What did the participants of last years District Training Assembly have to say?

"It was fantastic" . . . "I learned a lot"

"It was a good time" . . . "It was enlightening"

"I wish all our club committee chairs had attended, and will make that recommendation this year"

"You never have enough opportunities to learn something"

Register now for the 2015 District Training Assembly

It's a great opportunity to meet fellow Rotarians, share successes and challenges, and forge a practical strategy with your fellow club-members to ensure future success.

Think of an iceberg. What is above the water line is what you see in people. This is the “doing” part of leadership. The little things that are demonstrated by the actions of leaders.

What is below the water line – and is so much bigger – is the “being” part of a person. These are the values and the character of a leader.  Similar to an iceberg, these things are not visible but they are the foundation of leadership.

-- excerpt from "10 Secrets of What Great Leaders Know and Do" by Stan Phelps, Adobe Marketing Cloud

Be sure to check the monthly issue of Rotary Leader for practical tips and best practice stories.

Dozens of families throughout Mecosta County enjoyed a Thanksgiving Day feast thanks to the efforts of Rotarians from Big Rapids who are carrying on the work started by Bob Sinclair, a beloved member of the Club that passed away in 2009.  The project, which provided dinners to just 10 local families during its inaugural year in 2007, expanded to support the needs of 79 families in 2014.   And the quantity and variety of food delivered to each family not only provided for a complete, traditional Thanksgiving Day celebration, there was plenty of food for the families to enjoy leftovers for many days to come.

The project is funded in part by members of the Club, who throughout the year donate to the project at the Club’s weekly meetings.  With $1600 collected from Rotarians, and support for the project from local retailers Meijer, WalMart, Walgreens and Save-A-Lot, the positive impact the Club is making on the lives of their neighbors is tremendous.  “There will always be a need.  We’ll never be able to fill the need,” said Ben Montgomery, president-elect of the Club and event organizer.  A great tradition being carried on in memory of a fellow Rotarian.

To learn more about the project, contact Ben Montgomery at ben.montgomery22@gmail.

Read more from the local PIONEER newspaper.

The Rogue River Region clubs have often collaborated on projects both local and internationally. This fall the presidents challenged each other in friendly competition to raise funds and collect food for those in need as part of the District-wide THREE SQUARES service project. Participating clubs were Cedar Springs, Comstock Park, Rockford and Rockford Interact, and Sparta. The results?

7,368 lb. food collected

$2,622 funds collected

<Click Here> for all the fun photos and continue reading for a recap of their project.

This past year was one of major accomplishments for Rotary and your Rotary Foundation. In 2013-14, we worked strategically to serve our communities now, while ensuring Rotary’s ability to serve even more effectively in the future: with more members, more vibrant clubs, and a stronger Rotary Foundation. 

I’m pleased to share with you an advance copy of our 2013-14 Rotary International and Rotary Foundation Annual Report (click here)

Every Rotarian is a link in a chain that stretches back 109 years, to the days of Paul Harris. And every one of us knows that the more we give to Rotary, the more it gives back to us — in friendship, in new experiences, and in the joys of service. In the pages of this annual report, you will see the many ways that you, and Rotarians around the world, have chosen to change lives through Rotary.

As we look ahead, we can be proud of all we have accomplished. I encourage you to review our annual report carefully and to share it with others who may be interested in joining, partnering with, or giving to Rotary.

Thank you for your continued support and for helping Rotary change lives in your community and around the world. 

John T. Osterlund
General Manager
The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International

Headed somewhere for more than 2 days? 

Turn that water heater to low or off. Cumulative savings this year is $25-50 depending on how often you are gone (weekends, vacations, south for the winter).

Remember to send some of your savings to the Foundation at rotary.org/give

Please :-)

Interesting facts about our sixty, District 6290 Clubs:

• 47 have an established website, a decrease of 4 in the past year (primarily smaller clubs)

• 46 have a Facebook presence, an increase of 3 in the past year (well done Big Rapids, Kalkaska and Stanton)

Clubs joining Facebook range in size from 16 to 51 members. 

During the past year, many of our clubs on Facebook have seen significant (e.g. 2x) gains in the numbers of people following them. We follow every club in the District--these increases directly align with greater posting frequency and improved interest e.g. catchy photos/videos. 

How can your club make it easier to support/grow your Facebook presence?

Did you see the great article in January issue Rotarian "The Talent Around the Table: Wayne Koppa"? Please take a few moments to read this wonderful account detailing Grayling Rotarian Wayne's "Coast to Coast the Hard Way" ride from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Key West which, with the generous support of District 6290 Rotarians, raised over $100,000 for PolioPlus. (Note, this includes generous donation in memory of PDG Bob Gandolfi, as well as 2:1 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation match.) Well done Wayne, and thanks once again to everyone that supported.

We are THIS CLOSE to ending polio!

The entire continent of Africa has not had a case of polio since August, and Nigeria, one of the last three polio endemic countries in the world, had its last case in July. Learn more.

Don't forget that the District will match your PolioPlus donation 1:1 (up to $250) with recognition points to get you closer to your first/next Paul Harris Fellow. Learn more.

Check out the latest Polio news

2014 major milestones

A two day Young Professionals Summit, held by Rotary International in Chicago in September, gave 32 Rotary leaders ages 25 to 40 the opportunity to share their thoughts about their experiences, reflect on their stories, and exchange ideas.

• Learn how to hold a similar event
• Read about one young professional’s experience at the summit​

​Don't forget to mark your calendar for the upcoming Membership Matters Webinar "Simple Steps to Innovate Your Club" scheduled Wednesday, February 4th at 11am (eastern).

Sign up for Rotary's "Membership Matters" eNews

On December 16, the Montague-Whitehall Rotary Club celebrated with a Youth Exchange reunion. The Club has been very active in the Youth Exchange program and invited nine recent exchange students to celebrate along with the two current inbound students and the four candidates to be Outbound students next year. 

Participating clubs throughout our District often host terrific programs and activities with our Youth Exchange students. If you're not currently active in Youth Exchange why not start working with a neighboring club that is? Not sure who they are? Continue reading . . . 

Greetings Fellow Rotarians,

On January 1 we stepped into the second half of our work together.  Last July we started a number of worthy efforts to advance the Objects of Rotary in our communities and our world.  We have a lot to be proud of because we are Lighting up Rotary together. While we should rightly be proud of what we have begun, our job is not done. Thankfully we have 6 more months to complete what we began.

Four central objectives, for which each of us has some responsibility, make up the centerpiece of our second-half Rotary lives:

1. Membership Growth through retention and recruitment.  There really is no more important job to complete this year than to end this Rotary year with positive membership growth in every club. District Training Assemblies, President Elect Training Seminar (PETS), the District Conference (May 1-3), the District Newsletter and other resources will bring new ideas, exposure to best practices and tools you can use to insure YOUR club finishes the year in the positive numbers. Success, however, will only be ours if we actively step up recruitment and improve retention. Please help by making it YOUR responsibility to contribute.

2. Make a significant financial statement about our commitment to the eradication of polio by reaching the District goal of donating $125,000 to End Polio Now. We have a number of incentives and rewards to sweeten the pot and make it easier for you and your club to contribute just a bit more this year than last. Check ‘em out at www.ridistrict6290.org. Join in with your own contribution and help finish the job by 2018.

3. Set a firm financial base for next years’ service projects by reaching the requisite $75 per capita giving to Rotary Foundation Annual Fund this year. There are lots of ways to cross this threshold that can be fun and financially rewarding. There is plenty of time to get this done so don’t wait till June. And most importantly don’t leave next year’s leadership team without access to matching grant funds. These funds can leverage your club’s service projects by 2, 3, and even 3 ½ times.  It is a waste not to have these funds available for your projects. The time for focus on this is NOW.

4. Insure next year is even better than this year by actively encouraging and helping next year’s officers be ready to take office on July 1, 2015. This can only happen if you offer to help your successor by actively showing what needs to be done, how to get it right the first time and encouraging them to go to all the training offered.

And before we move on, let me wish everyone a very happy and healthy New Year. It is a privilege serving as your District Governor while we do our work Lighting up Rotary together. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

* All numbers reported through 12/31/2014

During the upcoming  year, the District newsletter will be released on the 1st of each month. The deadline to submit materials is the 20th of each month. If you have an example of a 'best practice' or have other great news to share, please complete our 'Club News' submission form (found at www.ridistrict6290.org under Public Image, or in the FAQ section in our monthly newsletter). Electronic photos are encouraged. Please try to limit your submission to 300 words or less.