A huge day for young Rotarians on Saturday, September 29
MORNING – A Young Rotarians workshop with one of the most energetic Rotary leaders in America, Courtney Drew (better known as Drew)
NOON – Lunch at no cost to Interact and Youth Exchange students
EARLY AFTERNOON – How to build strong Interact and Rotaract clubs, practical stuff that can be used right away
MID AFTERNOON – Our first-ever Rotary Dance Workshop with a wonderful dance/movement troupe (just for fun, no experience needed)
Meet the U.S. President from the year Rotary was founded- 1905
Hint- His first name begins with T; his last name begins with R
A Rotary flea market Bring Rotary items to give away. Find Rotary items that you’d like to have.
Hotel rooms for $79
Reserve a room at the District Conference for only $79 and not worry about driving home after enjoying food and drinks on Friday and Saturday evenings, September 28-29. Make reservations directly with the Doubletree Reid Park, (520)-881-4200. Just mention “Rotary” to receive the special discount until Monday, September 17 at 11:59 pm. The Friday evening Hospitality Night is absolutely free for all Rotarians and guests. Hospitality suites feature beverages and food from around the world to enjoy.
We have passports for you!
Passport booklets highlight The Rotary Foundation, plus one page for each of our six Areas of Focus. Get a stamp on every page and be eligible to win a 3- or 4-day vacation at a luxury resort in Scottsdale or Sedona or Pine Top or . . . where would you like to go? Everyone who signs up for one or two full days at the District Conference will receive a passport.
Medical equipment, books, and more
Bring your medical equipment and medical supplies that you no longer need and we’ll make sure they’re put to good use here in Southern Arizona. We’ll also have a Book Fair- a good way to jumpstart holiday shopping! All proceeds from the book sales will benefit the work of Rotary.
Speakers and breakout leaders to inspire us to Be The Inspiration
It’s an all-star lineup, beginning at breakfast on Friday with Bob Shaff, who can help all of our clubs grow in membership, as well as Kathy Short, Dr. Jill Stamm, Courtney Drew, Dr. Douglas Jackson, and President Teddy Roosevelt.
It’s a District Conference we’ll remember for years to come.---
MARK YOUR CALENDAR---
BENSON ROTARY CLUB DELIVERS SCHOOL SUPPLIES
The Benson Rotary Club delivered over $370 worth of teacher supplies to the Benson Primary School as part of their weekly meeting on Wednesday, August 15, 2018. Supplies included 3 ring binders, markers, notebooks, and several types of paper.
According to various news sources, a typical teacher spends over $500 of their own money on the needs of the classroom.
Rotarians Bob Lujan, Glenn Nichols, and Layne Nelson were at the recent Back to School Fair sponsored by Hope for Kids, and they saw a list of supplies that teachers were requesting. While Benson Rotary participated in the Back to School Fair, that event was for the students and didn't do much for the teachers.
At the next Rotary meeting, they suggested the Benson Rotary Club buy all the items on the list requested by teachers. The club enthusiastically agreed.Benson Primary School Principal Jomel Jansson expressed his gratitude by saying, "The Benson Rotary Club is very supportive of our school. The supplies are needed and appreciated. The Rotarians also provide a great little dictionary to all our 3rd graders and have done so for the last 14 years."
Benson Rotary President Lyndon Denton stated, "The Benson Rotary Club is pleased when we can support the community, especially for education and literacy. In addition to the dictionaries we give to the 3rd graders, we have recently installed and supplied 3 Little Free Libraries, and we provide a college scholarship to a Benson and St David High School student every year. The Benson Rotary Club is always looking for additional community projects and people to help us make this part of the world a better place to be.---
ROTARY PEACE FELLOWS- WE NEED YOU
Peace Fellows are social change leaders who are chosen for their ability to have a significant, positive impact on world peace throughout their careers. They become catalysts for peace and conflict prevention and resolution in their communities and around the globe. Each year, up to 50 Fellows for master’s degrees and 50 for professional certificates are awarded annually for study at premier universities around the world. Support includes tuition and fees, room and board, transportation and internship/field study experiences. For more information about the Peace Fellows program, visit the Rotary website and click on Peace Fellows.
The District Peace Fellows Committee will review an applicant’s application for endorsement. The process begins in February and final application with supporting documents is due May (date not announced yet). More about qualifications and completing an application will appear in the January District Newsletter. If you would like to schedule a club presentation on Peace fellows, contact Doug Woodard.
If you know of anyone who would qualify as a Rotary Peace Fellow, please contact your club president to begin the process or contact Doug Woodard, Chair Peace Fellows for District 5500, at dwoodardaz@comcast.net. ---
PANTANO ROTARY CLUB UPDATES
July 10th, the Pantano Rotary Club presentation was by David Oase who spoke about the Southern Arizona Grotto of the National Speleological Society. David addressed cave exploring in Southern Arizona, how to map a cave and his recent cave explorations in Belize.
On July 17th, the club completed a service project with Sunnyside Unified School District in conjunction with their 3rd annual Back To School Wellness Fair. The fair’s main attraction was the five hundred backpacks filled with school supplies that were distributed to students. Numerous vendors were also in attendance and free vaccinations were provided to students, as well as athletic physicals for our student-athletes.
On July 24th, Sergio Leones, Jr., public relations liaison for the U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector gave an outstanding presentation on the current state of the U.S. Southern Border. ---
WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A PEACE-BUILDER?
For the first time ever, Rotarians can be trained as a Peacebuilders. The Rotary Peace Academy is a brand-new opportunity for Rotarians all over the world (and in Southern Arizona) to translate our yearning for peace into practical actions.
To graduate from the Rotary Peace Academy, you’ll need to complete a 4-hour online training course. Our goal here in Southern Arizona is for at least 100 of us to graduate between now and next spring.
The website is http://rotarypeaceacademy.org/. Simply notify District Governor Kirk Reed when you complete the course. He will arrange for a Peace Graduates Celebration in late March or early April. ---
ROTARY'S NEW PARTNERSHIPS (From DG Reed) DID YOU KNOW ABOUT ROTARY’S NEW PARTNERSHIPS?
Rotary is taking bold steps toward 21st century relevance, starting with our three newest partnerships:
TOASTMASTERS – They will be helping us with our leadership development in club and districts.
OUTWARD BOUND – They are helping us with hands-on, experiential events to teach teamwork and conflict management skills.
INSTITUTE FOR ECONOMICS AND PEACE – They are helping to learn the basics of peacebuilding in our communities and in the larger world.
Stay tuned for ways to get involved! ---
RYLA REMINDERDON’T DELAY! SEND YOUR CHECKS FOR RYLA TODAY!
Reserve spaces for Delegates Now. Spaces are reserved upon receipt of your Club’s check. Cost for Delegates is $400 each. Beginning September 1, there is no restriction on reserving additional spaces if we are not full. Make checks out to: District 5500 RYLA; mail to San Luis Rotary, Attn. Marcos Ramirez, PO Box 13926, San Luis, AZ 85349.
Start recruiting Delegates for spaces you have reserved. Ask Club Members, Interact Clubs and school counselors for candidates. Interview candidates, and have selected students download and complete an application from the website. Review applications to be sure they are complete before forwarding to Marcos Ramirez by email (marcosramirez5550@gmail.com) or mailed to: San Luis Rotary, Attn. Marcos Ramirez, PO Box 13926, San Luis, AZ 85349. Applications are due by November 1
Applications and checks for Junior Counselors and Adult Advisors can be sent anytime. No limit on how many per club.
Candidates will be interviewed in the fall. Cost is $400 for Jr. Counselors: $200 for Adult Advisors. Money is refunded if your candidate(s) are not selected.
Schedule a presentation on RYLA for a Club meeting
Contact Barbara Harrison District 5500 RYLA Chair at bjsharrison@comcast.net / 520.250.3437 to schedule a presentation.
DISTRICT ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE WILL NOT BE SENDING, NOR RECEIVING STUDENTS NEXT YEAR
A major change in our Youth Exchange Leadership Team will require a full year of leadership training so our District’s RYE program will be able to continue – as strong as ever – for many years to come. Our commitment is to rebuild the program with larger numbers of inbound and outbound students. This means that our next outbound selection process in District 5500 will be in the Fall of 2019 for an exchange in 2020-2021. In the meantime, we recommend that if Arizona students desire an exchange during our District’s rebuilding year, they can apply through AFS (originally known as American Field Service). AFS is the one exchange program that meets the high standards that Rotary embraces. We will keep everyone informed about the fresh start for Rotary Youth Exchange in our District. ---
Rotary announces US $96.5 million to end polioEVANSTON, Ill. (August 15, 2018) — Rotary today announced nearly $100 million in grants to support the global effort to end polio, a vaccine-preventable disease that once paralyzed hundreds of
According to various news sources, a typical teacher spends over $500 of their own money on the needs of the classroom.
