fellowship and collaboration between our clubs and districts! It's not too late for Rotaract members, or PROSPECTIVE Rotaract members to register to participate in the Convention, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 22-23rd. District Rotaract Representative, Matthew Falcone (mfalcone@buffalo.edu) can assist with registration, or reasonably priced accommodations at the University of Toronto, where many Rotaractors will be staying for the Convention.
Suggested arrival is the evening of Thursday, June 21 to avoid Friday morning traffic and to be ready to hit the ground running Friday morning at the Pre Convention. Some Rotaractors are also attending the Rotary portion of the Convention Sunday to Wednesday, June 24-27. These young adults are poised to experience Rotary in a way that will have a fantastic, lasting impact! Don't miss out on a chance for our Rotary Family members to have an experience of a lifetime!
Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators (RESI) Member Rosalind Lockyer, pictured on left, (from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada) and RESI Corporate Partner CARE USA’s Director of Global Education Programming Joyce Adolwa (from Atlanta, Georgia, USA) both received the global Woman of the Decade for Community Leadership Award before 2,000 people attending the Women Economic Forum in New Delhi, India on Saturday, April 28, 2018.
The following are links to news articles from the Canadian and Northern Ontario press about RESI Member Rosalind Lockyer being honored with this prestigious award:
Ontario Ministry of Economic Development & Growth’s Office of Social Enterprise has called Rosalind: “one of the most remarkable social entrepreneurs in the world”, see: www.wef.org.in/rosalind-lockyer/.
Rosalind shared the stage with 8 other remarkable women from around the world, including Joyce Adolwa (Director, Global Education Programming at RESI Corporate Partner CARE USA), see: www.wef.org.in/joyce-adolwa/.
On May 7, 2018, RESI Member Howard Weinstein (from Sao Paolo, Brazil) was notified by the Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI) at Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship in California’s Silicon Valley that he had been chosen to participate in GSBI’s 2018 TECh Accelerator Program consisting of the following parts: (continued)
Our 1st Inbound VTT (Vocational Training Team) to visit District 7090 will be from Australia’s District 9790 and will focus on Fruit Farming aspects. See attached Bio’s. They will experience many aspects of production, pest control, water management, geography, as well as explore labor methods, government influences, and marketing avenues.
They will tour the US from May 23rd arriving in Buffalo and then touring our upper regions of the District where there are multiple Fruit Farming venues. They will be staying with Rotarian Host Families in Lockport, Medina, Holley, Clarence, and Westfield.
Starting June 4th, they will tour the CA side of our District with its plentiful Fruit Farming venues. The Hosts will be in Vineland, Beamsville, Brantford and Simcoe. They will depart on June 16th from Toronto.
For the detailed schedule and bios of the team, click here or go to the District website - www.rotary7090.org, in the header menu click on Our Rotary Work, The Rotary Foundation, then Vocational Training Teams. The schedule and the bios will be in the left-hand menu on the VTT page.
Special thanks go out to the VTT Committee and Coordinators Tom O’Neill (CA) and Janet Walker (US), plus all the participation by the 22 Host Families.
District 7090’s membership has continued to grow over the last month with the result that it has increased by 106 members since July 1, 2017 to reach 2,230 members as of May 14, 2018.
Over the last two months, District 7090’s membership has grown by 28, which is second in Zone 24 only to District 5060, which is the largest district in Zone 24 and has grown by 29 to 2,735.
District 7090’s membership growth so far this Rotary year has come from an increase of 54 members in our 67 previously existing Rotary Clubs and 52 new members in our new Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators (RESI).
Our membership growth during the last two months has further solidified District 7090’s position as the largest Rotary District in Zone 24 East by widening our lead over District 7070, that includes the City of Toronto, York Region and Durham Region, which has added 14 members to now sit at 2025 members as of May 14, 2018.
Within all of Zone 24, District 5050 (parts of B.C. & Washington State) with 2,592 members as of May 14, 2018 has grown by 14 members over the last two months; while District 5370 (parts of Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan & Northwest Territories) with 2,114 members as of May 14, 2018 has grown by 10 members over the same period.
The Rotary Club of Buffalo Vocational Services Committee held it’s 14th Annual Trade Show at Templeton Landing. With over 40 different businesses participating, the event was very well attended by the public and Rotarians. Vocational Services provided free food and drink for everyone.
As we get closer to the end of a very successful Rotary year I want to reach out and thank our club presidents, membership chairs and the district membership committee led by Kevin Crosby for reversing our declining membership. Yes, we are doing very well; at the end of April we posted active membership of 2256, our highest number since May of 2016! One club I’d like to highlight is the E Club of Social Innovators, who chartered in December. They contributed 57 members, with an outstanding female membership of 46%. Thank you Club President Gordon Crann and Membership Chair Howard Weinstein! To all those clubs who have seen growth this year, (there are too many to mention) many thanks for Making a Difference!
If there is a disappointment for this year it’s the results of club and individual contributions to the Annual Fund – the fund that the district receives 50% of in three years! At April month-end our result was only $175,000, a far cry from the $300,000 we achieved last year. At this time last year only two clubs had not contributed; this year it’s 10 clubs. You don’t have to be a math genius to recognize the limited amount of funds we’ll have three years from now for district grants, scholarships and the Vocational Training Team. Hopefully clubs and individuals will step up and improve the situation before we are out of time.
Now, on to sharing the joys of serving as your district governor.
It started with an absolutely phenomenal turnout for our District Council meeting in St. Catharines. It was so good to be joined by a number of club presidents as well as so many of the district leadership team. Remember council meetings are open to all and our final meeting of the year is June 2nd at Hyatt Place Hotel in Amherst. Register on the district's website.
The next event was a pleasant journey to the Dundas Valley Sunrise club to assist with a Paul Harris presentation and receive the club’s Annual Fund contribution. This was followed by a lunch meeting of all the Niagara clubs (see photo of presidents and presidents-elect) hosted by President Jeff Thomas of the St. Catharines South club. The guest speaker’s topic (trees) inspired the cake that is pictured.
We enjoyed a wonderful evening at the Lincoln Paul Harris function at 13th Street Winery to pay tribute to two individuals, Andy Fluit and Alice Klamer. It was a gorgeous setting for the event so well hosted by President Sue Foster and Assistant Governor Margaret Andrewes.
Then we were off on a trip to historic Gadawski’s in Niagara Falls, NY for a fun-filled 80th anniversary celebration of the Lewiston, NY Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON club. Loretta, Karen Oakes and Wolfgang enjoyed great food, great fun and President Ron Danielwicz is a treat with the microphone.
Our next stop was the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake for another Paul Harris evening. President Bill French along with event chair Howard Kudlats are to be commended for their hospitality and the organization of a very classy event at a classy and historic location. Congratulations to the Paul Harris recipients!
The highlight of the week came with a return to St. Catharines where President Vicky Rudachuk and the St. Catharines club hosted a citizenship luncheon. What a thrill to participate and meet the 30 some individuals who became Canadian citizens. It was my first opportunity to participate in a citizenship function and was especially meaningful as my grandfather emigrated to Canada and a homestead in Saskatchewan in March of 1911.
The last weekend in April was a busy one. A freak accident with my safety razor caused us to miss the Delhi club’s annual Looney Auction (we’ll try again next year!). We did host DGE Melisa and her husband John that night, and they attended the Looney Auction. Saturday morning, Melisa, DGND Frank Adamson and I attended Slapshot. That night we all attended the Brantford Sunrise Fish Fry. Sunday morning I was back at Slapshot for their final segment - talk about energy! It was a thrill to see and hear the commitment from these 100 young leaders. I wish all Rotarians could experience the qualities and dedication of these students. My gratitude goes out to chair Rob Nagy and his entire team for a fantastic leadership weekend for these 100 young people.
That same weekend RESI member Rosalind Lockyer and corporate member Joyce Adolwa were honored with global awards in New Delhi, India in front of 8,000 attendees. Congratulations to Rosalind and Joyce for receiving the prestigious Woman of the Decade for Community Leadership from the Women Economic Forum for their extraordinary work – a fitting honour. Yes, Rotarians do Make a Difference!
Then it was on to Port Dover (home of the Friday the 13th motorcycle invasion) for an Area 1 four-club meeting hosted by president Hadley Jackson of the Simcoe club. At this well attended event at the Port Dover Yacht Club, two individuals were surprised with Paul Harris awards. It was a wonderful gathering with an interesting speaker. I was joined by DGE Melisa and John and Assistant Governor Lisa Bishop.
The final event was a very different fundraiser by the Hamilton AM club titled Tacos, Tapas and Tequila. It was great to see many friends once again. I must say I learned a lot about Tequila and enjoyed all the different things that the committee organized. Hats off to president Jane Blums and Assistant Governor Marta Stitler.
And last but not least by any means was the Club Leadership Training session in downtown Buffalo at Erie Community College. The first-time location was a great spot for DGE Melisa to shine and encourage us all to Be the Inspiration! All the verbal feedback I received at lunch and after the event was very positive and kudos go to chair Anne Bermingham and her committee for organizing an outstanding 20 sessions. Thank you also to the many presenters and the participants for a great day.
June will be a very busy month with council on the 2nd, the district changeover on the 16th and convention in Toronto as well as many club functions! Keep Making a Difference!
First, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all that you have done or are doing for our organization. Just as our collective humanitarian efforts accomplish more than any of us could individually, it is the collective effort of all of you that allows our organization to operate year in and year out. We appreciate you.
Some of you receiving this are long time friends and acquaintances in Rotary. Some are relatively new. Some of you we have not yet had the privilege of working with. Regardless, we need each of you to consider the following:
September 20-22, 2018, we will be holding the first ever Zone 24/32 Conference. Oh wait you say, we've had Rotary Institutes for years. Right you are. So what's the difference? This event is open to ALL Rotarians. Past Officers, incoming officers, current officers, AG's, district Rotarians, club Rotarians. Everyone!
Why you might ask? It is our belief and experience that non governor types get incredibly motivated, energized, and engaged when they can interact and engage with you who are more experienced and have a different knowledge base (possibly higher Rotary IQ) and skill set. We've seen it over and over. So now we're going to get intentional about it. We're eliminating the silos and allowing for and encouraging growth through collaboration.
That will only be successful if YOU are there. It doesn't matter how long ago you were Governor. We want you back. It doesn't matter how long it has been since you've been to a Zone event, we want to celebrate you. We stand on your shoulders. All of us do. Welcome back. Welcome home.
I am simply the Convener. There is an extraordinary team of people planning an outrageously exciting event. This is YOUR event.
This month, the Niagara Falls Rotary Club Foundation donated $10,000 to purchase a rowing (sculling) boat for the Niagara Falls Rowing Club. The Niagara Falls Rowing Club is a non-profit community organization. The boat will also be used to teach youth how to row and to enhance the Rowing Club’s ability to offer more programming to youth and young children within our community.
The boat honours 2 very special Rotarians and has their names on it - George Dalby and Jack Collinson. The club is planning a "boat christening" in a few weeks.
The Hamilton AM Club celebrated Cinco de Mayo in style. Our second annual spring fundraiser featured great fellowship for a great cause; programs for children and youth in Hamilton's north end. Tapas included home made Pico de Gallo and Guacamole. Decorations were sent straight from Mexico for an authentic touch, and the highlight of the evening was Tequila tasting, brands that most of us have never seen, all imported personally (by Rotarians) from Mexico. A highlight of the evening (to accompany the Tequila tasting) was the Mexican Lotaria (Bingo), played with picture cards and kidney beans. Everyone was a winner, with prizes handed out and $1,000 raised just from the Lotaria! The proceeds for the evening should top $15,000, including sponsorships, ticket proceeds, and the rare Tequila auction. Everyone who attended was given a lovely gift tequila glass to take home.
The event also builds on our club's partnership with the Rotary Club of Valladolid, Yucutan, where the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM has helped fund drinking fountains in the community of Tamuy.
Just as the Mexican forces celebrated victory over the French troops on May 5th of 1862, attendees at the Cinco de Mayo Club Leadership Training (CLT) walked away feeling victorious, inspired, and energized as they had participated in dynamic workshops including “Show Me the Money;” “New Club Flexibility,” It’s Not a Zoo,” and “Circle the Wagons,” amongst many other empowering and thought provoking sessions. Workshops were hosted by DG Reg Madison, DGE Melisa Schrock, PDG Kevin Crosby and a host of influential business leaders, marketing experts, and dynamic Rotarians.
Built in 1901, the majestic and architecturally brilliant former Buffalo Post Office now home to Erie Community College, was the setting for the lively and engaging morning and afternoon events. Each moment from registration, to coffee breaks to a sit down lunch and breakout sessions offered the opportunity for seasoned Rotarians to network with their longtime friends while they welcomed and imparted Rotarian pride and knowledge to dozens of new Rotarians who are ready to make their own clubs and District 7090 shine throughout the upcoming Rotary year.
A brand new Rotarain, Nehal Mahran of the Ancaster Evening Club, stated that she was thankful her President, Celine Legret encouraged her to attend the CLT as it offered Nehal a chance to network with professionals from many career paths and discover how, “Rotary all comes together and inspires Clubs to collaborate in the future.”
Veteran Rotarians, such as Lorne White from the Rotary Club of Ft. Erie, were eager to be part of the day, once again. This particular longtime Rotarian is a two time past president, has attended multiple CLTs and Lorne staunchly believes that participating in these fun-filled and informational district events helps to keep clubs active. He happens to be is a great role model not only for his club but for the district by being an active member and devotedly bringing district information and events back to his fellow Rotarians.
Boisterous laughs, newfound friendships, and soon to be experts in social media could be found exiting room 412 after the workshop "Social Media" presented by Paul McAfee and Lisa Mueller was complete. The Cinco de Mayo theme resonated as participants discovered that # hashtagging is not just for millennials, and the power and creativity it holds for even the smallest of clubs is quite useful! Rotary Trivia games, The Rotary Foundation successes and challenges, vocational service ideas, and becoming effective leaders were topics brought back to dozens of clubs and, as at any Rotary event, the tasty food and camaraderie were proportioned in exact measure.
Congratulations to all who attended the CLT of 2018; committee members are sure to see you next year and with many of your fellow seasoned and newbie Rotarians!
The Rotary Club of Hamilton offers a free after school program for inner city children. Part of the program is the opportunity to experience the great Canadian sport of Curling.
For 12 weeks students walk to the Victoria Curling Club to learn the sport. Rotarian John Clinton mentors these young people as they learn basic skills, how to sweep and curl. At each curling session, students receive a healthy snack and gain a better understanding of skills such as teamwork and communication. The last session, the students have the opportunity to have a game and then enjoy a pizza party. Thanks to this great partnership with the Victoria Curling Club, students have access to join their Little Rocks Curling program on weekends, covered at a reduced fee by Hamilton Rotary.
This year, Victoria Curling Club recognized Rotary’s partnership by putting the Rotary logo on the ice for an Under 18 Curling Bonspiel. It was exciting to watch the rocks sliding over the Rotary logo and to see kids engaged in this sport!
The members of the Rotary Club of Hamilton conducted a hands on service project - volunteering to purchase and make dinner for family members staying at the Mark Preece House on March 1st 2018. The Thyme4Dinner volunteer program engages volunteers to prepare a meal for the families staying at the house.
Mark Preece was a young, respected physician working in the Intensive Care Unit at Hamilton Health Sciences until his untimely death in 1997. While undergoing specialized cancer treatment in the United States, Mark’s family and friends experienced first-hand the value and support of a welcoming, affordable residence during such a difficult time. In honour of Mark, friends and colleagues worked for years to bring the Mark Preece Family House into existence.
The Mark Preece Family House is located close to the Hamilton Health Sciences’ General Hospital site, a prime focus site for Critical Care, Trauma Services, Burn Unit and a full range of Cardiac Surgery and Services. Until now, there has been no affordable place for patients’ families to stay near to their bedside. This creates an unnecessarily stressful situation for those involved.
After a long, stressful day at the hospital, a home cooked meal is very appreciated by all of the families staying at the Mark Preece House. The Rotarians prepared dinner for 30 people. Dinner included beef burritos, homemade guacamole, Mexican rice, salad and chocolate cake.
Working together to prepare a meal was a great service and team building project. Knowing that you are making a special meal for the family members - priceless.
Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew President Rob Benzel gladly distributed more checks for the club’s local giving this month. Shown are a presentation following their breakfast meeting at Russell’s, to LEAF. LEAF is a foundation formed by educators to fund things that cannot be ordinarily purchased with regular funds, and directly benefits students.
Following that same vein, an annual sponsorship is made to the Lancaster Opera House to fund a summer youth theater projects, for students interested in exploring acting and stage.
G. Robert Moeschler Jr., a member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo for 47 years, passed away on March 11, 2018. Bob generously remembered Rotary with a $50,000 gift to the Buffalo Rotary Foundation. Bob was a Paul Harris Fellow, Chairman of the District Conference in 1988, Chairman of Sunshine Day at Cradle Beach Camp, and Chairman of the Annual Outing for about 15 years. Bob’s father, G. Robert Moeschler, Sr was a Buffalo Rotarian for 25 years.
Rob Nagy sent in this excerpt from the president of Brantford Rotary, Lance Calbeck, (pictured on left) regarding a fundraiser the club is involved with. "One of the perks of being club President is getting your mug in the news. Today, Bob Cassie came to our meeting and wrapped up the 18th Great Northern Ride. Over $212,000 from a group of guys who combine their love of snowmobiling with some serious fundraising. The money raised goes directly to the Lansdowne Children’s Centre Foundation. Well done fellas, well done."
Members of the Flamborough AM Rotary Club had a social evening in March at Flamboro Race Track, including dinner and a Race named after them.
Pictured (left to right) are Sherry and Duncan Bell, President, Frank Keelan, Past President, Margaret Robertson, Chair of Public Relations, Dan Posavad, Youth Services Chair, Ryan Bridge, President Elect, and Frank Spiridoulias, Community Services Chair.
Apparently, the Rotary horse, named HOWMACFIESTY, did not win, but fun was had by all.
The 24th International Curling Fellowship of Rotarians was held from April 6 to April 13 at the Lanarkshire Ice Rink, Hamilton, Scotland. This fellowship event is held every two-years either in Scotland, Canada or the USA.
Rotary Club of Grimsby was proudly represented (pictured left to right) by Bill Hughes aka Skip, Sharon Rizzuto, Wayne Fertich and Charles Daly.
Grimsby was playing in the Friendship Division of 14 teams and Bill Hughes skipped his rink to a first place finish in a 7 team Round Robin with 5 wins and one loss. They advanced to the semi-finals but lost to Perth, Scotland.
All members of the Grimsby Team Rink were smartly dressed with the Canadian flag proudly displayed on their trousers.
Rotary Club of Jamestown held it's 5th Annual Fire & Ice Ball at Chautauqua Suites recently. The Ball is one of the club’s annual fundraisers. As attendees entered the event, they were able to view pictures of projects our club has directly been involved with or donated to in the past both locally and internationally.
This year the raffle prizes included a vacation package to the Grand Mayan in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico and an ice blue diamond jewelry set. During the event there was also a silent auction where attendees were able to bid on some amazing prizes.
The Rotary Club of Welland is beginning to plan for its 100th Anniversary on April 1, 2020 (not an April Fool’s joke). The club has been actively involved both locally and internationally. In fact, the first international support was in 1941 in support of the British War Victims.
Welland Rotary was a charter member of what is now the Niagara Children’s Centre in St. Catharines, and began it’s support for, what was then referred to as, crippled children, in 1945-1946.
To celebrate 100 years of Rotary service, the club has initiated a call for proposals from the public, Rotarians and former Rotarians for a legacy project. The project should reflect the Objects of Rotary that include: Making a Difference, Service Above Self, Community Service and Goodwill that can, in the broadest sense, benefit Welland residents and visitors to this great city.
The project will have up to a $100,000 nominal value, based on up to a $100,000 contribution from the Rotary Club of Welland. The project value could be significantly more if it can attract sponsors, partners, matching funds or grants from foundations, etc. The club is looking for donations toward it’s $100,000 contribution, with all donations eligible for a Canadian income tax receipt.
The Rotary Club of Niagara Falls held its 20th Annual Trivia Night fundraiser at Club Italia on February 21, 2018. The event was a great success with over 400 people attending, raising $14,000.00 for the Rotary Club to donate back into our community for those in need!
The 50/50 draw and raffle table was also a great success. The club sends thanks to everyone who donated prizes and to the many volunteers and attendees.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg recently inducted Jill Martucci into its membership. President Jerry Bastedo, right, conducted the ceremonies welcoming Ms. Martucci who is employed in the Enterprise Risk Management Division of the Bonadio Group. At left is Rotarian Tyler Shaw, her sponsor.
Leslie Burow was the 7th member to be inducted into the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise Rotary family this year. She was introduced to Rotary through her 15 year-old daughter who pursued an opportunity to do a short term student exchange which was communicated to her high school by our Rotary Youth Exchange Committee. Her daughter is going to Italy and now, as a result, we are thrilled to have her mother as our newest member!
Pictured (left to right) are Keith Jones, President Elect, Leslie Burow, newest RCNS member, Lucine McKay, Past President.
GRANT PROMOTES SELF ESTEEM BUILDING IN REMOTE COMMUNITY
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise has been working with Pikangikum First Nation in northwestern Ontario for five years. This year, Rotary teamed up with supplier Algonquin Outfitters, OPP and the Rotary District 7090 to help outfit the school’s outdoor program with $4500 worth of camping and canoeing equipment so that the school now has the ability to outfit complete canoe trips and hiking adventures.
Jim Dawson, a long time Norfolk Sunrise Rotary member, commented, “Formerly, the outdoor program had to travel outside the community to participate in an annual canoe trip, the culmination of the spring outdoor program. Now with the canoe packs, life jackets and water filters supplied under this grant, the students can also go on more local trips, weekend trips right from the community which has ideal canoe trip conditions and best of all - this can be done in a much more cost-effective manner”.
The Rotary District provides matching funds to help local projects be able to do more with the funds raised locally. In this case, some of the funding came from the popular “Catch the Ace” progressive lottery which was held at the Port Dover Legion last year (and will be starting again April 6).
The outdoor program is very important in building self esteem, resilience, confidence in traveling in the wilderness and provides training for future careers in adventure tourism and outfitting. Because of the support by Rotary over the past few years, including yearly visits by Rotarians Jim and Marjorie Dawson to help with canoe training, the program is now going to be expanded to include the fall term next year.
The Pathways to Opportunity Award represents a unique collaboration among Rotarians, educators and businesses in the Lincoln community. In its commitment to both Vocational and Youth services, the Rotary Club of Lincoln is pleased to work with the Chamber and Beamsville District Secondary School to celebrate businesses that go out of their way to support co-operative education.
Each year, approximately 110 Grade 11 and 12 BDSS students spend between one and four periods of each school day over four months in the workplace. This would not be possible without the voluntary participation of some 50 businesses and organizations. In essence, the companies are providing ‘pathways to opportunity’ experiences that help students find their way to post-secondary employment, career and education opportunities.
To select the Pathways Award recipient, the BDSS Co-op Education Department uses the following criteria:
The opportunity to engage in a meaningful work experience
The mentoring relationship provided to the student during the work term
Going above and beyond to support students at their co-op placements
The Rotary Club of Lincoln is pleased to announce that the 2018 Pathways Award recipient is Conversations Cafe' & Bistro. For more information go to: http://conversationscafe.squarespace.com/#about
Pictured aremembers of the Lincoln Chamber, Mayor Sandra Easton, Deborah (with the award) & David Dueck, Sue Foster President Rotary Club of Lincoln, members of Lincoln Chamber.
The Rotary Club of Lincoln recently welcomed Oluf Lauridsen, as its newest member. Michael Hahn was the sponsor and performed the induction ceremony. Oluf is a retired tennis professional and instructor.
Pictured is President Sue Foster presenting the Rotary pin to Oluf.
In eighteen months members of the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville raised $11,715.46 and donated it to The Rotary Foundation PolioPlus Fund for Polio eradication efforts. This organization had set an original goal of raising $10,000 within two years. On April 10th, thirty-two Rotary International Zone 24E and District 7090 officials, guests and club members gathered at Brazill’s On Main in Westfield for the official announcement and dinner celebration, which was titled “PolioPlus-apalooza.”
This Rotary club had been challenged by an anonymous, local foundation to raise $10,000 in two years, through new fundraisers, each with an educational component about the disease of polio. The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville energetically met its challenge. The club first submitted its major donation of $11,715.46 to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) PolioPlus Fund, and then the local foundation generously made its major contribution of $10,000.
Because the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is offering a $2:1 match of all donations, the Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club played a significant role in generating $65,146.38 in the fight against polio. A single dose of the polio vaccine costs about sixty cents. The polio virus remains in Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Polio (poliomyelitis) mainly affects children under 5 years of age. According to the World Health Organization, “Cases due to wild poliovirus have decreased by over 99%, since 1988, from an estimated 350,000 cases then, to 22 reported cases in 2017. As a result of the global effort to eradicate the disease, more than 16 million people have been saved from paralysis. As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio.” (Source: WHO Media Centre, Mar. 2018 Fact Sheet.) To date in 2017, only 7 new cases of the wild polio virus have been identified. (Source: WHO Global Polio Eradication Initiative; polioeradication.org, Apr. 2018.)
Jim Wakeman, Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville Foundation and PolioPlus Challenge Chair, announced, “As we celebrate the achievement of our club’s goal, and recognize the fantastic efforts of all those who were involved, it is most important that we especially remember the end result. Because of our efforts, 108,577 children will receive doses of the polio vaccine. These children will not suffer the effects of this crippling and sometimes paralyzing disease, nor will their lives be forever negatively impacted by it.”
Rotary International Zone 24E Foundation Coordinator Karen Oakes stated, “This truly is an amazing achievement by the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville. It is a major contribution in support of global polio eradication efforts.”
Rotary District 7090 Governor Reg Madison said, “How proud I am of this Rotary Club for its PolioPlus Challenge campaign efforts. When I first learned that this organization had not reached, but surpassed its challenge goal, I was overwhelmed and just cried tears of joy. This is a remarkable accomplishment.”
Pictured (left to right) are Sue Hammond - Club Public Relations Chair; Karen Oakes - Rotary International Zone 24E Foundation Coordinator; Reg Madison - Rotary District 7090 Governor; Pat Castiglia - Rotary District 7090 End Polio Now Chair; Jim Wakeman - Club Foundation and PolioPlus Challenge Chair; and Janese Berkhouse - Club President.
During the April 10th special gathering of 32 Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville members, Rotary dignitaries and guests at Brazill’s On Main in Westfield, three club members were honored with their first or next level of the Paul Harris Fellowship. The award recipients were Tracy Bennett, Dan Smith and Sue Hammond.
The Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club recognition ceremony was held in conjunction with this group’s “PolioPlus-apalooza” celebration for the club having surpassed its PolioPlus Challenge goal. Jim Wakeman, Club Foundation Chair, led the recognition ceremony. Janese Berkhouse, Club President, proudly congratulated the club’s three newest PH Award recipients, as follows:
Tracy Bennett, Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville Treasurer, was presented with his first Paul Harris Fellow by Reg Madison, Rotary District 7090 Governor. Bennett, who joined Rotary in 2015, is a certified public accountant. He was challenged by District Governor Madison to continue earning PH Awards in order to receive the Major Donor recognition, which is given when cumulative donations reach $10,000.
Dan Smith, Westfield-Mayville Rotary Youth Services Chair, was honored with his Paul Harris Fellow+1 (Level 2) recognition. Smith also serves as the Rotary District 7090 Vocational Training Team Chair. He was proudly given his award and congratulated by District Governor Madison. Smith, who joined Rotary in 1998, served as Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club President in the 2001-2002 club year. His profession is computer software sales.
Sue Hammond, Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville Public Relations Chair, received her Paul Harris+3 (Level 4) recognition from Karen Oakes, Rotary International Zone 24E Foundation Coordinator. Hammond, who joined Rotary in 2008, served as Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club President for two consecutive terms, 2010-2012. She is a retired high school principal.
Linda Dunn, a fourth Westfield-Mayville Rotarian who also earned her next level of the Paul Harris Fellow recognition, was unable to attend this event.
Pictured (left to right) are Jim Wakeman, DG Reg Madison, Tracy Bennett, Dan Smith and Sue Hammond.
This part of the Rotary year is always a rewarding time as we move along in the final quarter. Pleasant activities such as attending club meetings to receive polio and/or Foundation contributions, Paul Harris events, Rotaract meetings, fundraisers, inducting new members and club anniversaries. Before I share a few of these experiences, I have to express a concern. That concern – Rotarian participation in District activities and registering on a timely basis. It’s happening again now with Club Leadership Training at Erie Community College in downtown Buffalo on May 7th. Friday, April 20th is our contractual deadline for providing food numbers and yet as I write this, we are nowhere close to anticipated numbers. Why do we procrastinate? Please, get on the district website now and register! It will be a great event with sessions for everyone.
Now – back to those experiences I mentioned. First off, the induction of two new members at the Waterdown club with President Sabih was a special occasion. What made this fantastic for me was that Annette Nyland, a Rotarian since only October, referred them both, making her responsible for three new members in that short space of time! I wish all clubs had an Annette!
Another highlight was the Westfield-Mayville’s club PolioPlus-apalooza. What a great evening! An anonymous donor came forward two years ago and offered to match up to ten thousand dollars for new money raised by the club for polio. Over the two years, numerous events raised a total of $11,715.46. The $21,715.46 total was then doubled by the Gates Foundation contribution, resulting in a total of more than $65,000 for Polio Plus! An incredible event that brought big smiles to District Polio Chair Pat Castiglia and Zone 24E Foundation Coordinator Karen Oakes. Thanks to President Jan Berkhouse and club Foundation chair Jim Wakeman for their leadership! And to all the club – job well done!!! Pictured (left to right) Karen Oakes, DG Reg, Pat Castiglia, Jim Wakefield and Jan Berkhouse.
Thanks to Doug Harty, President of East Aurora, for a warm reception at their breakfast meeting to receive club donations to Polio Plus and the annual fund.
Finally, the Niagara Falls and Niagara Falls Sunrise clubs hosted a Paul Harris evening on April 16th to present Paul Harris Fellows to six recipients. Unfortunately, we couldn’t attend because of the spring ice storm that weekend. To BJ Romans and all the Rotarians, again our regrets and I’m sure it was a wonderful evening!
By the time you read this, I will have had the pleasure of collecting and presenting Foundation money to the Dundas Valley Sunrise club, we will have attended a joint luncheon meeting of all the Niagara clubs, the Lincoln Paul Harris evening, a Rotaract event at the University of Buffalo, and will have celebrated the 80th birthday of the Lewiston-Niagara club! What a fantastic experience to see, first-hand, these clubs Making a Difference!
The latest Rotary Leadership Institute was held at Niagara County Community College, Sanborn, New York on March 24. The day saw 35 + Rotarians (26 registrants and facilitators) meet to discuss all things Rotary.
Another 9 District 7090 Rotarians completed the RLI program and were presented with their certificates and RLI pins. The Rotarians receiving their certificates and pins from PDG Jack Amico (pictured in blue t-shirt), along with a congratulations were in alphabetical order: Fiona Barretto, Cynthia Cotten, Bill French, Lauren Humphrey, James Mott, Bernard Neziol, Ellen Roth, Sabih Uddin and Michael Woods.
The RLI committee is now beginning its work for the next RLI courses to be held during the next Rotary Year which starts July 1. Watch the District website for dates once they are finalized.
We are exploring other options as well as it relates to the delivery of RLI. Also, there are graduate courses for RLI Grads, and delivery of these courses in District 7090 is also being explored. Stay tuned!!
If you joined Rotary in the last 12 months, or if you have members in your club who have joined in the past year, we are offering a free webinar for new Rotarians:
This webinar will help new Rotarians learn about the wonderful world of Rotary from the club, to the district, to the Zone, to The Rotary Foundation, and to the 1.2-million-member organization known as Rotary International. Tune in on May 23 and find out what it’s all about.
To write a press release for the District 7090 Newsletter, pick a single newsworthy topic, compose a concise headline (optional), and write the body copy so it answers the basic questions about who, what, where, when and why you are announcing. (Assume your audience knows nothing about it). The release can contain helpful links to documents or websites. For the purpose of District newsletter, please include photo as a named attachment. Also preferred - a word document attached with the narrative.
The Rotary Club of Niagara County Central completed its 12th annual gifting of dictionaries to third grade students in the Niagara Wheatfield Central School District. Rotarian, the late Joseph B. Emmons, began this project locally in 2006. Emmons wife, Rotarian Marsha Emmons, proudly continues his worthwhile endeavor to bring these keepsakes of written knowledge to the students.
The Dictionary Project co-chairs, Marsha Emmons and David Evans, were joined by fellow Rotarians; President Pat Sullivan, Past President, Tom Grimm, and the Niagara Wheatfield Central School Superintendent, Daniel Ljiljanch to distribute 240 dictionaries. The third grade recipients attend Tuscarora Indian, West Street Elementary, Errick Road Elementary, and the Colonial Village Elementary Schools.
CEO Mary French founded The Dictionary Project in 1995 to provide personal copies of dictionaries to third grade students in South Carolina public schools. It has grown into a national organization. To date, over 28 million dictionaries have been donated to children in the United States and internationally. The Rotary Club of Niagara County Central has provided over 7,000 dictionaries to the third grade students in Central Niagara County.
The Rotaract Club of Niagara was pleased and honoured to be a part of 2018’s Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY), which took place the evening of February 24th. CNOY is a nationwide event that raises awareness and funds for individuals and families experiencing hunger, homelessness, and hurt all across Canada. The walk began at 5:15 pm in 121 locations throughout the nation, and consisted of over 19,000 participants. Rotaract Niagara contributed seven walkers at three of the 121 locations: Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, and Welland. With the help and support of many sponsors including Rotarians, family and friends, and others, the event was a success. After the walk, Rotaract Niagara raised just over 1,800 dollars, tripling the initial goal they had set out to accomplish. Rotaract also ran a bottle drive, collecting bottles from sponsors and wineries in the region in order to increase funds.
Each location walked in support of an established initiative that provides support systems and resources for community members in need. St. Catharines teams raised money for Start Me Up Niagara, which provides support to those facing difficult life changes such as unemployment or mental illness. Pictured above, is the St. Catharines team looking enthusiastic during its 10K walk. In Welland, walkers supported Open Arms Missions, which aims to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the community. Pictured on the right, the Welland team with Leslie Bellingham of Open Arms Missions. Last but not least, Niagara Falls walkers raised funds for Project SHARE, an initiative that mobilizes resources for those under the poverty line.
As of yet, CNOY has reached 99% of its 4.5 million dollar goal, and is still accepting donations until March 31st. This walk takes place every year, and provides an opportunity for all participants to learn about the struggles that so many Canadians face, and contribute to the organizations that are working to identify and meet the pressing needs of millions of Canadians. Visit www.cnoy.org for more information.
Recently, the Rotary Club of Lincoln welcomed John Teibert (pictured on left) District Director of the Rotary Foundation and Lincoln Rotarian Alice Klamer (pictured on right) to share their experiences and passion for The Rotary Foundation (TRF).
To find out more about this speaker opportunity, send John Teibert an email inquiry. He or someone from the District Foundation Committee would love to come talk to you about all things relating to The Rotary Foundation.
Eighteen months ago, the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville accepted a challenge from a local, anonymous foundation. Dubbed by the club, the PolioPlus Challenge, the club endeavored to raise $10,000 by this spring in order to have this local foundation match the club’s funds up to $10,000. The conditions of the challenge - fundraising events had to be new ones, include as many club members as possible, and had to raise awareness about the disease of Polio. All of the proceeds were to be donated to the PolioPlus Fund of Rotary International to aid polio eradication efforts. With its successful ‘Pancakes Against Polio’ event, the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, along with strong community support, raised more than the needed $10,000.
Pictured, a Brocton Interactor serving up additional helpings of pancakes at the club's fourth and final event, the ‘Pancakes Against Polio’ charity fundraiser breakfast on March 10, 2018, held in the Brocton Central School Cafeteria. It was a flipping success! 700-plus pancakes later, another $2,334.38 was raised to donate to the PolioPlus Fund to aid in the fight against Polio, and the challenge was met.
The presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow was made to Jim Oliver at RCNS breakfast meeting on February 27, 2018, by President Gail Catherwood for his dedication to the elimination of Polio.
Jim created the ‘Ride for Rotary’ as a fundraiser to support the End Polio campaign. It is an annual one day summer ride for motorcycle enthusiasts. Participants pay a nominal fee to register for the group ‘ride’, and then tour collectively, have lunch, and share in fellowship. All proceeds go to inoculate children against polio. To date, this event has raised enough money to inoculate 25,000 children.
Congratulations Jim! Thank you to all supporters and participants of the ‘Ride for Rotary’ campaign to End Polio Now.
The Rotary Club of Brantford has been recognized for its contributions to the city’s economic development. The club was honoured with the Brantford Ambassador Award by the city’s economic development advisory committee at the recent 2017 Industrial Appreciation luncheon held at the Brantford Golf and Country Club.
Pictured are (left to right) President Lance Calbeck and Robert Ham - Economic Development Officer City of Brantford.
Tim Hoelscher, left, was honored by the Rotary Club of Hamburg recently when he was presented with the Paul Harris Fellow. President Jerry Bastedo, right, is shown presenting Tim the pin and certificate. Tim is a self-employed CPA and a 10-year member of the club which meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday evenings at JP Fitzgerald’s Restaurant in Hamburg.
Pictured is Ellicottville Rotarian Jim Salamone presenting a $250 check to Judy Brown, Treasurer of the Ellicottville Historical Society in honor and memory of the club's good friend, Bob McCarthy. Bob, who passed away about a year and a half ago, is still a presence very much missed in Ellicottville. Rotary was one of several organizations that Bob promoted and supported. He always encouraged the club to consider assigning a portion of the funds it raised to the Ellicottville Historical Society. Jim Salamone commented, "Ellicottville Rotary intends to continue with Bob’s tradition of supporting this great group we also feel it is an integral part of our community."
The Ellicottville Historical Society & Museum started in September of 1956 and was formed for the purpose of studying & preserving the historical record of the Ellicottville and its vicinity. The Historical Society holds meetings every second Wednesday evening from May through October on various historical topics. The Rotary Club of Ellicottville is proud to help the society continue to fulfill its mission of studying and preserving local history for generations to come.
The Rotary Club of Lincoln inducted, not 1, 2 but 3 new members into the Rotary family at its meeting on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.
Pictured celebrating (left to right) is President Sue Foster along with new members, John Maynard, Anna Murre and Valerie Pitt. Doing the induction duties, Membership Chair Michael Hahn.
On February 16, 2018, the Rotary Club of Buffalo tried something new as a fund raiser, a Roaring 20’s Gala was held at the Tonawanda Castle, complete with dance instructors to teach us how to do the Charleston! There was also a surprise in store. A gentleman from Batavia had the band stop the music, then got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend - she said yes! Guests, dressed in their finest 20’s attire, loved the event and many were already asking if we will have it again next year. The Roaring 20’s was a great success thanks to the work of Past President Laurie Albertsson and her committee!
Pictured (on right, in red) Rotarian Therese Vita and friends having a roaring good time.
On February 28, 2018, the Mount St. Mary's Hospital Foundation honored the Rotary Club of Lewiston, NY & Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON at a gala dinner in recognition of its many years of community support. This is especially significant for the club, as April 20, 2018, will mark the 80th anniversary of its chartering.
Club President Ron was invited to the podium to make a few acceptance remarks. Pictured are (left to right) Mount St. Mary's Hospital Foundation Executive Director Julie Berrigan, Mount St. Mary's Hospital President & CEO Gary C. Tucker, and President Ron Danielewicz.
Area 1 Assistant Governor Lisa Bishop was on hand to induct a very welcome new member, Tracy Winkworth, brought to the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise through her colleague and friend Jenni Mudge-Winters who came back to the club also this year, after a few years of sabbatical. Tracy is the owner and operator of the Cooking Studio as well as Liaison College South Coast, a chef school in Brantford. Maybe she will teach her new Rotary family a few tricks in the kitchen!
Pictured (left to right): Jenni Mudge-Winters, Tracy Winkworth and AG Lisa Bishop.
The Rotary Club of Welland hosted its first curling social (since 1965) on February 20, 2018. 75 people attended, drawn largely from the community. Participants ranged in age from 12 to 91 (of course that was Rotarian Freddie Farnham) and were, for the most part, first time curlers. Welland's Youth Exchange Student Manon Hody from Belgium eagerly participated experiencing curling for the first time in her life. 14 rinks faced off in a round robin set of games. The Welland Curling Club provided instruction for the curlers. Both the Fonthill and Fort Erie Rotary clubs entered rinks. There were also two Special Olympic rinks joining in the fun. After all the hard work of curling (and rooting for curlers), everyone retired to the lounge for wings, pizza, drinks and socializing.
Grand Island Rotary’s Meat Raffle to support Growing Readers, has been declared successful. A full house gathered at the K of C Hall, bidding for excellent meat packages and waving dollars at runners. GI partnered with a Grand Island school committee dedicated to buying ‘Read-to-Me’ books to be given by local pediatricians to new parents, encouraging them to read to their babies and toddlers. The combined forces brought out both attendees and workers.
The Le Roy Rotary Interact Club is comprised of over 100 Le Roy Jr/Sr High School Students who have shown an interest in community leadership and have a general desire to better their hometown community. Within their club meetings, they identified several issues and have ultimately decided that they would like to honor our local active duty military personnel through a project they’ve named, “Le Roy Rotary Interacts Hometown Hero’s Project.”
Student representatives from each grade 7-12, involved in the Interact Club attended the Le Roy Village Board meeting on February 5, 2018, to request their support. The students put together an impressive presentation describing the project details and how they plan to fund it. They brought along two local Marines to describe their experiences in the military. One of the Marines noted that he went into this line of work to serve his country, not expecting any recognition but that this is a wonderful, and much appreciated project.
The Rotary Interact students requested permission to utilize Main Street light poles, as well as support from our local Department of Public Works to assist in hanging the banners. The decision from the board was unanimously approved and the students were applauded for their great work.
For updates on this project, and to what it as it unfolds, be sure to check out the Le Roy Rotary Facebook page.
Members of District 7090's newest Rotary club, the Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators (RESI) are participating at significant international events.
On February 10, 2018, RESI member Prabha Sankaranarayan, who is Co-Founder and CEO of Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI), was a panelist for the “No Sustainability, No Peace” breakout session at Rotary International’s Presidential Environmental Sustainability and Peace Conference on February 10, 2018 in Vancouver, B.C. Also, this month, Prabha is being joined by RESI club member, Vicki Isler, as members of the MBBI contingent participating in the United Nations’ 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York City. Where, on March 16, 2018, Prabha was a panelist for “Women Using Technology to Advance Agency, Advocacy, Capacity, & Peace” at the Church Center for the United Nations, 797 1st Avenue in Manhattan.
Representatives of the Rotary clubs in Simcoe, Ontario are planning to launch Rotary Lager at an upcoming Eat and Drink Norfolk festival which celebrates the culinary aspects of Norfolk County. Rotary Lager has been brewed by a prominent craft brewery and canned featuring the Rotary wheel along with the Four Way Test. Stocked by several private clubs and restaurants in the area, the beer will be sold at all Rotary fundraisers throughout the Summer. Rotary Lager is also available in the Rotary districts served by the Rotary Clubs of Guelph and Peterborough.
Pictured:Gerry Goddard, Rotary Club of Simcoe, Gail Catherwood, President, Norfolk Sunrise Rotary, Yvonne Di Pietro, Norfolk Sunrise Rotary, Hadley Jackson, President, Rotary Club of Simcoe, Dave King, President Elect, Rotary Club of Simcoe. Absent from photo, but equally involved is Alayna Simpson, President of Simcoe Rotaract
Members of the Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew were honored to have well-known television news broadcaster, Mary Alice Demler, as a guest speaker at a luncheon meeting in February. Mary Alice treated the club to stories about her career in broadcasting and also shared about her efforts to promote volunteerism in the western New York community. Unfortunately her work schedule of 3:00 pm – midnight, precludes her attendance at meetings, especially to her former Buffalo Sunrise Club.
In recognition of her individual service and her former role as a Rotarian, individual members and the club presented a contribution to PDG Jack Amico for the Gift of Life program in her honor. Pictured is Mary Alice speaking to the club.
It all began at a autumn 2011 Rotary meeting that our Youth Exchange outbound student Coco Lee attended - she was there to share her year experience when the letter came in from a inbound New Zealand student that needed housing. Coco said to me, "Hey Nancy, you’d be a Great Host Mom." To be truthful I had never thought of it before … but upon reading Leigh’s bio and having been to New Zealand, it was meant to be .
So in January 2012, this tall blonde landed in Canada. We were both anxious and a tad nervous, but it didn’t take long before we both knew it was the best experience ever for both of us. Leigh’s year in Canada was enriched by all the young people who welcomed her, plus my own family. And, my home was filled with young people and laughter as the year flew by.
A year later Leigh’s mother came to Canada for a visit, and Leigh has returned to Canada two times. After I retired in 2016, I visited them in the Capitol of New Zealand, Wellington and visited the Rotary club that sponsored Leigh. What a thrill that was!
Every one of us has had our Rotary “Moment” – that moment when it suddenly hits you, “This is why I do what I do!!”. For each of us, it’s something different. For many of you, it continues to evolve. Sometimes, they’re even “funny” and can leave you smiling saying, “I love these people!!”
The first weekend in March is the weekend District 7090 offers the final training for our presidents elect. I’ve attended this as an incoming club president and I’ve also attended for the past few years as a DG - in training. This year was “my year”. My opportunity to Be the Inspiration for our future leaders, and to Make a Difference! No pressure. Friday night we had a fantastic speaker, Rotary International Director Elect Jeffry Cadorette, who did an amazing job at inspiring the crowd. Saturday morning would be my opportunity to inspire our incoming presidents elect who would all be going to bed with this speech fresh in their minds. Again, no pressure. I tossed and turned all night, with knots in my stomach - knowing just how critical my talk on Saturday morning was going to be! If I don’t inspire this group, and the district fails and no body sets goals or grows membership, it will all be my fault. If I ramble and talk on and on about nothing of importance, and they fall asleep... all will be lost and it will all be my fault. (If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m an extreme type-A personality and bear the responsibility of just about everything on my shoulders).
Saturday morning came and thankfully, the words came too. I was charged up, excited, rolling along in my speech...really putting it out there... hitting all the targets... and then it happened. My phone rang. Loudly. From my back pocket. Mortified, I tried to ignore it while I reached around to discretely shut the ringer off. But of course, no luck. Deciding I needed to own the moment, I pulled the phone out in front of everyone - apologizing for the interruption - and acknowledged that I was receiving a call from... my daughter? (Funny... she knows where I am)... trying to FaceTime me? (Are you kidding me right now). In true Rotarian/Parent spirit, they began shouting “Answer It” - “Point the Camera on us” - “Take the call”. So.... I did! As they video feed opened and my daughter connected to see a room full of Rotarians - all waving and shouting greetings - the look on her face was priceless... like “Oh Boy, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea”. We exchanged pleasant greetings (through my gritted teeth) and she says “Whatcha doing?” (REALLY??) I replied, “Oh not much, remember that training I mentioned... of ALL of the incoming presidents that I had to do?? Well, you’re calling in the middle of it!!” Laughter from the crowd, blood draining look from her face and extreme embarrassment on mine. “Oh, so is this not a good time?” (More laughter as everyone can hear the conversation due to the microphone in my hand picking up the audio). “No honey, it's really not. I’ll call you back later - have a good time at your youth exchange orientation - love you, BYE!!” Just as I close in to push that precious red button to “end call” the microphone picks up a frantic plea from my daughter, “MOM. WAIT. MOM!! MOM!! DON’T HANG UP YET!!” I look out over the room, everyone is on the edge of their seats, you could have heard a pin drop... what’s wrong?? What’s happened?? I hesitantly ask, “What’s wrong Erin??” And my beautiful, sweet, precious 17 year old daughter says.... “What do you think I should wear today??” The room erupts with laughter which is immediately followed by all kinds of suggestion for her attire. At this point, beyond mortified doesn’t even come close to explaining how I felt. I politely told her to “figure it out” and I abruptly hung up!!
Fellow Rotarians, THAT was a Rotary Moment for me. Because in that moment, all of my presidents elect realized.... I am no different than all of you. I am a wife, a mother and I am a Rotarian with an amazing assignment for next year. I am not better than you, and I have no different issues than you. I have a family that sometime takes a backseat, but understands and fully supports “why I do what I do.” At that moment in time, I felt the love and overwhelming support from everyone in that room and the true spirit of my Rotary friendships took center stage. I am so thankful for each and every one of you and I can’t wait to serve you and our district as District Governor in 2018-2019!
Please follow my Facebook page at Melisa Schrock - Rotarian for these and other funny stories and all things Rotary!!
It’s hard to believe but we are almost in the final quarter of the Rotary year and as a district, 7090 has certainly been ‘Making a Difference!’ We’ve taken giant strides in making up lost ground with membership. I’m so grateful to all the clubs who have made a positive contribution, including our membership committees led by PDG Kevin Crosby and our new Rotary E-club of Social Innovators (RESI). We’ve recovered much of the ground we lost over the last couple of years but there is still a long way to go. We all need to ask our ourselves as Rotarians, “When did I last ASK someone to a club function or tell them about Rotary?” Part of our role as Rotarians is to do that!
We do know that come year-end, a significant number of terminations will occur. They will affect not only the financial health of our clubs but that of the district, our zone and Rotary International! We do need to grow: to have more hands to do the wonderful work in our communities and the world, to lessen the load on many of our over-burdened members and to lead to lower club, district and RI dues. Yes, there is strength in numbers and each of us, by doing our part, can make our clubs a better and more fulfilling part of our Rotary lives.
A second focus for the final quarter of 2017-2018 is to ensure that the contributions to The Rotary Foundation and the Annual or Share Fund are adequate enough to provide significant funds for our district activities three years from now. Remember: half of what we as clubs and individuals contribute to this fund come back to our district to allow us to continuing “Doing Good!” Once June 30th arrives, our total contribution, divided by two, is what our District Foundation will have to allocate three years from now.
My final challenge is to remind clubs to be up to date on Rotary Club Central with their goals and accomplishments. You should also be cognizant of the Brand Center and Rotary Showcase to ensure your club’s ability to earn the Rotary Citation, the district Lighthouse Award and the Governor’s Trophy.
As I write this we are enjoying the last few days of our break from the cold winter weather of southern Ontario and western New York. It is always so nice to get away, yet there is no place like home and we are anxious to get back. Our trip began with a wonderful visit with Lucinda and Wayne General in Phoenix. As many of you recall, Lucinda was Ian Risely’s representative at our district conference in October. It was great to see them and enjoy their southern hospitality.
We then spent a week in beautiful Sedona and in spite of snowfall on two of the days, enjoyed the splendor of the rock formations and learned so much about the area of the red rock! We spent time in Sun Lakes with long-time friends before our sojourn to Tucson and more Rotary friends. Rotary is an incredible organization and no matter where you go you have the opportunity to make new friends and lasting relationships.
There are a number of important decisions and discussions that will take place at our District Council meeting on April 7th at the Best Western Hotel & Conference Center in St. Catharines. I’m hopeful that we have great attendance from the district leadership team. I remind everyone that these meetings are open to all district Rotarians. Thank you for all you do in Making a Difference in your communities and in the world!
Everyone shops! Whether it is for our everyday necessities or special purchases, we are all buying goods and services. Why not save money and give back to Rotary at the same time.
Take Amazon.com for example. Amazon's program will donate a percentage of your purchase to your favorite charity? If you choose Rotary, Amazon will donate up to 6% back!
Rotary Global Rewards is a program that has enlisted many businesses to donate a percentage of the proceeds from online purchases by Rotary members to Rotary International. In some cases, the businesses also offer special discounts on sales of merchandise and services to Rotarians. Rotary clubs will receive recognition points for the contributions resulting from Global Reward purchases made by members.
Rotary Global Rewards are offered on many of your everyday items:
Retailers
Hotels
Flights
Florists
Entertainment
Sports Tickets
Dining
Car Rentals
Insurance Products
Health & Wellbeing
In order to participate in the program you must have your Rotary International login. You can register through RI at www.my.rotary.org and create a password. Once you are logged in, simply click on Member Center and then Rotary Global Rewards.
For questions, contact District Chair Shefali Clerk.
District 7090’s membership has continued to grow over the last month with the result that it has climbed back over 2,200 to reach 2,202 members as of March 15, 2018.
Our membership growth during the 2017-18 Rotary year has solidified Rotary District 7090’s position as the largest district in Zone 24 East by widening our lead over District 7070, which includes the City of Toronto, York Region and Durham Region, (only other district in Zone 24 East with more than 2,000 members) sitting at 2011 members, respectively, as of March 15, 2018.
Within all of Zone 24, District 7090 is third largest - trailing District 5060 (parts of B.C. & Washington State) with 2,706 members and District 5050 (parts of B.C. & Washington State) with 2,578 members, respectively, as of March 15, 2018.
District 5370 (parts of Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan & Northwest Territories) - with 2,104 members as of March 15, 2018 - is the remaining district in Zone 24 to exceed the 2,000 members level.
Well of course it’s the Club Leadership Training (CLT) event coming up on Saturday May 5th. This event exudes that feeling of growth and renewal that comes at this time of year, and will provide the tools you need to enhance your Rotarian experience. During a recent discussion with our incoming DG Melisa Schrock I was reminded of a quote from Socrates about not focusing on fighting the past, but instead on building the new, or in Melisa’s words,“Stop watering the weeds!” Yes, registration is now OPEN so act now to register and learn how to ‘grow’ your Rotarian future.
District 7090 is in process of creating a new three year strategic plan. In advance of its March 17th strategic planning session, 56 individuals from the district participated in sounding boards, confidential webinars where input was gathered from presidents, immediate past presidents, Rotarians under 40, Rotarians with less than 3 years of service as well as assistant governors and other District Council members.
The group that met to plan out the strategic plan were also given a number of interesting statistics about Rotary 7090 and the state of our district today:
Did you know that… the average age of Rotarians in our district is 58 years old and 33% of the Rotarians in our district our women.
Did you know that our District has had a 4% growth in membership year to date? That is an accomplishment worth celebrating.
Did you know that only 19% of clubs in our district are highly involved in youth services – participating in youth exchange, Rotaract, Early Act, etc.? Yet these younger adults are the future of Rotary.
Using statistics and input from sounding boards, five strategic directions with measurable goals were drafted on March 17. Stay tuned. There will be more in the month of April about the plan and the role each of you can play in strengthening our district.
CLUBS - act now - last chance to register students for SLAPSHOT 2018! Clubs can sponsor up to 5 high school students ages 15-18 for this fantastic leadership/growth program. Interact Club members are perfect candidates, as are POTENTIAL Interact members! It's only $350CND/$275US per person with benefits far beyond this investment. The SLAPSHOT weekend scheduled for April 27-29, 2018 is all about building leadership skills, self-confidence, and bonds among new cross-border friends - a perfect experience to get Interact Clubs started and to invite our youth to join the Rotary Family!
These links take you to details on both SLAPSHOT [and RYLA] including application and registration forms. The SLAPSHOT registration deadline is 3/31. Club, completing and sending this fillable form will reserve your space.
Through the great efforts of Tamara Coleman Lawrie (Rotary Club of Welland) and her District New Member On-boarding Committee and our amazing District Executive Secretary, Pene Hutton, clubs can now access a treasure trove of resources to support their membership development efforts. We’re talking guides, best-practices, checklists, surveys, videos, webinars, etc.
Go to our district website (rotary7090.org) and click on “Our Rotary Work” in the menu bar at the top of the Home Page. Then, select “Rotary Membership” from the drop-down menu. This opens a sub-menu that includes links to information for new Rotarians, Club Resources, Member Resources, and lots of other good stuff. You will be amazed at the number and variety of useful resources to help you recruit members, orient new members, and retain the members you have. Go ahead, make like a pirate, and help yourself to these treasures!
Grimsby Rotary @Noon had another successful Mayor’s Charity Gala, February 3, 2018, with sold-out seating at the Casablanca Winery Inn located in Grimsby. Pictured right, some Rotarians enjoying the event.
District Governor Reg Madison spoke on the accomplishments of Rotary, including being “this close” to ending Polio. He also extended an invitation to attend the RI International Convention in Toronto in 2018.
This year’s Mayor’s Gala will largely go to support Nelles Manor, a historic home built in 1798 in Grimsby, Ontario which was recently converted to a museum.
On February 2, 2018, President June Mergl (photo center) and Rotarian Eugene Oatley (right), delivered winter survival packs to the Salvation Army. Each backpack was filled with essentials such as hats, gloves, sleeping bags and personal items, which will be delivered to those in need throughout Niagara.
Survival packs were also donated to outreach programs at Southminister United Church and St. Andrew's United Church and donated to a fellow Rotarian who has made a connection with people in need of the kits.
The club is happy to have helped the needy during this cold time of year.
District 7090’s new global Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators (RESI) was chartered by Rotary International on December 15, 2017 with the Rotary Club of Brantford and the Rotary Club of Brantford Sunrise as its co-sponsors.
There were 40 RESI charter members on December 15th. RESI has since added 11 new members from Belgium, Canada, Ghana, Liberia, Nicaragua, Scotland, Spain and United States.
RESI is a model of balanced diversity. Not only is RESI truly global with members on 6 continents (i.e., Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America and South America, including Central America), but its gender balance is almost perfect with 25 women and 26 men among the 51 RESI Members currently.
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines South recognized its 50th Anniversary on February 15, 2018. And, on February 5th, at the club's celebratory meeting, District Governor Reg Madison presented President Jeff Thomas with a citation certificate recognizing the momentous occasion.
Attending the lunch were 15 of the 49 past presidents who were asked to share a highlight from their year as club president. As President Thomas stated, "It was because of the hard work of the past presidents, that the shape of the club was formed and its history of doing good has created the foundation for the current club to work from, and has made my role easier as your president.”
Also in attendance were DGE Melissa Schrock, DGN Bob Artis and AG Frank Adamson.
Recently, RCNS inducted a new member who was introduced to the club by a good friend who has been a host parent for the club's Rotary Youth Exchange student. Jennifer Maxwell had just moved to Simcoe from Hagersville and needed to meet members of the community. Friend, Lisa, suggested the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise. Jennifer is working with the Child Crisis Centre and is very much looking forward to being active in Rotary fundraising projects.
Welcome to Rotary, Jennifer!
Pictured (L to R): President Elect Keith Jones, new member Jennifer Maxwell, Past President and Membership Chair Lucine McKay.
We are excited to announce that the Rotaract Club of Niagara has become official. The official chartering and induction of officers celebration was held at Rose City Kids in Welland in January, where club executives and members received the honorary bell, gavel, and banner. Rotaract exists under the umbrella of the Rotary club, and consists of young professionals and students that wish to make a difference both locally and globally. There are currently over 9,500 Rotaract clubs in 177 countries worldwide, and Rotaract Niagara is excited to become a part of this growing number.
The Rotaractors are looking forward to getting actively involved in the community in order to meet pressing needs that exist both locally and internationally. They are grateful for all of the support and enthusiasm received. Rotarians from sponsoring clubs (Fonthill, St. Catharine’s, and Niagara Falls Sunrise) participated, as well as District Governor Reg Madison, and many others. Rose City Kids (RCK) hosted the official celebration, and core founders and leaders of RCK gave a tour of their facilities, including the newly renovated RCK Youth Centre. Rotaract Niagara hopes to begin a partnership with Rose City Kids, and has been inspired by the difference they have made in the community and in the young lives in Welland. The club is currently working on their very first initiative, which is to fundraise and participate in the Coldest Night of the Year, happening February 24th, 2018. Click of the Coldest Night of the Year to support them. You can also get involved by contacting the club through email (rotaractniagara@gmail.com) or facebook (@RotaractNiagara).
Pictured (L to R): Fonthill Rotary Club President Paul Snack, DG Reg Madison, Niagara Rotaract Club President Naasson Huyler, as well as Vice President Ryan Huckla, Secretary Tyler Neal, and Treasurer Dale Hall.
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise was able to donate $3500 of its CTA funds to the Farm to School program - as coordinated between RCNS member Jim Peters and Sharon Smyth of the Children’s Nutrition Network. This is a CNN initiative to bring local fruit and vegetables to elementary level children in the name of better nourishment. With RCNS' help in part, this year alone, the CNN has been able to deliver 957 cases of apples, 633 cases of cucumbers, 1118 bags of strawberries and 56 cases of tomatoes!!
In response, the teachers asked the children to show their thanks. See their gratitude displayed in this collage of post cards that were sent to RCNS.
Recently, the Rotary Club of East Aurora donated $13,000 to the East Aurora Middle School STEM lab. The lab focuses on efforts to expand learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
The club is also applying for a Rotary grant to provide additional funds for the STEM program, along with its own fundraising efforts. The club has learned about the STEM programs starting at Parkdale Elementary to the East Aurora High School from meetings with East Aurora school administrators and technology teachers. With hundreds of East Aurora students using the STEM lab at the middle school annually, the donations from the club can be used to help purchase computers and related equipment for our East Aurora students.
Pictured (L to R): East Aurora School Superintendent Brian Russ, Board President Mary Beth Covert, Middle School Tech Teacher Natalie Dutton, Middle School Principal Matt Brown and Rotarians - AJ Block, Amanda Larkowski and Ted Borowiak. (photo provided by East Aurora Advertiser, photo by Marty Wangelin).
On January 24, 2018, Rotarians from Niagara County Central, Niagara Falls USA, Albion, and Grand Island clubs, as well as the leadership from District 7090 met at Niagara County Community College (NCCC) in Sanborn NY. They wanted to meet the new leadership of the college and welcome him to Niagara County.
William Ross, Chairman of the NCCC College Board (fellow Rotarian) welcomed them. Ross introduced Dr. William Murabito, Interim President of NCCC, and Vice-President Michael Dombrowski. The Rotarians were impressed with the updates about the college and the new Sanborn Learning Commons - scheduled to open in the fall of 2018.
Pictured (L to R): John Cooper (Area Governor), William Murabito (NCCC Interim President), Reg Madison (District Governor, and William Ross (Chairman of NCCC Board).
NCCC’s link to Rotary began when Ernest Notar, first President of NCCC (1963-1975) was Governor of Rotary District 7090 from 1981-1982. It is great to see the relationship continues today.
Pictured is Rotarian Yolanda Czyzewski-Bragues, proud member of the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM, enjoying her copy of the Rotarian while lounging on the beach in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.
Yolanda is also the Vice President of the Polish Canadian Congress, Hamilton Branch, is married to Victor Bragues, from Portugal and they and their children have friends and family all over the world. Hence, Rotary is very important to Yolanda as it helps build bridges to communities. She is currently the club's social chair and chair to one of the club’s major fundraisers, the Drams & Disco event happening in April of 2018.
The first ever EarlyAct club sponsored by the Rotary Club of Fonthill presented a cheque for $10,000 to the Me to We organization to build a new school in Manac, Haiti. Teacher Tim Droppert and his team of forty primary school kids from AK Wigg Public School in Fonthill, Ontario organize an annual ball hockey tournament fundraiser each spring. Combining creativeness and hard work their 5 year goal was met in just two years. Incredible work!
Next on their agenda - bringing fresh water to a needy community. ‘Go Wigg Go....Go Wigg Go’!
Clarence Rotarian and District 7090 Paul Harris Society coordinator Jim Morabito has a busy February awarding several Rotarians Paul Harris recognition.
Pictured (L to R): Jim Morabito and Joe King, who was awarded a PH +1 to go along with his 55 years of perfect attendance!
In the second picture (right) are first cousins Jim Morabito and Jill Northway. Jill joins her late father in becoming a Paul Harris Fellow. Placing this pin on Jill was special for the cousins as their fathers were 2 of the 5 original charter members of the Rotary Club of Clarence. Both brothers retired from Rotary with 41 years perfect attendance and in addition to having their family continue with good work of Rotary they are remembered thru an educational scholarship awarded every year to a Clarence High School student who shows exceptional business talents.
Pictured next (left) are Kevin Petho and Jim Morabito as Kevin receives his first PH Fellow recognition. GREAT work, Kevin!
Pictured right (left to right): DGN Bob Artis, Rotarians Bob Geiger, Paul Harris Society Member Jim Morabito, PHS Member Joe Floss, Joe King, Vince Amigone, and Clarence Rotary Club President Keith Artis. Members Geiger, Floss, King, and Amigone each were awarded the Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
The Clarence Rotary Club is both a EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) and Sustaining club. In addition, several members have elected to join the Paul Harris Society to further their commitment to The Rotary Foundation. These members are available to speak to your club and share why they choose to make The Rotary Foundation their "Charity of Choice".
The Rotary Club of Hamburg recently inducted two new members into its ranks. Club President Jerry Bastedo, middle, conducted the ceremonies welcoming Ryan Brunner, left, of the Baillie Lumber Company, and Tyler Shaw, of GCW Capital into the 76-year-old service organization.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg supports projects on the local, national and international level. Locally, it coordinates Warm the Children, provides college scholarships to Hamburg and Frontier high school students and is one of the four service organizations that coordinates the Burger Fest each July.
It’s no secret that those with less influence and/or power could be treated poorly by those with more. Recent events in the news prove that this can happen at all levels within our society, even in exclusive communities. Child and Family Services of Buffalo is a United Way organization that has provided for the needs of children and families. Child and Family Services have fought for education, safe and healthy environments, and the care for those children and families, for more than 140 years.
Pictured (L to R): Mary Cornwell, BNMC Rotary Member and Chief Development Officer at Child and Family Services, Lauren Gorlick (Speaker) Community Relations Coordinator for Haven House, and Mike Woods, BNMC Rotary President Elect.
At the BNMC Rotary Meeting on February 5, Lauren Gorlick, Community Relations Coordinator for Haven House, a facility founded in 1979 by Child and Family Services, spoke to about 16 members at Gates Vascular Institute on the medical campus in downtown Buffalo. Rotary members brought various items with them to the meeting from a pre-distributed list of current needs, which were donated to Haven House.
The best referrals for new Rotaract members come from Rotarians! Do you know of community-minded young adults attending college or university near these existing clubs? Please suggest to them to make contact to attend a meeting and help these clubs grow! Also, young adults who are already in the workforce are able to join the Community Clubs.
As always, thank you for the support of Rotaract, a program of future Rotarians!
District 7090 is in need of a District Treasurer for the term starting July 1, 2018. If you secretly love to categorize expenses and create color-coded pie charts, then you may have what it takes to be our next District Treasurer! Bonus points if your spouse teases you about how often you log in to the personal finance app on your smartphone! For a full job description, click here. For more information, please contact Melisa Schrock DGE.
District 7090 is in the process of assembling a new Public Image team. Paul McAfee, member and Charter President of the Rotary E-Club of SOWNY, has agreed to lead the District 7090 Public Image Committee as it reestablishes itself. Nine Rotarians in the District have been identified who have professional marketing, communications, or media relations experience and who have expressed an interest in the new District 7090 Public Image Committee. Paul is talking to each of these to determine their levels of interest. He will hold a first meeting of the new committee in late February.
The new committee will develop its goals and communications activities, starting from a blank slate. Support of membership growth among the district’s clubs, and support of the clubs’ efforts to expand awareness of their activities in their local communities, will comprise elements of the committee’s communications priorities.
Anyone interested in participating on the new District 7090 Public Image Committee can contact Paul McAfee.
A great opportunity exists for Clubs to leverage their hard earned dollars through Rotary grants. Qualified Clubs can apply for a District Designated Grant to help locally or internationally. The District will match the Club’s contribution up to $2000. February is the month to apply for a District Designated grant. The application form can be found on the District website under 2018-19 Foundation grants. If your Club is considering applying for a District grant, please contact Sandie Yeater.
Global grants are larger grants and have an international partner. They can be applied for at any time.
Clubs who have received approval for a 2017-18 District Designated Grant should have their projects well underway. Final reports are due at the completion of the project. The report form is on the District website under Foundation, select District & Global Grants 2017-18.
Every one of us has had our Rotary “Moment” – that moment when it suddenly hits you, “This is why I do what I do!!”. For each of us, it’s something different. For many of you, it continues to evolve. I’d like to share with you a Rotary Moment I recently experienced at the recent International Assembly I attended in San Diego, California! For those of you who aren’t familiar with what International Assembly is, let me offer a brief explanation. This week long training is the final step in the journey to becoming District Governor. All of the incoming District Governor Elects (all 537!) gather to meet in person with the incoming Rotary International President Elect and to find out what the next “theme” will be for the upcoming Rotary year. Before I left, almost every past District Governor in our district reached out to me, to offer words of wisdom and to tell me that this was going to be the BEST experience of my life. I had no idea…..
Just when I thought my Rotary experience could not get any better, along came International Assembly! Imagine all of the thrill and excitement you feel when you are with your fellow club members doing “something for the good of Rotary”. Now take that energy, enthusiasm and excitement and kick it up a notch… no wait, kick it up about 100 notches!! Then, you will be close to understanding the level of energy and excitement that fills the halls of the week long experience known as International Assembly! I met Rotarians from every corner of the globe! The friendships were instantaneous, and will be life long. The connections were priceless. The experience… there are simply no words. When the theme for 2018 was finally released “Be the Inspiration” I had no doubt that this year will truly be one of the most memorable, incredible experiences of my life. More importantly, it has inspired me to try and make this upcoming year, the same for YOU!
So get ready everyone! I’m charged up and ready to hit the ground running on July 1, 2018 - fully committed to Be The Inspiration you need to move you along your Rotary journey!
The pace of the role of District Governor has certainly slowed in terms of club and area visits but the volume of emails, phone calls and Zoom meetings remain so that one certainly cannot become bored. I’d like to begin with a kudo to the Grimsby at Noon club for hosting a wonderful Mayor’s Gala and inviting Loretta and I to participate. Aside from the venue, food, Rotarians and guests, the most impressive was the amount of involvement and success in the community with Habitat for Humanity. Well done!
It was also a pleasure to be a part of the 50th anniversary of the chartering of the St. Catharines South club along with DGE Melisa, DGN Bob and DGND Frank. The highlight had to be the comments from presidents of the past – both enlightening and entertaining. Thanks to all who had a hand in the planning and execution of a great luncheon.
I continue to hear from our Rotaract clubs in arranging visits to them all. I look forward to getting to know all our Rotaractors in the district and share the magic of Doing Good in this world. If your Rotaract club does not have a date yet, please email me at reg@d7090.org so we can arrange one.
Remember how I’ve said, “The more I know about Rotary, the more I know I don’t know about Rotary.” That certainly proved to be the truth when we attended the first of six Rotary Peace Conferences scheduled this year by President Risely. What a wonderful experience, from some rare Vancouver sunshine to a lineup of great speakers on a variety of subjects related to the environment. I’m so pleased that I took this opportunity to attend a Peace Conference. The final of the six will be held in Chicago, our Rotary birthplace late in the Rotary year. There is also a Peace Summit in Toronto just prior to the convention if anyone is interested in a new experience.
I am so pleased with our positive membership numbers so far this year. In spite of the terminations at the end of the calendar year to minimize paying RI dues for non-members we are still in a positive position at plus 65 at the end of January. Although it is tops among Zone 24’s seventeen districts, we are still down 23 members from the start of the 2016-2017 year. So let’s not get lackadaisical, it is the duty of every Rotarian to ask others to join Rotary and turn around our decreasing club, district and zone numbers. As they say, ‘let’s keep the pedal to the metal!’
Thanks to the team that both planned and executed our on line PETS this year! Led by Al Lutchin and Susan Czyrny the two Zoom sessions were very well done and helped our presidents of 2018-19 get a good start to their year. I’m anxious to review the feedback when it is available. Next is Multi District PETS in Toronto March 2nd and 3rd and then Club Leadership Training Saturday, May 5th in Buffalo. We hope many of you will join your president elect to take advantage of the event and strengthen your club.
Well, off to the Area 2 meeting, my area, and where I spent three very interesting years as assistant governor with the two Ancaster, two Brantford and the Caledonia club. I urge you all to step up our Rotary actions to Makean even bigger Difference in the remaining Rotary year!
Video Conference: Tuesday, February 20th at 7:00 PM. Rotarians and Rotaractors, please join us for a group conversation using Zoom. Details to join below.
The Rotary International Convention being held in Toronto this June is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us since it's in our own backyard! 40,000 new friends from around the world want to meet you, share their cultures and their Rotary and Rotaract experiences!
On We'll have a group discussion about the Rotaract Preconvention in Toronto June 22-23, 2018 and our plan to help as many Rotaractors attend (together) as possible. Rotaractors represent our next generation of Rotarians! Potential Rotary Club sponsorship will also be explored. (Rotary Club Officers, please consider adding this item to your next Board meeting agenda). Other ideas to discuss will be: Rotaract Club challenges, membershipgrowth opportunities and interclub collaboration on projects. So please call or log on using the directions below this coming Tuesday, February 20 at 7pm. This will kick off a series of monthly or twice monthly meetings to support and develop our Rotaract community.
D7090 Rotarians!
Connecting the World! 
She led an inspirational open discussion of the challenges for Rotary moving ahead that was truly motivating and, above all, honest. 
collected funds for their Purple Pinkie project and a pie auction which yielded $227, donated to Polio Plus. 
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liver much needed supplies and offer basketball clinics. Jim and Marjorie Dawson, along with Pete Wheatley drove 4,400 km over six days, pulling a trailer which included mountain bikes for the bike program, 25 basketballs courtesy of the Toronto Raptors, instruments for the music program, over 100 skates, and 75 boots that were donated by generous local groups, businesses, and individuals.
Effective July 1, 2019 Lisa Bishop has agreed to step into the role of Director of Service Projects for District 7090. She will be replacing John DePaolo whose term ends on June 30, 2019. Lisa is a member of the Rotary Club of Delhi and has been very involved at the District level. She currently serves as Assistant Governor for Area 1, and recently served as the 2018 District Conference Co-Chair. Lisa is passionate about Rotary and is dedicated to finding ways to serve others. As the Director of Service Projects, Lisa will oversee the International, Vocational, Literacy and Community Service Committees. If you are interested in serving on any of these committees, please email Lisa at 
Julie Klotzbach: The Rotary Club of Akron Newstead is pleased to announce that their President, Julie Klotzbach, will be stepping up to fill the role of Assistant Governor for Area 12 which was recently vacated by Keith Artis. District 7090 would like to thank Keith for all of the time, effort and passion that he poured into his role as Assistant Governor. It is because of the dedication of Rotarians like Keith that our lubs are able to thrive and be #changemakers!
Dedicated Rotarians like Katie are the glue that help to hold our Area clubs together.
Shirley Molloy: District 7090 is thrilled to welcome Shirley Molloy as the newest Assistant Governor for Area 3. Shirley will replace Allyson Wenzowski who resigned her position in December. Shirley is a member of the Rotary Club of Dundas Valley Sunrise.
It seems a long time to the next Christmas season, but the Rotary Club of Grimsby has already kicked of its 2019 signature funding raising and community event.
The Rotary Club of Buffalo Sunrise and its City Honors Interact Club (CHIC) volunteering at the Food Bank. 
saved with the donation. 
The Rotary Club of Buffalo held a Toys-4-Tots drive with Marines at its holiday party. Two Marines were guests of the Buffalo Rotarians and enjoyed the party also. They just barely got all the toys into their vehicle at the end of the evening! The great success of the toy drive is due in large part to Past President Laurie Albertsson. Laurie, who hosted the Christmas party at her home, asked her guests to bring toys rather than a dish to pass. What a great idea!
The purpose of District 7090's International Service Committee (I.S.C.) is to stimulate and assist clubs or groups of clubs to undertake International Service to improve lives and meet human needs, and thus advance world understanding, good will and peace. One way the I.S.C. does this is by publishing a catalogue with information about several ongoing projects approved by the District Council. Recently, some new projects were added. Please take a look and see if there is a project your club would like to support. District 7090 encourages participation of all District 7090 clubs in these projects. The criteria for an approved project is listed on page 3 of the Approved Projects Catalogue. 
the community. 22 Welland Rotarians and family, our Youth Exchange Student Carmen, 3 members of the Rotary Club of Fonthill including President Mel Groom and DGN Frank Adamson, special guests Governor Melisa and John, incoming Governor Bob Artis and approximately 20 members of the Holy Trinity congregation and friends all came together to put together 33 blankets. Holy Trinity provided the lunch and DG Melisa delivered the project enthusiasm. Community cable television YOURTV covered the event. 
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise decked the halls with boughs of holly and invited the community for a free Breakfast with Santa. Through the eyes of animated children, the 20 volunteer Rotary elves, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and a special guest (The Pink Flamingo of Change) enjoyed the magic of the season. Laughter, music and excitement echoed out of the Junior Farmers Building in Simcoe. More than 240 community members enjoyed pancakes, sausages, and fellowship to usher in the excitement of the Christmas season, provided by Norfolk Sunrise Rotarians in cooperation with the Christmas Panorama. Even the Pink Flamingo of Change was an active participant and “photo bombed” the pictures taken with Santa.
with his 55+ years of PERFECT ATTENDANCE.
Paul Harris Society member Rick Smith (left) receives his PHS Rotary shirt from District 7090 PHS Coordinator Jim Morabito at a recent club meeting.
Assistant Governor Marta Stiteler takes aim as she learns the use of one of the standard rifles at the Hamilton Armouries where she arranged both an area meeting and a social/educational event for local Rotarians and Rotaractors. What a great evening! Wonderful hospitality from the local reservists under the direction of Lt. Colonel Gary McQueen, a well-attended and conducted area meeting… and, the opportunity to learn what our forces are doing “behind the scenes”. The group did a tour of part of the armouries learning how technology has been used to update artillery fire, and sitting in on a class where rifles and bazookas were being used. The opportunity certainly “hit the mark” and the group targeted a number of areas that they will focus on in the coming months.
The Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville recently collected over 112 donated items for four local food pantries in Westfield, Mayville, Brocton and Ripley. Donations were dropped off at KeyBank in Westfield, and they were distributed the week of December 10. Shown are Westfield-Mayville Rotarians Ellen Luczkowiak (left) and Crystal Schrantz (right), two employees of the KeyBank Westfield branch who organized this food drive..jpg)
On December 1st, Buffalo Rotary President, Bill Larkin, spoke at the annual Tree Lighting at Rotary Rink at Fountain Plaza. The event also included holiday entertainment and visits with Santa. Under the leadership of then President, Joe DePaolo, Rotary Rink was officially dedicated in 1993 as one of our major projects in the City of Buffalo, allowing residents to ice skate for free. In the summer, the Rotary Rink serves as a fountain.
Grand Island Rotary tried something new this year – G I Chamber of Commerce had Light Up Boulevard parade as holiday season started on December 1. A surprising number of spectators watched us march, including 3 Interactors, with Rotarians at Work banner. A truck with lighted reindeer followed in the gloom. Yes, it was drizzling, but not bitter cold. We even received some good comments on our hardiness!
Grand Island Rotarians teamed up with their Interact groups at GI High School and Middle Schools, plus younger EarlyAct elementary students, to raise funds for the local Salvation Army. Salvation Army’s fund drive at our local Tops supermarket works best when animated, interested, bell ringers catch the eye of patrons; that takes effort, but the reward is cash in the Red Kettle! Half way thru our weekend sessions this holiday season and about $1000 has been raised. Here Rotarian Kyle Clayton, with Mike Malaney, plus Interactor Allison Hill take a break from interacting with patrons, for a photo! 
The Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore Club is proud to receive the 2018 Literacy Project Award from the Literacy Rotarian Action Group. The Club’s project, “The School to Home Reading Program” in 4 local schools, offers 3 English and 2 French programs to encourage fluency, comprehension and the joy of reading. Selected students from grades 2 to 5 read to a volunteer (Rotarians & College/University students); take a book home to read to their family and the process repeats weekly from October to April. Leveled books are purchased yearly by the Rotary club and the average rise in literacy is between 4 to 9 levels. “Most Improved Reader Awards" are presented in June.
Foundation Chair, Sandi Chard with the assistance of past President Kent Chisholm, presented a banner to the club recognizing our members’ generous contribution to Polio+. During National Polio+ day last month (November 24, 2018). The club collected an additional donation at the dinner registration desk plus a $400. anonymous donation following the meeting. Our efforts netted over $3,000.
The Rotary Club of Ancaster AM held its annual Autumn Stroll event on September 9 in collaboration with local restaurants, wineries, and breweries. The "Stroll" takes place in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, and guests get to spend the afternoon in the middle of a forest sampling award-winning cuisine. This year, the club made $66,000 in ticket sales, and sold out ten days ahead of schedule!
Buffalo Sunrise bartenders Daniel Day (left) and Denis Lefebvre with PDG Kevin Crosby (front) at the Soho Bar “Drink responsibly but tip irresponsibly.” fund raiser.
Max Hufer, Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Germany sponsored by the Buffalo Sunrise Rotary Club, is welcomed at the Buffalo Airport by host family Melanie and Tom Morse and their son Charlie.
Nope! That is NOT a typo! RI President, Barry Rassin, will be joining us live – in the flesh – at our upcoming District Conference on October 20, 2018! This is truly a “once in a lifetime” opportunity for you to meet our current RI President, up close and personal! Click here 
Buffalo Sunrise volunteers Angela Hintz, Liz Hole, Barb Ochterski, PDG Wally Ochterski, Bruce Baum, Dick Malo (not pictured) sort food collected at the Erie County Fair
Over the Canada Day weekend, the Rotary clubs of Waterdown and Flamborough AM held their 9th Annual Oh Canada Ribfest, a fundraiser for the two Rotary clubs. From the photos, it looks like Governor Melisa was having a great time posing with awardees. 
to disperse having been wined (lots) and dined on Wayne’s special treatment of steak and salmon, preceded by charcuterie and salad, and then topped off with strawberry cake and rhubarb crisp and icewine. The guests are Tom and Stephanie Smith from Tsawassen, British Columbia, Karen and Ted Ellis from East Rutherford, Texas, and the hostesses with the MOSTEST, Helen Massey and Lynne Morrow.
Bonnewell served the past year as president. Bonnewell is the superintendent of Albion Central School. He also was named a Paul Harris Fellow, the club donating $1,000 in his name to the Rotary Foundation for its humanitarian work..jpg)
all of the volunteer activities I have been involved with.” Pictured left (Left to Right) are Greg Jones, Rotary Foundation Chair congratulating Joelle and Dana. Pictured right (Left to Right) are Lisa Yaggie, Assistant Governor installing Katie Geise as President for 2018-2019.
The Rotary Club of Hamburg on July 11, 2018, recognized member, Patricia Castiglia, for exemplary service, giving her a few special gifts from the club from the recent Rotary International Convention held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Hamburg Rotarians who attended the convention: Dale and Barbara Stanley, Lisa Avery and Eileen Hotho brought back a convention t-shirt, visor and travel tags for Castiglia who has served as president two times, currently chairs two district committees and most recently has served as club secretary for two consecutive terms. Pat is shown modeling her new swag. 
convention, getting ready to Be The Inspiration!
I draw my energy and inspiration from YOU, the Rotarians I am honored to serve this year. I was invited to the changeover ceremonies for the Rotary Clubs of Fonthill and Niagara On The Lake as some of my first official duties. What a pure honor it was, to meet the club members, listen to the projects and achievements of the clubs and to hear the hopes, dreams and goals of the incoming presidents! As you’ve heard a million times from other district governors before me – it is truly a humbling experience. Between these two clubs they have used grants to help fund a computer and skills program targeting women and youth through Niagara Peninsula Homes, funded a sensory room in conjunction with the Red Roof Retreat, and raised thousands for dollars for Polio Plus and other local programs!
realize their goal of building more affordable housing for the elderly in her community. Wow. Not much more I can say about that. The level of “Service Above Self” that I see everywhere I go is just amazing. Everywhere I look, I see #Changemakers! People tirelessly dedicated to being People of Action. Rotarians dedicated to improving the communities they live in and even the ones they don’t.
eyes to the larger world of Rotary. To inspire you to take action and create lasting change. I truly believe that we need to look no further than our own district, to see first-hand, the up close and personal impact that we as Rotarians are making in our own communities and around the globe! I am so proud to be serving you and our district. Thank you for giving me this incredible opportunity! Please follow me on Facebook at 
Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew held the first meeting of their new year on Thursday. Shown above are Robert Benzel, Immediate Past President, with President Ken Graber and President Elect Adam Guglielmi, following his swearing in. 
If ever a song was handcrafted and tailor made to sum up the personality, enthusiasm, and absolute spunk of a human being, than “Raise a Little Hell,” by Trooper, is the banner song for Melisa Schrock, District Governor Elect of 7090. Melisa embodies a new vision, an inner strength, a purposeful direction to lead, govern, solidify, and expand the Rotary Mission; one we all know and love. Her formidable savvy and grit is contagious...so look out District 7090 Rotarians, are you ready to “Raise a little Hell?”
cookies were delicious and resulted in combined sales of over $570. During March, members participated in the Rotary Club of Amherst South's 5th Annual Bowl-A-Thon. There members raised funds by participating on two teams of 4-5 members and were able to bowl, win prize basket raffles, and enjoy food with friends. During April, Rotaract members helped the Rotary clubs of Western New York, Buffalo State’s Great Lakes Center, the Greenway Commission, along with the West Side Rowing Club perform a trash clean up at the Black Rock Canal. Members aided in reducing the amount of nearby trash, invasive plants and debris.
Its main fundraising event was the H.O.P.E. Haiti fundraiser held to raise money to improve the main community library for the community of Borgne, Haiti. This event was held at the Marcy Casino on April 26th. The event included live music, a cash bar, hors d'œuvres, and over 60 raffle baskets. From this event, the Buffalo State Rotaract Club along with the help of Nutrition Club and PHI-Upsilon Omicron and the Equal Opportunity Program raised $4,657 for the community of Borgne, Haiti!
Early June, the Rotary Club of Dunkirk-Fredonia said a sad goodbye and fond farewell to its amazing international exchange student Matheus di Silva Santos from Brazil. Pictured (right) are Youth Exchange committee members Doug Manly and Brenda Hayes, and (left) Matheus and members of his three host families: the Davises, the Kinkellas and the Powell Fortnas.
Tent where Hamilton AM Rotarian Tim Dickins and two colleagues enthralled everyone with their prestidigitation! No worries about hunger with Hamilton AM Rotarian Paul Reardon on the Hot Dog Cart! This event is hosted by the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM and supported by many local businesses including the Hamilton Spectator. This was the club's 8th Annual Imagine in the Park children's arts festival and the the biggest one to date!
club. President Judy Shepalo, who had to step up at the last minute as president, has done a great job leading the club.
rfest at the Harry Howell Arena in Waterdown hosted by the two Dundas clubs. Another great event with two happy people going away with wheelbarrows of beverages.
Our next stop was the Waterdown club’s annual Paul Harris night where we enjoyed a wonderful evening of fellowship, food and new Paul Harris Fellows. Next it was on to Queenston for the Niagara Falls Lilac Luncheon and a very interesting presentation and tour of the history surrounding the War of 1812. Congratulations to organizer Barbara Greenwood and President June Mergl for hosting a memorable event.
The Rotary Club of Lockport celebrated its distinction as a 100% Paul Harris Fellows Club at its annual dinner on Wednesday, June 6, at the Spring Lake Winery. Pictured are 16 new Paul Harris Fellows, along with District Governor Reg, who attended this momentous event. 
The Rotary Club of Hamburg supported an initiative of Rotary International in securing and helping to plant trees at the Town of Hamburg’s 18 Mile Creek Golf Course this week. President Jerry Bastedo thanked Gullo’s Garden Center for donating 31 trees (crab apple and flowering pear) to the service club’s effort. Ian H.S. Riseley, 2017-18 President of Rotary International, asked all clubs throughout the world to plant a tree for each member, with an expected total of more than 1.2 million new trees planted by July 1, the beginning of a new Rotary year. Rotary’s effort is part of an ecological effort to counteract global warming. Additional trees will be planted at the Taylor Road Cabin and Park. .jpg)
Khazimula provides a safe and loving environment for some thirty homeless children, 6-18 years. Since the centre opened in 2007, it has been home to more than 270 vulnerable children. The purpose of the new lockers is to provide the children with a secure place for their personal belongings and a sense of dignity in having their own private space. Pictured are the lockers received and installed. 
Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew President Rob Benzel and honorary member Doris Huber had the pleasure of delivering the Baby of Liberty Doll to the lovely home of Dr. Jim Burdick, our Area 11 raffle winner. The donated doll was designed and produced by Doris Huber. Proceeds of the raffle go to the It Happened to Alexa Foundation, which benefits women that have been sexually abused. The clubs joined together for an Area 11 project that ended up creating over 200 clothing and cleanup kits for donation to ECMC. Shown in the photograph are Dr. Burdick and Doris. Photo by: Rob Benzel.
news, the club is pleased to give five college scholarships this year: four go to Lancaster High School graduating seniors and one to a graduate of Depew High School. Early on scholarships were in the form of Interest Free Loans. However in 1959, they transformed into the present grant form. Therefore, this marks the 60th year that Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew has given back to the community this way.
The clubs in Area 1: Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise, Rotary Club of Simcoe, Rotary Club of Delhi, and the Norfolk Rotaract Club, have a lot to celebrate this week. They banded together with a public image piece highlighting Rotary and the Area 1 clubs. Dave Douglas from RCNS spearheaded the project and about 10,000 copies will be circulated to Norfolk County residents this coming week.
Earl Knauss, Hamburg High School student Aydon Stormer, Frontier High School Student Tom Notto, Rotary President Jerry Bastedo, St. Francis High School student Dante Guizzotti and Rotarian Patricia Castiglia.
chool Academy of Finance teacher Krissy Lawrence. The students shared photos and spoke to the Rotary Club about their recent experience at Rotary District 7090’s SLAP SHOT Program in Welland, Canada. The club sponsored the students who were referred by Ms. Lawrence, who herself once attended the Rotary Leadership Youth Award, RYLA program for college students. Pictured are from left, Rotarian Tim Hoelscher, who also works with the Hamburg Finance Academy, Christina Birt, Dakota Reynolds and President Jerry Bastedo..png)
Join my husband John and I for a relaxing afternoon in our hometown of Akron, New York. We will be celebrating the outstanding accomplishments of District Governor Reg Madison and his fantastic team of hardworking Rotarians. Tickets are $40US each and can be purchased online at 
Rotary club, we are honoured to have many great leaders serve as president.
Holley recently inducted its youngest member, 19 year old Jessica Mandigo. Jessica was a SLAPSHOT participant two years ago. Upon returning to her high school Jessica provided the leadership for forming an Interact Club at Holley High School. She served as its first President and oversaw its growth from 15 members to 39 members. Jessica is now attending a local community college while also working in retail. After expressing an interest to Rotarian John Heise about being part of a community service organization, Jessica was invited to join the Holley Rotary Club.
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Rotary President Jerry Bastedo, right, is shown with Dr. Hughes. 
The Rotary Club of Brantford donated $2,000.00 to Grandview Elementary School for fundraising efforts put on by faculty. The Autism Classroom teacher, Kat Trinder, is fundraising for the creation of a Snoezelen room in the school to promote positive mental health among all of the students and staff members. The Snoezelen room is a multi-sensory environment that is comprised of soothing lights and sounds, cultivating aromas, comfortable seating, and gentle movements to encourage the user to meet their sensory needs and find their focus when they are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or upset. They’re fundraising goal is $30,000 and with this donation they’re currently at $8,000 raised
Our Swiss inbound exchange student, Lara Braun, recently shared her experiences with Holley Rotarians and their partners. After the meal, Rotarians were treated to a special Swiss cake baked by Lara. There was one cake left, which was auctioned off for the Rotary Foundation. It raised $100. Pictured left is the Holley Rotary family with Lara’s host families. Pictured, right is Lara and Rotarian Dave Mitchell who successfully bid on the remaining cake. 
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On March 23, 2018, Rotaractors from McMaster Rotaract Club travelled to Hess Street Elementary School in Hamilton to facilitate an Arts & Music Session for their after-school program. The children, from grades two to eight, were delighted by workshops on ukulele playing, origami folding, and bracelet making. Furthermore, they were introduced to the various causes of Rotary International and ways of getting involved. McMaster Rotaract Club is looking forward to more collaborations with local schools. For more information about this project, or interest in joining or collaborating with McMaster Rotaract Club, please email 
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of all the Niagara clubs (see photo of presidents and presidents-elect) hosted by President Jeff Thomas of the St. Catharines South club. The guest speaker’s topic (trees) inspired the cake that is pictured.
onderful evening at the Lincoln Paul Harris function at 13th Street Winery to pay tribute to two individuals, Andy Fluit and Alice Klamer. It was a gorgeous setting for the event so well hosted by President Sue Foster and Assistant Governor Margaret Andrewes. 
ese 100 young leaders. I wish all Rotarians could experience the qualities and dedication of these students. My gratitude goes out to chair Rob Nagy and his entire team for a fantastic leadership weekend for these 100 young people.
Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew President Rob Benzel gladly distributed more checks for the club’s local giving this month. Shown are a presentation following their breakfast meeting at Russell’s, to LEAF. LEAF is a foundation formed by educators to fund things that cannot be ordinarily purchased with regular funds, and directly benefits students. 
G. Robert Moeschler Jr., a member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo for 47 years, passed away on March 11, 2018. Bob generously remembered Rotary with a $50,000 gift to the Buffalo Rotary Foundation. Bob was a Paul Harris Fellow, Chairman of the District Conference in 1988, Chairman of Sunshine Day at Cradle Beach Camp, and Chairman of the Annual Outing for about 15 years. Bob’s father, G. Robert Moeschler, Sr was a Buffalo Rotarian for 25 years.
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To write a press release for the District 7090 Newsletter, pick a single newsworthy topic, compose a concise headline (optional), and write the body copy so it answers the basic questions about who, what, where, when and why you are announcing. (Assume your audience knows nothing about it). The release can contain helpful links to documents or websites. For the purpose of District newsletter, please include photo as a named attachment. Also preferred - a word document attached with the narrative. 
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Eighteen months ago, the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville accepted a challenge from a local, anonymous foundation. Dubbed by the club, the PolioPlus Challenge, the club endeavored to raise $10,000 by this spring in order to have this local foundation match the club’s funds up to $10,000. The conditions of the challenge - fundraising events had to be new ones, include as many club members as possible, and had to raise awareness about the disease of Polio. All of the proceeds were to be donated to the PolioPlus Fund of Rotary International to aid polio eradication efforts. With its successful ‘Pancakes Against Polio’ event, the Rotary Club of Westfield-Mayville, along with strong community support, raised more than the needed $10,000. 
Area 1 Assistant Governor Lisa Bishop was on hand to induct a very welcome new member, Tracy Winkworth, brought to the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise through her colleague and friend Jenni Mudge-Winters who came back to the club also this year, after a few years of sabbatical. Tracy is the owner and operator of the Cooking Studio as well as Liaison College South Coast, a chef school in Brantford. Maybe she will teach her new Rotary family a few tricks in the kitchen!
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It’s hard to believe but we are almost in the final quarter of the Rotary year and as a district, 7090 has certainly been ‘Making a Difference!’ We’ve taken giant strides in making up lost ground with membership. I’m so grateful to all the clubs who have made a positive contribution, including our membership committees led by PDG Kevin Crosby and our new Rotary E-club of Social Innovators (RESI). We’ve recovered much of the ground we lost over the last couple of years but there is still a long way to go. We all need to ask our ourselves as Rotarians, “When did I last ASK someone to a club function or tell them about Rotary?” Part of our role as Rotarians is to do that!
District 7090’s membership has continued to grow over the last month with the result that it has climbed back over 2,200 to reach 2,202 members as of March 15, 2018.
Grimsby Rotary @Noon had another successful Mayor’s Charity Gala, February 3, 2018, with sold-out seating at the Casablanca Winery Inn located in Grimsby. Pictured right, some Rotarians enjoying the event.
District 7090’s new global Rotary E-Club of Social Innovators (RESI) was chartered by Rotary International on December 15, 2017 with the Rotary Club of Brantford and the Rotary Club of Brantford Sunrise as its co-sponsors.
Pictured (L to R): Jim Morabito and Joe King, who was awarded a PH +1 to go along with his 55 years of perfect attendance!
Placing this pin on Jill was special for the cousins as their fathers were 2 of the 5 original charter members of the Rotary Club of Clarence. Both brothers retired from Rotary with 41 years perfect attendance and in addition to having their family continue with good work of Rotary they are remembered thru an educational scholarship awarded every year to a Clarence High School student who shows exceptional business talents.
Pictured next (left) are Kevin Petho and Jim Morabito as Kevin receives his first PH Fellow recognition. GREAT work, Kevin!
The Rotary Club of Hamburg recently inducted two new members into its ranks. Club President Jerry Bastedo, middle, conducted the ceremonies welcoming Ryan Brunner, left, of the Baillie Lumber Company, and Tyler Shaw, of GCW Capital into the 76-year-old service organization.
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