Governor's Message - June 20, 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Governor's Message: More Installations for the Class of '16-'17
 
By Jim Fusco
 
Just imagine that on July 1 Rotary will have 35,247 new club presidents, 539 new district governors and one new Rotary International president. What a unique idea for an organization to change leadership every year - and it works!
 
Our district will be installing 51 new presidents and one pair of new district governors. I will be turning over the District Gavel to Pat and Skip Doyle on July 1 - and  I wish them the best!
 
Last week, the installation of club presidents got off to a early start and I was able to attend two installations: Acton-Boxborough and Westborough. Joe Badenhoff of Acton-Boxborough is shown, at right, being installed by Past District Governor Carol Toomey of Nashoba Valley and Geoff Kerr of Acton-Boxborough.                          
 
And, Gerry Gross of Westborough is shown, at left, being installed by District Governor Nominee Designate Steve Sager of Westborough as I look on.
 
Another highlight was at my own club as I installed two new members at Montachusett Area: Michael Gale and Mickey Guzman. Shown, left to right, are: club President Leslie Storrs; me; Mickey Guzman and sponsor Jay Mayo; and Michael Gale and sponsor Ellen Gale.
 
In addition to the installations and inductions, two important committee meetings were held last week. On Tuesday, we launched a new committee designed to help clubs with membership. This committee is called the District Membership Resource Team. Chaired by Tom Sturiale of Framingham, it will be reaching out to the clubs to provide assistance in membership. On Thursday, we formally launched the District Scholarship Committee, chaired by Tory DeFazio of Wellesley. This committee is challenged with the task of promoting all district graduate scholarships that are available - e.g. Morley Scholarship, Peace Scholar, Global Scholarships & UNESCO-IHE Scholarships.
 
Other important things that occurred last week was round two of our District Fellowship Golf League. Last Thursday,  we had 12 golfers. Round three is on July 12, when we tee off at Nashautuc Country Club in Concord. And, Sunday was Father's Day.
 
This week, 16 of our clubs will be installing new presidents. Of course, I cannot attend all of them but I will be installing the presidents at Fitchburg and Montachusett Area and I will try to fit in a few more. Today, we will be holding our monthly Steering Committee meeting as we plan our transition of District leadership. 
 
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards will be held next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, concluding on Sunday with the installation of Pat and Skip Doyle (shown, left) as district governors for 2016-2017. This will be held at the closing ceremony on Sunday at Fitchburg State University, where 188 sophomores will be attending the three-day RYLA event.
 
I have only one more edition of Rotary District 7910 Newsletter to produce. Next week, I will include a State of the District.
 
Foundation Donations: I want to remind you again that all your Foundation donations should be sent in ASAP this week to ensure they get posted for this Rotary year, which ends on June 30.
 
Membership Rosters: Please ensure that you have your membership list accurate and complete because you will be billed by Rotary International and District 7910 for your members of record as of this July 1. (See “RI and District Dues,” below.)
 
District Fellowship Golf League: The next round will be held on Wednesday, July 20 at Nashautuc Country Club in Concord. This event is open to Rotarians and friends of Rotary, so talk it up. If you're interested in joining us on July 20, click here.
 
Facebook is such an important tool for any organization and getting people to “like” our page is important. Reach out to your membership and Friends to have them “like” us. We are slowly growing our “likes.”  When my year began, we had just 465 “likes” and we needed to do better. We ran a Facebook contest from February to April and we are now at 649 "likes" - with the number increasing slowly each week. Plans are in the works for another contest.
 
District Banners:  Our district banners are in high demand so I urge you to put in your banner request early. If you have an upcoming event or fundraiser and want to reserve one of the banners, please contact PR Chair Laura Spear at laura@spear.net. This week you will see our banners on display at Wings & Wheels and at RYLA.
 
Shelter Box: Has your club ever thought about using the District Shelter Box as a PR tool or as a fundraising vehicle? ShelterBox and Rotary InternationalMany clubs have done so and in fact our Shelter Box was on display at last month's annual District Conference in Plymouth and will also be on display at the upcoming RYLA (see above). For hints on using the Shelter Box or to reserve it, click here.
 
RI and District Dues: Don’t forget that Rotary International and District 7910 dues are now based upon your membership data that are in Rotary’s database as of this July 1. No adjustments can be made to the RI or District invoice after they have been issued. I do not want you to end up paying for members who do not continue after June 30, so I urge you to ensure that your membership data are accurate in ClubRunner by June 30. The 2016-2017 officers will not have access to edit these data until July 1, so it is important that the '15-'16 club officers review them. I encourage all club officers to ensure they are registered on My Rotary. To register, click here.
 
RI on YouTube: Did you know that Rotary International has official online-media channels, including a YouTube page? You can find a wealth of Rotary-themed video that can be featured during one of your events. To check out RI's YouTube page, click here.
 
District Conference Photos: Check out the scores of photos by Cheryl Rosen of Hudson Rotary, Rich Prager of Worcester Rotary, Skip Doyle of Northborough Rotary, and me:
District Resolutions: During the Business Meeting portion of the recent District Conference, club delegates approved numerous changes to the District Resolutions. Click here to view the full, revised set of Resolutions, in PDF format.
 
I now have only two more weeks to serve as your District Governor - counting today I only have 11 days left to serve: We have done so much yet there is still so much to do! Thank you for a great year!
 
Jim Fusco, 2015-2016 governor of District 7910, may be reached at  jim.fusco2@gmail.com.