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October is Economic and Community Development Month

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President Elect Information & PETS
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District 6290 Interact
District 6290 Rotaract

Upcoming Events

D6290 Assistant Governor's Meeting
Ralph A. MacMullen Conference Center
Oct 14, 2016 6:00 PM
 
D6290 Strategic Planning & Public Image Summit
Ralph A. MacMullen Conference Center
Oct 15, 2016
9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
 
Third Annual Multi-District Rotaract Conference
Evergreen Resort
Oct 22, 2016 10:00 AM
 
Rotary Foundation Centennial Concert & Dinner
Severance Hall
Oct 23, 2016
 
DG Gernot's message to members
Dear Rotary Club President and Rotary Members:
 
As your District Governor for the year 2016/17 I am very much interested for our District Clubs to create more awareness and support to start an Interact Club in your Community.
 
In order for you to start such a club or if you like more information on how to start such a club, I highly recommend you contact our District Interact Chair, Doug Mealy, who is highly qualified, very willing and able to meet or discuss with you the recommended procedures on how to form and run an Interact Club in your community.
 
An Interact club will not require Rotary funding or a large amount of a Rotarians time. The only real requirement is for an Interact Club to be sponsored by a Rotary Club.
 
The contact information for Doug Mealy is as follows:
 
Douglas Mealy
Tel. 616 818 9942
Cell 603 762 1944
 
In Rotary Service to Humanity
Gernot Runschke
DG 2016/17 Rotary International District 6290

Happy October Anniversary!

  
 
Club Name
Chartered
# of Yrs
Chartered Members
Current Members
Ludington 12-Oct-1933 83 6 51
Grandville 12-Oct-1938 78 17 23
 

We Need Your Input!

The District’s job is to help clubs grow, and our strategic plan ensures we focus on what matters most to clubs. Your input into this plan is essential. 
 
Join us for a day of strategizing and developing actionable plans on Saturday, October 15th at the Ralph A. McMullen Center on Higgins Lake in Roscommon, MI.
 
We will start by revisiting our Strategic Plan to ensure it's still on track, making adjustments as needed to ensure we continue to be an indispensable resource for our clubs
 
The rest of the day will be focused on Public Image--a critical driving force to enable member attraction, engagement and successful fundraising. Our discussion will identify ways to get the most from your investment of time and dollars. We'll hear from four clubs who implemented creative campaigns last year, each with concepts that are easily implemented by any club, regardless of size. Bring your successes and your challenges and engage in a facilitated group discussion focused on what matters to you most.
 
Join us the evening prior for dinner and fellowship, or arrive Saturday morning for breakfast and in time for 9am start of program. We will adjourn at 3:30pm. Cost is $100 if arriving on Friday (includes all meals and overnight private accommodation) or $25 for Saturday only (includes breakfast and lunch).
 

Petoskey Rotary Ironmen

Click on above image to view video

On September 17th Petoskey held its annual Pedaling for Polio event, generating $1,500 proceeds to donate to the cause. To help further increase awareness, Club President Kent Cartwright and fellow Rotarian, John Scholten, are actively training for the Ironman Louisville event (October 9th) where they will take the EndPolioNow message to help increase awareness.

You can help.

Consider sponsoring their effort.

Share the word on social media. There are posts at both the Petoskey Rotary and District 6290 Facebook pages.

We wish them every success!

Latest Developments

Rotary International clubs are organized into Districts and then Zones. Our Zone (29) has sixteen Districts. We are teamed with a neighboring Zone and collectively have one representative seat on the International Board of Directors (currently Jennifer Jones, RI Vice President & Director). 
Each fall the District leadership teams of Zones 28 and 29 join forces for intensive leadership development/update sessions. Representation from Rotary's Board of Directors and Evanston HQ staff are in attendance sharing the latest plans/deliverables.
The 2016 "Legacy Zone" took place September 28 - October 2nd in Cleveland.
 
D6290 Leadership join in the celebration of India's polio eradication as part of a Saturday evening "Bollywood" extravaganza. Legacy Zone participants cheered as Tower Center was illuminated on three sides with "Rotary" and "End Polio Now" messages.
Thank you for your generous support of our Rotary Foundation. There are 16 Districts in our Zone and we placed 2nd and 3rd for Annual Fund Giving and Overall Giving (respectively).
You are the reason why we can do good in the world!

Nigeria reclassified as polio endemic

Nigeria has returned to the list of polio-endemic countries, following the World Health Organization’s confirmation of three cases of wild poliovirus in the northeastern state of Borno in August. While this news is disappointing, there has been significant progress toward ending polio in Nigeria, the rest of the African continent, and globally.
Ride to End Polio
World Polio Day is October 24th and there are many ways clubs can use this to help raise awareness.
 
Rides for Polio are held in countless locations across the country and world. Rotary International General Secretary John Hewko participates in the annyal Tuscon, Arizona-based Ride to End Polio. Launched in 2009, and in conjunction with the match from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this event has raised over $25 million! They have set an ambitious goal of $10 million for the 2016 event which is scheduled in November.
 
Wear your EndPolioNow t-shirts at local fitness center for an Indoor Ride to End Polio.
You don't need to organize a big outdoor event to help generate awareness! Check out the Ride to End Polio website for information on how to organize an "Indoor Ride to End Polio." Simply find a community partner fitness center or gym with stationary bikes and you can hold your own event. You can have group rides where everyone shows up at the same time, or simply encourage members to drop in at a convenient time to fulfill their 'ride' commitment in exchange for financial pledges of support.
 
What are some other ways to help increase awareness? Update your website and social media presence with EndPolioNow graphics. Schedule a viewing event for the LiveStream on World Polio Day (6:30pm EDT). Host a dinner as part of the Worlds Greatest Meal to End Polio and watch the LiveStream event.
 
Download all the resources you need from the EndPolioNow World Polio page.

Listen to Life Leadership Participants!

 
October is a great month to hear from your 2016 Life Leadership conferees if you have not done so already. Find out how the program has impacted them and their plans for leadership and service. Click on above short video clip to see and hear how some of their lives have changed for the better.
 
D6290 Rotarian Advocates Monthly Rotarian Magazine Feature On Interact / Rotaract / RYLA
Rotarian Rhonda Lamberg, Interact Club Adviser, from Houghton Lake has a letter published in this month's Rotarian magazine (page 8) about the 2016 Life Leadership Conference. Rhonda volunteered to serve and was asked to join the LLC staff this summer. She was moved to write this letter after her experience with the activities of the four-day conference, now in its 68th year. Rhonda makes the point that youth leadership training deserves more attention in the pages of the Rotarian and in our clubs in District 6290 as we develop "leaders in training" for a better world. Thank you Rhonda for your service to youth and to the Life Leadership Conference.
 

We've had a face lift!

Our home page has had a face lift!

We have taken advantage of ClubRunner's new, more mobile-friendly themes to give our site an updated look. None of the content has disappeared. Instead of using several graphics in left and right margins of page with links to information, we're relying on the navigation menu which always had link to these resources (and more). This removes some of the 'clutter' from the home page and makes it more usable with mobile devices. There is a new 'footer' that contains links to all the same info in current 'About Us' menu . . . a selection that will likely be phased out.

Notice that we are featuring a revolving carousel of fun images from throughout the District. Your club can be featured in this spacel! Images are 1600x400px (WxH). Please submit bold images, action shots, closeups! We will keep the carousel fairly small and will continue to swap things in and out. Send images to nthornton@centos.net

Help your Club Achieve Presidential Citation Award

Online Tool Adoption

One of the goals under Online Tool Adoption for both the President and District Governor Citation Award is that 50% of club members be registered at Rotary.org. This is probably one of the easiest goals to achieve!

Signing in to My Rotary gives you a customized experience and easier access to tools and information that are relevant to you. Anyone can create an account and sign in. All you need is the email you use for Rotary and your Member ID (at top of Rotarian magazine mailing label).

Club Secretaries can see which members are registered by looking at their membership report at Rotary.org. District wide 25% of our members have an account so we are half way there!

 
Area of Focus: Developing Our Communities
District 6290 Clubs have an endless list of economic & community development project success in both their local and global community. Our clubs have supported micro-lending projects to women in India and Guatemala, partnered with local food pantries, provided career mentoring, funded purchase of materials for small businesses or vocational programs, invested in or supporting training programs for at-risk-youth. 
 
There is no shortage of opportunities to find inspiration and/or partners.
 
If you have a project, post it at ideas.rotary.org. If you want to find a project, search the database. By the way - posting a service project at ideas.rotary.org counts towards Presidential and District Governor Citation Awards!
 

Membership Best Practices

One of the Discussion Groups at Rotary.org is Membership Best Practices. It is the largest and most active of all the groups at the site. Each month we will try to feature one of the posts.
 
"We look for Rotarians at heart and those who will fit the "culture" of our club. We invite visitors to our luncheons. We give them a brochure about our club and ask them to complete a short evaluation. Our Greeters make sure they are introduced to the leadership and other members AND we introduce them as guests to the entire membership. The "survey" includes the question.."may we contact you about upcoming events and projects?" We then ask for their  evaluation..how they heard about our club, did they feel welcomed, would they visit with us again, would they like to be considered as a guest speaker. Since beginning this procedure, we have gained so much on so many levels:
  1. We can actually show perspective members what we do and possibly involve them before the are nominated. We can get to know more about them and they us.
  2. We receive a pool of prospective speakers with diverse subjects and
  3. It gives an idea of what a non club member thinks about their experience - an external thermometer if you will."

Help Interact students build houses

We will have 50 or more Rotary Interactors participating in a service project trip to El Salvador in March of 2017.
 
In order to keep the costs at a minimum, we are asking all Rotary Clubs to consider taking part in this trip by donating funds for the purchase of building materials of the multi generational homes that we will build. The cost of a home is $3000. We understand that most of our clubs in the district can't afford that sort of money, but maybe you could sponsor a 1/2 of a home or a 1/3 of a home.
 
Everyone (students as well as chaperones)  are responsible for the cost of airfare, hotel, meals and transportation while in El Salvador. If we don't receive the funds for building materials from our District Rotary Clubs, then the cost of the trip will increase. Please consider helping our youth as well as our fellow human beings in El Salvador who are presently living in mud huts held together by bamboo or are living in scrap metal shanty's
.
Please contact: Doug Mealey tel: 616-818-9942 or email him at cldlmealey@gmail.com
 
This trip is a great way to teach our youth about SERVICE ABOVE SELF.
 
WE ARE ALSO LOOKING FOR A PERSON WHO LIKES PHOTOGRAPHY,   WHO COULD TAKE PICTURES AND THEN PUT THEM TOGETHER  FOR A PRESENTATION THAT COULD BE USED THROUGHOUT THE ROTARY DISTRICT.  IF YOU ARE THAT PERSON, WE COULD USE YOU.  PLEASE CONTACT DOUG MEALEY.
 
Above image is linked to a 25-minute video of our past District Rotary Interact trip so that you will get an idea of what this trip is all about. If you need the actual video file please contact Doug directly.
Read more...

Youth Programs In Action

Elk Rapids Rotary engaged their student leaders to produce this awesome video that highlights the Robotics program and Interact club - two outstanding opportunities for youth engagement. The club took advantage of the 2015/2016 District Public Image Grant program to help with production costs. Fantastic result!
Shelby Rotary Club's 2016 life leadership attendees were special guests at a club program. From left to right, Dylan Beherns, Katrina Smith, Dane Clement, Brooke James, Logan Peterson, and Abbey Bahena.
District 6290 Inbound Rotary Youth Exchange students convened at Camp Daggett September 9 - 11 for their Fall Orientation Conference.
 
 

GRANTS … Rotarians making a difference in the world

The mission of Camp Daggett on Walloon Lake in Petoskey is to provide quality character building experiences through educational and recreational programs in a safe, fun environment; serving all ages with an emphasis on youth. The Rotary Club of Charlevoix has, for many years, sponsored a cabin at the popular Camp Daggett by raising money for and coordinating capital improvements to the cabin and volunteering to clean and maintain the cabin.
 
When the cabin floor at the Camp was in need of repair, funds raised by the Club, along with a District Local Grant, provided the financial support needed to upgrade the surface of the floor. Included with that upgrade was a permanent reminder that the project was funded by The Rotary Club of Charlevoix.
 
Great job Charlevoix!   Thank you for your service to your community!

Honoring Rotary Foundation Supporters!

District Governor, Gernot Runschke awards Peter Opperman a Paul Harris Award at September 1st club meeting! Congratulations, Pete! Well done.
Sault Ste. Marie MI Rotary Club presented Paul Harris Fellow awards to Craig Flickinger and Dianna George. 
 

The Rotary Foundation is Turning 100!

Join us in commemorating our Foundation’s century of achievement. Rotary has launched a special website to give you the information you need to plan your own event, promote the anniversary, and brush up on your Foundation history. Explore the Centennial website to learn more.

We Saw You On Facebook

Healthy Harvest volunteers (a regional Rotary project) visited the George and Clara McManus cabbage patch to make their first cut of cabbage of the season. This first harvest was much greater than expected - the volunteers, with George and Clara's help, cut and cleaned four large apple crates of cabbage - 1966 pounds! Thank you Linda Raetz, Donna and Gabe Kennis, Bruce Wildie and Toby Tull for your service. And thank you George and Clara for your continued support of Healthy Harvest.
Grand Valley State University Rotaract were actively recruiting and getting reacquainted at Campus Life Night! 
Grand Haven Rotary placed 151 Flags to honor the most powerful labor force in planet Earth!

Rotarian Phil Becker stands in the Weir Shipping warehouse with a pallet of 48 Rotary layette bags filled with essential newborn baby items that are destined for a Rotary Maternity Shelter in Chinendega Nicaragua.

On September 12th a shipment of 48 layette bags left Weir's Shipping enroute to Waterloo Iowa were they will join hundreds of other layettes from Rotary clubs from around the US to be shipped to Chinendega Nicaragua. They should be there by Christmas! They will be given to moms with newborn babies when they leave the Maternity Shelter to return to their villages. The bags were filled by Rotarians from the Sault Ste Marie Rotary Club and Chippewa County Sunrise Rotary Club as well as generous employees from the Soo Co Op credit union and members of the Rudyard St Joseph's Catholic Church.
The Children-of-the-Dump shoebox and layette bag distribution trip to Chinendega is scheduled for January 4-11th, 2017. Please contact Phil Becker 906 332 0652 if you are interested in going and seeing first hand the impact the shoeboxes and layette bags have on the lives of desperately poor kids and moms.

Roscommon Rotarians were seen in Action....serving lunch at the Special Olympics soccer tournament.
Hart Rotary Club was spotted at Apple Fest selling their raffle tickets for the MSU / U of M football game!
Petoskey Rotary held its annual Diamonds & Denim fundraiser - a fabulous evening of food, music by the Craig Cottrill Band and a Silent Auction, Rodeo Auction and Live Auction - to benefit the Great Lakes Center for the Arts.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Two groups of riders passed through Wawa on Friday, one early in the morning and the other at dinnertime. These riders are crossing Canada in relays to raise awareness and funds for Sears Kids Cancer Ride. It is an annual event first seen in Wawa back in 2005. Sears agents are asked to provide a rest over stop, showers and a meal before the riding team travels off. 
Local Sears agent Rob Schumacher did the breakfast group and the Rotary Club of Wawa stepped up to assist with the evening crew. It was a packed house at the Seniors Drop In Centre where a hearty spaghetti dinner was served to an appreciative group of riders and support staff.
Hard working Baker College Muskegon Rotaractors cleaned up the highway from Harley Davidson to Laketon Avenue.
Grand Valley State Rotaractors volunteered at Grand Rapids Art Prize.
Congratulations Elk Rapids Rotary Club on the completion and unveiling of this multi-year educational project focused on the history of water and it's related impact in this region. A wonderful enhancement to Elk Rapids Rotary Park on US-31.
Shelby Rotary Club members Marty Anderson and Earnie Cummings, both highway pickup volunteers, were presented with a 25 year participation certificate.
On September 19 volunteers, including Benzie Sunrise Rotarians Steve Mitchell, Dave and Jan Wynne, and John Ester were back at the Noonan farm to harvest potatoes for Healthy Harvest.
Muskegon Rotary's premier annual fundraiser -- Grape Escape -- was a resounding success. All 550 tickets were sold, they had more sponsors than ever and the most prizes ever in the Silent Auction. All of this resulted in a net gain of over $4,400 increase from year prior.
 
 
Rotarian Gib Sabourin was presented with an award honouring his 50 years of devoted "Service above Self" to the community and world service projects through his involvement with the Rotary of Wawa
The award was presented by Club President Gilles Begin and celebrated with his spouse Doreen, one of the last of the club's original "Rotary Annes " 
The presentation was done at the District Governor"s visit on September 7, 2016
Baker College of Muskegon Rotaract supported Muskegon Rotary's signature fundraiser, Grape Escape.
Montague-Whitehall Rotary held their annual Dinner Auction. It was a sell-out event at Villa Venefro.
Ludington Rotary Club had its annual late summer / early fall picnic tonight at the place we are most proud of..... The new and improved Rotary Park.
Great food, many guests and many fun hats.
 
Atlanta Bound!
Over 60 people from District 6290 are planning to attend the 2017 Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, and the list keeps growing! Why should you go?
 
 

1. Meet the most inspiring people in the world

Rotary members from more than 130 countries meet at the convention every year. This is your unique opportunity to connect with old friends, make new ones, and share stories about your club’s current and future projects.

2. Strengthen your club and your passion for Rotary

The general sessions and breakout sessions offer countless ways to help you get the most from your Rotary membership and make your club stronger. In the House of Friendship, you’ll find new ideas, learn best practices, and share project successes — it’s where the Rotary world comes together!

3. Join The Rotary Foundation celebration

The culmination of a yearlong celebration of the Foundation’s centennial takes place in the city where it all began. Join the festivities at The Rotary Foundation’s 100th Birthday Party. Attend a book signing and meet the author of “Doing Good in the World: The Inspiring Story of The Rotary Foundation’s First 100 Years.” See all the activities we have planned.

4. Explore the American South

Bask in the sun on the Atlantic and Gulf shores. Test your game at some of the world’s most celebrated golf courses. Experience the magic of Florida’s Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World. Explore the natural wonders of the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Step back in time at Colonial Williamsburg. Sample the sophisticated charms of New Orleans, Savannah, and Charleston. Learn more

5. Enjoy special tours and events offered by the Host Organization Committee

Watch for more information about special activities like Restaurant Night, Host Hospitality Night, and a screening of "Gone With the Wind" at the historic Fox Theatre. Visit the Host Organization Committee site to find more activities.

Our District is working to secure a block of rooms. We've run into a few glitches, so to be on the safe side it's wise to make a reservation for hotel accommodations which you can choose to release at future date. For more cost-effective options we suggest you consider airport properties (book directly vs. via convention site). If booking an airport hotel, we recommend one that has airport shuttle service, complimentary breakfast and free cancellation policy. Hotels.com is excellent site for easy booking. Atlanta has a great rail public transit system and you can use that for transportation to/from the convention center. If you are interested in being notified about a District block of rooms once they become available, please contact Wendell Christoff at wchristoff@litehouseinc.com or 616-581-1104.

 

It's a party!

We have been amazingly lucky to secure The World of Coca Cola for the Zone 28/29 party. This fun venue tells the story of Coca Cola - from it's invention (and the secret formula) . . . to how it is bottled . . . to the many ad promotions over the years . . . to all kinds of fun articles that have carried the Coke logo . . . to tasting the over 120 different Coke products that are sold worldwide (yes, you will be able to taste as many as you wish) . . . and much more!
 
In addition to your museum admission, there will be wonderful food, wine, beer and Coke products (2 drinks per person), a chance to have your photo taken with the Coca Cola polar bear . . . and more fun surprises!
 
Registration is now open. Go to www.atlanta2829party.com and sign up NOW. We are expecting the largest attendance of Zone 28 & 29 Rotarians and friends since the 2005 Chicago Convention and SPACE IS LIMITED, so don't waste a minute!
 
The party will be held on Sunday evening from 7 to 10 p.m. following the Opening Sessions of the Convention.  It will be a great way to meet up with all of your friends from Zones 28 & 29, as well as to make lots of new friends.
 

End Polio Now

Global Polio Eradication At-A-Glance

Wild poliovirus type 1 and Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases
 
Countries Year-to-date 2016 Year-to-date 2015 Total in 2015 Onset of paralysis of  
most  recent case
WPV WPV WPV WPV
Pakistan 14 32 54 27-Jul-16
Afghanistan 9 12 20 11-Aug-16
Nigeria 3 0 0 06-Aug-16

 

Polio this week as of Sept 28, 2016

 

  • Nigeria has been reclassified as a country affected by endemic transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1). Nigeria had been removed from the list of endemic countries in September 2015, following a year of no reported/detected WPV1 cases in the country. However, the recent cases of WPV1 detected from Borno are closely linked to cases from Borno in 2011, indicating this strain has been circulating undetected since that time. This indicates that Nigeria has always been affected by endemic circulation of WPV1 and, hence, it is added again to the list of endemic countries, alongside Pakistan and Afghanistan. Operationally, neither the removal from the list nor its re-addition has an impact, as the country has always striven to improve operations (both surveillance and immunizations), particularly in hard-to-reach and security-compromised areas. It is, in part, as a result of these efforts that cases and viruses are now being detected.
  • The nominations for the next WHO Director-General have been announced. Six candidates have been proposed by Member States. The Director-General will be elected during next year’s World Health Assembly in May.

KEEP READING FOR AN Endemic Country Summary
(as of September 28, 2016 )

Read more...

District 6290 Membership and Foundation Giving

 
* All numbers reported through September 31 2016

Monthly Newsletter Deadlines

Our goal is to release the District newsletter at the start of each month. If you have a contribution, we appreciate receiving the materials no later than one week prior to the first of the month. If you have an example of a 'best practice' or have other great news to share, please complete our 'Club News' submission form (found at www.ridistrict6290.org under Public Image. Electronic photos are encouraged. Please try to limit your submission to 300 words or less.

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District Office
Kathy Hegedus Administrative Assistant
PO Box 381
Grand Haven, MI. 49417
616-935-9559
616-638-8769 (cell)

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