Nov 2008 Letter from e President... Rotarians, AWESOME!!! That is e word at best describes our Tails from e Swamp Foundation Food Fest. There was a tremendous display of Rotary in e Houma- Terrebonne Civic Center Friday evening. All Rotarians who participated in making is event a reality truly expressed eir God-given talents and gifts to honor, not only Rotary International President D.K. Lee and Young, but also e good work at will be done by our Rotary Foundation. I felt like for a night we tried our hands at creating an unforgettable experience, and we succeeded. Like a medal ceremony in e Olympics, complete wi our USA anem followed by Sou Korea's anem, all Rotarians, including DK Lee and Young, proudly listened to tunes at are meaningful and familiar. The international connection was see at is event wi e significant steps we all take towards helping ose truly in need roughout e world. As Chairperson of e Foundation Food Fest Gala, Billy Foster did a wonderful job creating an amazing event from e ground up. The volunteers are truly e ones to ank for is event. They spanned District-wide and wi eir hard work, ey made is event The place to be on Friday night, as mentioned by so many who attended. The band, led by Billy Stark, was great, playing songs at everyone enjoyed. The decorations transformed e Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center into a mystical place quite fitting for our Tails from e Swamp eme. I would like to extend a special anks to Sybil, for leading e decoration crew in e transformation. It was perfect! D.K. Lee shared wi me at he has enjoyed traveling every week across e globe to connect wi Rotarians and e good causes we, as Rotarians, support worldwide. Wi e non-stop activities, D.K. Lee never finds time to relax. He was more an grateful for e massage, complements of Le Bijou Salon and Day Spa, which was done in e comforts of his hotel room. He felt at it was a nice gesture to him, considering he has a busy schedule and has very little time to relax. After such an amazing event, I am more proud an ever to say at I am a Rotarian, and especially a member of e Rotary Club of Houma. You know as Rotarians we are on a mission to catch e wave, rough e volunteer and fund raising activities we are involved in. You have all showed at you have become one wi e wave to Make Dreams Real. John Tom Hassell Rotary Club of Houma President Overjoyed by your efforts, Tom Images are used wi permission from Rotary International (www.rotary.org)
In e News Foundation Food Fest Gala Tails from e Swamp was a huge success! A huge anks is in store for everyone who took part in is memorable event! D.K. Lee expressed his appreciation for all of e oughtful details we put into his visit. Pictures from e event are posted online at www.houmarotary.org, Check em out! Challenge Day planning is in full swing! If you would like to become involved in Challenge Day and Circle of Change activities, please contact JB Daigle (jb@lebijousalonanddayspa.com or (985) 853-0071) and she will add you to e mailing list. District Governor Mike Collins will visit on November 19. Please remember to bring preschool appropriate books to donate to Mara s Literacy Project! Hurricane Relief in Terrebonne Parish has been a huge success! Tom Hassell would like to extend his heartfelt appreciation to all of e volunteers. Your compassion rough labor, finance and individual gifts were see and appreciated. We are impacting local lives for good! Dictionary Project has begun and dictionaries are being delivered to all 3rd graders in Terrebonne Parish. We anticipate is project to be done before e Christmas Holidays. Tom Hassell would like to ank all at are involved. Contact Yolanda Trahan at: tfae@bellsou.net or (985) 868-5881, if you would like to get involved by volunteering to deliver e dictionaries. Annual Christmas Party will be held at Pam and Darrin Guidry s home (113 Krumbhaar). Save e date - Wednesday (evening), December 10 2008. More details to follow! SEC Christmas Party will be during our lunch meeting on December 17 2008. We will meet at e TARC Restaurant and Gift Shop for lunch at 11:30am. After lunch we will go to e School for Exceptional Children to bring gifts to e children. If anyone would like to become involved wi e SEC Christmas, please contact Sam Hotard at: (985) 851-1020.
Decorating Committee Tails from e Swamp
Foundation Food Fest Gala Tails from e Swamp For more photos log onto www.houmarotary.org
Calendar of Events st Nov 1 Soudown Marketplace Nov 5 Board Meeting Nov 8 District 6200 Foundation Seminar Nov 10 Foundation Coordinators Training at District Office Nov 19 Mike Collins visits Rotary Club of Houma rd Dec 3 Board Meeting Dec 2008 Club elects officers for 2008-2009 and sends results to RI Dec 10 Christmas Party at Darrin and Pam Guidry's Home 2009 Jan 7 Board Meeting Jan 18-25 Rotary International Assembly: San Diego, CA Feb 4 Board Meeting March 4 Board Meeting March 19-21 President-Elect Training Seminar: Lafayette, LA (PETS) st April 1 Board Meeting April 4 Soudown Marketplace April 16 Literacy Golf Classic: Houma, LA (also open to non-rotarians) April 16-18 District Conference Stomp in e Swamp May 6 Board Meeting rd June 3 Board Meeting June 21-24 Rotary International Convention in Birmingham, England st July 1 Board Meeting (if needed)
Letter from Rotary International President D.K. Lee Dear fellow Rotarians, The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace rough e improvement of heal, e support of education, and e alleviation of poverty. It sounds so simple, yet it means so much. It means so much to every one of e people touched by Foundation-supported programs every year e children too poor to go to school, e families who have lost everying in a disaster, e communities at lack sanitation, clean water, and medical care. It means so much to e two billion children now living lives free from polio. Because of e work at e Foundation has helped support, five million cases of paralysis and more an 250,000 deas from polio have been prevented. Today, we are in what we hope will be e last stages of e fight against polio. All of you have helped rough your support of our Foundation. Through e Foundation, we are able to be part of e day-to-day work of polio eradication by helping supply e transportation, e fliers, e advertisements, and even e lollipops to ensure we reach all children wi e essential oral polio vaccine and make each round of immunization a success. Those of you who have participated in a National Immunization Day know exactly what I m talking about when I say ere s noing like it noing like knowing you re being a part of saving lives and making history. And if you can t be ere yourself, en being part of e work rough our Foundation is e next best ing. Why do we have a Foundation? We have a Foundation because our Foundation lifts Rotary up. It lets every club and every district do e most it possibly can. It allows every one of us to be part of all of Rotary s work, and it brings at work to greater and greater heights. As we celebrate Rotary Foundation Mon, we should all remember at The Rotary Foundation is our Foundation. It s here for us and because of us; it allows us to do more, to be more, and to bring more hope to e world. The responsibility for keeping our Foundation strong lies wi each of us. Dong Kurn (D.K.) Lee President, Rotary International
A Message from e Chair... Celebrate e Foundation is Mon Dear family of Rotary, November is a very special mon on my personal Rotary calendar, and I hope at you share my enusiasm. All Rotarians can take great pride in e achievements of our Foundation, from our work for polio eradication to our Rotary Centers for International Studies to projects at improve lives every day. And now, we are building on ose efforts rough our Future Vision Plan. As a Nigerian, I have seen how The Rotary Foundation is making a difference in my homeland. As Rotary Foundation chair, I have e opportunity to see our Foundation in action roughout e world. I can assure you at your generous contributions to e Annual Programs Fund and Permanent Fund are doing good in myriad ways. But our contributions to e Foundation go beyond financial support. Rotarian doctors and dentists are serving as volunteers to bring heal care to remote, underserved areas. Rotarian families are welcoming Ambassadorial Scholars and Group Study Exchange teams into eir homes, establishing lasting international friendships. And millions of children are receiving e precious polio vaccine during National Immunization Days at Rotarians help organize, promote, and carry out wi an eye on good stewardship practices. As you observe Rotary Foundation Mon, keep in mind e many ways at you can contribute. Through our combined support, e Foundation will continue to do good in e world for decades to come. Jonaan Majiyagbe Foundation Trustee Chair It is at time of year again. The December 2008 cutoffs for gifts to be credited to The Rotary Foundation for calendar year ending 31 December 2008 are as follows: Checks: must be postmarked 31 December 2008 or prior and received at e lockbox by Wednesday, 7 January 2009 or be in e AR Department on e 11 floor by noon on Wednesday, 7 January 2009. Wire transfers: must be initiated prior to 31 December 2008 and received by Monday, 05 January 2009. Credit Cards: Via rotary.org must be auorized prior to 31 December 2008, midnight. (Please keep in mind at gifts received via e web will only benefit e holder of e log-in. Reclass and redistribution requests, a.k.a. corrections, will not be accepted for ese gifts.) Via fax, phone or mail to World Headquarters - must be received by in e AR Department and auorized prior to e close of business on 31 December 2008. Via e Bank of America lockbox must be received in e lockbox prior to e close of business on 31 December 2008. Credit card contribution requests received in lockbox deposits after 31 December 2008 will be considered January 2009 gifts. Credit card contribution requests should not be sent to e lockbox; raer ey should be faxed to 847-556-2139 to ensure timely recording. International Offices and Fiscal Agents have until 8 January 2009 to report December 2008 contributions to e AR Department. Corrections: Reclass and redistribution requests affecting calendar 2008 transactions, have to be received in e TRF Corrections mail box by Friday, 9 January 2009. Requests can only be submitted by Recognition Changes and will be processed on a first come first serve basis. Sean C. Allen Email: sean.allen@rotary.org Major Gifts Officer Voice (847)866-3190 The Rotary Foundation Fax: (847)328.5260 NEW FAX NUMBER Zones 22, 25 and 26 The TRF Contact Center is available for general foundation-related inquiries. TRF Contact Center: 866-9ROTARY (866-976-8279) Toll Free Contact.Center@Rotary.org