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Governor's message
Seeking to Change Destructive Dynamics of Opioid Crisis
By Pat and Skip Doyle
Last week, we visited a joint meeting of the Rotary clubs of Hudson and Northborough (shown, below) and were sharply reminded of the opiod crisis that is facing our state and our Rotary district. Speakers for the evening were Erin Holmes of Learn 2 Cope, and Kathy Leonard of the Marlborough Substance Use Prevention Coalition. They shared their personal experiences of losing children to opiods. Joining them were Jason Webster, principal of Quinn Middle School in Hudson, Paul Sullivan, president of the Rotary Club of Newton and therapist Jeff Levin, speaking to the problems our young people experience in school such as anxiety, depression and drug abuse.
Our comments today are not about the presentations, as good as they were, as much as they are about the discussions, which began at our tables during dinner and continued throughout the evening. These discussions were very personal and got to the heart of the feelings that people have about this crisis. The question came up more than once, "Is there anything Rotary can do to help with a solution?" While we do not believe that we as individuals have an answer, we do believe that the collective resources of Rotary might be able to come up with some ideas.
Already, we have heard of individual Rotarians - to name a few, Richard DeVito, Heidi Hellman, Jon Fetherston, Roy Balfour, Christine Guthery, and Paul Sullivan - who are putting plans together to get Rotary involved.
A quote from the draft of a statement from the Newton Rotary states: "However, the part of the iceberg we cannot 'see, below the waterline, consists of mounting stress, pressure, and disconnection in our kids, schools, communities, and even ourselves, which are causing the symptoms that we all see. This is what our coalition seeks to repair and thus reduce the dramatic and dangerous negative choices our kids are making.
"With Rotary leading the way through communication and fundraising, we seek to change these destructive dynamics, school by school and town by town."
If you feel inclined to join this growing movement, contact any of those members mentioned here or contact us at any time.
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 member
s' service as district leaders. The deadline for submitting applications is 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.
s' service as district leaders. The deadline for submitting applications is 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." (See RTLA article in right hand column)
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 RTLA article in right hand column)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.
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
GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE PAGE (in case you want to share a link to this article)
District Governors Pat and Skip Doyle (shown, right) may be reached
at pwdoyle2@verizon.net and skipdoyle2@verizon.net, respectively.
Click here to submit content for the Tuesday, January 31 issue. The submission deadline for this issue is Friday, January 27.
Remember to ask ... ask ... ask!
REMEMBERING OUR ROTARIANS
Alphabetical order, by last name
John Morse, Westborough
John "Jack" Morse (shown, left) was apast district governor - serving District 7910 during the 1996-1997 Rotary year - and a past president of the Rotary Club of Westborough. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Rotary Club of Westborough, P.O. Box 903, Westborough, MA 01581. DISTRICT SCHOLARSHIP DEADLINE, MARCH 15
Applications Sought for David and Eleanor Morley Endowed Global Grant Scholarship
To learn more about the Morley Scholarship, click here.
To download the Morley Scholarship flyer in PDF format, click here.
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CLUB MEMBERSHIP GROWTH, ’16-‘17
We share with you the results of club-membership growth in our district during Rotary year 2016-2017, which began July 1.
This is a unique opportunity for Rotarians and friends to discuss partnering on humanitarian projects affecting our local communities.
DISTRICT & CLUB ROunds
Our DGE Meets Rotary's PE at RI Assembly in San Diego
District Governor-Elect Karin Gaffney (shown, right) got to meet and pose with Ian Riseley (shown, middle), president-elect of Rotary International, and his wife, Janet Riseley (shown, left) during the 2017 RI Assembly, held from January 15 to 21 in San Diego. The Riseleys hail from Australia, where they are members of the Rotary Club of Sandringham.
Rotary's annual training meeting gives district governor-elects the chance to share ideas for strengthening clubs and improving communities with Rotary leaders from around the world. Keynote speakers and informative presentations inspire and prepare the DGEs for 2017-2018 Rotary year, which begins July 1, to lead their districts successfully. Idea exchanges, roundtable discussions, and workshops introduce them to new ways of creating positive change.
To learn more about Ian Riseley, click here.
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Bob Anthony (shown,left), chair of the District Interact Committee, is visiting new Rotary friends from January 24 through February 10 in Goa, India. He has been invited to briefly present at the Rotary District 3170 conference there. One of that district's clubs, Hubli East, partnered with the Rotary Club of Wellesley, of which Bob is a member, through a Global Grant to implement the Peer Leadership and Depression Prevention project. To watch a two-minute video on the project, click here. Basically, the project delivers train-the-trainer on a Boston Children's Hospital curriculum to educators and, eventually, to Interact peer leaders. To learn more, click here.
Our Interact Chair in Present in India
Bob Anthony (shown,left), chair of the District Interact Committee, is visiting new Rotary friends from January 24 through February 10 in Goa, India. He has been invited to briefly present at the Rotary District 3170 conference there. One of that district's clubs, Hubli East, partnered with the Rotary Club of Wellesley, of which Bob is a member, through a Global Grant to implement the Peer Leadership and Depression Prevention project. To watch a two-minute video on the project, click here. Basically, the project delivers train-the-trainer on a Boston Children's Hospital curriculum to educators and, eventually, to Interact peer leaders. To learn more, click here.To learn more about Interact, click here.
Multi-Club Power Play
Needham Teams Up with Framingham, Newton, Waltham and Watertown on India Solar-Power Project
The Rotary Clubs of Needham, Framingham, Newton, Waltham and Watertown have partnered to fund a $6,000 solar-power project (shown, left) for Film Nagar High School in Hyerabad, India. The host club there is the Rotary Club of Jubilee Hills, in District 3150.
Needham paid $3,000 of the $6,000 - $1,500 of which should come back as District Grant match. Watertown, Waltham, Newton and Framingham paid $500 each.
To learn more about:
- Framingham Rotary, click here
- Jubilee Hills Rotary, click here
- Needham Rotary, click here
- Newton Rotary, click here
- Waltham Rotary, click here
- Watertown Rotary, click here
Acton-Boxborough Sponsors Six High School Students for RYLA
The Rotary Club of Acton-Boxborough has sponsored six sophomores Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, to attend the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference to be held June 24 to 26 at Fitchburg State University.
Left to right: Anthea Bell, of Boxborough; and Lindsey Huang, Aditi Sirsikar, Juliana Walsh, Anna Wu and Jerry Wu, of Acton.
To learn more about Acton-Boxborough Rotary, click here.
Auburn Teams Up with FAME for Music & Wine Event to Benefit Education on March 17
Join the Rotary Club of Auburn and Friends of Auburn Music Education for theor 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Music & Wine Event. The festive celebration will take place on Friday, March 17 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Pakachoag Church, 203 Pakachoag St. in Auburn.The event will feature professional oboist Lydia Consilvio of Auburn, and a faculty recital by the Auburn Public Schools' Fine Arts Department.
Click here, to purchase tickets via PayPal for $35 per person for the main Music & Wine Event from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - which includes hors d'oeuvres and wine.
To learn more about Auburn Rotary, click here.
Bedford Gears Up for April Meal-Packing Event
Members of the Rotary Club of Bedford were recently invited to speak with Rod Brooks, president and CEO, and the Marc Vermouth, New England program manager of Stop Hunger Now. Held at the Red Heat Tavern in Bedford, the meeting was in recognition of Bedford Rotary’s enduring (annually since 2013) and successful meal-packing programs (more than one-quarter-million total meals packaged to date) in the Bedford area assisted by other Rotary clubs and industry partners. Rod Brooks congratulated and thanked Bedford Rotarians for their efforts, and revealed expanded directions for Stop Hunger Now, including water, agriculture and educational programs to combat worldwide hunger. In the next few weeks, Stop Hunger Now will announce a new global branding and logo to reflect this focus.
For 2017, Bedford Rotary has secured the morning of Saturday, April 8 at Middlesex Community College (Bedford 
Campus) for this year’s exciting meal-packing event. The club plans to have again multiple Rotary club and industry partners, including BAE Systems as the major corporate sponsor. If you are interested in joining this year’s event, please contact this year’s chair, Past District Governor Bob Cassidy, at rac011846@comcast.net.
Campus) for this year’s exciting meal-packing event. The club plans to have again multiple Rotary club and industry partners, including BAE Systems as the major corporate sponsor. If you are interested in joining this year’s event, please contact this year’s chair, Past District Governor Bob Cassidy, at rac011846@comcast.net.Shown right: During Bedford Rotary's 2016 meal-packing event, volunteers from Rotary, industry and nearby communities had fun fighting world hunger, with assembly lines running from raw rice, in the foreground, to packaged boxes, in the background.
To learn more about Bedford Rotary, click here.
Sturbridge Speaker Cara Battersby to Put Astronomy in Perspective
Hudson, Nashoba Valley Brewfest Showcased in Rotary Magazine
The Rotary clubs of Hudson and Nashoba Valley were showcased in the "Brewfest" section of the January issue of the Rotary Magazine.
To read the first page of the article (shown, left), in PDF format, click here.
To read the second page of the article (shown, right), in PDF format, click here.
To learn more about Hudson Rotary, click here.
To learn more about Nashoba Valley Rotary, click here.
Sturbridge Speaker Cara Battersby to Put Astronomy in Perspective
The Rotary Club Sturbridge will have Dr. Cara Battersby (shown) as its program speaker on Monday, January 30 at the Publick House in Sturbridge. She is a distinguished researcher on star formation within our own Milky Way galaxy, has taught and presented her research all over the world, and has given numerous presentations to open audiences, including children. Sturbridge Rotary invites interested members of your club to hear her speak at its regular club meeting, which will begin at 6:00 p.m. Cara will present her material in a way that puts astronomy in perspective.
For more information, contact Past District Governor Klaus Hachfeld executive secretary of Sturbridge Rotary, at laserklaus@gmail.com.
To learn more about Sturbridge Rotary, click here.
Dedham Publishes Cookbook: Get your copy now
Hot off the press is the first Rotary Club of Dedham Cookbook! It features 420 recipes from Rotarians and their families across the U.S. and some from far away as Russia. Special dishes featured come from the kitchens of all Americans - great ethnic foods, desserts and beverages.
The Cookbook cover features a full-page color photo of the MIT Endicott House in Dedham, where the club meets on Thursdays. This fundraising Cookbook is available for $25, plus shipping. You may purchase it at DedhamRotary.org, or by contacting Past President Sandra Nelson at skintelligence1@gmail.com. Happy New Year - and bon appetit!
To learn more about Dedham Rotary, click here
Southborough Looks for Talent
The Rotary Club of Southborough is looking for talented performers from fifth grade to adults to participate in the 17th Annual Talent Show, to be held Friday, March 10. Auditions will take place Monday,January 23 starting at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Trottier Middle School, located 49 Parkerville Rd. in Southborugh.
For more information or to schedule an audition, contact eitherRachel Bartolomei at rbartolomei@nsboro.k12.ma.us or Jessica Dimitrov jdimitrov@nsboro.k12.ma.us.
To learn more about Southborough Rotary, click here.
Uxbridge Present Student Scholarships
At the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Uxbridge on January 3, members, parents and students gathered as scholarships were presented to seven high school students.
Left to right: Zachary Ells and Michael Tourony, of Douglas High School; Angela Eppelet, of Whitinsville Christian School; Uxbridge Rotary President Linn Doll Butler; Keryn Moriarty, of Uxbridge High School; and Samantha Tackett-Marvill and Jillian Shenian, of Northbridge High School. Not shown: Taylor Walsh, of Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical School.
To learn more about Uxbridge Rotary, click here.
Westborough Inducts Neil Bock as Newest Member
Left to right: President Gerry Gross, Member Peter Gardner, Neil Bock, and District Governor-Nominee Steve Sager
To learn more about Westborough Rotary, click here.
Wellesley Video Promotes Peer Leadership and Depression Prevention
Six members of the Interact Club of Wellesley are shown posing recently with Ramnath Subba Siddi (second from left) and Wellesley Rotarian Bob Anthony (fourth from left), chair of the District Interact Committee. Ramnath, from Yellapur, India, was visiting the U.S. Bob founded a non-profit called Adolescent Wellness Inc. that helped with some related projects for Ramnath.
To learn more about Wellesley Rotary, click here.
To learn more about Interact, click here.
Westborough Thanked By Big Brothers Big Sisters
Harold Pinkham (shown, middle), a member of the Rotary Club of Westborough who works at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Mass./Metrowest, recently thanked the club for its support of the BBBS’ Winter Celebration event, which took place in December at Westborough High School. The club gave $500 to BBBS in support of this longstanding event that brings “Bigs” and “Littles” together for a day of fun, learning, gifting and celebration. Westborough RotariansDave Kaiser and Steve Sager, who is also district governor-elect, were acknowledged for their participation in the event.
Left to right: Westborough President Jerry Gross and Giving ChairBetsy Moquin present Harold Pinkham with the club’s donation.
To learn more about Westborough Rotary, click here.
District Interact Committee Seeks Entries for January Interact Video Contest
Deadline is January 31
Northborough-Southborough Interact is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Northborough. To learn more about Northborough Rotary, click here. To learn more about Interact, click here.
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Bay Path Interact is sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Auburn and Southbridge. To learn more about Auburn Rotary, click here. To learn more about Southbridge Rotary, click here. To learn more about Interact, click here.
Westborough Uses PayPal to Raise Nearly $2,000 for Polio Plus
We are all well aware that The Rotary Foundationis celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2017.Steve Kirk, president of the Rotary Club of Concord, has produced a five-minute video that outlines our own district’s fundraising goals for the current Rotary year, which ends next June 30.
To learn more about The Rotary Foundation, click here.
Video of Governor Baker's District Rotarian Address Now Available
The Rotary Club of Billerica has provided a video of Governor Charlie Baker's address to District 7910 Rotarians on September 27 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bedford. To watch the two-hour-47-minute video, click here.
The Rotary Clubs of Bedford, Billerica, Lowell, Newton and Shrewsbury sponsored the event, which was a unique opportunity for Rotarians and friends to discuss partnering on humanitarian projects affecting our local communities. To view event photos, click here.
Meet Tatsuya Hayase, Our Rotary Scholar
To Have Tatsuya Speak to Your Club, Contact Indira Desai
Left to right: Newton Rotarian Chris Chu; Rotary Scholar Tatsuya Hayase, his wife, Marie Hayase, and their son, Yuto Hayase; Host Counselor Indira Desai, immediate past president of Newton Rotary; Newton Rotary President Paul Sullivan and his wife, Monica Sullivan; District Scholarship Chair Tory DeFazio, a Wellesley Rotarian; and Newton Rotarians Tony Bibbo and Tom Keery.
A Great Fundraising Idea for All Clubs
Milford Distributes '16 Tab to 13,000 Homes - Record sales, 94 photos, 334 smiling faces
To read the Milford RotaryTab, click here.
Planning to attend? Contact District Chair Steve Glines.
To learn more, click here.
To register for the 2017 RI Convention in Atlanta, click here.
District Banners Available
Our district banners are available for your use when you have an upcoming event or fundraiser.
If you want to reserve one of the banners, please contact PR Chair Laura Spear at laura@spear.net.
MAJOR DISTRICT & CLUB HAPPENINGS: WINTER 2017
Saturday, January 28: Brookfields - 'Murder Mystery Dinner'
For more information, contact Lynn Duffey-O'Shea at 413-262-8783 or President Chet Lubelczyk at 508-867-3203.
Click here to download event flyer
Saturday, March 11: Uxbridge - 'Wine and Chocolate Tasting'
Click here, to visit and "like" our Facebook page
Click here to download event flyer
Wednesday, March 15: District 7910 - 'Deadline for Morley Scholarship Applications'
To learn more, click here
To download flyer in PDF format, click here
Friday, March 17: Auburn - '2017 St. Patrick's Day Music & Wine Event to Benefit Education'
To learn more, and to buy tickets for the Main Event, click here
To download event flyer in PDF format, click here
SUBMIT MAJOR CLUB HAPPENINGS
Send flyers of your club's major events and activities, in eitherJPEG or PDF format, to Immediate Past District
Governor/Newsletter Editor Jim Fusco at jim.fusco2@gmail.com.
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