DG Bob's April Message

THE FRONTIER OF CHANGE - DG Bob's April Message

My fellow Rotarians, First, please join me in welcoming our newest District Leadership Team Member, Rotarian Anne Bermingham as DGN from the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM. Welcome aboard DGN Anne! 
 
Let me be unequivocally clear, in spite of this pandemic, Rotary is not doomed. Now is the time to be calm, resilient and resolute. In this darkness of COVID -19. Rotarians will trim their wicks so their lights do not go dim but rather becomes a bright beacon of light on a hilltop. During times like these, Rotarians have always been on the 'frontier of change'. Be rest assured this pandemic will be our time of change to show others the meaning of Rotary.
 
Rotary clubs in our district have taken the absence of weekly meetings to another level. For instance, the Rotary Clubs of Grimsby Noon, PM and Lincoln clubs have had virtual committee meetings via Zoom. The Rotary clubs of Batavia and Lockport offered their members an opportunity to 'connect' on a Zoom weekly meeting. They leveraged this new technology (to some) to their advantage and their members became 'socially connected'. Even preschoolers are having Zoom meeting and senior citizen well beyond three scores and 10 + are staying 'socially connected' and having fun. 'Snowbirds' who otherwise wouldn't have made an in-person meeting appreciated being connected through this medium. So - who says their members are too young or too old? They are experiencing the 'new norm' of 'social distancing' by staying engaged, inspired and enjoying Rotary comradely through the use of E-Club Meetings. BTW, just in case you weren’t aware our E-Clubs have used this technology since its inception.  
 
"For many, the coronavirus pandemic seemed to come out of nowhere, an unexpected crisis that we couldn’t have been prepared for. But some people have actually been warning of a global pandemic—and the fact that we are largely unprepared to handle one—for years. Along with epidemiologists and even the director for medical and biodefense preparedness at the National Security Council, Bill Gates has been saying for a decade that the world was woefully underprepared for an inevitable pandemic."
 
However, Rotary has been on the frontier of many new initiatives:
  • Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985 and was a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication initiative in 1988. Through decades of hard work and commitment by Rotary and our partners, more than 2.5 billion children have received the oral polio vaccine.  
  • "Rotarian Edgar Allen founded a hospital in Elyria, OH, after his son's death in a streetcar accident in May 1907. Soon after, Allen dedicated his life to creating community-based services for children with disabilities, recruiting Rotarians to create a network of programs that would become Easterseals. Since the 1920s, Rotary clubs have worked with local Easterseals organizations as volunteer and event sponsors by offering program support through direct grants and gifts."  
  • "Rotary and the start of the United Nation. Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world. During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. This was a monumental task to accomplish and sessions became known as the Dumbarton Oaks conference. After the conference, Rotary published “What Can Rotarians Do Following Dumbarton Oaks?” It included the proposed charter, talking points, and suggestions for discussing with club members how the United Nations would relate to Rotary’s goal of advancing international understanding. It also emphasized the importance of having a plan ready when the war ended, rather than waiting until the fighting stopped.
My fellow Rotarians now is the time to be proactive so our beacons of light on the hilltop aren’t extinguished. Use E-Club Meeting platforms to keep members connected and engaged, plan an event in your community that promotes health, safety, and how to stay connected with family and friends through various social media platforms. Reach out to at least three people each day in your sphere of influence who you haven't spoken with in decades and ‘CONNECT’ with them. This ‘CONNECT’ is consistent with our theme for this Rotary year ”Rotary Connects the World.”  This CONNECT will show care, concern, and compassion. Keep our beacon of light burning bright so that we can show others the meaning of Rotary.
 
BE SAFE, STAY HOME AND PRACTICE ‘SOCIAL DISTANCING’
 
Please open link for information from RI Headquarters
 
Continue reading.......
 
 
OUR DISTRICT CONNECTIONS:
 
Hi Robert:
 
District Governor Bob Artis was at our Rotary Club of Hamilton AM this morning.  He was modeling and passionately speaking about the power of Rotary - in particular how we can connect to so many around the world through this network.  
 
He had a number of business cards of people that he has met through Rotary and had me select one of those business cards today - during his visit to our club.  I pulled your card.  He met you during your time at the Zone Conference.  
 
I am happy to make your connection and would love to learn more about you and your connections to Rotary and otherwise.  To that end, I will Link IN with you and hopefully you will accept my invite.
 
Just briefly - I am the President of the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM.  We are a 50 person club that meets over breakfast.  We are a club full of energy who raises about 70K a year that we give to local and international causes.  We also love doing hands on projects such as the breakfast that we put on for all the kids at the Hess Street School in December - feeding everyone pancakes and giving them gifts.  We are involved in two festivals that promote outdoor learning and literacy - one is called Imagine in the Park and one is called Telling Tales.
 
Do send me some news of you and your club's activities.  All the best and I hope we meet in person someday.
 
Anne 
 
11 25 2019 at 1055am
 
 
Good Morning Anne
 
I hope all is well.  Thank you for your nice email.  
 
I have not been on Linked In in quite a while.  I will have to check my page for your invite so I can accept it. 
 
I am the immediate past president of the North Conway NH Rotary Club.   We have about 40 members, but we get about 17 members to show up to meetings.  We are a breakfast club.   We meet at 715am every Thursday at the Kennett High School Mineral Springs Cafe.   So far we have done quite a number of service projects.   April of 2019, we did the Rise Against Hunger Project.  We packaged 10,152 meals and we found out they were sent to Zambia. We did the project again in Sept 2019 and the meals were sent to Mozambique if I spelled that right 
 
We also do Habitat for Humanity.  We also do service projects at our local schools. We ended up getting a District grant for Project Warmth and 40 winter Jackets were given to needy families. 
 
I apologize for not responding earlier but the week of Nov. 11th was hectic as we had our 4-day radio auction fundraiser.  
 
I hope we continue to connect and we can meet in the future.  
 
All the best and thank you!
 
Bob