Stories

Governor's Message, circa 1/18.  New Year, and New Heroes

 Happy New Year Rotarians of District 5610! I hope your holiday season went well for you and your family.
I’m so excited about the beginning of a new year – 2018. You see, it is another year that we, as Rotarians, can make a positive and meaningful impact in our local communities, and with humanitarian projects around the world. The new year is another opportunity to help save lives, end poverty through education, promote world peace, enhance community development, improve the lives of mothers and children, and develop safe water and sanitation for those less fortunate than us.
    It is such an honor to be a part of one of the finest Rotary districts – 5610!  You see, I have traveled from one end of our district to another. I have seen the heart and soul of our Rotarians and their communities. I have seen the Rotary effort and thought that has gone into making a difference in cities and towns.
    You, the local clubs and Rotarians, are the true heroes in this service organization. Though the work of a district governor can be demanding and grueling at times...traveling over 10,000 miles, working many weeks without a day off, giving of time and treasure, on a volunteer basis, I'm just a small piece of the puzzle. And you know what? I’m doing what I do for YOU! Because I know you, as Rotarians in District 5610, are the most important people in the Rotary organization. It is not Rotary International, or the district officers and leadership, that are heroes. It is the local clubs and the individual Rotarians that are the true heroes! 
    I will ask three things of you. There are six months left in my term as your district governor. I need your help in expanding our membership, supporting our Rotary Foundation, and in public awareness.
Membership: everyone please bring a guest to your club meeting, someone that is a potential Rotary member. 
Foundation: please generously support our Annual Raffle beginning this month, and consider donating monthly to the Foundation through auto-pay, because it is one of the world’s greatest charities.
Public Awareness: increase news releases and public signage throughout your communities. 
    So my dear friends, Rotary on down the Rotary highway. Your life is your legacy, and being a Rotarian is a part of your legacy. Whatever time you give to Rotary, small or large, give it with your heart and believe in what you are a part of – the world’s great service organization. Thank you.
Governor Steve Harrington

Leadership Institute rolls out for 2018

    The District 5610  Rotary Leadership Institute program is gearing-up for the 2018 edition. The Rotary Leadership Institute is a grass-roots organization designed to elevate the level of participation within and between Rotary Clubs by sharing ideas and creating visions for enhancing participation in and the programs of Rotary. Revisions have been made to the program for this year, but it will continue to be an 8-9 hour program, with additional resources provided for participants to further increase their knowledge of and commitment to Rotary programs, from the club level to international opportunities. Course schedules are being finalized and new opportunities to participate are being offered, as follows:
1/26/18 – SDSU Innovation Center, Brookings, SD. Contacts: Dan Little and Chuck Lindemann
2/918 – Avera Prairie Center, 1000E. 23rd St, Sioux Falls, SD. Contact person is Shelli Masek
2/24/18 – 1905 Deadwood Av., Rapid City, SD. Contact person is Verl Scheibe
3/24/18 – Feeding South Dakota, 20562 Grace Av., Pierre, SD. Contact person is Larry Lyngstad
TBD – Wagner, SD. Contact person is Kelsey Doom
TBD – Southeast SD/Northwest IA. More information to follow.

    District Governor Steve Harrington has pledged District Funds to cover the cost for one member from each club to participate in the program. (see scholarship certificate attached.) Club presidents are asked to select one Rotarian from their club to attend the training. The cost for Rotarians to attend the program remains at $35 per individual, and clubs are requested to cover the charge. This fee covers course materials, meals and refreshments. If you are interested in providing a course in your area, contact your area’s Assistant Governor, or send me a message at: lglyngstad@mncomm.com.
Larry Lyngstad, RLI Coordinator

D5610 Launches YouTube Channel!

 
Rotarians! You should check out the Denmark Rotary Friendship Exchange video produced by Tom Dempster now listed on our Rotary District 5610 new YouTube Channel. Access the YouTube Channel by clicking on the photo or the YouTube Icon.  If you have a video you would like to share on the Rotary District 5610 YouTube Channel, please contact:
 

Inspire others through vocational service

    How do you, as a club leader, demonstrate vocational service? Vocational service calls on Rotarians to empower others by using their unique skills and expertise to address community needs and help others discover new professional opportunities and interests. January is Rotary’s Vocational Service Month, a great time to encourage Rotarians to leverage vocational service in their clubs and activities.
    Share these tactics in your communications with district and club leaders to strengthen member engagement and service in your area:
* Ask Rotarians to talk about their profession in their club, and take time to learn about fellow members’ occupations.
* Use your club members’ skills and expertise to serve your community.
* Help young people achieve their career goals.
* Guide and encourage others in their professional development.
    Download the updated Vocational Service Handbook to find more ideas.

 

Membership Update

    We're half way into our Rotary year and just like we set personal goals our District sets goals. Our District Membership goal is 1,895. We started the year at 1,835 members and as November 30th we were at 1,852, an increase of 17. That is super. This is a good time to review your club's membership goals. Does your club have written goals? Are they specific, measurable and attainable?
    At District Conference last fall, we rolled out a great tool, Club Membership Guide for Engaging and Expanding Members. If your club didn't get a copy, contact me and I will get you your copy as well as tools to use it. I'm looking forward to working with all clubs in 2018.
    Happy New Year to all.
Carmen Hansen, District 5610 Membership Chair
carmenhansen@rushmore.com  605-484-6056

District essay contest begins

    It's that time of year again when we think about the District 5610 Four Way Test Essay Contest. This is a great way to spread our Rotary ideals into our communities. The contest involves 6th graders and they are asked to write a 200 to 500 word essay on "How can I apply the Rotary 4 Way Test to my life?" You will be amazed and excited at the perspective 6th graders have on our 4 Way Test.
    You need to find a 6th grade teacher or group of teachers who are willing to participate in this great project. I have found that it is usually easier to approach teachers rather than the administrators as they have so many other issues on their minds. Provide the teacher with the forms found on our District 5610 website, an application, the history and requirements of the contest. When the essays have been written the teachers can narrow down the group and submit their top ten or they can submit all of the essays that they collect to your club. You need judges to determine the top essays and your club can reward a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize if you so choose.
    Then by the deadline of March 15, 2018 you need to submit your winning essay to the district where it will be judged with all of the other club winners. The District 5610 winners will be announced at PETS in April of 2018. The first place winner will receive a $200 check, a certificate, a Four Way Test coin and the chance to read their essay at the District Conference in Vermillion. Second place receives a $100 check, a certificate and a Four Way Test coin while third place receives a $50 check, a certificate and a Four Way Test coin.
     I am hoping that many, many of the District 5610 clubs will participate in this terrific project where we teach young people about what Rotary stands for.  For questions, to submit your winning essay or more information contact Pat Sutliff sutliff@midco.net or 605-718-0559.

Marshall clubs at work

    The Marshall Noon Rotary club recently gave out statuettes of each senior football players. This program honoring senior football players has been a tradition of the club since 1945.
    The Marshall Sunrise Rotary Club presented a check for $2,725.00 to Avera Emergency Room capital improvement and expansion.

District Foundation Month Challenge

    November was Rotary Foundation month and District 5610 did an outstanding job of recognizing contributing during the District Governor’s Foundation Challenge! Clubs donated over $22,577 for the challenge period. We had a number of our District’s Rotary clubs and Rotarians make gifts to the Foundation during the challenge. The results are reported here and recognition will be provided at the District PETS conference in April.
Large club winner was Rapid City Rushmore Rotary with a total of $5,460.    
Midsize club winner was Madison SD Rotary with a total of $1,400.
Small club winner was Wagner SD with a total of $3,850.

    We had a number of individual gifts of $1,000 by Rotarians and by decision of the District Governor and the Foundation Chair we decided to award the Paul Harris Points to the Rotarian who got in their gift first. That Rotarian was our own newsletter editor Linda Peterson who made an electronic gift on November 1 at the beginning of the challenge and the Rotary Foundation month. (Ed. Note: Just following my Club Foundation Chair’s directives!)
    Great job by all Rotarians and thanks for your support of the Rotary Foundation and all the wonderful things that the Rotary Foundation is doing. This may be a great time to look and see what your Foundation is doing around the world at https://www.rotary.org/en/about-rotary/rotary-foundation.
Mike Gibson, District Foundation Chair

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!
 

Rotary Foundation Goal

Foundation giving totals through December 2017 is $55,258. 
We are a little over 27% 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

Community assessments in global grants

    The Global Grants Community Assessment Results form is now available. Starting 1 July, any club or district that applies for a global grant to support a humanitarian project or a vocational training team must first conduct a community assessment and submit the completed results form with its global grant application in the Grant Center.
    Make sure that Rotarians in your club who are planning global grant projects know about this requirement and the many benefits of conducting a community assessment. These assessments:
*  Improve project design
*  Help ensure a project will truly benefit the people it’s intended to help
*  Make it easier to plan a sustainable project
*  Streamline the approval process by reducing the number of exchanges between applicants and the Foundation
    Review Rotary’s Community Assessment Tools to learn about proven methods for evaluating a community’s assets and needs, including community meetings, surveys, interviews, and focus groups.

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.

Defining People of Action stories

    Telling our Rotary story helps the world to better understand who we are: people of action, driven by a desire to strengthen communities, mobilize problem solvers, and find solutions to the tough challenges affecting people around the world.
    Stories about fundraisers, contributions, or international service projects are important and an integral part of what we do, but they’re not necessarily People of Action stories. The People of Action campaign is designed to help better inform our local communities about Rotary and the work we do for the places we call home. To let the rest of the world know who we are, we must let our neighbors know first.
    How do you tell a great People of Action story? A People of Action story connects with people by showing the positive impact we have on our communities. The best way to do this is by incorporating certain elements effectively into your story, such as:
*  A clear focus on a Rotary project in your local community
*   A description of how you or your club identified a challenge
*  An explanation of how club members and others in your community found a solution to the problem
*  A depiction of how your club saw that project through to completion, whether it’s in the works, complete, or ongoing
    Use the People of Action materials in the Brand Center.

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! We want to prepare a visible image of Rotary to grow our membership.
     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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Upcoming Events
District Grants Training
Jan 25, 2018
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
District Grants Training
Feb 17, 2018
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
 
4-Way Test Essays Deadline
Mar 15, 2018
 
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
National Awards Services Inc.
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