HELLO ROTARIANS, ROTARACTORS AND FAMILY OF ROTARY!

Submitted by: Debra Warner, District Governor 2017-2018
 
BUILDING BRIDGES, GOODWILL AND FRIENDSHIP is the theme for our District Conference this year which will be held on April 26-28th, 2018 in Thunder Bay, On.  The four Canada Clubs (Nipigon, Thunder Bay Fort William, Thunder Bay Port Arthur and Lakehead) are hosting this year’s conference and have been planning the event for over 2 years.  You will be impressed with the speakers and events which are planned.  This is a great opportunity to network, hear inspiring addresses from our speakers, engage in discussions on District and World-wide Rotary issues and join in recognizing District Rotary Clubs and Rotarian achievements from the past Rotary year.  Many have said they return from District Conferences truly enthusiastic about Rotary at a level they had not experienced prior to attending a Conference.  Won’t you please join us?  You can learn more by going to our Conference site: http://rotary5580.org/page/2018-district-conference-thunder-bay-ontario.
 
Rotary International’s theme for April is Maternal and Child Health which is one of Rotary’s Six Areas of Focus.  Rotary makes high-quality health care available to vulnerable mothers and children so they can live longer and grow stronger.  Statements of purpose and goals for Maternal and Child Health are:
 
The Rotary Foundation improves the lives of mothers and their children by:
  • Reducing the mortality rate for children under the age of five
  • Reducing the maternal mortality rate
  • Improving access to essential medical services and trained health care providers for mothers and their children
  • Supporting studies related to maternal and child health
We have two very exciting programs at our District Conference this year that pertain to Maternal and Child Health.  Rotarian Alicia Helion, a past District 5580 Global Scholar who received her Master of Public Health at the University of Gondar and current Regional Maternal Program Director of Women and Children’s health with the March of Dimes, will be on a panel discussing a possible Global Grant titled “Exploring a Global Grant to Serve First Nation and Native People of Canada and the United States”.  The idea is based on a Pilot Study carried out by the March of Dimes in the USA that reduced the incidence of premature births among Native women in reserve contexts.  It would be a great opportunity for our International District to partner on a project!
 
Also, Rotarian Emma McDonald (daughter of Rotarian Jim McDonald) will speak at one of our general sessions.  Her topic is FullSoul Canada: Bridging the Gap where she will talk about her experiences during her master’s degree where she had the opportunity to work on the evaluation of FullSoul Canada’s maternal medical kit program in Uganda.  Emma currently works in Kenora Ontario with the Public Health Unit as a Planning and Evaluation Specialist.  We are very excited to welcome this talented young woman to our Conference!  Please read an article titled FullSoul by Emma in this edition of our newsletter! 
 
It has been another exciting and busy month for Ed and me.  As with all service trips, we returned from our trip to Guatemala extremely energized as to why we are Rotarians.  We spent 11 days with many incredible Rotarians and Rotaractors from both our District and District 4250.  The journey began by attending District 4250’s District Conference in Antigua.  Many of you may remember District 4250’s Governor Julio Grazioso who presented at our District Conference in Bismarck a couple of years ago.  Our district has been working with his club in Guatemala for many years and it was our pleasure to help Julio celebrate his year as Governor at his conference.  Pictured below is Taylor Elm, Blake Crosby, Keith Brokke, John Johnson, my husband Ed, me, Donna Johnson, MacKenzie MacFarlane, Alyssa Sorenson, Delaney Urban, Tom Newberger, Wendy Gustofson and Tom Riley at a fantastic outdoor concert at the conference!
 
 
After the District Conference, we went to Monterrico and El Cebollito to work on building classrooms and putting a tile floor down.   As you can see in the picture, the 3 Rotaract students from the Twin Ports Rotaract Club worked very hard to mix cement for the floor!  What a pleasure it was to spend time with them!
 
Another highlight of our trip was to deliver supplies to schools in La Dormida and El Cebollito.  We were there on International Women’s Day and were able to talk to the young women about their self-worth and having dreams for the future!  When I look at the beautiful faces of all the children and see their joy, I know why I love going on Rotary service projects!
 
 
With the help of our District Membership Chair, Past District Governor Don Cavalier, and his team, membership is up in our district by 11 new members as of the end of February.  Also, over 95% of our clubs have a membership goal in Rotary Club Central.  We are encouraging everyone to achieve their goals by sharing your Rotary stories with others and then ASKING them to join.  Recently, I joined Don and his wife Mary in Hibbing.  The Rotary Clubs of Hibbing and Hibbing-Chisholm asked Don to give them guidance on increasing their membership.  Thanks Don for your commitment to membership development in our District.  Please see Don’s monthly membership article. 
 
 
I had the pleasure of being a guest speaker at the Rotary Club of Park Rapids as they kicked off a friendly membership competition!  They are an incredible club and I wish them good luck on their goal of 80 members by June 30th (they started this Rotary Year at 67 members). 
 
District Foundation Chair Keith Brokke presented several first time Paul Harris Fellow and Multiple Paul Harris Fellow awards to the club.   Also, I was honored to present them with Rotary International’s Every Rotarian Every Year Award.  This award is given to clubs who achieved a US$100 Annual Fund per capita with every dues-paying member personally contributing US$25 or more to the Annual Fund during the Rotary year.  This award was given to only 5,034 of the 35,000 clubs worldwide.  Congratulations to the Detroit Lakes and the Fergus Falls Sunrise clubs for achieving this award as well!  Park Rapids also achieved 100% Foundation Award which was awarded to only 4,136 clubs worldwide.  The club must have achieved an average giving of US$100 to any gift designation with every dues-paying member personally contributing US$25 or more to the Rotary Foundation during the Rotary year.  Congratulations to Fergus Fall Sunrise, Detroit Lakes and Nipigon Rotary clubs for also achieving this.  At this time, I would like to honor our Top Three Highest Per Capita Annual Giving in our district.  Only 1,573 clubs worldwide achieved this award by contributing a minimum of US$50 Annual Fund per capita and I am pleased to announce the following honors:  #1 Central Lakes-Pequot Lakes, #2 Fargo Moorhead AM and #3 Duluth Harbortown; congratulations and thank you for your commitment to the foundation!  As you can see in one of the pictures below, several Rotarians from many clubs joined the festive day in Park Rapids! 
 
 
Are you looking for a new, exciting and profitable fundraiser?  I’m sure the Grand Rapids Evening Club would love to talk to you about the success of their 14th Annual Reverse Raffle.  This year, they will be donating all proceeds from the Raffle to the Boys and Girls Club in Grand Rapids.  District Governor Nominee Rick Bricker and his wife Susan also joined in the fun.  As always, I always enjoyed visiting with Interact and Youth Exchange Students.
 
 
Ed and I can’t wait to see you in Thunder Bay at the District Conference.  Have a wonderful month!

Debra Warner
District Governor 2017-18