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MARCH 16, 2014  HAPPY SPRING!
Stories
March is Literacy Month.  I know that many clubs in District 5400 participate in the Dictionary Project, but just how many clubs and how many third graders are uncertain.  At the mid-winter conferences in January, I distributed a sheet to gather names of dictionary contact persons in each club so that we can begin to gather and assess that level of participation.  Rotarian Minnie Benton (Eagle-Garden City) is chairperson of the district’s Literacy Committee.  Minnie’s email is mminnieb@cableone.net.  Let Minnie know who in your club she should talk to about dictionaries, if you did not provide a name to me in January.
 
March is also Madness Month – and I’m not talking college basketball!  It’s Rotary awards season.  I’ve only received two applications for the Presidential Citation so far.  Deadline is March 31.  Clubs are also accumulating data for use in application for the district’s Distinguished Rotary Club awards for integrity, membership, club service, public image, leadership development, and Rotary Foundation.  The premier award is the Humanity in Motion Award.  A club who qualifies for the Rotary Foundation award, who has positive membership growth since July 1, and who applies in all other categories, will be a contender for this award, which comes with $1000 to the winning club. Deadline for district awards is April 15.  Applications for both are available at www.rotary5400.org under District Docs & Downloads/Awards.
 
Qualifying for the Rotary Foundation award and increased membership might be considered the high hurdles on the track to Humanity in Motion.  Clubs do not apply for the Foundation award: it is determined from Rotary Foundation reports and records.  Clubs cannot apply for the membership award unless they have shown positive growth in membership.  In both cases this can come down to getting money sent in to The Rotary Foundation that is currently sitting in the club account and getting new members entered into the Rotary International data base.  The four hurdles are Rotary Foundation Annual Fund giving, Rotary Foundation PolioPlus giving, Rotary Foundation Endowment Fund commitments and membership growth.  As of March 13, only 1 club in the district has cleared all four hurdles:  Rigby.  Clubs who have cleared three hurdles so far are:  Ashton, Blue Lakes-Twin Falls, Boise Centennial, Eagle-Garden City, Gooding, and Hailey.  Nine more clubs are halfway there!  The commitment form for Endowment Fund commitments is titled “Your Rotary Legacy” and it is located on the district website under District Docs and Downloads/Rotary Foundation.
 
As a district, we are well on our way to Rotary Foundation success in 2013-14.  Total contributions to the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation exceed $121,000 ($69 per capita), at 72% of goal.  Forty-one of 43 clubs have contributed and 8 of those have achieved 100% of goal.  We are at 102% of our PolioPlus goal, at $41,648 ($23 per capita). Thirty clubs has supported the eradication effort with 10 of those having met goal.
 
Membership continues to be a hard-fought battle for us.  While we are up 30 net new members since July 1, to 1843, we have lost 35 Rotarians.  Some things can’t be avoided -- death, relocation, job change -- but I personally feel the weariness of two steps forward, one step back.  Let’s all have a conversation in our clubs – with all our members – about retention.  And let’s be sure to forward the names of relocating Rotarians to Rotary International so it can notify the new district or community of a former Rotarian’s arrival there.
   
Be safe and be caring, Rotarians, and don’t forget to “Engage Rotary, Change Lives” every day.
Our incoming Rotary International President is Gary C.K. Huang from Taiwan. Mr. Huang has been a Rotarian since 1976 and is a member of the Rotary Club of Taipei, Taiwan. In his business career, he has been involved in banking, insurance and industrial development.
 
Mr. Huang has announced that his theme for the Rotary year, beginning July1, is "Light up Rotary"...because we have not done enough to show Rotary to the public. His goal is to increase membership world-wide by 50,000. He's confident we can make that happen if we can expand into China. We can also make that happen by tapping into the large body of Rotary Alumni - people who have been involved in Youth Exchange, RYLA, Ambassadorial Scholars, Groups Study Exchange, Rotaractors and Interactors. and here's an idea - get our spouses to join - they certainly know the good that Rotary does! "Some people still think that Rotary is a man's club. I ask them, 'Are you sure your wife is not qualified?'"! Korea, Taiwan and India have made great strides in admitting women; now we have to succeed in too-conservative Japan.  (Read the full story in this month's Rotarian magazine).

JOIN BLUE LAKES-TWIN FALLS ROTARY CLUB AND DISTRICT GOVERNOR MARIANNE BARKER IN BEAUTIFUL SUN VALLEY, MAY 16-17, 2014.
 
IDEAS - We want your help and your input!  As R/C Blue Lakes-Twin Falls pulls together the final details of this year’s fun and exciting district conference, we have a few slots to fill.  What would you like to see offered at Friday afternoon roundtables?  What would you like to lead/organize for Saturday afternoon activities? So far on Saturday we have a beer tasting and a wine tasting lined up in the afternoon.  Will one of you lead a hike or a bike ride? There will be a 5K fun run early Saturday morning.  Contact Michelle@westerra.cc , (208) 410-1836, to share with us your thoughts.
 
SPONSORSHIPS - Would you like to sponsor our Friday night banquet with Emmy Award-winner Penny LeGate?  Our theme is “White-Out Polio”.  Wear something white to dinner that night.  Would you like to sponsor our Saturday luncheon with speaker PDG Gary Hollick?  Rotary changed his future!  Would you like to promote your event or business by sponsoring a table during meals?  Contact Michelle@westerra.cc , (208) 410-1836 for sponsorship details.
 
WILL THE REAL PAUL HARRIS PLEASE STAND! - Would you like to enter our Paul Harris look-alike contest?  A Paul Harris Fellow will be awarded to the winner!  Details to come…. 
 
RAFFLE & SILENT AUCTION – It’s a tradition at district conference for clubs to provide one silent auction item and two raffle items to help defray conference expenses.  Will you assist again this year?  Blue Lakes-Twin Falls is donating a beer festival package that includes two admission fees to the Magic Valley Beer Festival on Aug. 2 and an overnight stay at Red Lion with breakfast.  Burley has donated an entry fee and shirt for the Spudman Triathlon on July 26. Promote your club event, pack a basket that shows off your community, share your vacation home, donate something you’ve created.  We hope to have silent auction items that are around $100 in value; raffle items up to $25. 
 
SHOP ROTARY –  Does your club have a product you sell for fundraising?  Would you like to have a table at the district conference to sell that item? Contact Michelle@westerra.cc , (208) 410-1836. 
 
 
REGISTRATION FOR DISTRICT CONFERENCE IS NOW OPEN. EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT EXPIRES ON APRIL 20TH. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE REGISTRATION PAGE.
The district cruise raffle fundraiser is up and running with tickets now distributed to all clubs.  Please do your part to help sell your club’s allotment! 
 
Winners are drawn at district conference on May 17th, but none of the proceeds supports the conference.  The money is used to fund the “district match” of $100 to The Rotary Foundation for those persons reaching the first $100 in giving toward a Paul Harris Fellow (total giving of $100, $1100, $2100, etc.).  We have matched more than 250 Rotarians so far this fiscal year, in three installments to the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation.  Twenty-five percent of the raffle proceeds helps to fund D5400 Rotary Youth Exchange and 25% is rebated to clubs based on their ticket sales (provided someone from the club attends district conference).
 
In the packet you received is a list of the prizes.  Raffle chairs in the clubs should copy this list for the  members, so they can share with the buyers what good prizes we offer.  Remember, there are two winners of the grand prize -- $4500 cruise from AAA -- he whose ticket is drawn ­and the Rotarian who sold him the ticket.  Now you can’t beat that!  Other prizes are  a 55” flat screen HDTV, 32 gb iPad Air, 16gb iPad Mini, 16gb Kindle Fire, 16gb iPod classic and 16gb iPod Nano
There will be a prize from the governor for the club with the highest per capita sales, and she’ll tell you what that prize is next month!  In the meantime, go crazy selling raffle tickets.
About 75 club Presidents-elect and Vice Presidents, along with District leaders and trainers, gathered in Twin Falls March 7-8 for the annual PETS conference. The mission of the conference is to prepare these Rotarians for their year in club leadership. Featured speaker at the Friday night dinner was 1968 Olympian Dick "the Flop" Fosbury, a member of the Ketchum/Sun Valley Rotary Club. Attendees, under the enthusiastic leadership of District Trainer Terry Gilbert, DG Marianne Barker and and DGE Rick Phillips, were enlightened about a bunch of subjects:
  • Membership and Retention must be a high priority
  • The "Happy Clap"
  • Clubs Big, Medium and Small are VERY different
  • Revisit visioning
  • "Expect the unexpected"
  • If everyone sold all their raffle tickets, we'd make $190,000
  • 22 of us work for Idaho Power!
  • What does Paul Harris look like, anyway?
  • 39 Youth involved in Youth exchange this year!
  • Gate City Poky sings a song to their meeting guests!
Are you looking to make a significant impact on the world by promoting tolerance and cooperation? Do you know someone who may contribute to peace-keeping efforts in your community? Each year, Rotary funds some of the world’s most dedicated and brightest professionals to study at our Rotary Peace Centers. These fellows are committed to the advancement of peace, and often go on to serve as leaders in national governments, NGOs, the military, law enforcement, and international organizations such as the United Nations and World Bank.
 
WHAT ARE ROTARY PEACE FELLOWSHIPS?
Each year, Rotary selects individuals from around the world to receive fully funded academic fellowships at one of our peace centers. These fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and all internship/field study expenses. 
 
Two types of peace fellowships are available.
 
MASTER'S DEGREE
We offer master’s degree fellowships at premier universities in fields related to peace and conflict resolution and prevention. Programs last 15¬–24 months and require a practical internship of 2–3 months during the academic break. Each year we award up to 50 master’s fellowships from these institutions:
•    Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, US
•    International Christian University, Japan
•    University of Bradford, UK
•    University of Queensland, Australia
•    Uppsala University, Sweden
 
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CERTIFICATE
For those with more extensive experience in peace-related fields, we offer a 3-month program in peace and conflict resolution at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. This program incorporates 2–3 weeks of field study. We award up to 50 certificates each year.
 
HOW TO PROMOTE PEACE FELLOWSHIPS
Rotarians are vital to recruiting qualified candidates. You can help advance peace around the world by supporting the peace fellows.
Some of the best applicants for Rotary Peace Fellowships are in your community. Here are some ways you can promote fellowships in your area:
•    Make sure your club members are familiar with the Rotary Peace Centers program. The more people keeping an eye out for good candidates, the more likely you are to find one.       Give a presentation about the program to your club or better yet, invite a peace fellow to speak to your club. Find one by contacting us at alumni@rotary.org.
•    Send a press release about Rotary Peace Fellowships to your local media.
•    Meet with community partners. Think about organizations your club already works with, or reach out to like-minded groups or universities with related programs.
•    Use social media. Announce fellowship opportunities to your friends and professional network on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. You can also follow Rotary Peace Centers on         Facebook and repost interesting photos and stories.
 
HOW TO APPLY?
Applicants may apply for a peace fellowship by, downloading the application, completing the applicant portion, and submitting it to John McGuire, District 5400 Scholarship Chair, by Friday, May 16th. Candidates will be contacted shortly after that and notified of next steps. The deadline for District 5400 submitting applications to Rotary International is July 1st.
Find ideas for recruiting candidates and promoting the program.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
•    Contact Rotary Peace Centers staff
•    Visit the Facebook page
•    Contact John McGuire at: johnjmcg@q.com
 
There is an informative PowerPoint presentation on the District website. Click here to download it.
The Idaho Falls Rotary Club launched a new fund raising effort for local literacy programs. With the help of area artists who turned lampshades into works of art that were auctioned off, $3,225 were raised in the first Lighting the Way to Literacy lampshade auction. 
 
The City of Idaho Falls provided a $1500 grant to cover event costs including lampshade and material purchases, marketing and advertising.  And the local Rotary Club contributed $500 to food and beverages for the auction event.  Lampshade art was auctioned off in both a silent auction and live auction venues.  Funds raised exceed expectations of the host club for the first year.  Plans are already under way to grow the event and continue with it on an annual basis with hopes of building sustainable funding into the program that provides annually a book for every family with an elementary school student enrolled in K-6.  The program encourages reading a chapter a night from the book at home with the family, participating in daily quizzes and discussions at school, and the potential to earn prizes to make reading fun and promote literacy.
 
In addition to the club's fund raising effort, a District Block Grant of $4,320 was used to purchase books for the Education Foundation literacy program.  Program partners include the District 91 Education Foundation, City of Idaho Falls, Idaho Falls Arts Council, Art Museum of Eastern Idaho and area artists.
The Nampa Rotary Club continues to do very cool things! We recently did a Polio Plus campaign “Spare the Change” (referencing the Gandhi quote: “Be the change you want to see in the world), we did “Spare the change you want to see in the world”.  Our goal was to raise $800 during this campaign and we raised $1,118 over a four week change drive period.   We broke our club into teams and they were challenged to bring in coin.  The team winners with the most weight, and dollars would each receive 100 Paul Harris Points from the club.  This campaign, plus an earlier dessert auction has surpassed our annual club goal for a total of $1,458.00!
 
It was a fun project for everyone! Matt Johnson's Team #4 had the most weight - 880 ounces, and Denny Ellis's Team #10 had the most dollars - $431!!
 
To see the details of this project, and how your club might do it, look on the District homepage under "Best Practices". If we all did it during this next Rotary year, just imagine the results for Polio Plus!
The Times-News of Twin Falls featured the Twin Falls After Hours Rotary as the headline on its Entertainment Section last weekend. 
The event was the club's second annual Martini Tasting Contest and Masquerade Ball to be held march 8th att he Canyon Crest Event Center. The theme this year was Mardi Gras. Proceeds from the event are used to support  the Magic Valley Crisis Center, School Supplies fcor Success and the "blessing Bags" project. It was a great article all about the club's activities throughout the year. A great example of good "PR"! 
Following the Typhoon in the Philippines, Rotarian Vanetta Wilson challenged the members of the Idaho Fall Rotary Club to "give the gift of shelter" and contributed to a fund raiser to ShelterBox for the area that suffered extreme damage.  Within a couple weeks of her pitch to fellow club members, Vanetta suffered heart failure and was lost at the young age of 50.  Her family named Rotary as a memorial with a request to Rotarians to see Vanetta's last fund raising effort through to completion. 
 
The Idaho Falls Rotary Club recently sent $7000 to ShelterBox USA to help families still struggling following the Typhoon.  Idaho Falls Rotary Club President Jackie Flowers says "Vanetta's charitable spirit was an inspiration to fellow Rotarians during her life.  That commitment to Service Above Self continues on in spirit as we complete the project she so passionately put before us.  Vanetta was committed to helping those who had suffered life changing circumstances.  She was an amazing woman and is sorely missed by her fellow Rotarians".  The club hopes to be able to learn more about the families served by this last charitable act.

The Paul Harris Society recognizes Rotarians and friends of The Rotary Foundation who personally contribute US$1,000 or more to the Annual Fund, PolioPlus or an approved Foundation grant each year.  
 
The Paul Harris Society was originally created in 1999 by Past District Governor Wayne Cusick from District 5340.  PDG Cusick realized that giving US$1,000 annually to the Foundation was not possible for every Rotarian, but many could be encouraged to contribute at this level or above.  PDG Wayne introduced the Paul Harris Society program to encourage and recognize these individuals. This idea gained momentum and quickly spread to other districts throughout the world.  While this recognition was originally designed as a district administered program, the Trustees adopted the Paul Harris Society as an official recognition program of The Rotary Foundation effective 1 July 2013.
 
Our D5400 PHS Committee has set a goal for 2013-14 which is to increase the number of PHS members by 50.  That would put add and astounding $50,000 additional funds into our hands to provide services at home and throughout the world!   Membership is simple and easy, requiring a commitment to give $85 per month or $1000 per year gift to APF, preferably through Rotary Direct. Donations can also be made to PolioPlus, and Direct Grant funding.  Contributions count toward sustaining membership, Paul Harris Fellow, and Major Donor recognition. 
 
Please help us make this a reality.
 
Rusty Broughton, Past District Governor
East Idaho Falls Rotary
As of Saturday 1 March 2014, the first 105 Rotary clubs had reached 100 years! 
 
That was what started RGHF founder Jack M. B. Selway on a nearly fourteen year quest: "Who were the first 100 clubs?" The beginning of RGHF was www.rotaryfirst100.org. Tomorrow, that job will be done? But no, what about the other 34,000 clubs. Don't they count? 
1st 16 Rotary Clubs
The First Sixteen Rotary Clubs
The first 100 Rotary Clubs are listed at www.historyfirst100.org but the "Rest of the Stories" must now be posted at www.historylibrary.org Anyone can open a free account and do that. 
 
When will your club's centennial be? Please post your history now and be ready. Here's what we do know: 100 years from tomorrow, every one of today's surviving clubs will have reached the 100 year mark. 
 
It's remarkable that the first 100+5 are all still in business. You can't say that for hardly any 100 year old organizations. 
RGHFAnd, after nearly 14 years, what about RGHF? 

www.rghf.orgwww.historyfellowship.org, and

www.whatpaulharriswrote.org. We have grown to over 4,000 pages, 50,000 articles, social media and much more. 

We have only just begun, and as Rotarians learn about Rotary's Global History, we'll see a renewed interest in the people with "pins that look like wheels."

 

Aileen Hale of Boise Metro Rotary is working to establish partnerships with Rotary Clubs in Belize. She hopes to establish a project focusing on literature or water quality. Aileen has extensive experience in Belize through her job at BSU. She invites all Rotarians to join her in two fact-finding trips this summer to meet with local Rotarians and continue to assess needs in the country. Click here to see the brochure.
Our work in Guatemala
Several clubs in District 5400 are working together for Global Grant that will continue a sustainable-farming project in Guatemala through our partner non-profit Semilla Nueva(“New Seed” in Spanish).  In 2013, Semilla Nueva began creating Sustainable Agricultural groups and Food Security groups in 5 communities in Guatemala thanks to Rotary.  The overall goal of this project is to create a locally-led, self-sustaining source of agricultural and food security expertise that can function far into the future.
 
Why Guatemala?
By the numbers, here are some compelling reasons for investing in Guatemala.
    Development: Guatemala has a population of 14.7 million and ranks 131 out of 187 nations in the 2011 United Nations Human Development Index. HDI ranks nations in terms of education, life expectancy and income. 40% of the labor force is employed in the agricultural sector, yet agriculture only accounts for 1/5 of GDP.
    Malnutrition: According to the World Food Program, the chronic under nutrition rate for children under 5 is 49.8 percent, the highest in the region and the fourth highest in the world. Guatemala is one of the 36 countries which account for 90 percent of growth stunting in the world.
   Poverty: The World Bank paints the following picture: 53.7% of the population lives below the poverty line, 13% in extreme poverty, with the second highest measure of income inequality in the world.
    Education: 70% of Guatemalan children attend school, resulting in a mean 4.1 years of formal education per adult, according to the United Nations.
    Environmental Issues: One of the ten countries globally most vulnerable to climate change, according to the World Bank. Guatemala is being rapidly deforested as farmers and ranchers strive to increase their incomes.
 
Rotarians and friends who have made contributions to the Foundation will have received their annual report. Its fascinating reading! Last years Every Rotarian Every Year campaign saw total contributions of $115 million - a new record. Total assets for the Foundation have surpassed the ONE BILLION DOLLAR mark for the first time!
 
Polio Plus received $23.6 million from Rotarians and friends and $69.6 million in matching funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
 
Here's your answer to an oft-asked question: In fiscal year 2012-2013, only 2% of Foundation expenditures went to administrative expenses and 9% to fundraising. The Foundation directed 89% of its spending to programs, far exceeding the benchmarks that independent charity-rating services view as a measure of high efficiency. The Foundation has top ratings from the American Institute of Philanthropy, Charity Navigator and the Wise Giving Alliance.
 
 
 
Amber Clontz, our newest D5400 Ambassadorial Scholar, has reported in from her new home in South Africa. You can read her fascinating blog here. She arrived in January to begin her Ph. D. program in Linguistics at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. She reports that most of the members of her Rotary Club are professors at the University so she's fitting right in. Amber is from Twin Falls and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Boise.
 
You'll find a link to her blog, and to our two previous Scholars, Giaco Yanez and Tiara Lusk, on our homepage.
 
Incoming RI President Huang is urging all Rotarians to Light Up Rotary by participating in Rotary Days. The concept is simple: hold a fun, informal event in your community for the non-Rotary public and use it as an opportunity to introduce them to Rotary. Any club, big or small, can host a Rotary Day. Neighboring clubs can pool their resources and co-host an event. Some possibilities might include: picnic or barbecue, sporting event, family fun run, sponsor an event at a museum, community service project, to name just a few.
 
And follow these tips:
  • Keep it simple
  • Keep it inexpensive
  • Gear toward families
  • Highlight Rotary
  • Seek coverage by local media
  • Gather contact information for Rotary prospects
Once the new Rotary year starts July 1st, watch for some National Rotary Day events.
Upcoming Events
DLC Meeting
Sun Valley Lodge
May 16, 2014 at 8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
District 5400 Conference, Sun Valley, May 16-17th
May 16, 2014 at 12:00 PM – May 17, 2014 at 9:00 PM
Links
Rotary International
Rotary Club Central
Rotary Foundation
Idahorotary.org
District 5400 on YouTube
District 5400 on Facebook
Rotary International on You Tube
Dictionary Project
Polio Plus
Rotary's First 100 Years
Rotary Zone 27
Blog -Tiara Lusk Ambassadorial Scholar in Israel
Blog - Giacobazzi Yanez Amb Scholar in London
Blog - Amber Clontz, Amb Scholar in South Africa
RSS Feed
Water project unites Lebanon clubs across all divides
Southeast Asia declared polio free
Join Rotary’s End Polio Now Thunderclap
Do-it-yourself libraries
Minutes of January Board meeting now available