In This Issue

Over The Transom #3
Published on 09/15/2019

District 6910 to Match Dorian Relief Donations
Published on 09/15/2019

Rotary Leadership Institute - October 5th - Calhoun
Published on 09/15/2019

What's a Famiily Vacation Without Kids?
Published on 09/15/2019

Rotary Family Vacation Regsitration is NOW OPEN
Published on 09/15/2019

GRSP Launches New Website
Published on 09/15/2019

World Polio Update
Published on 09/15/2019

Short Takes #3
Published on 09/15/2019

Over The Transom #3

By Donald W. Martin (District Governor) on Sunday, September 15, 2019

Over The Transom #3

Greetings Fellow District 6910 Rotarians,

I hope you had a great weekend. Over 40 members of your District leadership team were hard at work on Saturday going through a Pre-District Team Training Seminar organized by DGE Tina Fischlin and District Trainer, PDG Rich Panyik. The training was conducted by the Assistant Governors and Service Chairs. Those leaders will now be working with your Club leaders as they select and train the club Boards and leaders for the 2020-2021 Rotary Year.

Following the training on Saturday, your 2019-2020 Board of Directors met for the first time. The Board Members are at this link: 2020 District Board of Directors I greatly appreciate both their willingness to serve and the expertise and wisdom they bring to this role.

The Board was notified that IPDG Bruce Azevedo’s financial reports had been audited, approved, and forwarded to RI; the board also considered budget, personnel, office update, and automation issues. The Board voted to donate up to $10,000 to the Hurricane Dorian Relief efforts from the Districts Charitable Fund as a match to club and personnel donations. More information on this is in a separate article in this issue.

I continue to be amazed, blown away, awed – choose your favorite adjective – by all that you as individual Rotarians and your Rotary Clubs are doing in your communities and around the world. As I write this article, I have completed 39 Club visits and each one has been a revelation in its own way. There seems to be an infinite variety of ways to support children, education, health, seniors, economic development, fighting hunger, Polio, your Rotary Foundation, Disaster relief, other non-profits, and issues specific to your local communities. I stand and applaud your efforts in all of them. You are truly both “Connected” to the world and “Doing Good” in it. Keep up the great work.

In this issue of Rotations there are important articles on World Polio Day (October 24th), Rotary Family Vacation, Disaster Relief, GRSP, Service opportunities and more. Please take a few minutes sometime today and catch up on your Rotary Family in District 6910.

Let’s Go Do Rotary,

Don Martin

District Governor, 2019-2020


District 6910 to Match Dorian Relief Donations

By Donald W. Martin (District Governor) on Sunday, September 15, 2019
We are now two weeks out from the devastation left by Hurricane Dorian across the Bahamas and particularly the Abaco Islands. Rotary and other relief agencies are on the ground and providing assistance. At this point one might normally expect the emphasis to have turned to "things." However, due the extreme level of destruction in some areas, the primary need is still for cash to help establish long term relief activities.

The Board of Directors for District 6910 met on September 14th and agreed to donate up to $10,000 in Matching Funds from the District 6910 Charities Fund. The exact amount will be determined by individual and club donations.

Here is a link to where you can donate directly through a special Rotary Relief Fund: Hurricane Relief

You can make individual donations or club donations by following the instructions at the link. If you would like your donation to count towards the $10,000 match please send a copy of your receipt from the site to: admin@rotarydistrict6910.org and use Hurricane Relief Matching Donation in the subject line. Be sure to clearly identify yourself or your club if that is not clear on the receipt. You can also make a matching Donation by sending a check to the District Office made out to Rotary District 6910 Charities and put Hurricane Relief in the FOR line. You will be donating to a 501c3 either way; if you use the link you can get Paul Harris credit for your donation.

The District Office address is: 958 McEver Road
Suite D-9
Gainesville, GA 30504

Thanks in advance for your generous support of this urgent need. We will keep you posted on the results.

Don Martin
District Governor, District 6910

Rotary Leadership Institute - October 5th - Calhoun

By Tammy Tate Gilland on Sunday, September 15, 2019

“Great ideas shared among participants!”

“I enjoyed all the presentations at RLI. Time well spent!”

“I learned a great deal from both the instructors and other participants. Lots of great energy!”

  1. are actual comments from District 6910 Rotarians about Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI). RLI is a grassroots development program, sometimes also referred to as the Rotary "Learning" Institute because it seeks to provide quality education in Rotary knowledge and leadership skills to Rotarians interested in enhancing their participation in Rotary and to those identified by Rotary Clubs as having a potential for club leadership. educational opportunities will teach skills that will benefit the members in their personal and professional lives as well as in their volunteer service. It has been said that you can learn more about "Rotary" on one of these Saturdays than by attending hundreds of Club Meetings.

Rotary District 6910 offers two RLI programs annually – fall and spring. The dates for this year are Saturday, October 5, 2019 at Georgia Northwestern Technical College in Calhoun, Ga. and Saturday, March 28, 2020 at the UNG Oconee Campus in Watkinsville, Ga.

Read More

What's a Famiily Vacation Without Kids?

By Peter Gleichman on Sunday, September 15, 2019

I think we can all agree that a vacation without the kids is not a family vacation. Right? So why should our 2020 Rotary Family Vacation at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Resort in Asheville, North Carolina on April 23-26, 2020 be any different?

In the past, our Rotary District 6910 Conferences have been very much Rotarian-centric and children of Rotarians have been, in a sense, tag-alongs. Well, not this year! We are planning what’s being called a Rotary Youth Summit where a full program of activities for the kids will take place simultaneously with Rotarian programs when children are not participating with their parents or grandparents.

It all starts on Thursday night, April 23 when Rotarian families will enjoy a buffet barbeque, club-run games, and story-telling. On Friday morning, April 24 families will eat breakfast together before Rotarian parents and kids break out to their own programs. Children ages 4 to 15 will have structured activities and free-form arts and crafts under licensed child caregiver supervision. Older teenagers will have their own space and activities. Nationally renowned story-teller Connie Regan-Blake will leave the Rotarian program and come tell child-relevant and age-appropriate stories in the Youth Summit Room. And how about some fun stuff like a live demonstration of fancy yo-yo tricks by a skilled semi-professional yo-yo-ist!

Read More

Rotary Family Vacation Regsitration is NOW OPEN

By Donald W. Martin (District Governor) on Sunday, September 15, 2019
Registration is now open for Rotary Family Vacation - aka 2020 District Conferennce - just follow the link on the right hand sidebar of the Home Page and you can register for the conference and reserve your your room at the Crowne Plaza Resort. Then just start packing the stationwagon!

GRSP Launches New Website

By Al Hombroek on Sunday, September 15, 2019

Trustees of the Georgia Rotary Student Program (GRSP) are excited to announce the launch of the new GRSP website. The new site is vibrant, relevant, and engaging. It’s full of lots of powerful pictures that tell a great story. The site offers rich information and resources for prospective students, clubs, host families, alumni and Rotarians around the world. We encourage all Rotarians to visit this new site at www.grsp.org. GRSP is a powerful program unique to Georgia that has been bringing nations together since 1946. If you or your Club would like to become more involved in this dynamic program, send a message via the new contact form on the website. GRSP allows all to have a direct impact on peace, goodwill and understanding for our next generation. That’s Rotary at it’s best!


World Polio Update

By Bill Strickland on Sunday, September 15, 2019

We have good and terrible news on the End Polio Update. First the good news. Nigeria is on the verge of being declared polio-free, which would mean the virus has been eradicated in Africa. The good news is no child has been paralyzed by polio virus in Nigeria for three years. August 21 marked three years since the last documented case of polio.

The terrible news is that we have had 78 cases of polio year to date. 62 polio victims in Pakistan and 16 polio victims in Afghanistan. Last year we were at 21 cases YTD of wild polio for both countries.

Read More

Short Takes #3

By Donald W. Martin (District Governor) on Sunday, September 15, 2019
Suit Up For Success

The University of North Georgia Food Pantry is set to host their first ever Suit Up For Success Event at JC Penny in Gainesville on October 6th. This event is designed for students to be able to purchase full outfits for interviews and internships at a discounted rate.

Several students who are served by the Food Pantry and have been screen through the program are in need financial assistance for this event in order to be able to purchase the clothing necessary for interviews. The South Hall Rotary Club has partnered with the University of North Georgia to provide $200 gift cards to "sponsor" students at this event.

During the evenings activities, members of the club will be on hand to assist and get to know these students to learn more about their aspirations as well as introduce them to concepts of Rotary. This event is open to students of all 5 UNG campuses (Blue Ridge, Dahlonega, Cumming, Gainesville, and Watkinsville) and they have identified an potential need for scholarships for numerous students on these campuses.

Other clubs are invited to assist in sponsoring additional students by donating $200 JC Penny Gift Cards and/or being present at the local event. The Univeristy will be promoting the event and Rotary's contributions as part of their media relations. It is a great opportunity for clubs to be of service to these students and introduce them to the concept of Rotary and Rotaract all while helping to promote our goals of investing in the advancement of the next generation.

For any clubs that are interested, please contact:

Jennifer L. Herring

Phone: 678-717-2389

Email: Jennifer.Herring@ung.edu

Amanda Groover

O) 770.888.2650 ext. 114 C) 770.895.5984

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Oslo Scholarships

The Norwegian Rotary Advisory Board is once again inviting three (3) young Georgia students to study in Norway next summer. We ask that your club try to identify a candidate(s) for this award. The final selection will be made by a committee of Trustees in each District.

Scholarship information: Visit the Oslo Summer School Website, www.uio.no/summerschool, for details. DO NOT SUBMIT APPLICATION THROUGH THAT WEBSITE. APPLY THROUGH GRSP AND IF YOU ARE SELECTED YOU WILL THEN APPLY TO THE SUMMER SCHOOL.

(a) Dates: June 20 – July 31, 2020 at the University of Oslo.

(b) English is the language of the Summer School.

(c) REQUIREMENTS:

1. Ages 20-24 – Singles only

2. Must have completed college sophomore year

3. Three color photographs passport size – taken within last

Six (6) months

4. Seriousness of purpose

5. Personal qualities likely to make a good representative of our Country abroad

6. Excellent health

The program includes air fares Atlanta-Oslo and return to Atlanta, a field tour to Bergen (administered by the University of Oslo), room, board and tuition at the International Summer School at the University of Oslo and visiting for one week with Norwegian Rotary host families. The recipients of the scholarships must pay their travel expense to and from Atlanta, plus provide their own personal spending money.
Visit www.GRSP.org for more details.

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Rotary - UGA Literacy Pilot Project

Don't forget about The University of Georgia and Rotary District 6910 pilot project to provide books for elementary and secondary students. The activities are being coordinated by Richard E Hyer who is a Rotary 6920 PDG and UGA graduate.
The purpose of the project is to honor Rotary club program presenters with a book donated in their honor to libraries and schools throughout District 6910. Please encourage your club leadership to participate and supplement educational opportunities for elementary and secondary learners. Contact Richard E. Hyer at Richardhyer44@gmail.com or 478.361.2772 for further information.

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Rotary Family Vacation Sponsorships

Doug Powell from the Dawson County Rotary Club and Bill McCargo from the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County are leading the Fundraising efforts for Rotary Family Vacation. Be sure and reach out to them about sponsoring events or programs during the 2020 conference. Sponsorship Information is availaable right here: Rotary Family Vacation Sponsorship Form

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Rotary Means Business
Find out what all the hype is about. Two more events this month.
September 23, 2020 in Gainesville
September 30, 2020 in Cumming
Check the District Calendar in DACdb for full details.


District Events & Reminders

District Leaders

Donald W. Martin (District Governor)
District Governor
Tina D. Fischlin
DG-Elect
Michael L. Berg
DG-Nominee
David Thomas Upchurch
District Communications Officer
Bobby D Hildreth
District Membership Chair
Tammy Tate Gilland
District Public Image/PR Chair
Scott R. Parmenter
District Rotary Foundation Chair
Richard L. Panyik
District Training Coordinator