Page 1 District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2 Page 6 District Governor John Salan and Helen Salan thesalans@sbcglobal.net Inside this issue: Rotary Club of Petoskey Pedals to Eradicate Polio Clean Water for Dominican Republic 3 Bio sand Filters 4 Rotary Club of Grand Haven Raffle 5 GSE Success Story 6 Visit Norway! New Feature: Club Corner Membership & Attendance 8 Special Dates to Remember August Membership & Extension Month August 2009 Volume 1, Issue 2 2 7 7 John s Journeys and Other Ramblings I began my Governor s year by attending the International Convention in Birmingham, England. What a moving experience to see the International aspect of Rotary up close and personal. Helen and I had the privilege of having lunch with President John Kenny and his wife, June, at the President Elect s Leadership luncheon which was certainly a highlight of the convention for us. As this newsletter goes to press, I have completed visits to ten clubs in District 6290. The week of July 27 th, Assistant Governor Mike Bugyra and I made the Great White North club tour (the U.P. and Ontario). We visited some great clubs with great leadership, who are doing great things. At the Soo North club, we presented a Governor s Citation to super Rotarian Joe Ruscio, who recruited twenty-four new Rotarians in one year. Great work Joe! I spoke at clubs from the north shore of Lake Huron to the eastern shore of Lake Superior. I can tell you from what we saw and learned that all is well north of the Big Mac Bridge. This month I went to Grandville, Grand Rapids East, White Cloud and Rockford. These clubs have dedicated and motivated Rotarians who are actively engaged in pursuing the goals and objectives of Rotary. Well done to all of you! D.G. John While in the Soo on the Great White North Club tour, DG John and AG Mike Bugyra visited the statue of Herb Taylor, creator of the Four Way Test.
Page 2 District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2 ROTARY CLUB OF PETOSKEY PEDALS TO ERADICATE POLIO (Petoskey, MI) - Later this month, the Rotary Club of Petoskey will sponsor a fundraising event to assist in polio eradication efforts worldwide. The event, Pedaling for Polio, will occur on Saturday, August 29th. Local Rotarians and their families will be riding a distance of their choice, mostly along the Little Traverse Wheelway, and seeking sponsorships for their participation. The club has their sights set on raising $2,000 during the course of the ride. Pedaling for Polio demonstrates the Rotary Club of Petoskey s commitment to eradicating polio, said John Scholten, President of the Rotary Club of Petoskey. We are fortunate to have our health and live in such a wonderful part of the world where we can enjoy recreational activities, such as riding our bikes along the Little Traverse Wheelway, he said. Pedaling for Polio is one way our club can help those less fortunate who are dealing with life-threatening diseases, such as polio. Rotary Club of Petoskey President John Scholten (from left) and Rotarians Terry Newton, Nick White and Dianne Litzenburger get ready for the August 29 Pedaling for Polio fundraiser on the overlook on the Little Traverse Wheelway which was funded, in part, by the club. The Rotary Club of Petoskey has strong ties to the bike path in the Petoskey area. In 2007, the club donated $10,000 to the City of Petoskey for the overlook along the bike path which is located between Magnus Park and the newly renovated and reopened East Park. The overlook is an ideal stopping area for those using the path to sit and take in the view of Little Traverse Bay. A bench, picnic table and bike racks adorn the overlook. We can tie together Pedaling for Polio with our enjoyment of the bike path, Scholten said. The bike path is such a wonderful resource for our community and ties so much together health, recreation, tourism and the beauty of northern Michigan. Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Petoskey also have a long history of its commitment to eradicating polio. In 1985, Rotary International created PolioPlus, a program to immunize all the worlds children against polio. Since 1985, Rotary has contributed $700 million and countless volunteer hours to the protection of more than two billion children in 122 countries against polio. Since its inception, PolioPlus has reduced the number of cases of polio by more than 99 percent and the number of polio-endemic countries has fallen from 125 to four. Additionally, in 2008, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation awarded the Rotary Foundation a challenge grant in the amount of $100 million. Over the course of three years, Rotary International will raise $100 million towards polio eradication efforts, each dollar to be matched by the Gates foundation. Local Rotarians will be soliciting individual pledges within the community in the coming weeks. However, to support Pedaling for Polio and the Rotary Club of Petoskey in their efforts to eradicate polio worldwide, you can pledge a rider by contacting past President Dianne Litzenburger at 231-330-2444. Alternatively, you may also send a check to Petoskey Rotary Charities, a 501(c)3 organization, at PO Box 61, Petoskey, MI 49770 and indicate Pedaling for Polio in the memo line. Visit us on the web! www.ridistrict6290.org Rotary International District 6290 214 S. Beacon Blvd. Grand Haven, MI 49417 Phone: 616 935 9559 r.i.district6290@tds.net Fax: 616 935 9564
Page 3 District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2 reprinted from Rotary World, July 2009 issue
Page 4 District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2 Bio-sand Filters reprinted from The Rotarian, August 2009 Bio-sand filters got their start in the Dominican Republic in 2000, when inventor David Manz and Canadian doctor Jan Tollefson trained technicians to build the filters in a project sponsored by the Rotary Club of Calgary Chinook, Alta., Canada, with support from The Rotary Foundation. But it was in 2002, when in a chance meeting Tollefson showed Hildreth and Jim and Susan Bodenner, of the Rotary Club of Rockford, Mich., USA, a bio-sand filter in action that the technology really took off. Intrigued by the simplicity of the design, they decided to try the filters out in a small project in Puerto Plata. When they got back to Michigan, the Bodenners recruited clubs to go in on a $10,000 bio-sand filter project, with the caveat that each participating club would send a Rotarian to the Dominican Republic to see the filters for themselves. They ve since led nearly 200 Rotarians and 14 trips, each creating Rotarian advocates who return home evangelizing the virtues of the filters and then raising the money to install even more of them. Every time after that first time, people coming back who hadn t been on the trip before had the same feelings that Jim and I did: I wish others from our club would see it, I ve changed, I totally understand, Susan Bodenner says. Meanwhile, Hildreth spread the bio-sand filters to other Rotary clubs in the Dominican Republic, which went on to lead their own projects once they tried out the technology and saw how communities embraced it. Today, he s the District 4060 water resources chair and works closely with other Rotarians such as David Crow, who coordinates water project grants for the district. One offshoot of the Bodenners involvement in the Dominican Republic was their initiation in 2005 of the annual Thirsting to Serve conference, which brings together water experts and Rotarians to talk about water issues. It s at the most recent one, held in February in Grand Rapids, Mich., that I meet up with the Bodenners and other Rotarians who work in the Dominican Republic. Terry Allen and Charles Jespersen are two of them. Nicknamed the Water Boys, they met when Jespersen, a member of the Rotary Club of St. Joseph & Benton Harbor, gave a talk about the filters at Allen s club, the Rotary Club of Lakeshore (Baroda- Stevensville-Bridgman). Only acquaintances before, they now share a business card. Allen and Jespersen have built foam replicas of the bio-sand filters, prepared PowerPoints and DVDs, and given more than 120 presentations to Rotary and Interact clubs, schools, and church groups. If we can save kids, whatever is involved, we ll save kids, Allen says. The original bio-sand filters used in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere have been made of concrete. Manz, who made the cement filter technology available free to anyone for humanitarian purposes, also held a patent on a plastic version, and the nonprofit International Aid acquired the license. (Jim Bodenner is director of water initiatives for the organization.) There are benefits and drawbacks to each. The cement filters can be made through local microenterprises, providing jobs in the country. But there are few people who make them in the Dominican Republic, limiting the speed at which the project can expand, and therefore the number of people who have access to clean water. The cement filters also weigh 300 pounds, which makes them difficult to transport into remote areas. Rotarians working in the Dominican Republic through the Children s Safe Water Alliance have been turning increasingly to the plastic version because of its portability and mass production potential. At the Thirsting to Serve conference, Jim Bodenner announces plans for the first distribution center for these plastic filters (called HydrAid filters) in the Dominican Republic, which will make them accessible in-country to Rotary clubs, churches, and others carrying out bio-sand filter projects. District 6360 (Michigan) committed to donating $40,000 of the projected $125,000 cost of the center; Interact District 5170 (California), is committing another $50,000. We need to scale up this technology, Bodenner says. You re going to have 8,000 kids die today from waterborne diseases. And there s no organization in the world that can reach out and have a global reach to do this besides Rotary. Who else is going to do this?
Page 5 District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2 Want to learn some handy tips on using ClubRunner? Visit http://iloveclubrunner.blogspot.com/
Page 6 District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2 Edward Kaminski, GSE Chairman It was some time ago, but many of you will recall an appeal throughout the district for financial support for a project in Turkey that involved the purchase of a mammography machine to screen women who otherwise would not be tested because they had no social security. The machine was to be installed at a clinic in Izmir, Turkey and staffed primarily by professional Rotarians, either retired or working on a pro bono basis, who would be donating their time and expertise. Treatment, once a problem was discovered, would then fall under the Turkish health care program. Members of the Gündoğdu Rotary Club at the official dedication ceremony in November, 2008 The project surfaced as a result of contacts made in 2004 when District 6290 sent a Group Study Exchange team to District 2440 in Turkey. The Rotary Club of Gündoğdu in Izmir had conceived of the project and had already gotten cash commitments from several other Izmir Rotary Clubs as well and some District 2440 funding. But mammography machines are expensive and they needed an international partner to qualify under the Rotary Foundation s Matching Grants program so they could procure it. In January 2006 they asked District 6290 to be that partner and we agreed to do so. The Montague-Whitehall Rotary Club, home club of our district s 2004 GSE team leader, was willing to take the lead for the project, but there was no way this medium-sized club could come up with the over $20,000 that was needed without a lot of help. The district s World Community Affairs Committee thought enough of the project to designate it as an International Service Project and expressed a willingness to commit District Designated Funds for it. With this backdrop of support, and the fact that virtually everyone has in some way or other been touched by the awfulness of breast cancer, it seemed to be an ideal opportunity to approach the entire membership of the district for help on a club-by-club basis. That is what we did. The outpouring of support throughout the district was marvelous. Clubs contributed, members contributed, friends of members contributed, and in the final analysis we collected a total of $26,000. This amount, along with monies from our Turkish counterparts and the matching funds from The Rotary Foundation, was sufficient to purchase and install the machine. Gündoğdu Rotary Club President Gülfem Perçin showing the Machine as it now appears District 6290 recognition plate The unit is now up and running at the Cinarli Health Center in the Narlidere region of Izmir. District 6290 s recognition plate is affixed to it, along with that of the Gündoğdu Rotary Club. It is the only equipment of its kind for screening women who could not otherwise afford such testing in this city of 2.5 million. In the final report to The Rotary Foundation on the project and in the words of Aylin Olut, the Gündoğdu Rotary Club past president who spearheaded the project from the Turkish side, The equipment will screen 60 women per day 5,000 per year to detect breast cancer at an early enough stage so that treatment can commence when there is still the potential of a high degree of success. The [conservatively estimated] expected life of the equipment is approximately 10 years. Thus, the project will impact 50,000 women. The women, men, friends and clubs of District 6290 can be justifiably proud of the role we played in bringing this project to fruition. Hats off to all of us and a well deserved pat-on-the-back. 50,000 Turkish women will agree.
Page District 7 6290 Newsletter District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1 Volume 1, Issue Page 27 Group Study Exchange We are seeking candidates, both team leaders and team members, for this year s Group Study Exchange which will take place in May 2010. Interviews will be held on October 17 in Cadillac. Below is the ad for team members that will appear in next week s local newspaper in Montague-Whitehall. It says it all... except for this appeal to all you Rotarians to help us find these candidates! HELP! VISIT NORWAY! IF YOU ARE BETWEEN 25 AND 40 YEARS OLD, ROTARY INTERNATIONAL INVITES YOU TO CONSIDER TRAVELING TO THE SOUTHERN PART OF NORWAY FOR FOUR WEEKS IN May, 2010 AS PART OF A FIVE PERSON STUDY TEAM OF YOUNG PROFESSIONALS FROM WEST MICHIGAN AND UPPER ONTARIO CANADA. TRAVEL AND MOST INCIDENTAL EXPENSES WILL BE COVERED BY ROTARY. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND AN APPLICATION FORM CONTACT EDWARD KAMINSKI AT EDWARD@KAMINSKI-FUNKE.NET or 231-894-8508. We are also seeking Rotarians to apply to lead this team. The deadline for applications is October 1. Thank you, Edward Kaminski, District GSE Chair Beginning with this issue of the newsletter, we are starting a feature called Club Corner. (See page 2 for our feature on the Petoskey Club!) We are asking all clubs to send us articles, pictures, etc. about your club activities, anniversaries, fundraisers, projects, etc. that you would like to share with the District. Blow your own horn. Remember, it is not your father s Rotary Club so let your light shine! Visit us on the web! www.ridistrict6290.org Rotary International District 6290 214 S. Beacon Blvd. Grand Haven, MI 49417 Phone: 616 935 9559 r.i.district6290@tds.net Fax: 616 935 9564
Page 8 District 6290 Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 2 CLUB District Membership/Attendance As of June 2009 As of July 2009 Gain / Loss Allendale 19 19 Baldwin 34 NR Bellaire 32 NR Benzie Sunrise 47 47 Big Rapids 48 48 Blind River 12 12 Boyne City 20 NR Byron Center 24 23-1 Cadillac 85 NR Cedar Springs 20 21 +1 Charlevoix 41 41 Cheboygan 48 48 Chippewa County Sunrise 17 15-2 Comstock Park 27 27 Coopersville 33 33 East Jordan 36 NR Elk Rapids 52 NR Frankfort 79 NR Fremont 56 NR Gaylord 79 NR Grand Haven 83 NR Grand Rapids 292 283-9 Grand Rapids East 35 35 Grand Rapids North 14 16 +2 Grand Rapids Plainfield Sunrise 10 NR Grand Rapids Sunrise 10 8-2 Grandville 35 NR Grayling 51 NR Greenville 25 25 Hart 38 39 +1 Holland 98 NR Holland AM 20 20 Houghton Lake 33 NR Kalkaska 21 NR Kentwood 32 30-2 Lowell 60 60 Ludington 48 NR Mancelona 26 26 Manistee 33 NR Manistee Sunrise 26 26 Manton 20 20 Montague-Whitehall 64 64 Muskegon 198 189-9 Petoskey 111 111 Petoskey Sunrise 34 NR Reed City 23 23 Rockford 45 45 Roscommon 39 39 Sault North Rotary 62 61-1 Sault Ste. Marie, MI 67 66-1 Sault Ste. Marie, ON 93 92-1 Shelby 30 NR Sparta 23 23 Spring Lake 41 NR Stanton 16 NR Suttons Bay-Leelanau Co 58 58 Traverse Bay Sunrise 63 NR Traverse Bay Twilight 36 36 Traverse City 277 276-1 Wawa 24 23-1 White Cloud 21 NR Zeeland 17 17 Totals 2045 Clubs with No Report 24 Promote membership growth in your community. Encourage your members to sponsor a new member (year round). Have new members speak about themselves and why they joined Rotary. Have a senior Rotarian speak about the club and why they joined Rotary. Consider sponsoring a new Rotary club in your community or a neighboring community. District Contact Information District Governor John Salan District Governor Elect Tim Knaggs Administrative Assistant Kathy Hegedus Webmaster /Editor Deb Shaw Phone: 616-285-3263 thesalans@sbcglobal.net Phone: 231-775-8896 timknaggs.fkb@chartermi.net Phone: 616-935-9559 r.i.district6290@tds.net webideb@gmail.com We re on the web: www.ridistrict6290.org