August 12, 2010

PRESIDENTIAL MUSINGS

As Rotarians we make a daily choice to spend some of our time giving back to our community, raising awareness about issues that aren’t necessarily in the headlines. Fortunately, though, we don’t have to invent the wheel Even clubs of our size around the world are showing us how it is possible to be both small and mighty.

“In the past nine months, the residents of Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia, have learned a lot about polio and the global effort to eradicate the disease. Led by the town’s Rotarians  they’ve also given a lot back. In September the Rotary Club of Bribie Island embarked on Project Eradication aimed at raising A$1.00 (about US $0.80) for each one of the community’s 19,490 residents. Over the next several months, the 25-member club organized a raffle, a children’s coloring competition, wine sales, monthly  food markets, a movie night, an Australia Day Ball, a golf day and a 10-kilometer fun run/walk. Local newspapers were briefed about the effort in advance and agreed to publish monthly feature articles about the vents.” You can read the full story at ...

http//rotarybalanga.org/wordpress/small-club-scores-big-with-end-polio-effort/.

Three things strike me about this effort: (1) This Bribie Island chapter was able to do a lot even with a small membership roster; size does’t have to matter. But (2) just like a guided missile they had a vision for what they wanted to accomplish and why it was important to them; and (3) they got publicity while the were doing their projects. Their light wasn’t hidden under a bushel and the contagious excitement they generated was channeled so the non-members knew about what the club was doing and had incentive to join in.

South Gateway Rotary can match these Australians’ success. At the Board meeting we are to hold after this Thursday’s meeting on August 12, SG Rotary officers will spend some time refining our message and figuring out what we can do to make our light shine and in the short run, to raise our chances of a smashing success in our upcoming Corn Roast!

This week’s speaker is Bonnie Bazata who will help us learn about the great work being done at Bridges Out Of Poverty. Don’t miss it Let’s all build our community together!

Kane Brolin

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DUTY ROSTER

August 12, 2010

• Greeter - Nikki Hutchinson
• Invocation - Mike Tinny

ANNIVERSARY IN JULY

- August 2 - Jerry and Ann Longerot
- August 11 - Emee and Robert Miller
- August 12 - Anthony and Kathy Byrd
- August 19 - Steve and Charlene Eslinger

BIRTHDAYS IN JULY

- August 13 - Steve Eslinger

PROGRAMS

• August 12—Bonnie Bazata: Bridges Out of Poverty
• August 19—Visit by District Governor, Steve VanScoik
• August 26—Jean Parrin: Ivy Tech Workforce & Economic Development
• September 2—Kay Clark-Cox—South Bend Medical Foundation Blood Bank

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IMPORTANT REMINDER 1

It is a new Rotary Year and your club dues need to be remitted to our Treasurer Penny Shepard as soon as possible. Please recall that your Board of Directors voted at the June Board meeting to increase the dues from $130 to $140.

IMPORTANT REMINDER 2

August is here and there are four Thursdays in August. Be prepared to pay your $40 meal to Treasurer Penny Shepard as soon as possible

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AUGUST IS MEMBERSHIP MONTH

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August 21^st Ancilla College

Your District leadership tries very hard to assist local clubs grow in members. Without members and new blood, a club and the district suffer.

District 6540 is holding a Membership Seminar on August 21^st at Ancilla College from 9 AM to Noon…Coffee and rolls at 8:30 AM.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Any member of this club including club officers, President, Secretary, Treasurer and Board Members.

WHY SHOUD YOU ATTEND?

1. Get some sure-fire ways to grow membership in our club.
2. Learn how other clubs do it.
3. Learn ways to publicize our club’s activities and get more community exposure for our club.
4. Learn new ways to prospect for new members.

HOW DO YOU REGISTER?

Tell the President Kane Brolin you want to go—he will make the arrangements. Car-pooling is a distinct possibility.

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August 5, 2010

PRESIDENTIAL MUSINGS

Not long ago, Assistant Governor Christine Pochert visited South Gateway Rotary. Following the general session that day she visited with the Board of Directors and gave us a candid impression of our chapter’s strengths and weaknesses. What she presented was a good news/bad news finding. The good news is that we really are a mighty club in spite of our small size and we continue to accomplish and promote noteworthy positive change in our community. We have just added Diana Hess and Travis Hamel as new members and some of our most recent members—Nikki Hutchinson, most prominently –have taken on leadership roles with creativity and gusto. The bad news? Barely anyone outside of South Gateway Rotary knows any of this.

Rotary International’s founder Paul Harris wrote that our success must depend on more than just the one-to-one recruitment of new members: “In the promotion of understanding, it is important to reach large numbers, non-Rotarians as well as Rotarians and you cannot reach large numbers privately.” When you come to the August 5^th South Gateway assembly, you’ll get much more than a delicious lunch. You’ll get to learn about some techniques that we as a small, mighty club can use to reach the masses in our community in an effective manner that doesn’t break the bank, all courtesy of our guest presenters John Kurdelak and Jamie Stowe of the locally owned copywriting firm Write Smack Dab, LLC. And when you come, don’t forget to pick up your set of corn roast tickets. And don’t just write us a check from your own account: sell them to people who need to get to know the Rotarians in our neighborhood!

Want some more inspiration about PR? Visit the official RI public relations page at ...

http:www.rotary.org/en/Members/Runninga ClubInforming The Community/Pages/ridefault.aspx

Recently our Past President Emee Miller chose to earmark a $1000 gift from our club in her name to RI’s Polio Plus campaign. Ever wonder how much good this is doing? One of Rotary’s leading benefactors, computer industry pioneer Bill Gates, recently has visited Nigeria and he has seen first-hand the impressive progress we are making toward stamping out polio there. Thousands of members just like you and me have stepped up matching the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s $355 million contribution with $141million of our own and the eradication of polio from Nigeria is tantalizing close to becoming a done deal! See http://www.rotary.org/en/mediaandnews/news/pages/100728_news_gatesblog.aspx  for details.

Many hands make light work.

Kane Borlin