Important Note: Deadline for district newsletter submissions is the 25th of each month. The newsletter will be distributed by the first full week of the month.
District Governor's Message
October Theme is Vocational Service
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Dean Dickinson |
Dear Rotarians,
The Rotary theme for October is “vocational service.” Of the Four Avenues of Service, Vocational Service likely causes the most scratching of heads…what in the world is “vocational service?” Club service, community service and international service are fairly easy to understand but vocational service? As we do our work, Rotarians reflect the motto of Rotary, “service above self”. Regardless of our professions or vocations, our success is measured in terms of how well we serve.
From The Object of Rotary - The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
Each of us in our own way, in our chosen occupations, seize the opportunity to serve society. I would submit that Rotarians serve better than most because we are guided by that wonderful set of rules for our behavior promulgated by Herbert Taylor in 1932 and adopted by Rotary International as the Four Way Test of the things that we think and say and do.
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
Rotary is an ideal, a model for a life worth living, a philosophy of life based not on exploitation but on service, based not on “what’s in it for me but what can I do to help.
God bless you for all that you do, in and through “vocational service,” and may God bless all that we do in and through Rotary to make this a better, safer and kinder world.
Yours in Rotary,
Dean Dickinson
District Governor
Rotary District 6250
Literacy and Health and Hunger
Of all of the needs that exist in this world are there any that have a greater impact on the lives of people than their health, nutrition and the ability to read? It sounds so obvious and in a country where everyone should have enough to eat, access to health care and be literate, there is, in fact, a significant part of our population who have needs in these areas. This is a call to anyone in the district who would be interested in serving as a district representative to the Zone Literacy Committee or Health and Hunger Committee. Please be in touch with District Governor Dean Dickinson at logan63@aol.com or by phone at 608-397-5888 if you have an interest in further service in Rotary in these important areas.
Yours in Rotary,
Dean Dickinson
District Governor
Rotary District 6250
District News, Events and Announcements
District to Offer Club Vision Planning
District 6250 will be offering clubs in our district the opportunity to go through a club vision planning process. Rotary International has endorsed a process called Club Visioning created by Steve Wilcox, a successful businessman who wanted to bring his business planning experience to help Rotary Clubs function more effectively. Clubs in other districts where this service is being offered have found it to be extremely helpful.
The first step is to create a pool of trained vision facilitators and this training date has been set for October 24, 2009 in Wisconsin Dells. The training is limited to 30 Rotarians. Once the training is completed, any club in the district can ask to participate in a Club Vision Planning event. A team of four trained facilitators will then work with that club.
Trained facilitators that become part of District 6250's Club Vision Team will assist clubs in identifying their own vision, mission, and values as a club. The Club Vision Team walks clubs through a planning process that prepares the club for greater, more effective service as Rotarians. Training as a vision facilitator will not only help you lead clubs through the planning process, but it will also have application in your own business or other community organizations.
One can pay a lot of money for this kind of training in the business setting, but our district will cover the cost for all those selected for training. It is expected that if you are trained, that you will be willing to participate as part of a four-member vision facilitation team for interested clubs in our district. Because 30 vision facilitators will be trained and work in teams of four, this will not require more than 15 hours of any one person’s time in the course of a year. Clubs that choose to participate in a Club Vision Planning will host that event, which is only four hours long. Club Vision Planning events will not begin before January, 2010.
This is a call to those who may be interested in being trained to serve as a Club VisionFacilitator. The training will take place on Saturday, October 24 th in Wisconsin Dells and will last approximately six hours. Training will be conducted by internationally recognized and certified trainers from the International Vision Facilitation Committee of Rotary International. This program has proven effective as a method for strengthening clubs and growing membership.
The District Club Visioning Committee is chaired by DGN Chuck Hanson. Members of this committee include DGE Kristin Duckart, PDG Hal Keitel, Darla Leick, and Tom Mickelson. If you have any questions, please contact any member of the committee.
Interested Rotarians within District 6250 are encouraged to apply for this training by completing the Club Vision Facilitator Application. You can find the Application by clicking here. Completed applications should be sent by e-mail to rotarydistrict6250@morgandata.com or faxed to Morgan Data at (608) 204-9818 no later than August 31, 2009. Selection for this training will be announced by September 17, 2009.
Foundation and Membership Seminar - November 7, 2009
Save this important date:
Foundation and Membership Seminar - November 7, 2009
Wilderness Territory – Glacier Canyon Lodge Conference Center
45 Hillman Road, Wisconsin Dells, WI
800-867-9453
Saturday, November 7, 2009
8:00am -3:00 pm
Get energized about the work of The Rotary Foundation!!
Charge up your club’s membership growth efforts! Theme “25-45-Facebook-Retention”
Draft your next grant in support of your club’s local or international projects.
Train your club’s Membership Chair and Rotary Foundation Chair.
Develop a club plan to raise funds for The Rotary Foundation.
Develop a plan to recruit/retain the 25-45 year old age group- Use Facebook if appropriate.
Send as many club members as you want-FREE of CHARGE
Your District Membership and Foundation teams are planning a dynamite seminar for your edification and enjoyment.
Click here for program details and registration information.
For more information contact:
- Tom Mickelson, District Membership Chair, 608-516-9414, mickelson@gdinet.com
- Mary Kessens, District Foundation Chair, 608-516-1306, Kessens@gdinet.com
Invitation to Rotary International Convention - Montreal
As your next District Governor, I’d like to personally invite you to join your fellow
Rotarians from around the globe at the Rotary International Convention being held in June of next year. Montreal Canada will host this exciting event that is sure to offer a multitude of wonderful experiences. If you’ve not been to an International Convention before, this is one not to be missed. Montreal is as diverse and rich in culture as Rotary is. Check out this link to watch a brief video that provides a sneak peak of all that Montreal has to offer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fsfKldeDFg
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For more information visit the Rotary website http://www.rotary.org and click on the convention logo. B y participating in an RI Convention, you’ll gain a broader appreciation of Rotary’s global impact and strengthen your commitment to service above self. This celebration of Rotary fosters fellowship, creates learning opportunities, and helps attendees experience the scope and power of Rotary. You’ll go away with a whole new understanding of the internationality of Rotary and the significant difference Rotarians have made through projects around the world.
Please take a look at the article below provided by the Rotary Club of Menomonie. They are organizing a trip and have invited all District 6250 Rotarians to join their travel plans.
Kristin Duckart
Rotary District 6250
District Governor Elect
Additional Training Opportunity for Club Youth Protection Officers in the Northern Sections of District 6250
The Rotary Club of Menomonie (noon) has scheduled a Club Youth Protection Officer training session with Mike Ripp, District Youth Protection Officer on Wednesday, October 14th in Menomonie, from 5 pm – 7 pm at Westconsin Credit Union’s east office (3333 Schneider Ave.) in Menomonie. The Club invites members who need to be trained from your club to join us. To register, please email Assistant Governor Sandy Ott at sandyleo@wwt.net.
Club Youth Protection Officers are reminded to check the Youth Protection portion of the District 6250 website for the latest information regarding the process for background checks and policy updates. The website can be accessed via this link:
http://www.rotary6250.org/district/youth_protection.shtml
Group Study Exchange Uruguay - A Wonderful Opportunity
District 6250 is again offering an outstanding opportunity for residents of our District! We are currently looking for a team leader and team members to travel to Uruguay from April 24th through May 23rd, 2010.
Uruguay will be sending a team to our District during the same time period and this will offer many Clubs in the District an opportunity to host the team for several days. More information will be available in the near future.
The exchange will focus on Agribusiness and each participant must in some way be connected to that profession. Agribusiness careers include such areas as: dairy, animal husbandry, farm implements, education, seed production, genetics and much more.
The team leader must be a Rotarian and there are no age restrictions.
Team members must not have a direct lineal relationship to any Rotarian.
Team members must also be between the ages of 25 and 40, must be employed and/or live in District 6250. They must also have been gainfully employed for the past two years. All participants must be involved in the Agribusiness industry.
This is truly a fabulous opportunity for anyone who is interested in learning more about Agribusiness careers. Expenses are extremely minimal as Rotary pays for the flight, lodging and much more.
THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS FOR THE URUGUAY GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE IS NOVEMBER 1ST!!! INTERESTED APPLICANTS MUST SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATIONS ON OR BEFORE THAT DATE TO:
TOM MARSHALL
GROUP STUDY EXCHANGE CHAIR
541 WITTER STREET
WISCONSIN RAPIDS , WI 54494
715 423 1921 or 715 213 3046
Tom@webmonger.net
Club News, Events and Announcements
Do you have an upcoming Club Event or accomplishment that you would like to announce? Send your pre-written article to: rotarydistrict6250@morgandata.com.
Journey to Montreal in 2010 with Menomonie Club
Are you planning on attending the Rotary International Convention in Montreal?
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Please consider joining the Rotary Club of Menomonie in this journey to experience Rotary camaraderie at its best. Make new friends from District 6250. After the Convention, cruise with us to Boston. For more information contact Sandy Ottsandyott@charter.net
Rotarians at Work - Clubs Announce Projects
Our clubs are being asked to identify a community service project that they can complete on the first Saturday in May, 2010.
The latest clubs to announce their projects are The Marshfield Rotary and Sunrise Rotary Clubs. They will collaborate on a local park clean up project.
Remember, the first 500 Rotarians to sign up will receive a “Rotarians at Work” t-shirt. Sandy Ott, immediate past assistant governor and a member of the Menomonie Rotary Club is chairing this event. You can expect to be hearing from her.
A posting of clubs that are participating can be found on the Club Projects & News page of the District Website.
Member Clubs Calendar
In our District website, at the top, a listing for “Member Clubs”. Within that listing there is a club calendar. The clubs of the district are invited to post into the calendar those events that might be of interest to other Rotarians in the district. Are you doing a fundraiser? How about a golf outing? Maybe your club is observing a chartering day event.
You can post these events by sending an e-mail to rotarydistrict6250@morgandata.com along with contact information.
Best Practices of Successful Clubs
Rotary International has developed a “club leadership plan” that is recommended for the administrative structure of our Rotary clubs. The plan is not mandatory, not arbitrary and certainly is flexible as our clubs conform themselves to this set of best practices of effective Rotary Clubs.
What are these “best practices?”
Set annual goals that support long-range goals
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Make sure that all club members feel involved and informed
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Keep the lines of communication open, in the club and with the district
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Ensure continuity of leadership from year to year
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Provide regular fellowship opportunities
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Attend regularly training opportunities that at offered
The clubs that are enjoying a high level of success in our district are those whose members take advantage of training opportunities. The District Foundation/Membership Seminar is set for November 7 th in the Wisconsin Dells. This seminar is going to prove to be invaluable to those who attend. I have seen the agenda and the vetting of both foundation and membership issues will provide wonderful tools for strengthening our clubs.
You may have heard about the Club Vision Facilitation Training that is scheduled for October 24 th…We are fully subscribed to the 30 training slots that were available. 30 of our fellow Rotarians, representing nearly a third of our clubs, will be participating in this training, or as I prefer to call it, Performance Enhancing Exercise, (PEE!). The district will be offering a “club visioning” opportunity after the first of the year to those clubs who think that developing a club strategic focus would be a benefit.
Successful Rotary clubs participate in training…how successful is your club?
Rotary Lights Run/Walk
Runners and walkers…you are cordially invited to participate in the third annual Rotary Lights run-walk. Rotary lights is a holiday display with over 2 million lights and is set in the Riverside Park at La Crosse.
The run-walk event will be held on Sunday, December 13 th with registration beginning at 3:00 P.M. and the start of the race set for 4:00 P.M. This is set up to be a wonderful family event. The entry fee is $10 per person or $27 for a family. Registrants will receive a Rotary Lights ski hat and a goodie bag in addition to the refreshments and fellowship that await the participants at the finish line.
The event will be featured in the December issue of Runners World magazine providing national coverage of Rotary Lights, the run-walk event and the great work that Rotarians are doing throughout the world. Dr. Ben Wedro, the event chair, guarantees amazingly good weather and the District Governor has declared that Rotarian participants will be entitled to a make-up.
Further information is available at www.RotaryLightsRun.org and the opportunity for on-line registration will be available shortly.
Rotary Winter Wonderland Receives Major Gift
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The Marshfield Rotary Foundation announced today the receipt of a major gift--$167,200 from the estate of an anonymous donor. The gift establishes an endowment fund to benefit the Rotary Winter Wonderland program over the next 20 years.
Rotary Winter Wonderland, a holiday lights display launched four years ago, raises funds and collects food donations from visitors who walk or drive through Wildwood Park and Zoo in Marshfield during the holiday season. Decorated with thousands of lights and displays, Rotary Winter Wonderland is open to the public from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Since its inception, over 90,000 food items have been distributed to area food pantries.
Rotary Winter Wonderland is a collaborative effort of the two Rotary clubs in Marshfield. Rotarians from both clubs have teamed up with hundreds of community volunteers and groups to decorate and staff the park to provide a welcoming holiday atmosphere with lights and displays.
Marshfield Rotary president Steve Yorde said, “This is the largest gift ever given to Rotary in Marshfield. It’s a real tribute to the family’s desire to do something positive for the community while meeting a basic human need faced by people who are hungry. This gift recognizes the generosity of those in our central Wisconsin communities who see the need and provide the donations, not to mention the hard work of both clubs, community volunteers and groups who devote so many hours toward decorating and staffing the park.”
Rotary Winter Wonderland’s chair Shannon Nienast, added, “This gift is a huge statement about the family’s values, and their sincere desire to support the community. They have our utmost admiration and respect.”
“It is very uplifting to work with such a humble and generous family,” said Al Nystrom, president-elect of Marshfield Rotary. “We promised the family that we will be good stewards of this gift. We hope this inspires others to support our endowment. The need to keep this project going is even greater due to the state of our economy.”
The Marshfield Rotary club is in its 90 th year of service to the community; Sunrise Rotary was established in 1993. Marshfield Rotary meets at noon on Mondays and Sunrise Rotary meets at 7:00 am on Thursdays, both at Clearwaters Hotel and Convention Center. Together, both clubs have given and raised funds for numerous community and international projects, including Polio-Plus, a world-wide effort to eradicate polio.
For further information, call Al Nystrom at 715-486-3024 or check out www.rotarywinterwonderland.com.
Rotary Club of Chippewa Falls Organizes Trip to Bolivia
The Rotary Club of Chippewa Falls has been involved in international humanitarian projects in Latin America for over 21 years. Our primary focus has been in Nicaragua and Bolivia as these are the poorest countries in Central and South America respectively.
We are now working with the Rotary Club Tunari of Cochabamba Bolivia on clean water projects in Bolivia. One project has been completed and another is in progress. The Eau Claire Noon Club and the Menomonie Noon Club are working with us to support the current water project in the village of Sivingani. We welcome additional partners on our current and future water projects as well.
The Tunari club has a great record of working with foreign clubs on humanitarian projects. They are honest, many speak English, know the RI process of grant applications, have a great need, and follow through to get the projects finished properly and within budget.
We are inviting Rotarians to join us March 23-April 1, 2010 for "A project preview and cultural expedition to Bolivia". This will be a unique opportunity to see current projects and plan future programs for your club. Complete information can be found on our web site at www.chippewafallsrotary.org.
Please feel free to call me (o. 715-723-7175) or Andrew Dane (c. 715-226-1347) if you have further questions. For travel information please call Linda Schmick at Travel Leaders in Chippewa Falls. Her number is 800-826-6644.
Sincerely,
David Crane
President Elect
Rotary Club of Chippewa Falls
RI News
Rotary International Places 2011-2012 President Candidate in Nomination
The nominating committee of Rotary International has placed in nomination to be the president of Rotary International in 2011-2012, Rotarian Kalyan Banergee, the Rotary Club of Vapi, Gujarat, India. An industrialist, he has been a member of Rotary since 1972. If the nomination stands, Banergee will be the third President of Rotary International from India. He will succeed Ray Klinginsmith, of Missouri, USA who will serve in 2010-2011.
Member Access to RI Website
Do you have questions about what you can find on the Rotary International website and how you go about getting access. Check out this fact sheet with Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the RI site.
Update on Annual Giving
Foundation Reports
Each club in District 6250 has established a foundation goal and the question is how are the clubs going about the achieving those goals? Have each of the clubs done an every member enrollment? Successful clubs take the time to ask each member to make a pledge commitment to the Rotary Foundation. Fulfilling that pledge might involve a quarterly billing by the club secretary/treasurer or participating in the direct deposit transfer from the Rotarians checking account to the RI Foundation account or it might mean a monthly charge to a credit card. Successful clubs establish a process that allows their members to both make and fulfill the commitment.
Click here to view the updated Club Goals Report!
Attendance Report
New Reporting Tool for District Attendance
Check out the new reporting tool for District Attendance for 2008-2009. http://www.rotary6250.org/clubs/monthlyattendance.shtml Clubs can view each month’s attendance in a visual graph. Also Club Secretary’s can request access to update their information directly online!
A big THANK YOU goes out to District 5340 for sharing this web functionality!
Click here to submit your club's attendance report
Click here to see the full Attendance Report.
