Governor's Message - March 21, 2017

Pointing You in the Right Direction

By Pat and Skip Doyle

Our message this week will serve, we hope, to point you in the right direction by providing the information you need to make these last three-and-a-half months of the 2016-2017 Rotary year productive for all of us.

Sign up now for one of the District Membership Workshops near you, this and next week. To find out how to gain and retain members for your club, see the banner ad at the top of this newsletter.
Register now for our Multi-District Conference, on April 29 through 30 in Providence. To register now, see the banner ad at the top of this newsletter.
Save the date for our Million Dollar Journey Foundation Dinner: Thursday, May 25, Mechanics Hall, Worcester. To learn more, click here.

It’s time to celebrate!

The quote, "Be careful what you wish for," comes to mind - along with the ending, “Because you might get it.” We wished for one million new dollars for The Rotary Foundation in 2016-2017, and we got it thanks to the work of our Major Donor Gift Committee under the extraordinary leadership of Chair Satya Mitra.

Join us at our Million Dollar Journey Dinner gala on Thursday, May 25 at Mechanics Hall in Worcester. Let's celebrate Rotary doing good in the world.

Thank you, Satya, and all who made this happen!

What is the Multi-District Conference?

One question we have been asked frequently is, "What is the Saturday, April 29 schedule for the Multi-District Conference in Providence?" We are posting it here, in detail. Our own district's Business Meeting will follow these sessions. Don’t miss these amazing presentations.

To sign up today for the Multi-District Conference, to be held April 28 through 30, click here.

To view the Conference video produced by Steve Kirk (see image, left), president of the Rotary Club of Concord, click here .

9:30-10:15 a.m.: Breakout Sessions 1

Living a Rotary Lifestyle – Rene Pothetes

Getting more from Rotary: Balancing Rotary, your work and your personal life; and, maintaining a healthy Rotary lifestyle: Finding your Rotary passion and tips for being a Rotary spouse or partner.

Peer Leadership and Depression Prevention – Bob Anthony and Nadja Reilly

This Train-the-Trainer workshop on the Peer Leadership and Depression Prevention program teaches Interact teens how to co-facilitate locally theemotional-wellness project, teaching youth group audiences how to help either one's elf or a friend through tough times. This program has been implemented by clubs in Massachusetts, Puerto Rico and India.

How to Attract the 30-Somethings to Your Club – Tarah Warner, Zack Whittenberger and Jason Camuti

This panel discussion will focus of the Three Rs of Rotary Membership by exploring how Rotary club leaders and members can recruit, retain andrecognize people.This session will give you specific ideas and techniques that your club can immediately implement to help get more publicity and help you reach all Rotarians - including a younger demographic.

National Immunization Days 101: Up Close and Personal – Past District Governor Sue Klock and Greyson Schwing

What you always wanted to know but were afraid to ask. We will be describing our experiences in two very different areas of the Rotary world: the Indian subcontinent (India and Bangladesh) and west Africa (Nigeria).

10:30-11:15 a.m.: Breakout Sessions 2

Putting Your Best Face Forward: Public image and marketing – Judith Green, Christine Looby, Laura Spear and Betty Galligan

How can you get beyond the “no one knows Rotary” dilemma? It starts with you and your club, and not just your Public Relations Chair. Every Rotarian is a brand ambassador. Applicable to all Rotarians, learn PR tips and tricks and best practices from our panel of experts who represent our four districts.

Are we serious about youth? - Jason Phillips

Are we prepared to walk the path that it will take youth into Rotary? Prove it. Hear three youth voices that will describe the authentic Rotary progression and journey. What can we as Rotarians do to properly Inspire, engage, empowerand deliver our youth leaders into becoming Rotarian leaders of today. This will be an in-depth focused group discussion with solid action items for districts, clubs and individual Rotarians to act immediately upon.

Understanding Personalities: Gaining Effective Teamwork and Leadership – Bill Domings

This session is an interactive exercise to identify personality styles and how style influences behavior, teamwork and leadership. Participants plot their personality styles and then compare them with research data. The session will include the discussion of the challenges of matching personalities.

Rotary Relates to Alzheimer's/Dementia: the present and the future – Past District Governors Barry Clayman and David Clifton

Rotary Community Corps of Adult Day Health Programs: families living with the reality of dementia/Alzheimer's; taking action against dementia/Alzheimer's - the challenge is real; focus on research, a cure, patients, and caregivers.

QuadCon Call

Interactors from all over the District 7910 are getting excited about theYouth Conference to be held as part of the Multi District Conference - QuadCon, for short - this April 28 through 30 in Providence. Check Quadcon web page for updates.

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 christine@christinepinney.com. The RYLA season has begun and the RYLA Committee is working to make RYLA 2017 the "best RYLA ever." (See RYLA article, right-hand column.)

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 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