Governor's Message - June 13, 2017

 

 

 

 

Attend '17 RYLA - And Be In For A 'Treat'

By Pat and Skip Doyle

In less than two weeks, we will be celebrating the successful ending of the 2017 Rotarian Youth Leadership Awards weekend - and thinking ahead to 2018. Where did the year go? It seems like just yesterday that we were planning for our installation as governors.
 
Last week, we met with RYLA returning group and program facilitators, core members of the District RYLA Committee and a few volunteer facilitators at this year's RYLA location at Fitchburg State University. We are all so excited about the upcoming weekend, on June 23 through 25.  Our PFs and GFs have begun contacting the 190 students who will be with us.
 
Please take this opportunity to also reach out to the students who are attending from your clubs. Invite them to a meeting, make sure they have rides to and from the conference, and assure their parents that they will be well-taken care of. Most of all, make plans to attend RYLA yourself. If you have never attended you will be in for a treat, our young people are “awesome.”
 
Go to our RYLA website, find the location to sign up, and plan to spend some time with us during that weekend. If the only time you have free is Sunday afternoon, then come to the closing ceremony, congratulate the students attending from your club, engage with their parents, and enjoy Rotary youth at work.
 
We hope to welcome many of you on June 23-25. We want to say thank you in person for all the work you have done this Rotary year.
 
Thank You for Your Support of Our Million Dollar Dinner
 
It is our pleasure to share with you the highlights of our district's Million Dollar Journey Dinner on May 25 at historic Mechanics Hall in Worcester. This was a joyous celebration of the Centennial Birthday of The Rotary Foundation, and of our district having met - and surpassed - the Million Dollar Journey goal of raising $1 million in donations and pledges to the Foundation. We topped $1.3 million, and the new goal is to reach $2 million by June 30, 2018.
 
We would like to thank each and every one of you who attended the special evening. It was an unforgettable event, the likes of which many of us have never seen in our district.
 
What started out as a celebration to honor the 100th birthday of the Foundation and those who had so generously pledged or donated to the Foundation became a celebration of all that the Foundation means to our district. It is almost impossible to single out one part of the evening as a highlight as there were so many.
  • An inspirational speech by Rotary International Director Dean Rohrs, who is also director of Rotary Zone 24/32
  • The international flair of Indian dancers from the Natyamani School of Dance (shown, above)
  • The wonderful jazz ensemble from Joy of Music
  • The historical surroundings of Mechanics Hall
  • The wonderful food prepared by Struck Catering
  • The beautiful birthday cake (shown, below) provided by Concord Teacakes to celebrate not only the birthday of the Foundation but also the birthday of Past District Governor Carol Toomey
  • The district's amazing Million Dollar Journey Dinner Committee that pulled everything together, led by Assistant Governor Satya Mitra and Carol Toomey 
The evening culminated in the surprise announcement of the first named District 7910 Foundation Award: the Ed Hall Outstanding Foundation Achievement Award. It is named after longtime Worcester Rotarian and past district governor Edward C. Hall (shown, second from left, next to District Governor Pat Doyle).
 
Our only disappointment is that so many Rotarians from District 7910 were not able to attend. You missed a wonderful opportunity to join in fellowship with your fellow Rotarians.
 
Our wish is that the next time you are presented with such an opportunity, you will find a way to join us.
 
To view photos of the Million Dollar Journey Dinner, taken by Worcester Rotarian Rich Prager, click here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
To watch video of Dean Rohrs' keynote address, taken by Auburn Rotarian Steve Jones-D'Agostino, click here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
To read the Telegram & Gazette Q&A with Dean Rohrs, click here.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To listen to a radio interview with Dean Rohrs by Steve Jones-D'Agostino,click here.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reminder for Club Presidents, Presidents-Elect and Concerned Members
 
This is a very important message for club presidents, presidents-elect and concerned members of all 51 Rotary clubs in District 7910. All clubs under the leadership of their presidents have two tasks they should absolutely complete before this June 30.
 
The first one is a district-related task. It is time for you to finish up your Club Planning Worksheets. Throughout the year, we hoped that you would use these sheets to first plan your year and then check to make sure you were on track to having a successful year. Now, it is time to review the sheets with your club, make corrections, and add new information.  You should have this completed by June 15,  you have until June 30 if there is any additional information you would like to add. When completed, you should send the form to Past District Governor Klaus Hachfeld.
 
Why would you want to send the form along to Klaus? you might ask. The answer is this: It gives the district a snapshot of what our clubs have done throughout the year. But beyond that, the district has a tradition of awarding plaques,  patches, certificates and a special district bell to clubs that have earned them during the year. In the past, these awards have been made at the District Conference. This year, since the deadline for completion of the worksheet was extended to the end of June, the awards will be made to the individual clubs at special club events. Please contact your assistant governor for help in completing this task.
 
The second task stems from a Rotary International request. Every club is eligible to receive the Presidential Citation. In order to receive this award, a club must fill out the information requested on Club Central - which will be posted there during the first week of June - by June 30. Our goal is to have 100-percent club participation from our district.  Please help us come closer to our goal. Assistant governors will be giving you a call to see how you are progressing, and to offer help in completing this task.
 
Four important things to know:
 
1. The weekly submission deadline for the Newsletter is 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. 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 chair@ryla7910.org. The RYLA Committee is working to make RYLA 2017 the "best RYLA ever." Be sure to sign-up to volunteer. In this issue's "RYLA Right Now," read more.
 
3. 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.
 
4. As your district governors, we have resolved to:
  • Revisit as many clubs as possible by this June 30
  • Help our clubs achieve the goals they set last July
  • Do all we can to build membership in the district
  • Plan a grand event to celebrate our Million Dollar Journey
  • "Move the ball forward," in harmony with District Governor-Elect Karin Gaffney, District Governor-Nominee Steve Sager and District Governor-Nominee-Designate Pamela Anastasi
 
District Governors Pat and Skip Doyle (shown, right) may be reached
 
Click here to submit content for the Tuesday, June 13 issue. The submission deadline for this issue is Friday, June 9.