As we bask in the warm summer sun, enjoying backyard barbecues, trips to the beach, cottage country, or the ballpark and all of the other joys of living in an area with the best summer weather in the world, our sunglasses are a constant companion. However, there is another reason to put on your sunglasses – because the future of Rotary in so bright!
If you have been paying attention to the actions of our recent RI Council on Legislation, you know that they made some landmark decisions that give Rotary clubs much greater flexibility in choosing the meeting schedule and club membership options that work best for them. I believe this reflects an awareness that many Rotary clubs have been experimenting with variations already, in response to the needs of their members and to help recruit new members. The changes adopted by the COL are significant and will help Rotary grow and evolve.
We’ve also seen encouraging progress in closing in on our 30+ year mission to eradicate polio. The fight isn’t over, and the final stage of the battle won’t be won easily – but with the resources and resolve of Rotarians, I believe we will be celebrating our final victory over the scourge of polio within a few years.
Within our District, we are seeing a wonderful growth in Rotaract clubs – demonstrating the appeal of Rotary’s mission among young adults. With a little effort, I think we can generate a similar expansion of Interact clubs and harness the energy and idealism of high school students. Each year, our Slapshot and RYLA programs produce legions of young people who embrace our values of promoting peace by working together to encourage understanding among people of different cultures and devoting ourselves to serving others.
I’m also encouraged to see greater collaboration among clubs in our District on service projects, fundraisers, recruitment and new-member orientation events. As we expand our identity as members of not just our individual Rotary club, but members of a family of Rotary clubs in our community, our region, our country and the world, our pride in being part of Rotary Serving Humanity expands as well.
As we look forward to what we can accomplish in the 2016-17 Rotary year, keep those sunglasses handy.
This has been a whirlwind of a year as I prepare to be your District Governor. What an honor/honour! Bill and I have thoroughly enjoyed and cherish every event and our participation in all the training events. We have visited many of the clubs as I wanted to become familiar with the breadth of the district. We have a tremendous group of Rotarians who are passionate about every project they undertake.
Recently, we traveled to Seoul, South Korea to participate in the Rotary International Convention. WOW! What else can you say when you have the opportunity to interact with 43,000 Rotarians and guests. The speakers were outstanding, the breakout sessions were very well attended and worth the trek to the other half of this huge convention complex. We could have just spent the whole time in the House of Friendship where clubs global projects were showcased plus lots of Rotary items to purchase. One of my favorite purchases was the History of our Rotary Foundation. David Forward did a great job of bringing our history to life. You may purchase this book at MyRotary.org
In the photo: DG Kevin Crosby and me on Day One at the Seoul Convention.
What does a horse race, a tail gate party and a stationary bike-a-thon all have in common?? Why District Conference 2016, of course!! Registration is now open for this event, which is sure to be one of the most enjoyable get-away weekends you’ve had in a very long time!! Friday night kicks off with a celebrity memorabilia auction and tail gate party and follows with several hands on, engagement activities during the day on Saturday. Relax and enjoy a night at the races Saturday night as we host our Kentucky Derby style evening gala! End your get-away weekend on Sunday with our guided trip to Letchworth State Park - aka The Grand Canyon of the East!
As you have heard previously, our Council on Legislation met earlier this year in what is reportedly one of the more historic sessions in our Rotary lifetimes. Changes were made to Membership Types, Attendance, and Meeting Frequency, and Format. Now that the dust is settling, we are receiving more tools and information in addition to what our representative, Karen Oakes, PDG has already reported. For a brief synopsis of the opportunities that the new legislation presents to your club and our district, please view the following on our website: Essential Changes for Club and Districts.
The following 2 videos are brief summaries of the changes that clubs can now adopt and incorporate into their Club Bylaws.
2016 COL Decisions: Membership Types and Attendance Flexibility:
At our meeting of the District Council on Saturday, June 18th, we saw the gavel turned over from DG Kevin to incoming DG Marlee. Every year I get a little nostalgic as I look back at the honor of serving an amazing governor even while looking forward to serving another amazing governor. Blessed to serve as executive secretary to 14 of them, I can tell you - we have had no duds! We in District 7090 are privileged to have incredibly dedicated and talented governors who serve tirelessly to support you - the clubs. If you count up all the district directors and committee chairs and assistant governors that represent and serve the clubs at the district level - it is mind boggling. No wonder we are widely respected among the 530 Rotary districts around the world!
On June 1st, all club officers on file with Rotary International received email notification that RI will make your club’s July 2016 invoice available online around the middle of July. The email also acted as a reminder that RI will use the membership data that’s in Rotary’s database as of 1 July to generate the invoice. Having an accurate membership figure is vitally important as RI can no longer adjust invoices after they’re made available so make sure your active members are correctly reported on or before June 30.
In addition to having correctly reported your active members, be sure to also report your officers and directors to RI.
Note: If you have integrated your club's clubrunner information with RI, you only have to report both the active members and the officers and directors information on your club or district pages. If you have not performed the integration process, then you will have to report to both websites.
A new member induction, a new Paul Harris Fellow and a classification talk highlighted a special meeting of the Rotary Club of Brantford on Friday, May 13th.
President Rita-Marie Hadley inducted Linda Milke as the club’s newest member. Linda brings her passion for international understanding from her work at the Wellspring Foundation for Education which works to impact the education system in Rwanda, Africa through values-based training.
The Rotary Club of Lancaster-Depew recently hosted their annual Breakfast of Character at Depew Middle School and Breakfast of Champions at Lancaster Middle School for the students that excel as scholars, achieving Honor Roll for three quarters in a row. In the photo - Lancaster-Depew Rotarians serving the students at the Depew breakfast.
The Rotary Club of Greater Jamestown AM was privileged to induct new member Kirsten Vincent into Rotary on May 11th. The ceremony was conducted by Don Ray, Membership Chair.
Kirsten is the Director of Respite Services for Housing Options Made Easy, a non-profit organization established in 1990 as a grassroots organization, operated by and for individuals with mental health issues, to provide supportive housing and advocacy services. In Jamestown, the organization's presence is felt as Eagles Nest, a respite house. At Eagle's Nest, in addition to respite housing (typically a five day stay), peer counseling is offered to help individuals work through some of the issues they are experiencing. Kirsten resides in Randolph with her husband and three children - all of which have been attending the University of New York at Fredonia - with one graduating this month.
In photo left to right: Rob Lind - Kirsten's sponsor, Kirsten and Scott Sawyer, president.
SLAPSHOT is a District 7090 Youth Leadership Award program for 100 high school students held each year in The Adventure Learning Centre at Canterbury Hills in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. Recently, the two students sponsored by the Rotary Club of Westfield/Mayville Rotary visited a club meeting to not only thank the members, but also to tell them about their experience. Dan Smith introduced Anne-Catherine Schaaf from Westfield Academy & Central School and Jacob Martin, a student at Sherman Central. Both described the learning and fun time they had during their two overnight stays. Not knowing anyone when they arrived, Anne noted that soon “Everyone talked to others.” Jacob’s conclusion? “The main thing is, we went as reps and left as a family.”
The Rotary Club of Lockport, in keeping with Rotary's motto “service above self”, annually raises funds and gives at least $10,000 to exceptional students. This year there are three scholarships being offered to very deserving Lockport High School seniors: Victoria Haak will be attending Providence College. She is ranked first in her graduating class. Although her academic prowess was recognized during the application process, her ability to field questions and her constant message of giving and coming back to our community to carry out meaningful work was steadfast and impressive. The academic scholarship winner will receive $2,000 for each of the next four years, $8,000 in total.
Foundation President Ron Caruso (right) and Club Vice President Mike Sendor present Jackie Van Lankleld (left) from St. Catherine’s Downtown Rotary a check for $3000 for construction of a school in Nkumba, Uganda.
With tears in their eyes, José and Claudia, alongside their three young children, entered their newly constructed house as homeowners for the first time today. Built as part of the Habitat/Niagara College partnership, this is the first Habitat home in Ontario to be built in a modular style on a college campus, in this case in the Rankin Technology Centre at Niagara College. In the photo - President Elect Paul Allen makes presentation to the Palma Family.
On June 22, Joe DeMarco from Wings Flights of Hope spoke to the Rotary Club of Lewiston/Niagara-on-the-Lake. Wings Flights of Hope provides FREE flights for all medical patients anywhere in the Northeast corridor of the United States at any time. Their volunteer pilots, who are NEVER paid, fly their own planes - paying for all the costs themselves. Joe would be delighted to be the speaker at YOUR CLUB. Please call 1-866-61-WINGS.
Pictured are (R to L) Joe DeMarco and President Elect John Hopkins.
On April 14, 2016 president Alice Klamer traveled with four individuals associated with International Needs www.internationalneeds.ca to Guatemala to tour a medical clinic in Tecpan. The purpose of the tour included assessing needs and immediate priorities needed at the clinic: in Guatemala 85% of children under the age of five are chronically malnourished, 45 % are acutely malnourished and the national average is 42%.
Members of the Rotary Club of Stoney Creek enjoyed a beautiful Sunday morning in May cleaning up King Street through down town. Pickers and buckets in hand, the enthusiastic group of Rotarians removed countless wrappers, coffee cups, bags, and many items they would rather not mention, from grassy areas, ditches, and the road side. President Martina said, "It was wonderful to see a number of people giving us a "thumbs-up" and thanking us for beautifying the town. It really helps raise public awareness of Rotary, and has a great side benefit...... it was easy to reach my 10,000 step exercise goal too!"
The Rotary Club of Fonthill celebrated its 25th Anniversary Dinner on June 11th, 2016 at Lookout Point Golf Club.
Pictured from left Charter Members Gail Levay, Gail Baltjes-Bazinet, Doug Burr along with Joe Eigner (second from left) and District Governor Kevin Crosby hold the original club charter.
Joe was the President of the Welland Club, who sponsored the club 25 years ago. Joe and his wife flew in from Edmonton for the celebration and was awarded another Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Welland and made an honorary member of the Fonthill club. Eighteen past presidents were in attendance and six Paul Harris Fellows were recognized. A very special night for all.
Last year, Operation Eyesight became the first and only NGO in the eye health sector to work in the challenging state called Jammu and Kashmir, India – and it’s all because of the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise! Many people in this mountainous state live in remote areas with no roads, making it extremely difficult to reach eye care services.
Thanks to the club, we launched a Hospital-Based Community Eye Health Program in partnership with the Rotary Eye Hospital in Udhampur to overcome this barrier. Locally trained community eye health workers who know their way around Udhampur are able to screen residents living in remote areas and refer those with eye health problems for treatment. Patients who require surgery are transported by bus to the hospital.
The Orchard Park Rotary Club is proud to announce the recipients of two $5000.00 scholarships, Michael Gossel and Marissa Todaro for their academic achievements. Both students were extremely active in extra-curricular activities and service projects - both embody Rotary’s motto of “Service above Self”.
One hundred community members, Orchard Park Rotarians, and the winners’ families were present to congratulate and celebrate the recipients’ achievements at a festive dinner/raffle that supports the club's mission of serving the community and empowering youth to achieve their maximum potential.
Olean Rotary Club President Mary Kay was proud to be able to pin two members with BIG Paul Harris Fellow awards. Rotarian Dave Meyers received his PHF +4 pin and Rotarian Carl Vahl received recognition as a PHF +5. Both are very active in club service and project work. Both spoke of the importance of the Rotary Foundation as a way for them to “BE A GIFT TO THE WORLD,” the RI theme ending this current Rotary year. As Rotarian Tony Evans says often, “It was a good day for Rotary the day Dave and Carl became members!”
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As you have heard previously, our 
At our meeting of the District Council on Saturday, June 18th, we saw the gavel turned over from DG Kevin to incoming DG Marlee. Every year I get a little nostalgic as I look back at the honor of serving an amazing governor even while looking forward to serving another amazing governor. Blessed to serve as executive secretary to 14 of them, I can tell you - we have had no duds! We in District 7090 are privileged to have incredibly dedicated and talented governors who serve tirelessly to support you - the clubs. If you count up all the district directors and committee chairs and assistant governors that represent and serve the clubs at the district level - it is mind boggling. No wonder we are widely respected among the 530 Rotary districts around the world! 
SLAPSHOT is a District 7090 Youth Leadership Award program for 100 high school students held each year in The Adventure Learning Centre at Canterbury Hills in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. Recently, the two students sponsored by the Rotary Club of Westfield/Mayville Rotary visited a club meeting to not only thank the members, but also to tell them about their experience. Dan Smith introduced Anne-Catherine Schaaf from Westfield Academy & Central School and Jacob Martin, a student at Sherman Central. Both described the learning and fun time they had during their two overnight stays. Not knowing anyone when they arrived, Anne noted that soon “Everyone talked to others.” Jacob’s conclusion? “The main thing is, we went as reps and left as a family.”
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