Governor's Message: What A Great Month It Has Been
 
By Jim Fusco
 
What a great month it has been and we are still 11 days from January - and 2016! While many clubs will not be meeting over the next two weeks because of the holidays, I know you all will continue to be our Gift to Rotary as well as our Gift to the World!
 
Last week, I again had a full week. On Monday, I attended the Athol-Orange club’s Holiday Party. On Wednesday, I attended the Auburn club’s Scholarship Presentation and Membership Installation, during which three Auburn college students were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship and I had the privilege of installing Liberty Tax as a Corporate Member. On Thursday morning, I attended the Montachusett Area club’s Holiday Breakfast, and for lunch I traveled to the Brookline club’s weekly meeting to bestow Paul Harris recognitions on four of their members. I wrapped up a busy week on Friday in Fitchburg, I was ringing the bell for the Salvation Army.
 
As for many of you, this will be a quiet and fun week for me as I travel to Chappaqua, New York to celebrate Christmas with my entire family. I will be back on Monday, December 28 - ready to hit the ground running again.
 
By now, most of you must know that the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards has changed locations and next June it will be held at Fitchburg State University instead of at Worcester State University. Congratulations to Christine Pinney and her committee for the hard work they did to find this great venue. I am looking forward to RYLA in June 2016.
 
I wish you and your family Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! Please note: There will be no newsletter next Monday, December 28 because of the holidays. Our next newsletter will be sent on Monday, January 4. The submission deadline for that issue is Friday, January 1.
 
District Conference 2016 in Plymouth - Reminder: It is hard to imagine, but your annual District Conference to celebrate your Rotary year is only 150 days away and registration is openTo registerclick here. Please check out the fun in the informative "Plymouth Rocks" video that Assistant Governor Richard Simon has produced to promote our District Conference. To watchclick here or on image at left.
 
 
Slate of Officers – Reminder: Every club should be thinking about who will lead your club for 2016-2017. Each club should have created its Slate of Officers for next year. Your slate should be approved by your Board of Directors and presented to your club membership for a vote prior to this December 31 so please assure that your selection process is underway. Once the selections have been approved, they need to be entered in Rotary.org and in District Club Runner. Your assistant governor would help you, if necessary.
 
Club Planning Worksheet - Reminder: I have requested every president to use this worksheet as a tool to guide them to a successful year. One of the important ways to make this tool work is to appoint a "champion" to monitor progress and to report progress to the Board of Directors and the membership on a monthly basis. If you have not yet put this into place, then please do so. For a copy of the Worksheet, click here.
 
District Banners - Reminder: All of you have seen our district PR banners being displayed at club and district events. To reserve one of those banners, contact Laura Spear, who chairs our district's Public Image Committee, at laura@spear.net.
 
Rotaract Advisor Training - Reminder: I feel that training is extremely important. With this in mind, we will be holding a Rotaract Advisor Training Seminar on Monday, February 8 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Framingham State University. Additional details, which are being arranged by District Rotaract Chair Carl Gomes of the Rotary Club of Nashoba Valley, will shortly be finalized.
 
Thank you for being part of a great organization and for being a Gift to the World.
 
We will have a great year! 
 
Jim Fusco, 2015-2016 governor of District 7910, may be reached at jim.fusco2@gmail.com.