September 2019 Newsletter
DG David's October Message:
 
I had the pleasure of visiting Rotary International Headquarters in Evanston in September.  What a great time!  In this month's video, take the tour with me of the office of the first Rotary meeting, meet some of our great Rotary International support staff and enjoy the beautiful Rotary offices.  View David's October Video HERE.
 
You may also watch all of the videos DG David has posted by clicking HERE.
Given recent tragedies, political rhetoric, and hate-mongering in our country, it has become apparent to many Rotarians that it is time to elevate the conversation in our communities about peace. And as community leaders, I think this task falls to us the Rotarian leaders in our communities.
 
Some accomplishments resulting from the peace initiative:
 
•   In 2017, with the help of fellow club members and a few friends, we were able to install a peace space on the campus of Centennial High School in Peoria. This space helps students and faculty to connect with one another as they seek more peaceful outcomes. Photos can be found at www.PursuingPeace.org
 
•   In 2018, PDG Nancy Van Pelt, our District's Peace Chair, launched the Peacebuilder Network for our clubs. Tons of resources are found HERE.
 
•   This month, with the help of nine Rotary Clubs and a TRF District Grant, we are adding a peace space at the Phoenix Police Department's Communication Center. This space will help employees as they deal with the trauma of handling stressful 911 calls. Beginning in September, photos and articles will be available at www.PursuingPeace.orgwww.rotary5495.org, and perhaps even in a future issue of the Rotarian magazine.
 
Click on read more for the Pursuing Peace Conference information.
 
TRVFA Shout Out to Prescott Frontier Rotary Club!!
 
They may look like an ordinary club, meeting in a friendly local restaurant, but they are no ordinary Rotary Club.  In late July, Prescott-Frontier Rotary Club Membership Chair, Lori Dekker, made an impassioned plea to club members to support The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona. As a former school nurse, she has a large place in her heart for families that suffer from lack of opportunities such as what TRVFA provides.  Since then, TRVFA has received a total of $5,255 in total donations from eleven Prescott Frontier Rotary Club members.  To put this in perspective, this is a higher percentage of members giving than any club in the state accomplished in the entire 2018-19 fiscal year, and the total is already higher than the 8th largest-giving club in the state last year.
It would be a dream-come-true for the TRVFA board to have a booster like Lori in every Rotary club in Arizona!  Way to go Lori and Prescott Frontier Rotary Club!!!
 
TRVFA Board members are ready, available and enthusiastically looking forward to opportunities to make club presentations this fall.  CLICK HERE  to arrange for a visit.
 
TRVFA is a Qualifying Charitable Organization – QCO Code 20698 – in the State of Arizona for tax credit donations.  For more information, visit trvfa.org. On-line donations are easily made at donate.trvfa.org.  
Rotary International and its global partners continue to struggle somewhat this year in their effort to contain the spread of the wild polio virus. As of the week of August 22, 2019 there have been 66 cases of polio reported globally, an increase of 10 in the last month.  Thirteen cases have been reported in Afghanistan with the remaining 53 cases in Pakistan.  As long as there are any cases of the wild polio virus being reported we cannot let up on our efforts to eradicate this horrible disease.  There is some good news however.
 
Nigeria marked three years since the last case of wild poliovirus (WPV) was detected within its borders. Because Nigeria is the last polio-endemic country in Africa, this milestone opens the door for the potential WPV-free certification of the entire WHO AFRO region after the Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) evaluation as early as mid-2020. While this is an important program milestone, the region has not yet been certified polio-free and it will be critical for the polio eradication program to maintain momentum.
 
 
Have you become a participant in Rotary Direct? No? Why Not? District Governor David is encouraging all Rotarians to consider Rotary Direct for their contributions to The Rotary Foundation.  There is a District Wide Club Contest for Rotary Direct Participation.  If your club could use an extra $2000 consider the Rotary Direct Initiative.  You may get started HERE. You do not need a My Rotary account to donate to the Foundation. However if you and your club wish to get credit for your donation then you should create a My Rotary account if you do not have one.  A My Rotary account is easy to establish. Your AG can help. Why not make your next donation to The Rotary Foundation a recurring donation, making you a Rotary Direct participant. (Again a My Rotary account will be necessary for your participation to be reflected in the Club Contest.)   
 
 
Imagine getting all of your most pressing Rotary Foundation questions answered in just 180 minutes of your time.    It’s possible if you attend the Rotary Foundation Education event on Nov 16th at Huntington University in Peoria, 9am – noon.  All Club Presidents and Club Rotary Foundation Chairs are highly encouraged to attend but all Rotarians are welcome.  Cost is free and no registration is required!  November is Rotary Foundation month so come and find out how your club can leverage the Rotary Foundation to do great things in our communities and the world.  Contact Charlie Tegarden (ctegarden@outlook.com) for more information or if you have any questions
 
 
Saludos Amigos de D5495!
 
Registration is now open for the Mexico USA Friendship Conference and Global Grants Exchange. 
 
The MX USA Friendship Conference will be held this year at the Grand Canyon November 7 - 11. The Squire Inn at Tusayan will be our venue. They have given us a fantastic room rate, so $250 per person in double occupancy or $390 in single includes your room for Thursday thru Saturday nights, meals and registration, plus we will be spending time at the South rim, as well as looking at wonderful global grant projects. And Saturday night we’ll have a down home western BBQ dinner at Big E Steakhouse and Saloon.
 
Does your club have a major project you want to present at the conference to find international partners and get global grant funding?
 
Or maybe your club has not participated in a global grant but you’d like to make a dollar commitment to do so. 
 
This conference is the perfect opportunity. Clubs bring funding in all amounts, from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. Bring your pledges and get involved in Rotary Foundation Global Grants. Our grants team will help you navigate the process and you and your members will have a fun-filled weekend, making new friends and learning about doing good in the world by leveraging the Rotary Foundation.
 
Register at:
Start planning your World Polio Day event now
 
World Polio Day is 24 October. Now’s the time to start planning events in your community. You’ll find resources to help you plan and promote your event, including a sample press release and social media messages and graphics, in the World Polio Day Toolkit.

 
Last year, Rotarians hosted more than 4,000 World Polio Day events in 90 countries. Let’s plan even more events this year to let the world know that the fight to end polio isn’t over.
 
Join us on World Polio Day, and don’t forget to register your event
PP Mike Tanner introduced our speakers for the day, Interactors and Ambassadors to the Crutches for Africa program, Jaiden Gatson and Matthew Syms who were both on the Interact District Council. Jaiden was President of her Interact Club at Bourgade Catholic High School and will be attending NAU; Matthew attended the Herberger Young Scholars Academy and will be attending Choate Boarding School in CT in the fall. 
 
Jaiden thanked the club of our financial support that helped make travel possible for the Ambassadors to deliver crutches and other mobility devices to Kenya this summer. Ten or so Rotarians, Interactors and non-Rotarians made the trip—the third year District 5495 has been involved in the project. One of the reps this year was from the American Furniture Warehouse where the mobility devices are stored until ready to be shipped to Africa.
 
The group spent two weeks in Kenya, the first week working through a secondary school in Naivasha, just north of Nairobi. The Ambassadors spent some of this week delivering clothes, sewing kits, toys and soccer balls. Although the Ambassadors were members of Interact serving ages 12-18, it is actually Rotaract serving ages 18-30 that is most robust in Kenya while Interact is the weakest. The second week was at the Maasai Mara Game Reserve staying at the Prescott College Campus bordering the reserve.
 
John F. Rippinger, a spirited aviation enthusiast and acrobatic and formation pilot, known as
"Ripper," recently was keynote speaker at a Rotary Club of Scottsdale luncheon meeting held at
McCormick Ranch Golf Club. During his introduction, Rotarian Gary Dorris stated that the Ripper has piloted his T-34 Mentor for 22 years with the Lima Lima Flight Team, which is the world's first six-aircraft civilian precision formation aerobatic team.  Lima Lima has performed in air shows from coast to coast and border to border, thrilling more than 100 million spectators with the beauty and the grace of their precision performances.  The Ripper has been flying for over 50 years both in fixed wing and balloons.   
 
The Ripper, participated with the TIGHAR (The International Group For Historic Aircraft Recovery) expedition team in the South Pacific to search for the lost plane of Amelia Earhart in 2017.  Ripper shared with the Rotarians and their guests insights into the search - noting that it's a mystery that's puzzled the world for more than 80 years: what happened to Amelia Earhart who along with her navigator, Fred Noonan, were on the second-to-last leg of their trip around the world when they disappeared on July 2, 1937 in the South Pacific?  
 
 

This might be all you need to know -- the young Navajo girl in the picture smiled when she learned that was the last day that she would have to carry water for her family's basic needs.  And the person standing behind her?....Rotarian John McKoy (Sun Lakes) -- one of the life-changing Rotarians who helped make it possible.

The Navajo Water Project (NWP) has received wonderful interest and support from almost all the clubs I have visited so far.  That is not totally surprising as it includes a match from the Rotary Foundation and benefits residents right here in Arizona who have lived for years without running water in their homes.   I am calling your attention to this project now so that as you make decisions about allocating limited resources among the many compelling projects we all her about that you will have NWP in mind.

Over the last three years Rotary clubs in District 5495 have helped finance the work of DigDeep to bring clean running water to residents of the Navajo Reservation.  Here are the stunning statistics:

 

 At the retreat, Assistant Governors are assigned three to four clubs. Their role is to tell clubs on
projects they could be doing, advising how to fix problems, and keep them updated on all things Interact. This month the Assistants Governors had the task of contacting their Club Advisors and the Rotary sponsors. 

Not only do the AG’s introduce themselves and their purpose, they tell the clubs about Fall Leadership Conference. Fall Leadership Conference is October 19 in Wickenburg. This conference gives the opportunity to leaders in the Interact community to learn the best way to run an Interact Club. Our Governors are able to have face-to-face communication with their clubs by hosting multiple breakout sessions. We are also extremely lucky to have David Simmer and Sarah Kay Harrison speak at this conference.
 
If you are interested or know that an Interact club that would be interested in attending this great conference, you can save five dollars on the registration fee, if you are registered by September 19. Lastly, if you have any or know anyone who has mobility devices no longer in use, make sure to donate to your local Interact club! 
The Rotary Club of Scottsdale was elated to recently welcome a special visitor - 2015-16 Rotary International (RI) Youth Exchange Student Julius Obdeijn from Maastricht in the Netherlands.  Julius was in Scottsdale during his summer break from attending the Maastricht University.  Julius hopes to complete his Masters Degree in Arizona and has a goal to become a lawyer. When an exchange student, Julius attended Scottsdale's Chaparral High School. Former Club member and Rotarian Sara Crosby-Hartman and her husband, Davis Hartman, were honored to host Julius during his return visit to Scottsdale and served as Julius's host parents during part of his academic year at Chaparral. 
 

RI Youth Exchange builds peace one young person at a time. Students learn a new language, discover another culture, and truly become global citizens. Exchanges for students ages 15-19 are sponsored by Rotary clubs in more than 100 countries.   Exchange students unlock their true potential to:  develop lifelong leadership skills; learn a new language and culture; build lasting friendships with young people from around the world; and, become a global citizen.

The 12th Annual Brews and Brats Oktoberfest, presented by the Kingman Route 66 Rotary Club, will take place on Friday October 4th, 3pm to 10pm, and Saturday, October 5th, 10am to 10pm, in Downtown Kingman at Metcalfe Park, corner of Beale and Grandview Streets, Kingman. There will be local craft beer, bratwurst and sauerkraut, pretzels, soda, live entertainment, games, vendors and family fun! FREE ADMISSION! Proceeds benefit the Kingman Route 66 Rotary Club’s Foundation and support local service projects
The Sun Lakes Rotary Club recently participated in a Friendship Exchange with Rotarians and friends from District 9640 in Australia.
 
The eight Friendship Exchange Australians from D-9640, New South Wales/Queensland, gave a presentation, highlighting its 51 clubs with over 1,200 members. The District’s main effort this year is focused on its malaria vaccine project. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed on January 1, 1901, with the signing of their Constitution and the federation of colonies joining, six British colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia. The Australia flag has the Union Jack in the canton of a blue field, displaying five white stars in the form of the Southern Cross and a 7-point Commonwealth Star, representing the six Australian states and the Northern Territory. The name Australia was derived from the Latin Terra Australis, a name used for a hypothetical    continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. 
 
 

Sarah Porter, Director of John Kyl Center for Water Policy at The Morrison Institute, ASU, recently was keynote speaker at a Rotary Club of Scottsdale luncheon meeting held at McCormick Ranch Golf Club. Porter is an attorney, with a Harvard University bachelor’s degree and juris doctor from Arizona State University (ranking third in her class). She clerked for federal appellate Judge William Canby and was a litigator for Brown & Bain; Coppersmith Gordon Schermer Owens & Nelson, PLC; and Osborn Maledon PA. She left her law career in 2006 for Audubon Arizona because she wanted to contribute to a collaborative effort to address Arizona’s natural resource challenges. She now dedicates that focus to the Kyl Center.

 

 

The Glendale West Rotary Club is holding a rummage sale on September 28, 2019 at Kellis High School, 8990 W. Orangewood Avenue, Glendale, AZ from 7:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon.  All Rotary Clubs, particularly clubs in the Glendale area are invited to participate at no charge.  Send an email for specifics to glendalewestrotaryclub@gmail.com.