Rotary District 5500 - District News

The district nominating committee representing the 14 regional zones in district 5500 and 5 past district governors, including PDG Tony Brockington, PDG Val Scanlon, PDG Ron Goodsite, PDG Ann Fisher and PDG Sandy Goodsite, nominated Randy Brooks of the Marana Rotary Club as Governor for the 2012-2013 Rotary year.

Randy was selected from list of outstanding candidates. Randy was nominated by the Marana Rotary club where he served as past president, Assistant Governor, GSE Team Leader to South Africa and a member of the Paul Harris Society and the Bequest Society. Randy is currently serving on the District Finance committee and graduated from the Tri-district Leadership Academy in 2009. Randy is a partner in the firm Jorgensen and Brooks and looks forward to serving our district in 2012-2013. He is currently a Rotary Leadership Institute Faculty Member.

Following Rotary International Manual of Procedures and District 5500 Bylaws this announcement serves as the notification to all district clubs.

Please join all of us on the nominating committee in congratulating DGND Randy Brooks.

ShelterBox Responds to Chile Earthquake

International disaster relief charity ShelterBox is responding to the 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake. An initial ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) is currently preparing to mobilize with two SRT members from the UK and one from the US.

The quake struck southern Chile at 0643 GMT on Saturday, February 26, and triggered a tsunami alert in large parts of Latin America and beyond. It caused buildings to collapse in the Chilean capital, Santiago, 200 miles from the epicenter. Hundreds of people are feared dead while thousands of people have been left homeless.

"ShelterBox will respond quickly where needed, as the unfolding news becomes clearer and the scale of need is confirmed. A ShelterBox team is preparing to mobilize at the earliest opportunity. Our thoughts go out to the people who have been affected by this disaster," said Lasse Petersen, ShelterBox General Manager.

Chile's second-largest city, Concepcion, just 75 miles from the epicenter, is likely to be the worst affected, with more than 200,000 people living along the Bio Bio river. The initial earthquake was followed by two aftershocks measuring 6.9 and 5.5 in magnitude. A tsunami warning has been extended across the Pacific rim, including most of Central and South America and as far as Australia and Antarctica.

The quake is Chile's largest in 25 years and Chile's president Michelle Bachelet has declared a 'state of catastrophe' in the country.

"ShelterBox has a critical and focused role in reacting quickly when disaster strikes, and to get the highest quality aid package to those who need it," said Veronica Brandon Miller, Executive Director of ShelterBox USA.

NOTES TO EDITORS About ShelterBoxUSA

ShelterBoxUSA is the US affiliate of an international disaster relief charity specializing in emergency shelter provision. Humanitarian aid is delivered in iconic green ShelterBoxes. Each one contains a disaster relief tent for up to 10 people, a stove, blankets and other items essential for survival. ShelterBox responds to disaster as quickly as possible with the aim of helping the people who are most in need.

Every box is individually numbered and can be tracked by donors. Each box costs $1000, including the cost of all materials, packing, storage, transport worldwide and distribution to the needy.

All aid delivery is undertaken by international volunteer ShelterBox Response Team members who have carried out extensive training with ShelterBox. We are often able to get aid where it is needed faster than any other organization.

An initiative of Rotarian Tom Henderson (Order of the British Empire), a former Royal Navy search and rescue diver, ShelterBox started in 2000 as a project of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard, Cornwall. ShelterBox, now the largest Rotary Club project in the world, has responded to disasters including the Haiti Earthquake, Indian Ocean Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (Burma). In 2010, ShelterBox is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Public donations are vital to ShelterBox USA's continuing work. To make a donation, please call 941.907.6036, or visit www.shelterboxusa.org to donate online and get the latest updates on our response to disasters around the world.

FYI- District 5500 does not have any YE students in Chile this year.

Rotary Leadership Institute March location changed

Due to the impressive response from Rotarians in the Casa Grande, Sierra Vista, Saddlebrooke and Tucson areas for March 20th and the lack of registration from the Yuma area, we are moving the RLI to Tucson March 20. The data is overwhelmingly driving this decision. Trainer Anne Griffen and I will get the change advertised ...Viscount Suite Hotel, 4855 East Broadway, Tucson, 85711. The Tuition will remain $60. Lodging will be available.

This decision was made in light of those who are actively requesting leadership development. I started the RLI data base in 2007 and so I have three years of data. Rotarians who participated in Sierra Vista on Jan. 23 voiced preference for an RLI geographically closer to them.

If at a later time, the Yuma area generates the numbers, we will happily reconsider holding an RLI. Faculty travel and lodging are costly ...the RLI budget has been unable to offer mileage or lodging to faculty so I really feel this decision is best for all concerned.
Registration

Call for Rotary Peace Fellow Applications

The Rotary Foundation invites all districts to submit applications for the 2011-12 Rotary Peace Fellowships. complete applications must be sent to the rotary foundation by

1 July 2010.

Dear Alumni,

In these uncertain times, there is a growing demand for well trained international leaders to promote national and international cooperation and peace throughout their lives, in their careers and through service activities. The challenges of the 21^st century require people skilled in the art of diplomacy, mediation and conflict resolution. The Rotary Peace Fellowship program was developed to meet this very need.

Rotary is seeking non-Rotarian professionals interested in expanding their knowledge in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies and conflict resolution or a related field. Each year, up to 100 Rotary Peace Fellowships (50 master's degree fellowships and 50 professional development certificate fellowships) are offered on a competitive basis at six prestigious Rotary Centers around the world.

Participants in the master's degree program gain access to:

· Two years of Rotary-funded graduate study toward a master's degree at one of our six Rotary Centers

· Training in the root causes of conflict, theories of international relations, and effective models of cooperation, conflict resolution, and negotiation.

· A growing network of committed alumni employed around the world in diplomacy, government, non-governmental organizations and private corporations.

Candidates already working in the field of peace and conflict studies may opt for the three-month professional development certificate program at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Both programs require, at minimum, a bachelor's degree in a related field; 3 years of relevant work experience for the MA program and 5 years for the professional development certificate.

You could be among the next Rotary Peace Fellows. Alumni from the Ambassadorial Scholarship, Group Study Exchange, and University Teachers programs make excellent candidates for the Rotary Peace Fellowship. Thirty-one Ambassadorial Scholars and GSE team members have gone on to become Rotary Peace Fellows.

If the fellowship is not for you, you may know someone who would be an excellent candidate. Please share this information with alumni, as well as business associates, local universities, service organizations, religious institutions, and community groups that may know of individuals interested in conflict resolution and diplomacy. For eligibility and application information, please direct candidates to:

How to apply

Candidates for the 2011-2012 academic term should send their applications to Rotary clubs now.

Contact rotarypeacecenters@rotary.org for further information or click below:

www.rotary.org/rotarycenters

Thank you.

Rotary Peace Centers Department
The Rotary Foundation
rotarypeacecenters@rotary.org

HELP FOR HAITI
PDG Al Chesser, District Rotary Foundation Chair

Our Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator, Brenda Cressey, has produced a great summary of the situation, see below.

Governor Steve has asked that individuals and clubs wishing to donate to the effort do so by sending funds directly to the Donor Advised Fund mentioned in Brenda's letter. The fund will enable relief to be metered as needed over time ... after a reasonable infrastructure has been restored by first responders.

As time goes by there will undoubtedly be additional ways to donate if people want to, but I agree with Governor Steve and RRFC Brenda that the DAF in District 7020 is a great way to help with confidence that aid will go where it is needed.

Appended to RRFC Brenda's letter is an announcement from The Rotary Foundation with links to other information sources. You can read about the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund (Donor Advised Fund) and the Shelter Box effort. I suggest you go to the bottom of the last page and utilize the links you will find there.

Memo from Brenda Cressey
Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund

Message from RI Director Phil Silvers regarding Haiti

Many of you are already responding to the crisis in Haiti, and thank you! This disaster illustrates why all of our districts need to have a Disaster Response organization in place and this is what our REDI Conference in Houston, 5-6 February, will deal with. I have sent you info on this conference recently.

Current Rotary Response

1. District 7020 has Rotarians on the ground, including the DGN and AGs, providing water, food, and rescue operations. Check the D-7020 website if you want to respond through the district Rotarians. We are in communication with them via satellite phones-purchased for this very reason.

2. RIDE John Smarge has just set up a Donor Advised Fund for Haiti in our Rotary Foundation, which you can access later tonight with online contributions. These funds will be used for medium and long-term aid-administered by local Rotarians. Check the RI website by 9 p.m. EST to see what you can do.

3. Shelter Box and Aqua Box both have their kits en route to Haiti-about 400-500 units each-way under what is needed. Check out their websites if you want to contribute online. (For a year and just within the past 24 hours I have been working with Shelter Box CEO Tom Henderson trying to get the U.S. Government to donate two C-130s to support his operation).

4. Rotary has a Rotarian Action Group for Disaster Response (DRRAG). You might want to join this RAG and/or check its website.to keep up to date. Check the www.drrag.org website.

Again, we know that in the face of a disaster, Rotarians won't do nothing. we are going to do something. Hopefully, this email will give your clubs some options.

Thanks for your humanitarian kindness for a people who have been beaten up every which way.

Phil Silvers
RI Director

NEW - Club Runner component to District Website

Starting July 1, 2009 with the start of the 2009-10 Rotary year, the district website will include a link to Club Runner, which has:

A Club Attendance Manager lets all clubs either on Club Runner or not get the attendance to the district secretary
In a format that can be import into the report and forwarded straight to RI.
It has a Profile editor where anyone in the district can edit their own profiles and keep their information up to date without having to send it into district or RI.
Event calendar and any Club Runner club can add an event on their calendar and automatically have it on the district calendar.
It has a club and district directory.
It has an email message service.

To access - click here

Four Way Speech Contest

The club competitions must be completed by January 31, and the regional competitions must be completed by March 20. For the club competitions, having the contest as a club program is ideal, if the time of the meeting works for the students. A club meeting may also work for the regional competition. If not, a Saturday is a good choice. The district competition will be held April 17 at Pima Community College, Northwest Campus.

Club Guidebook 09-10
Participant Guidebook 09-10

Club Visioning in District 5500

Before a club or an organization begins a strategic planning process it needs to have a clear VISION of where they want to be and who they want to be in the future. More than 60 Rotary Districts internationally, including District 5500, now have trained facilitators to lead a group of Rotarians from individual clubs in a vision facilitation process resulting in operational continuity, consistency, and consensus.

Bob Shogren is our District Club Visioning Chair-- Work: (602) 364-2248, Cell: (520) 603-6126, email bobshogren@cox.net and welcomes conversations about Club Visioning and will schedule clubs interesting in completing the process.

Learn more about how it will benefit your club.
Link to May 2008 Rotarian article, "A Plan for All Seasons" pp. 54-57

Rotary District 5500 Visioning Facilitation Flyer

Mission and Vision Statements

District 5500 Visioning Team - Club Visioning Expectations

District 5500 Club Visioning Facilitation - Visioning Facilitators

Frequently Asked Questions for Club Members

Frequently Asked Question for Clubs

Clubs come together to fund educating EMTs in Mexico
Tim Quinn, Community Services Director, Sierra Vista Rotary Club

In November, our club was asked to help fund EMT training in Esqueda, Mexico. By passing the hat the members of the club generously donated over $2000! The graduation ceremony was on Nov 11, 2009, in AP at the police HQ. Rotary clubs from Sierra Vista, Nogales, Benson, Douglas, and Casa Grande supported this project. The training was the next week Nov 18, 2009 in Esqueda. Because of the dedication of these EMT's, Group Mexico has also provided 2 doctors to staff the local Cruz Roja in Esqueda, which otherwise relied on medical support from an hour away. Please check out the video at www.youtube.com/user/ juanchitoyotube?gl=MX&hl=es- MX#p/u/12/8B AdWP_gIz4> and read the attached letter from the Douglas Rotary President.

Dear Fellow Rotarians,
Please accept our deep gratitude for assisting with donations for the Esqueda, Sonora EMT Training. Your generosity, and the grant from Rotary, made it possible for the training of some very dedicated folks from Esqueda, Sonora, Mexico. 26 people made the 1 1/2 hour drive up and 1 1/2 hour drive home every Saturday for many weeks last fall. There was even one woman who came in from Hermosillo, a 3 hour drive one way, every week for this training.

Rotary made this all possible. We want to thank everyone in your club that made this happen. Because of the dedication of these EMT's, Group Mexico has also provided 2 doctors to staff the local Cruz Roja in Esqueda. Esqueda is a small community at least an hour from the nearest medical facility, the number of lives that have already been saved is many! The skills learned last fall have already been put to excellent use.

The local TV station had sent a reporter to the graduation. He made a very lovely video of the graduation and posted it on UTube.. A lot of it is in Spanish, but there's enough English for you to understand how important this project was to this small community. Please follow the link below to view it, and most of all, please tell your club membership how wonderful this project was and is, and what a difference their contribution made to the lives of many, many people, and isn't that what Rotary is all about?

Just a side note, several folks from the Sierra Vista and Agua Prieta clubs attended the ceremony, but arrived after that part of the graduation had been taped. I'm attaching a few photos as a "recuerdo" or a rememberance. Photos are courtesy of Mrs. Lavinia Spivey, wife of our club member Dr. Gary Spivey. She's an excellent photographer! Gary and Lavinia, along with the Shaw's of the Sierra Vista club also attended the graduation ceremony in Esqueda a week or two later. A car wreck had been staged as the graduation exercise. Lavinia took a few shots of that too. I hope you enjoy,

Happy New Year and best regards,
Vicky Merritt
Douglas #1235 President

RI Rose Bowl Parade float wins First Prize

Happy New Year! We were in Pasadena last week and visited the float barn where Rotary volunteers were constructing the float. The float won Volunteer Award, First Place. The float included an oversized fuzzy teddy bear dressed in a doctor's white coat wearing a reflector and a stethoscope to remind the world of Rotary's commitment to eradicating polio worldwide. The parade was spectacular. Sierra Vista West Rotarian Renae Humburg

D5500 Rotarians Attend Rotary Day at the United Nations

Ernie and Sally Montagne, Sierra Vista RC and Sierra Vista Sunrise RC, respectively, and Ann Marsh-Marsten and Steve Marsten, Tucson Sunrise RC, were among 800 attendees from 27 countries gathered at the United Nations headquarters Nov 7 to learn how local level collaboration can foster a more peaceful world.

United Nations leaders representing UNICEF, UNESCO, UNAIDS, the World Bank and other dignitaries educated Rotary members about their agencies, encouraged Rotary-UN cooperation and praised Rotary’s work with the World Health Organization and UNICEF in the global effort to eradicate polio.

Panel discussions led by Rotary scholars, UN representatives and Rotary leaders encouraged discussion on current Rotary areas of emphasis, including water, literacy, health and hunger.

Ernie and Sally were especially pleased to be able to discuss with RIP John Kinney, RIPE Ray Klinginsmith, and Chairman of the TRF Board of Trustees Glenn Estes ongoing water and humanitarian aid projects sponsored by their clubs in Togo and Niger with support from 87 clubs and The Rotary Foundation. They also had an opportunity to meet and be inspired by current and former Rotary World Peace Fellows who are applying their skills in the real world to help promote peace and understanding.

Wilma Mrosek-Moses, Sierra Vista West, Service Above Self

While this is not a Rotary sponsored project, it has all the earmarks of one. The Butterfly Club of Sierra Vista was started by Rotarian Wilma Mrosek-Moses in 2005. The program is called the Butterfly Club, symbolizing the metamorphosis a butterfly goes through as its beautiful wings first emerge and it flutters into the world, facing new-found freedoms by providing wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Funding is provided by Wilma and her mother who provide 10 course meals monthly who support the project by attending..

Dana Cole, writer for the Sierra Vista Herald and wife of Rotarian Rick Shelley, has written an interesting and informative article that is well worth reading. A segment of the KVOA program at 4 pm on Tuesday, August 18, highlighted the Butterfly Club.

http://www.svherald.com/articles/2008/05/18/lifestyle/doc482fc9f11f96a707619638.txt

Thanks to Rotary, villages have clean water

Submitted by Doris Helmich
SaddleBrooke Rotary Public Relations Coordinator

The SaddleBrooke Rotary Club recently completed a two-year project in Ghana, Africa, that provides filtered water for drinking and cooking to more than 10,000 people. The project began as a cooperative effort with a Rotary Club in Ghana in the city of Ho. The two clubs began discussing the most urgent needs of villagers in the Volta region, and members met at the Rotary International Convention in Salt Lake City in 2007.

The Rotary Clubs joined in applying for a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation and succeeded in raising more than $40,000 to build the horizontal-flow sand filter the community so urgently needed.

The SaddleBrooke club received donations from the Marana, Dove Mountain, Oro Valley and Pantano Rotary clubs to meet the application requirements. This project required a substantial design effort, and that was accomplished by the University of Arizona chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

It was a large project for the students, but with some advice from professional mentors, they produced an excellent design. Nearly all materials had to be purchased locally, and the students traveled to Ghana to manage the construction at certain critical points. Filtered water began flowing in May.

The enthusiasm of the villagers around this project is remarkable. Only a few items of machinery were rented.Other labor — including stone chipping of the aggregate for the cement, carrying materials on head pans, digging, bending rebar, and other difficult tasks — was done manually.

The villagers have a simple delivery system of pipes to distribute water to 30 villages. The unfiltered water was not only murky and unpleasant, it was unhealthy, and waterborne diseases were common. The system also relieves mothers and children from water-fetching chores. That allows them more time for agricultural work, childcare and attending school.

Benson Rotary has new meeting place

With the start of 2010, Benson Rotary will hold their meetings
at the Butterfield RV Resort, Benson
located on Ocotillo St. across from the Benson post office
Wednesdays at noon

Gila Bend has new time and meeting place

Mondays at 5:30 pm.
new meeting place is the Gila Bend Community Center.
202 N. Euclid Av.

Bisbee's new meeting place

Their meeting place is Mornings Cafe at 12:05 p.m., every Thursday
The address is 420 Arizona Street, Bisbee, AZ 85603
phone number is 432-5785

Willcox Rotary has new meeting Day

Willcox is now meeting on Thursday noon, at the Elks Club.

Interesting Speakers for Club Meetings

Virginia Diebold Workplace Excellence of Greater Tucson	Contact - 520-352-1224	Workplace Excellence offers a number of awards annually to Tucson's most progressive employers. This program will share how your company can be honored for its innovative ideas and quality human resource practices. www.tucson.com/workplaceexcellence
Marion Hook president of NAWBO Greater Tucson (National Association of Women Business Owners)	innkeeper@aroseinn.com 520-405-3317	Cross cultural communication Interacted regularly with high level individuals from all countries with which the U.S. has diplomatic relations. Worked closely with and for the Department of State “Community Connections” (primarily Russians and Ukrainians).
Greg D'Anna Pima County JTED (Joint Tecnhological Education District)	gdanna@pimajted.org 520.352-5833 ext. 109	Of interested to many Rotarians and would tie in with the vocational component of Rotary
Margaret Higgins, PhD	MargaretHIggins@thehaventucson.org 520 623 4590	Residential centers for women struggling with substance-abuse disorders. www.thehaventucson.org www.casadepalmas.org
Ernie Montagne Sally Montagne	ernie.montagne@cox.net sally.montagne@cox.net	Rotary Making a Difference in West Africa. Fifty-seven clubs and nine districts in six countries provide water, sanitation, and alleviation of poverty to thousands of needy villagers in Togo and Niger, West Africa.
Ernie Montagne	ernie.montagne@cox.net	The Rotary Foundation Annual Programs Fund Subcommittee Chair. The Rotary Foundation 101. Everything you always wanted to know ....
Gary Whiting	gift@giftoflife-az.com	Gift of Life - contact through their email with a couple of suggested dates. Arrangements will be made for a board member to make presentation. Also visit their website www.giftoflife-az.com
Tom Kiley	928-580-7859 tom@hunteremployment.com	The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona - program regarding this AZ Rotary Fund
Jay McCall	520-887-7847 520-909-9375 Cell jmccall415@msn.com	Back to Basics: A provocative look at marketing membership in the second century of Rotary.

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