Governor's Message - February 28, 2017

Join With District 7910 To Address Opioid Crisis: Together, we can make a difference

By Pat and Skip Doyle

A question that we have been hearing from many parts of District 7910, from many clubs, and from many individual Rotarians , Interactors and Rotaractors, is, "What can we do about the opioid crisis in our communities? Certainly, individual clubs have taken some initiatives.

The Rotary Club of Worcester last year chose opioid addiction and prevention as its major local project. Last December, the Worcester club made a presentation and donation of $41,000 to the City of Worcester to be used by the Health Department to provide education and purchase needed supplies that can save lives. A portion of that donation also went to the Parks and Recreation Department to help keep a couple of schools in high-risk area stay open after hours to provide a safe environment for children to play. This was done to prevent children from getting caught up with drugs and gangs.

The Rotary Club of Hudson is using a District Grant to help the opioid fight in their community. There are at present at least a dozen other clubs with plans to put forth efforts in their communities to help solve the problem.

The Rotary Club of Newton has recognized the need to bring together interested Rotarians, and to that end they are sponsoring a working meeting to exchange ideas on how Rotary clubs in Massachusetts can lead or participate in projects that deal with the opioid-addiction problem in the Commonwealth. Representatives from all clubs and districts are welcome.

When: Monday, March 6, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

Where: West Suburban YMCA, 276 Church St., Newton

Cost: Free - just bring and share ideas

The purpose of the meeting is to bring together the collective works from each club and produce a plan that serves every city and town in the district. We are stronger when we combine our collective energies, efforts and resources. One club cannot make a significant impact on the issue of opioid abuse and drug addiction, but the combined efforts of every club can be a major force in the fight against this disease. That's our message and our goal.

To quote Heidi Heilman, of the Rotary Club of Wellesley, "One of the greatest current challenges of the opioid crisis, is that way too often, despite best intentions, efforts to address it are:

fragmented;
exercised in the silo of an agency or group, which creates duplication and turf issues where groups compete for the limited funding and resources available;
not based on best, evidence-based strategies that yield intended outcomes;
and, not adequately resourced given the scope of the problem.

"Please, let us collaborate to be certain we avoid these issues and dilemmas, land with a strong Rotary response that is highly collaborative with other community stakeholders invested in this issue, and get us the outcome we seek: Rotarians involved in the solution that yields less opiate abuse and addiction.”

Every one of us knows someone who has had their lives changed by this crisis. Meet with fellow Rotarians on March 6 in Newton as together they work to find a solution. We see Rotarians working together for a common goal. What a powerful force.

QuadCon Call

Interactors from all over the District 7910 are getting excited about the Youth Conference to be held as part of the Multi

District Conference - QuadCon, for short - this April in Providence. Check Quadcon web page for updates.

Seeking three trustees

We are now seeking two Rotarians to become trustees of the District Board of Trustees plus one Rotarian to become a trustee of the District Special Fund Board. The need for two trustees for the Board of Trustees is due to an unforeseen circumstance.

Those who applied before are eligible to apply again. For more information, contact us at pwdoyle2@verizon.net and

skipdoyle2@verizon.net.

Six important things to know:

1. The weekly submission deadline for the Newsletter will remain the same: Friday. As usual, text content must be submitted in Word format, and image content, in either JPEG or PDF format. Continue to submit your content to Immediate Past District Governor/Newsletter Editor Jim Fusco at jim.fusco2@gmail.com.

2. Resolutions: The District Resolutions Committee met on January 10 and addressed three changes to the DistrictResolution that will be proposed and voted on at the annual District Business Meeting, to be held during the Multi-District Conference in Providence, on Saturday morning, April 29. For more information on the District Resolutions, contact Resolutions Chair Doug Detweiller (shown, right) at rotary@detweiler.org.

3. District Nominations: The District Nominating Committee is seeking qualified applicants to serve as DistrictTrustee for 2017 to 2019 and District Charitable Fund Trustee for 2017 to 2020. Clubs and club leadership are asked and encouraged to actively recruit and promote service in Rotary through their members' service as district leaders. The deadline for submitting applications was this February 18. All completed applications should be either e-mailed to Nominating Committee Chair Michael Ellis (shown,right) at mellis0144@comcast.net, or mailed to him at: Michael Ellis, District 7910 Nominating Committee, 88 Coburn Ave., Gardner, MA 01440. Postmarked mail after February 18 will not be accepted. To download the Trustee Nomination Form, click here. To download the Nomination Form Supplement, click here.

4. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards: The RYLA Club Pack has been updated and posted on RYLA7910.org. When you

download it, you will notice changes from last year. Please read the material carefully and direct your questions to Christine Pinney, chair of the RYLA Committee,who may be reached at christine@christinepinney.com. The RYLA season has begun and the RYLA Committee is working to make RYLA 2017 the "best RYLA ever."

5. Club Planning Worksheet: To download the Club Planning Worksheet, click here.This worksheet is made available to

clubs so they can gauge their progress in achieving the goals they set last July. This month is a good time to review the worksheet and see how far you have come and how much farther you need to go as a club. You may surprise yourselves and realize that you are well on the way to earning district recognition. We recommend the club president appoint the president-elect to be the "champion" of the Worksheet, and to use it as a guide for the club, and to report monthly to the club's membership and board on the club's progress.

6. As your district governors, we have resolved to:

Revisit as many clubs as possible in the next few months.
Help our clubs achieve the goals they set in July
Do all we can to build membership in the district
Plan a grand event to celebrate our Million Dollar Foundation Journey
"Move the ball forward," in harmony, with District Governor-ElectKarin Gaffney, District Governor-Nominee Steve Sager and District Governor-Nominee-Designate Pamela Anastasi
Celebrate all of this at our Multi-District Conference this April in in Providence