District 5580 "Cross Currents" - April 2023 (Apr 14, 2023)

APRIL IS MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH MONTH

PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE

Jennifer Jones

President 2022-23

(Presidential message retrieved from: https://my.rotary.org/en/news-media/office-president/presidential-message)

April 2023

Introducing the Rotary Youth Network

How do you take the best from the worst?

None of us will forget how the pandemic altered our world and our lives. Each of us had to traverse this period of uncertainty, and no one had a free pass from the effects.

I personally believe this has created space for a different kind of global leadership — one that is courageous, empathetic, and vulnerable. I met my good friend Anniela Carracedo online in early 2020. She is one such leader, and I'm thrilled to turn this month's column over to her.

— Jennifer Jones

DISTRICT GOVERNOR MESSAGE

Kay Biga

D5580 District Governor 2022-23

Video Message:

FOUNDATION UPDATE APRIL 2023

Submitted by: Tim LeClair, District Rotary Foundation Chair

Video Message:

TRI-DISTRICT CONFERENCE 2023

Did you know that there is a virtual option for attending IMAGINE 2023? Don't miss out on the opportunity to attend the Rotary Tri District Conference! If something prohibits you from attending in person we encourage you to attend virtually. Register today!

DISTRICT AWARDS

The District Awards are open for nominations!

Our District Awards Chairperson, Rozanne Casey, would like to encourage every club to submit at least one nomination for an award. We have fantastic clubs in District 5580, and great Rotarians!! Let’s recognize them with the awards they deserve.

Award winners will be recognized in the District Newsletter and some select awards will be presented at the District Governor Change of Gavel Event.

Submitting the award is very easy. Go to District Awards to choose the award you wish to submit, fill in the information and submit. All nominations must be submitted by April 30, 2023.

ECO CHALLENGE

Submitted By: Jill Baum, The Environment Committee

CELEBRATE POLLINATORS!

Happy Earth Day/Week/Month! April showers will soon bring May flowers. We wouldn’t have them without our pollinators, so take a moment to fully appreciate these critters this month. Give them a leg up by participating in a wide array of activities that both celebrate and assist them. Perhaps the easiest is to join the No Mow May movement by delaying mowing your lawn for a few weeks. This allows the early pollinators to safely emerge from their overwintering spots and access early bloomers like dandelions. You can also help put the finishing touches on a pollinator house at the Tri-District Conference and learn how to make one with your club! We hope you’ll stop by the Environment Committee table, too - see you there.

ROTARY HISTORY

Submitted by: PDG Tom Riley

The Rotary Flag

Few Rotarians realize this, but Rotary International has an official flag that was adopted at its Annual Convention in 1929. It is pictured below.

The first Rotary flag was designed by a committee appointed by President Frank Mulholland of Toledo Ohio after a vote at the 1914 Convention in Houston, Texas.Committee Chair Russell Greiner of Kansas City, Missouri, described the design in the following terms:

“The main portion to be white which is the banner of internationalism and is looked upon as the lily white banner of international amity and goodwill. It stands for advancement among men and nations and is the flag of humanity. In the center of the flag should appear the official emblem of the organization worked out in gold and blue and containing the words ‘Rotary International’. The blue stands for constancy of purpose, and the gold for the pure standard upon which rotates the eternal wheel of progress.”

CLUB NEWS

WE CAN ONLY SHARE YOUR CLUB'S NEWS, IF WE KNOW ABOUT YOUR CLUB'S NEWS!

The number one thing most clubs want to know is what is happening around the District, but we can't help spread the word if we don't know what your club is up to.

Please submit a summary of your club events, news and projects to Renae Ronquist and Gloria Mink by the 10th of each month. We can include information in our Monday Minutes and in our newsletter.

News can be sent to r enae@surgetoday.com and gloriad5580@outlook.com.

LAKE PARK-AUDUBON STUDENT HONORED

Submitted by: Kathy Michaelson

Detroit Lakes Breakfast Rotary Club surprised high school senior Sam Bestge, by honoring him with a Paul Harris Fellowship Award. The award was presented in front of a cheering Lake Park-Audubon student body and faculty in the high school auditorium. Paul Harris Fellowships are named after the founder of Rotary. In Sam’s case, it was given to him in recognition of being an example of the the Rotary Motto, “Service Above Self”. Sam was instrumental in starting “Sam’s Meals For Many”. This program originated as a “Pay-It-Forward” project of his Sunday School Class at Cormorant Lutheran Church. This program has grown from providing an eight-meal Christmas season food package to one family (6 members) to 66 families with 301 members in the most recent Christmas season.

REMINDER REGARDING THREE DISTRICT INCENTIVES

Submitted by: Gloria Mink, District Administrator

District 5580 is here to support your club in the following areas: TECHNOLOGY, MEMBERSHIP, and PUBLIC IMAGE! Additional information can be found on the District 5580 Website: https://rotary5580.org/.

https://rotary5580.org/Stories/technology-grant

https://rotary5580.org/Stories/district-5580-membership-support-opportunity

https://rotary5580.org/Stories/public-image-grant