District News

RI News

2012-2013 District Governor

The District Governor Nominating Committee announces the selection of Rob Stroud of the Rotary Club of Madison to be District Governor for the year 2012 - 2013.
Click here to read Rob's bio.

Haitian Relief

Many of our clubs and members are asking what their response should be to the disaster in Haiti. The Board of Directors of District 6250 met this past Monday to discuss the situation and to hopefully provide some guidance in this matter.

This letter, and that which I received from Rotary International and which is also attached, will hopefully provide you with some answers to your questions.

I have sought the counsel of the Board of Directors, have taken into consideration the RI letter and communications from Rotary International Board Member Tom Thorfinnson and received input from Rotarians from our district who have a history of service in Haiti.

While the immediate situation commands the attention of the world we must understand that the work of rebuilding Haiti is going to be a long term endeavor. After the rush of international aid and attention and after the initial chaos has subsided, the real work of restoring Haiti will begin. It will occur after a methodical assessment is made in order to determine how best to restore infrastructure and address both medical and humanitarian needs. That is when Rotary will do what it does best.

We must also bear in mind that Rotary is not a “first response” organization. When the media buzz has quieted and the powerful images of despair have given way to the next big news story, then is when Rotary will make its presence felt.

Accordingly, it is my recommendation that those clubs who have an overwhelming, and totally understandable desire to provide immediate financial assistance, that they do so through organizations that are recommended in the letter from Rotary International President, John Kenny. I have included at the end of this letter the address for Shelter Box USA as well as the website address where on-line contributions can be made. Our district has supported Shelter Box in the past. I can recommend them.

In taking the longer view of this situation, I will be establishing a Haitian task force as a sub-group of our District Foundation Committee. This task force will seek out opportunities for our clubs and our district to partner with some of the seventeen Rotary Clubs in Haiti and/or the 76 clubs in Rotary District 7020 as it identifies specific needs projects that our district can take on within the foundation grant process. Let me be quick to point out that our Rotary Foundation exists to deal with long term strategies that will improve health, support education and alleviate poverty. Do not make the mistake of looking to far beyond our own Rotary Foundation as you seek out ways of assisting the people of Haiti.  

If you take the long view of this process then you will do your best to insure that your club achieves the goal that you set for support of the Annual Programs Fund of the Rotary Foundation. In three years, when we hit the ground in Haiti, we will have resources available that will allow us to leverage our financial assets to make really significant improvements in the lives of those who survive this catastrophe.

Let me illustrate this point with an example. Lets say that a number of clubs in the district, rather than sending off $500 or $1000 this week, instead identify that sum of money within their balance sheet and do that for a period of three years. A great project is identified by the task force and five of those clubs decide to participate by contributing $3000 each. That $15,000 contribution will be matched by the district and then matched again by the World Fund of Rotary International and then the cash contribution will be matched at the rate of .50 per dollar of cash contributed. The sum total would result in the funding of a $52,500 project and that my fellow Rotarians…that will save lives, change lives and make a difference. This is a single illustration involving, hypothetically, just five of our sixty clubs…this example could occur several times over.

I hope that this letter serves to provide some guidance to your club in its response to what is an overwhelming human disaster. Rotary will be there for the people of Haiti, a year from now, five years from now and beyond.

Thank you for all that you do to make the world a safer, kinder more peaceful place.

Dean Dickinson
District Governor
Rotary District 6250

ShelterBox USA
8374 Market Street #203
Lakewood , Florida 34202

District Incorporation

On July 1, 2009, Rotary District 6250, began to function as a corporation.  Incorporation was made necessary in order to continue, in a timely way,  the Short Term Youth Exchange Program but as in all cases, this legal entity will provide the district, district officers and Rotary International, with another level of protection from legal liability. 

For the most part there will be little apparent change in the way we do the business of the district, except that we will do our business, like a business.  The shareholders of this corporation are the sixty clubs who are the constituent members.  Our clubs literally “own” the corporation. We will convene a business meeting of the corporation at the District Conference on Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 10:30 A.M.  Several very important items of business will be presented.  Later in this year each club will be called upon to identify the voting delegates from their club who will be in attendance at the business meeting.  Proxy voting is not allowed.  Each club is entitled to at least one voting delegate.  A voting delegate represents each twenty five members of the club or “major fraction thereof.”  A major fraction would be 13…so a club of 88-112 members would be entitled to four delegates.  In each instance a “super delegate” will be identified in each set of delegates in order to vote upon those matters which require that there is but one vote per club.

  — Dean Dickinson

Rotary International Monthly Themes

At the most recent Presidents Elect Training Seminar (PETS), one of our incoming club presidents lamented that he knew little or nothing about Rotary aside from that which was a part of the culture of his particular club.  No one in the room took exception to his comment because it struck a cord with a lot of the others who were present.   Most clubs spend very little time exposing their membership to what “Rotary” is about.  When was the last time that you had a “Rotary” program at your club?  To often we schedule programs that serve the best interest of other groups in our community rather than programs that would serve the best interests of Rotary and our identity as Rotarians.  The Rotary story is compelling.  It is a story of an organization unlike any other in the world.  It is based on the principle of “service above self”; an organization committed to making a difference in the world.  If we are experiencing membership issues maybe we should begin by asking ourselves why?  Is it because Rotary has failed to excite us to what is possible or is it because we have failed to take the time to understand what is possible, in and through our membership in Rotary?  I am asking every club in our district to make a concerted effort to provide at least one program consistent with the monthly Rotary theme.  If you have a hard time in generating ideas then please, turn to your Assistant District Governors…they are going to be able to share a lot of great ideas for club programming with you.  Give it a try and see if the general attitude of your members doesn’t improve.  I’m willing to bet that it does.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL MONTHLY THEMES

District Governor Elect Announced

Kristin Duckart of the Wisconsin Rapids noon club has been selected as Governor for the year 2010-11.

Click here to read Kristin's full bio.