District Governor Rick Sterne, September 2012
DG Rick’s September Message
My official Club visits have begun and I must say how impressed I am by the Clubs that I have visited so far. Each Club is different, but doing great work in their Communities and Internationally. In my first two weeks, after visiting nine Clubs, I had the opportunity to help induct eight new Rotarians. Several Clubs took the time to show me some of their local projects. Thank you.
September is NEW GENERATIONS month and our District has a very active and strong new Generations program. Our new group of Youth Exchange students has arrived and our outgoing students have left. Many Clubs are in the process of chartering new Earlyact, Interact, and Rotaract Clubs. I have challenged our New Generations team to host an Interact/Rotaract Conference in the spring to provide these future Rotarians a forum for coming together to share ideas and get to know each other. We hope to have more Earlyactors, Interactors, and Rotaractors attend this year’s District Conference.
I am also asking our Rotary Clubs to do a better job at recognizing the support we receive from our teacher advisors. Dedicated teacher advisors are the key to the continued strength and continuity of our New Generations programs.
Our District Conference is only a month away, being held for the first time ever in Brantford, Ontario at the Best Western Brant Park Inn, October 12th to 14th.
Our Conference Committee under the chairmanship of Rotarian Scott Lyons, has organized a fun filled Conference for this year. The Conference will kick off Friday night with the Rock of Ages show with Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Elton John. Afterwards a number of District Clubs will be hosting us in their hospitality suites. There is a prize, a PHF award, for the best suite that you can help decide. Some people say that this is the best part of a District Conference, as the suites provide a venue for meeting and sharing ideas with our fellow District Rotarians.
Saturday`s morning plenary session will include addresses from an Ambassadorial Scholar, a keen Rotaractor, and a Peace Through Service presentation. We will also hear from our RI Presidential representative, Phil Lustig III, a PDG from District 6930 in Florida.
Saturday lunch will feature our keynote motivational speaker Darda Sales, a 2008 Paralympian swimmer. Annaleise Carr, only fourteen years old, who swam across Lake Ontario last month to raise monies for Camp Trillium, a camp for cancer children, will also be joining us.
Saturday afternoon`s breakout sessions will include the following:
· New Generations - how the legacy of Rotary can transition effectively to New Generations.
· GSE Team presentations - including our team that visited Brazil, and our visiting team from the Philippines.
· Membership – how to attract younger and more diverse members.
· World Community Service – Doing Good in the World - 4 great projects.
· Social Media and Rotary – how to use it to attract new Rotarians.
· Release Your Inner Rotarian - for newer members.
After the breakout sessions, we are offering tours of the finest Military museum in Canada totally funded and organized by volunteers and the Bell Homestead of Alexander Graham Bell, the place where he says he conceived the idea for the telephone.
A jazz trio will entertain us during our cocktail party and dinner. Our keynote dinner speakers are Dr. Rehan and Katherine Dost, who will tell us about their challenges and ordeal climbing Mount Everest last spring. After dinner the two Brantford Rotary Clubs will host us in their joint hospitality suite.
Sunday morning will begin with a Celebration of Life ceremony to recognize those Rotarians that we have lost during the past year. The New Generations team will then entertain us, which should be, as in past years, one of the highlights of our District Conference.
This year we are challenging every Club to bring a Toy Box full of goodies to the District Conference to be auctioned off to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation. The Toy boxes can be hand-made, bought or refurbished. They can be wooden, plastic or cardboard. They can be filled with children’s toys, adult toys (like tools), wine, spa stuff, or whatever your imagination dictates. Any Club whose box raises over $1000.00 will receive a PHF to award. We reserve the right to live-auction the three highest boxes in the silent auction at dinner Saturday night. All winning bids will receive a tax receipt from the RI Foundation. In past years we have raised close to $9,000.00 for the RI Foundation by auctioning off rocking chairs, benches, stools, or gift baskets. Let’s try and do better!
We will also have a HOUSE OF FRIENDSHIP at this year’s Conference. This an ideal opportunity for your Club to show off its favorite project, or sell tickets etc. as part of your fund raising activities. There isn’t any charge to participate. Just email Paula Tysoski at: homes@paulatysoski.com to register. Click on More below to view information about the toy boxes.
The only thing missing for the Conference to be great is You!
I hope that you will plan to attend. There is no charge to register, just for the kickoff party, tours, and meals. Please register on the District website: www.rotary7090.org and click on District Conference.
I hope to see you there.
Rick Sterne
District Governor
Best of Friends District 7090
TOY BOXES - WANTED
Over the years District 7090 Clubs have participated in a District Fund Raiser for the Rotary Foundation at the District Conference. At past Conferences, Clubs have brought rocking chairs, benches, stools, and last year gift baskets. Creativity has been amazing, as Clubs have gone all out to build and paint items for the annual silent auction.
In light of this year’s Conference theme “Let’s have FUN in Rotary”, Clubs are being asked to bring a Toy or Joy Box full of goodies, to be auctioned off through a silent auction on Saturday, October 13th. Rotarian’s creativity and imagination should result in some innovative Toy Boxes, i.e. boxes of children toys, adult toys, wine box, spa box, gift box etc. The Boxes can be handmade wooden boxes, refurbished toy boxes, plastic boxes, or cardboard boxes. Space has been set aside in the House of Friendship for the silent auction. Bring your Boxes in on Friday night, Oct. 12th.
Winning bids will get a donation receipt from the Rotary Foundation.
A PHF will be provided to any donating Club, whose Toy Box raises over $1000.00.
We reserve the right to have a live auction Saturday night on the three highest bid Toy Boxes in the silent auction. Obviously the opening bid of the live auction will be the closing bid of the silent auction.
In past years over $7000.00 to 9000.00 has been raised for the Rotary Foundation.
Let’s try and surpass this amount!