Dear People of Action aka District 5810, I can't believe 7 weeks of the 2024-2025 Rotary year have already passed, and I feel we have all settled into our new routines. Club Presidents have more confidence; plans and projects are taking shape for the year; the first new members have been inducted; and several projects have been completed. I want to express my gratitude to the clubs I have already visited. Everyone has been so welcoming and so generous.
We have already raised $2,475 for my spouse's charity Alzheimer's Association and $575 for the cruise expenses. The in-club DG visit service projects have been great. We have had a real impact on both local communities and packing boxes to get ready for our International Service delivery to Costa Maya.
We have several great upcoming District events that I would like to bring to your attention so you can plan to attend:
Tuesday August 20th District Conference Cruise Party for those registered for the Annual Conference Cruise Jan. 12-19th or those thinking about coming --join us at BJ's Restaurant, 4901 Belt Line Rd, Addison 5:30-7:30 pm $15 cover includes 1 adult beverage and appetizers. Contact Conference Chairs Vickie and Glen Campbell at 5810campbells@gmail.com to sign up as soon as possible. There will be a raffle for all the ladies who attend, and each gentleman who is signed up for the cruise will receive a colorful wearable gift that I personally selected for you so you will look extra stylish on the cruise.
Thursday August 22nd 6-7 pm Quarterly District Officer Zoom-contact me if you have not received the zoom link.
Sunday September 1st--Deadline for submitting District Grant Applications see https://www.rotary5810.org/sitepage/district-grants for info and link on the left side of the page for the Matching Grant Application Form for 2024-2025. Requirements for receiving the grants include sending in the Grant Application and MOU, attending various training courses, and the club has input their RI Foundation and Membership goals to Rotary Club Central. Email DDF Chief PDG Larry Webb at District5810Grants@gmail.com and webb0079@att.net to submit forms and ask questions as soon as possible. Please don't miss out on this opportunity. Larry is here to help you so we can successfully distribute the $80,000+ in grant money to clubs in the District.
Saturday September 14th Roundtable at Brookhaven campus 9:30 am to 12:30 pm --our packing/pizza party at Roundtable in August was a huge success with 27 boxes weighing 629 pounds packed and we will be joining together one last time to pack from 11 am to 12:30 pm so bring your school supplies, used tennis shoes, sporting equipment and used books to the Sept 14th Roundtable. Customs forms are due Oct 1st. Please contact International Service Chair Jerrica Anderson at jerrica.anderson@hotmail.com to let us know you are bringing items or with any questions. We are down to 40 days to finish collecting our 6 pallets/250 boxes that we will deliver to the students in Costa Maya, Mexico on the Conference Cruise. Monetary donations are also wonderful to cover the cost of the U-Haul, boxes, filler items etc. Make your checks payable to "District 5810" and write "Book Brigade 2025" on the memo line please.
Saturday September 28th Walk to End Alzheimer's at Grandscape in The Colony-Please join our District 5810 Team by contacting PDG Max Duplant at mduplant@gmail.com to sign up and walk with us. We will be a sponsor team with a table, and it will be lots of fun. Great progress has been made on the research side lately. We need to show our support and keep up the forward motion.
Saturday October 26th Club President's Halloween Party--more details to come but save the date if you are a club president. We want to offer you a chance to relax, check in with your classmates, and celebrate 1/3 of the year complete.
Don't forget August is Membership month. Our District Membership Chair Reyna Castillo shared some great ideas with us at August Roundtable including details of the ongoing Membership Olympics. Please check out the 7 games at https://www.rotary5810.org/sitepage/membership-olympics and get started. So far our District is up 27 new members since July 1. Way to go! Keep going! I would love to see us hit 48 new members by August 31, which would be 2% growth in the first 2 months. BUT..... membership is not just the job of the club president and the membership chair. We should all play an active role in this critical piece of Rotary. Therefore, the big news is starting September 1st we will have a new exciting Membership Drive. We are gathering raffle prizes now, but we do know the Grand Prize will be a 7 day oceanview cabin on a Princess cruise for 2!
How do you enter to win? Raffle tickets will be new member related and distributed with:
1 ticket will be given to each Rotarian in the District who invites a non-Rotarian/potential new member guest to a club meeting (only first time visits by a particular guest qualify for a ticket). 10 more tickets to the inviting Rotarian when that guest is inducted as a new member
5 tickets to the new Rotarian who joined. 1 ticket for the Club President and 1 ticket for the Club Membership Chair (or designee) per month when they timely report all the guest visits and newly inducted club members on the prescribed excel form to the District Membership Chair Reyna Castillo at reynarotary@gmail.com by the 7th of the next month. These details will be located soon on the District website for future quick reference. This New Member Contest will run for 7 months from September 1 to March 31st with the drawing for prizes in April. Growth is vital to Rotary's future, and we can't wait to award these amazing prizes to those of you who bring in members and to those who join District 5810 this year.
Separately each month at the club level and District level we will celebrate New Member Champion Clubs. We will be honoring 2 clubs of the month starting with numbers from August. First Champion will be the club which brings in the most new members percent wise, and our Second Champion will be the club which brings in the most new members number wise. That way clubs of all sizes will have a chance to be our monthly New Member Champions, who will be highlighted on the District website. So enjoy the friendly competition. But don't wait and induct everyone at once though. If someone wants to join, please bring them into the family of Rotary. Please enter in your new members with Rotary International or ClubRunner (making sure it syncs with RI) by the end of each month so we can receive the updated club counts. In each monthly message I will announce the winning clubs. And at the end of the year at the Awards Dinner, we will recognize our monthly Champions who have successfully extended the spirit of Rotary.
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month so please find a club project to support this theme. Hint hint one is mentioned above.... Don't forget to engage with your Interact clubs now that school is back in session. I promised they have used tennis shoes to donate that you can bring to Sept Roundtable or give to me when I visit your club. If you have not already notified District Interact Chair Sandy Liu at sandy@liuattorneys.com of the details of your Interact club(s) and sponsor(s), please do so as soon as possible so she can start assisting the clubs and planning events.
This weekend we just enjoyed a great District Awards Dinner. Congrats to all the winners and thanks to all the organizers. Y'all are so impressive. As we prepare for next year's ceremony, I encourage every club to keep track of all of your accomplishments month by month. That will make your nominations so much easier and more complete when the deadline rolls around for 24-25.
One last to do item: if you are a club president and your DG club visit has not been scheduled, please contact my aide Debbie Sutherland at debbie@marksutherlandpc.com this week to schedule your club's visit.
I know there is a lot of info in this month's message. Thanks for reading all the way to the end. A few final thoughts...as a child, dinner conversation often included the question "how did you make the world a better place today?" As I have tried to balance my family with work and Rotary the past 7 weeks, I have decided on a few things I want to try in the month ahead. You might find them helpful too as we are all going full-steam ahead in this too busy world: Purposely look for ways to add value to the world every day. Let people know how much you appreciate them. We are all just volunteers serving others. Be patient. Be kind. Nurture and care for others all that you can. When you lay your head on the pillow each night, take time to appreciate all your blessings and look back at the day thinking about how you made the world a better place. Smile and fall asleep knowing you are making a difference.
Yours in Rotary service during this Magical Year,
District Governor Regina Edwards