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Global star Angélique Kidjo champions Rotary’s efforts in new song
In Pakistan, polio vaccinators earn community trust in spite of danger
Finding safe haven
Helping people with disabilities make their own music
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GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE
As I sit here at my computer this rainy Valentine’s Day morning in my warm house with my hot cup of coffee, I can’t help but think how incredibly fortunate I am.   Shelter, food, security, education: I have them all.  But maybe the best part of my life is that I embraced Rotary 13 years ago, giving me more friends of different stripes than I could have imagined and never-ending opportunities for doing good in the world and for personal growth.  What a lucky woman I am!
 
I urge you to take a minute at one of your meetings to recognize the 109th birthday of Rotary on Feb. 23rd.  I like to recall that Rotary got its name from the practice of rotating its meeting locations.  When was the last time you made up a Rotary meeting at another club?  Assistant Governor Ben Nelson and I had lunch at the Rupert Rotary Club this week.  The program that day was on the “Oakley Miracle of 1984”, when the citizens of Oakley and Burley joined forces, at great personal cost to a few, to dig a 22 mile trench in 3 days to avert a spring flood that surely would have destroyed the farms, homes and businesses of many.  What a story of decisiveness and cooperation to save a community.  I didn’t know this story and I wouldn’t know it yet had I not visited my Rotary family in Rupert that day!  
 
February is World Understanding Month.  If your club is not participating yet this year in an international service project or matching grant, please consider making a commitment to one.  Clubs in our district are working in Ecuador, Belize, Guatemala, Africa and other places around the globe, fulfilling the mission of Rotary to improve the lives of others.  Rotarians often ask me if I know of Rotary service opportunities outside the U.S.  Elsewhere in this bulletin you can read about Semilla Nueva-organized trips to Guatemala in June and August.  I visited Semilla Nueva’s farmers in October 2012 with 20 other Rotarians from D5400, and I recommend the experience to all!  
 
Congratulations Ashton Rotary Club on the award of the first three Paul Harris Fellows of the 21st century in your club: Teddy Stronks, Robert Comstock, Sr. and Jim Harrell.  Congratulations Blue Lakes-Twin Falls, Hailey and Boise Southwest for reaching your Annual Fund goals for the year in February and for holding the top three positions in per capita giving respectively!  Congratulations Canyon County Sunrise for reaching the $50,000 milestone for all-time Rotary Foundation giving and to Boise Metro and Elmore County for passing the $75,000 milestone.  And my shout-outs would not be complete without recognition of the polio warriors in Jerome, who’ve contributed nearly $175/capita to the polio eradication effort for a total of $10,132.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will match Jerome’s money (and yours) 2:1.
 
On the whole, D5400 has reached 68% of its Annual Fund Goal and 98% of its PolioPlus Goal.  See where your club stands in reaching its goals by checking out “District Docs and Downloads/ Foundation/Club Giving Reports" at www.rotary5400.org.
 
Enjoy the rain and snow, Rotarians, and don’t forget to mark your calendars for the D5400 conference in Sun Valley May 16 and 17.
APPLY FOR DISTRICT AWARDS
2013-14 CLUB AWARDS 
The application for the 2013-14 district awards is now available online.  The awards recognize distinguished Rotary performance and service in six categories: integrity, membership, club service, public image, leadership development and Rotary Foundation giving.  A premier award, known as the Humanity in Motion Award comes with a check for $1000 to the winning club.  Deadline for applications is April 15, 2014.  Rotary Foundation eligibility is determined from March 31st Rotary Foundation reports.  Don’t wait till the end of March to send in Annual Fund or PolioPlus money nor to mail in your commitments to the Endowment Fund.  You checks and pledges may not get recorded in time.  Strive for net increases in club membership between now and April 15th!  Good luck, Rotarians!  Apply in as many categories as you have succeeded.  
YOUTH EXCHANGE ENJOY MCCALL WINTER CARNIVAL
EAGLE/GARDEN CITY AND CENTENNIAL DONATE BOOKS
Earlier this year, Eagle/Garden City Rotary and Boise Centennial Rotary teamed up with Idaho Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (IPCV) to donate books to the Boyd and Girls Club of Ada County. Combining thier own fundraisers with a District Grant from the Rotary Foundation the clubs donated 150 books to the club.
Photo: Ashley Yenso (B&G club, Mike Sieler, Marianne Barker, Joye Jones.
BOISE CENTENNIAL HOSTS WINTER WINE'D UP MAR 14TH
The Boise Centennial Rotary Club will be hosting its 4th annual Winter Wine’d Up on Friday, March 14th. The popular wine tasting event runs from 6:00 to 9:00 at the Riverside Hotel, 2900 W. Chinden in Boise/Garden City.
 
The Winter Wine’d Up features samplings from four local wineries including Fujishin Cellars, Telaya Wine Co., Split Rail Winery, and Williamson Orchard and Vineyard. Delectable hors d’oeuvres will be provided for attendees, along with a no-host bar for those who prefer varietals beyond the grape. Through raffles, networking, and silent and live auctions, the evening will present opportunities to take home some excellent gifts and prizes while contributing to a great cause and getting to know your community on a unique level.
 
Proceeds from the Winter Wine’d Up will benefit CATCH Inc. (Charitable Assistance to the Communities Homeless).  CATCH Inc is a local program that assists area homeless families with children to become self-sustaining members of the community by helping them with housing, education and jobs. Proceeds will also benefit scholarships to BSU, ISU and the U of I.
 
Tickets are $25 each and available from Boise Centennial Rotary members or on their website at www.BoiseCentennialRotary.org/winedup . A special room rate has been offered by the Riverside Hotel for only $79 per double occupancy and includes brunch for two, which features the only proper way to follow a night of wine tasting: Succulent prime rib and bottomless mimosas.
 
If you cannot attend but wish to support this event, donations in the form of monetary contributions or silent auction items would be greatly appreciated; gift baskets, gift certificates, etc.. Contact dougooley@boisecentennialrotary.org for more information.
 
Please join us for this enjoyable evening of wine, music, friends and fun. We are incredibly grateful for the ability to serve our community amongst such an exceptional group of people.
 
 
DISTRICT CONFERENCE OPPORTUNITIES
The District Conference committee is finalizing plans for this year's event in Sun Valley, May 16-17. We have many promotional opportunities we'd like clubs and Rotarians to consider such as table sponsorships, speaker or meal sponsorships, silent auction and raffles, shop rotary and Saturday afternoon activities. You'll be hearing a lot more in the weeks to come. In the meantime, click here to see more details about the opportunities.
IDAHO FALLS WELCOMES SCHOLAR AND PROMOTES LITERACY FUNDRAISER
The Idaho Falls Interact Club had a visit from District 5400 Ambassadorial Scholar Stephanie Meyer on February 3.  She gave a presentation on her time in Thailand and Pakistan and presented information on her school project in Pakistan for Interactors to consider participating in. Here's a photo of her with some of the girls after the presentation.
 
The Rotary Club of Idaho Falls is co-sponsor of an auction of beautiful handcrafted lamps. For more details about these gorgeous lamps, click here.
BOISE CLUBS SPONSOR BOISE YOUNG PROFESSIONALS TRAINING
Several Boise Rotary Clubs are sponsoring the Boise Young Professionals "B on Board" training program, a five week training program beginning February 5th. (Participating clubs are Boise Metro, Boise Downtown, Boise Sunrise, Boise Southwest and Eagle/Garden City)
 
B|On Board will teaches the secrets to getting on non-profit, corporate and public boards and commissions. Boards are where real work and community issues are solved. Its a perfect opportunity to make a difference in your community?
 
 
COUNCIL ON LEGISLATION IN 2016
Its always instructive to learn more about the way Rotary International operates. You can imagine the challenge of 33,000 clubs in over 200 countries! Every three years Rotary International’s Council on Legislation meets to debate and vote on legislation submitted by clubs, districts, the RI Board, and the general council or conference of RIBI.  The Council has the authority to amend RI’s constitutional documents, as well as adopt resolutions.  Every district sends one representative to the Council, and every club and district may propose legislation. The next council will meet in Chicago in April 2016. We bring this up now because proposals for legistative changes or ammendments are due no later than Dec 31, 2014. 
 
 
The last Council in 2013 considered 173 pieces of proposed legislation and approved 53 of them. Among those approved were:
  • Ammendments to the Standard Rotary Club Constutition
  • Provision for satellite clubs and e-clubs
  • The Fifth Avenue of Service changed from New Generations to Youth Service
Perhaps one of the most significant changes came at the Council in 1989 when the Constitution was ammended to admit women to membership!
 
ITS A GOOD TIME TO REVIEW CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS
Every now and then its a good idea for a club to review its Constitution and By-laws. (Question: do you know where they can be found?) A Club's Constitution must follow the wording that Rotary International provides, so that part's easy. (You can find it here)  Clubs can tailor their bylaws, as long as they align with Rotary’s constitutional documents and the Rotary Code of Policies.  RI does provide a sample to follow. If you review your club's bylaws you may find that they were created a long time ago and that you've changed the way you do things, or you're not doing things the way your by-laws would suggest. Are you following the proper procedure for electing new officers? How about the procedure for nominating and admitting new members? Is your Treasurer following procedure? Do you have standing committees?  Have you allowed for communication via electronic means (email)? Have you posted these documents on your website so all members can see them? Take a look - it will be interesting!
SHELTER BOX - LARGEST ROTARY PROJECT EVER!
ShelterBox was founded to provide shelter, warmth and dignity to people affected by disasters around the world.  Before ShelterBox, aid response to most disasters was in the form of food and medicine to help people survive the immediate aftermath. Little or no assistance was given in terms of proper shelter to help them through the first few days, weeks and months as they tried to rebuild their lives. ShelterBox was launched to fill that void. ShelterBox has emerged as a major player in the field of international disaster relief.
In April 2000, the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall, England adopted ShelterBox as its millennium project. Little did they know that it would become the largest Rotary club project in the world, with affiliates i
n countries across the globe. In 2002, ShelterBox's American affiliate was adopted as a project of the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch in Sarasota, Fla. In 2004, ShelterBox USA was officially established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.   

ShelterBox has worked in more than 90 countries, responding to earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, typhoons, hurricanes, volcanoes and conflict; currently active in the Phillipines, Syria and Indonesia.
 
Visit the ShelterBox website here. Ever wonder what's in a Shelterbox? Click here to see!
WOMEN IN ROTARY
Quiz: When were women first admitted to Rotary?? Speaking of women in Rotary, check out this cool website created by the Rotary Club of Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. Maybe some of you gals can make it there for breakfast! "Rotary From Down Under".
PETS TRAINING MARCH 7-8
"PETS" stands for President-elect Training Seminar. Rotary International requires every District to train and prepare club presidents who will be taking office as of July 1st.  Our District will hold its PETS event at the Red Lion in Twin Falls on March 7th and 8th. Festivities begin at 1:00 PM on Friday.  All incoming club presidents are required to attend. Vice Presidents are encouraged to attend as well. Terry Gilbert, our District Trainer, will put together a comprehensive training program with the assistance of members of the District Leadersip Team and Committee Chairs.
 
Attendees please be sure to register o the District website and pay by credit card (or bring a check).
 
SEMILLA NUEVA PLANS SUMMER ADVENTURES
Katie Miller, Semilla Nueva's Director of Development, has sent us informationn about several trips to Guatemala this summer.
 
"Basically, the idea behind the work trips is to get you down to Guatemala and into the fields of the family farmers who you supported through your donation with the Global Grant. It's an opportunity not available to many travelers and allows a wonderful intimacy with the families. Along with spending time with the family farmers in their fields and homes, we'll also have time to check out some cool areas of Guatemala like the beach, Antigua (Guate's best colonial city) and Lake Atitlan (just picture a big blue lake with volcanos surrounding it). It's a great experience and I hope some of your club members will take advantage of it!"
 
 
MISSING EMAIL ADDRESSES
Most of our clubs, and the District, rely on e-mail to communicate important information. We have found that about 200 of our members have not entered their e-mail address into our communication system - either at your club level in Club Runner, or in the District files. So, that means that 200 of our members, more than 10%, are not receiving our District e-mails! We're sure that its not that so many Rotarians don't have e-mail, but they've never given us their e-mail address. Club Secretaries: please confirm that all your members have entered thier address in the District system. thanks!!
ADVISORS MONITOR FOUNDATION PROJECTS
The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers is a volunteer group of Rotarians of with a wide spectrum of professional expertise. Cadre members provide technical expertise and help ensure proper stewardship through the review, monitoring, and evaluation of The Rotary Foundation grant projects around the world.
 
Click here to view the current newletter of the Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisors "Tech Talk".  The Cadre's mission addresses the Foundation's need to ensure that global grants achieve sustainable results in the areas of focus.  "The Foundation will increase grant evaluation in coming years, and the cadre will play a critical role in that effort. Future issues of Tech Talk will provide information about training sessions related to project planning, sustainability, and monitoring and evaluation."