Stories

District Governor's Message - HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

     Hello Rotarians of District 5610. I hope your November went well, your Thanksgiving was good. It is time to wish all of you HAPPY HOLIDAYS! May this special time of the year bring peace and joy to you and your family. During this season of thankfulness, I remind you to be proud of your Rotary legacy. Be proud because you have been ‘Making A Difference’ in your community and to families around the world.

     You see, Rotary has risen to so many challenges in its 112 years. We’ve answered conflict with peace, poverty with education, death with disease prevention, and despair with hope. We will never know how different the world would have been if Rotary had never been founded; if any one Rotary club had never been chartered; or if any single Rotarian had declined the invitation to join a Rotary club. But I will say, with absolute confidence, that the world is a far, far better place because of Rotary.

     The world needs Rotary now more than ever. It needs our hope, our light, our goodwill. None of us will ever know the full impact of our actions…the millions of lives we have saved, the countless tears we have turned into smiles, and the goodwill we have given families facing a future with little hope. Here is a YouTube message all of you should hear:  https://youtu.be/Y1pUk8FVMO8 please review this important presentation for all Rotarians!  
     My friends, I ask that in the new year approaching you be that Rotarian who ‘Makes A Difference’ in our world.   And once again, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

DG Steve Harrington

MISSION HAITI REPORT

by DG STEVE HARRINGTON, November 2017 Mission Trip
 
    I had the pleasure recently to be a part of a humanitarian project to Haiti. It was part of an ongoing program in Ti Riviere called Mission-Haiti. It was the most challenging, yet most rewarding, experience I have ever had in delivering help to the less fortunate.  
    During my club visits as part of my District Governor duties, I often speak on how we can ‘Make A Difference’ in our local communities and globally. I speak on how Rotary delivers hope and goodwill to people through our six areas of focus: education, peace and conflict resolution, maternal and child care, community development, water and sanitation, and disease prevention. My Mission-Haiti experience touched most of these areas of focus.
    As a country, Haiti is one of the world’s poorest and undeveloped nations. It was difficult to see the state-of-affairs in the larger cities, but it is a way of life for them. Mission-Haiti focuses on the rural, mountainous region of Ti Riviere in southeast Haiti about 45 minutes from the city of Les Cayes.
    The Mission-Haiti program supports education, community development, water and sanitation, maternal and child care, and disease prevention to Ti Riviere. I visited schools, orphanages, elderly care facilities, and a developing medical clinic all a part of the Mission-Haiti project. To say Mission-Haiti is ‘Making A Difference’ in Haiti is an understatement. It is one the most comprehensive humanitarian programs I have seen, and is changing the dynamics of a this poor rural, mountainous community.
    Mission-Haiti is physically challenging for the mission teams because of the mountain climbing and undeveloped transportation system required to reach many families. But seeing the lives we touch and help is most rewarding. To see the children hike, sometimes hours, through the mountains to attend school, and then arrive in a clean school uniform is humbling.  
    The Haitian people we met were the most kind, gracious, and appreciative people you could imagine. I believe the work of Mission-Haiti is developing a new generation of leaders for Haiti. Leaders that will someday help change the dynamics of this poor nation. I have seen the smiles of children and adults that are so grateful for the assistance that we bring. And the hope and goodwill they experience through Mission-Haiti is what Rotary is all about…’Making A Difference.’
    For additional information about this humanitarian program go to www.Mission-Haiti.org.
 
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District 5610 Raffle Cooking Again!

The 2017 raffle was a tremendous success and the goal is to continue to build on that success by making this year even better! Karl's Appliance has again agreed to offer the grand prize of a KARL’S HOME KITCHEN MAKEOVER! This is a Whirlpool 4-Piece Kitchen Appliance Package, with a value up to $7,500 at Karl’s Retail Price*.
    Brad Preheim, of Centerville Rotary, is this year's Raffle Chair. He asks you to begin gathering ideas for prizes this year from both individual Rotarians and each Club. When you do, please call Brad at 605-677-9609 with the information.
    Please note the following timeline of events:
Deadline for prize list – January 15, 2018
Ticket Printing and distribution – early February 2018
Ticket sales – late February – early April 2018  
Prize drawings -  PETS conference April 12-14, 2018 Mitchell (need not be present to win).
    Brad will be messaging club leaders over the next few weeks. Let's make our District goal of $200,000 happen!
 

Foundation Month Club Challenge

    DISTRICT 5610 GOVERNOR’S FOUNDATION MONTH CHALLENGE – Prizes worth $5,000 in Foundation points to be awarded.
    District 5610 Clubs and members are challenged by Governor Steve Harrington to Rotary Foundation giving during the month of November, which is Rotary’s Foundation Month.  
    Winners in member giving category of the Governor’s District Awards (2 awards) will receive a $1,000 Paul Harris Fellow gift to award as they choose. Clubs in each division that win the per capita category will receive a $1,000 Paul Harris Fellow gift to award as they choose. A total of $5,000 in prizes.  
Governor District Awards for:
The two Individuals with the highest Foundation giving in November
The district club with the highest per capita giving in November
Governor Division Awards (3 Divisions):
The club in each division with the highest per capita giving in November receives special governor recognition, and a $1,000 Paul Harris Fellow gift.
Division I – Canton, Centerville, Clark, Gettysburg, Gregory, Huron, LeMars, Mapleton, Marshall Sunrise, Minneota, Rock Valley, Scotland, Sibley, , Suburban Sioux City, Tyndall, and Wagner. (16)
Division II – Aberdeen, Canby, Cherokee, Custer, Denison, Hot Springs, Madison, Marshall, Mobridge, Sioux Falls North, Sioux Falls South, Spearfish, and Yankton. (13)
Division III -  Brookings, Luverne, Mitchell, Pierre-Ft Pierre, Rapid City, Rapid City Rushmore, Sioux Falls Downtown, Sioux Falls West, Sioux City, Watertown, Winner, and Vermillion. (12)
    Contest parameters: Winners will be determined by monitoring all Foundation giving from NOVEMBER 1 to DECEMBER 10. Giving will be extended to December 10 to allow late donations to be register in Rotary Foundation records.
Contact Mike Gibson, District Foundation Chair for more information. Mike.Gibson@bankwest-sd.com

Rotary Foundation Goal

Foundation giving totals through November 2017 is $37,067. 
We are a little over 18.5% of our District Goal met. Remember the Foundation is one of the key aspects of our membership in Rotary. It is how we are impacting the world for Rotary.
—Mike Gibson, D5610 Foundation Chair

SDSM&T Rotaract members stuff Puppies for Polio

A group of Rotaract members stuffed 100 puppies, and then sold all of them for $20 each. Josiah Horner, club president, worked the table at School of Mines student center. They netted $550 for polio, with the Gates Foundation match of $1100, totaling $1650. They estimate 60 cents per vaccine,  protecting 2,750 children from contracting polio. Great project!

District Grants Training Webinars Schedule

District Grant Training is required every year for any club submitting a grant request. From now on, District 5610 will be holding Grant Training by Web Conference. There will be no official grant training at PETS this year, so please have someone from your club plan on attending one of the following web conference training sessions if you plan on submitting a grant for the 2018-2019 Rotary Year.
  • Thurs. 1/25/2018 8:00 PM CST (7:00 PM MST)
  • Sat. 2/17/2018 2:00 PM CST (1:00 PM MST)
  • Wed. 3/28/2018 7:30 PM CST (6:30 PM MST)
  • Mon. 5/21/2018 8:00 PM CST (7:00 PM MST)
The training should take less than 2 hours and you will need to be at a Mac or a PC (smartphones or tablets should work but I recommend a computer) with an internet connection to view the slides. You can either use the microphone and speakers of the computer or dial in to a phone number for audio. If you know which training session you would like to attend, please email Bruce Young, District Grant Subcommittee chair at district5610grant@gmail.com to preregister. Webinar information will be provided to people that have expressed interest a few days ahead of the scheduled date.

PEOPLE of ACTION

     Let's show our members and communities who and what Rotary is! The new People of Action public awareness campaign is rolling out! As we discussed at the last District Assembly, we want to prepare a visible image of Rotary to grow our membership. This campaign will do just that.
     Here's what we will do: Send me a photo and 2-3 lines of description, and I will prepare People of Action ads like you see in the District bulletin. These ads can then be placed in your local media, on your websites, Facebook pages, etc. See the download area for an information sheet on the campaign instructions. It is simple, it is effective, it is ACTION!
—Linda Peterson, D5610 Public Image Chair  Linda4Rotary@me.com   605-341-5006
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District Conference Survey Results

    An analysis of the attendee list discovered 85 Rotarians attended 2017 Rotary District 5610 Conference. Of those Rotarians 81 had emails. On October 22, 25 and 28 email blasts were sent out with a survey; created and tested before distribution. Of the 81 potential respondents, 40 completed the survey or 49%.
    Here are a few facts to consider:
• 19 of those 40 respondents attended both days or 48%
• 12 of those 40 respondents were new or 30%
• 85 of 1,846 District Rotarians attended part of all the conference or 4.6%
• Each speaker program was rated on a 5 point scale system.
   o 11 of the 28 programs rated under 4 points
   o Overall rating for the conference is 4.02 out of 5
   o Lowest rating 3.48; highest rating 4.52
   o Programs under 4.00 should be assessed for value, content, presentation, program speaker
• 149 comments were received on programs
• 83 comments were received on improvements and other topics not asked in the survey
   o 20 comments referred to poor attendance
   o 19 comments referred to better speakers/more topical breakouts
   o 11 comments referred to shorten the duration of the conference
   o 4 comments referred to honor clubs/individuals
   o Remaining comments were miscellaneous with several referring to enjoying the conference and kudos to the host group.
Upcoming Events
District Grants Training
Jan 18, 2018
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
District Grants Training
Feb 17, 2018
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
 
District Grants Training
Mar 28, 2018
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
 
PETS & District Assembly
Apr 12, 2018 – Apr 14, 2018
 
District Grants Training
May 21, 2018
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
District Conference 2018
Sep 27, 2018 – Sep 29, 2018
 
Russell Hampton
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DISTRICT LEADERSHIP // www.Rotary5610.org  // Mail: 5121 S. Barrington Dr., Sioux Falls, SD  57108
DG // STEVE HARRINGTON, LE MARS, IA // steveharringtonrotary@yahoo.com
IPDG // ED JACOBSON, PIERRE, SD // coach@pie.midco.net
DGE // DAVE LORENZ // David.Lorenz@usd.edu
EDITOR // LINDA PETERSON, RAPID CITY, SD // linda4rotary@me.com
TREASURER // STEVE SIKORSKI, SIOUX FALLS, SD // sikorski5121@gmail.com