Year-to-date there have been 100 confirmed cases of polio worldwide, 15 over last month. Twenty of the cases were in Afghanistan and 80 in Pakistan. During the same period last year there were 33 cases. The vast majority of the increase comes from Pakistan, where vaccine hesitancy continues to be a major challenge. Focused educational programs to enhance risk perception and improve eradication efforts are ongoing. One reason for the higher number of cases is that reporting procedures have improved, and the increase is due in part to the fact that some cases may not have been reported in past years.

World Polio Day was October 24th, and many of our clubs held events to raise polio awareness, including government proclamations, rallies, or painting pinkies purple.

At the district level we partnered with Dunkin' Donuts and Rotarians across Tennessee on the Purple Pinkie Donut Project. Our original goal of $250,000 was easily surpassed when the total amount raised exceeded $500,000 (including matches). Of that amount, more than $404,000 came from District 6780, which is something we can all be proud of. Thanks to all of those who supported this effort, and for the leadership of District 6780 and Bluemont Group, LLC, for this amazing partnership.

While fund raising is critical to the success of PolioPlus, there were other very significant benefits. We had over 500 District 6780 Rotarians actively engaged in the project (and engagement is key to retention), and we increased awareness of both Rotary and polio with thousands of people through the various connections that were made. It was a very good day!

Each club should have received a report showing its year-to-date contributions to PolioPlus and the progress made toward the club's PolioPlus and Eradicator Club Goals. If your club didn't receive one, please notify John Downs.

Also, donor forms for the contributions made during the Purple Pinkie Donut Project have been completed and will be going to Rotary International very soon. It generally takes about ten days for RI to process these contributions, but it may take a little longer given the volume they will be dealing with following World Polio Day so please be patient.

If you have not already become a part of our Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) family, please consider joining for RLI Part 1 on December 7 at the Roane State Campus in Crossville. And if you have begun your RLI journey already, please continue with us!

RLI is a great learning opportunity for new members, or those who have been a member awhile but want to know more about Rotary and leadership in a volunteer organization. It’s also perfect for those members who are on the track to club leadership!

Class size is limited to 30, so members should register early.

What is RLI?

A series of three fast-paced, interactive, one-day courses designed to build knowledge of Rotary. Among others, topics include Membership, Service Projects, and the Rotary Foundation. Courses are fun, topical, hands-on, and class members learn from each other – no lectures!

The program is designed for busy business professionals who want to be more effective leaders in their vocation and in their Rotary Club. Participants return to their clubs with new friends, enthusiasm, fresh ideas, and valuable leadership skills

Who should attend?

New members

Active Rotarians

Future club leaders

Join with other Rotarians in our district to exchange ideas and take action in your community and around the world? Join RLI!

Roane State Campus Crossville, Tennessee
Saturday, December 7, 2019
8:30 AM – 3:30 PM

What is the cost?

1. cost for attending RLI is $50 per person per course, which includes all materials as well as a continental breakfast and lunch. Many clubs choose to pay the cost for their members; in other clubs, members pay their own way. Pay online by credit card or check onsite made to HOA-RLI.

How do I register?

Register directly at

http://www.hoa-rli.org/rli/district-6780-rli-seminars

For the past several years Donna Fare has chaired the Four-Way Test SpeechContest for District 6780, elevating it to a higher level and initiating much-needed changes to scheduling. Donna has moved on to other District opportunities, now Al Clark stepping up as Chairman. He hopes to continue the steady growth in participation.

The 2020 speech contest will take place on March 7 during the annual Interact Conference in Pigeon Forge, and Al is asking that each club in the District communicate with local high schools so that everyone can begin preparing for this wonderful opportunity for deserving students in District 6780.

The Manual for the contest and a flyer concerning this year’s contest, as well as applications are available on the District 6780 website. The manual will answer questions related to the contest, and the flyer, which should be make available at high schools, announces the benefits of participation and the rewards. Also attached is the registration form, which must be returned to Alan by February 22, 2020, for all clubs participating.

Rotary sponsors contests but does not necessarily conduct the local contest. The schools may do this themselves in accordance with the manual; however, if the Rotary Club so desires, it can get involved in the actual process on site. Also, the contest is not limited to Interact Club members, so any qualified student at the schools may participate.

Rotary District 6780 continues to plan and complete many wonderful grants, and those of us on the Grants Committee get to read all of these wonderful projects that help others around the world. Sharing a small number of these in the Monthly Newsletters allows us to spread the news about these accomplishments with our fellow Rotarians.

One of these is the grant titled “All Season Room for the Serenity House” by Morristown Noon Club in the 2019-20 year. When the Rotary Club's long-time member and Service Committee member passed away in a residential hospice facility, the Service Committee proposed this project based on its impact in the community and the opportunity it offered to recognize and honor a great Rotarian through this project.

The Morristown Noon Club recognized the need for a place holding a support group or a meeting. The concept was developed by enclosing the carport with all season windows and renovation of the space. This space is used now by support groups, board meetings, and families of the residents. The future vision for the space is to have “Camp HUGS” to use the space for follow-up with the kids that have attended grief camp to see how they are doing.

I commend the Morristown Noon Rotary Club on its district grant led by Gordon Lintz and Jake Stokely. They gave is a long lasting gift to their community and to all of the families that will benefit from this space during a difficult time in their lives. This is also a thoughtful and meaningful way to honor their fellow Rotarian for years to come.

The KnoxvilleBreakfast Club hosted 15 foreign exchange students at the University of Tennessee's homecoming football game on November – ten students from District 6780 and five students from District 6760.

The day started at 12:30 at the Mello Mushroom in Farragut with pizza for lunch and then moved on to a tailgate in Circle Park. A big thank you goes out to Philip Sampietro and Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken for providing a tailgate spot and food for the kids.

The students enjoyed the Vol Walk, the band marching to the stadium, having fun in the Volunteer Village, and of course the game itself. They especially liked the half time performance with the Pride of the Southland Marching Band along with the Alumni Band.

David Beaman of the Knoxville Breakfast Club coordinated the event and said "It's always neat to see kids from different cultures interact with each other and with people here in Tennessee". By the end of the game everyone was chilled to the bone. They met back up at Mellow Mushroom after the game around 11:30 PM, and a great time was had by all!

The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival is again bringing nationally known storyteller Geraldine Buckley to Oak Ridge for her unusual workshop. The three Rotary Clubs of Oak Ridge support the Flatwater Tales Festival.

Geraldine offered her workshop, “Speaking Your Truth, Your Stories: An Interactive Workshop,” last year to middle schoolers at the Secret City Academy (SCA), the Oak Ridge Schools’ alternative program that provides positive academic and therapeutic support to its students.

Because of the response of the students, Flatwater Tales is bringing Geraldine back Jan. 13 and 14, 2020, for two days so she can work with both middle schoolers and high schoolers.

“Being able to tell their stories and having someone listen to them helps these children on their journey,” says Christopher Scott, principal of SCA.

The workshop will lead students and staff through development of their own stories, and they will present a storytelling concert on Tuesday evening at the end of the second day. A Rotarian is providing dinner at SCA for students, their parents, staff and members of the Flatwater Tales committee before the concert.

“The interactive confidence-building workshop is based on two premises,” Buckle says. “First, students have truths about themselves that they would like to communicate to others. Second, that given a challenge and an opportunity, they will rise beyond what they initially think they can do.”

Buckley says that her teaching is designed to give participates the skills to turn their truths into well-crafted stories and to do the almost impossible: perform their stories in the evening after the workshop. The staff also learns through this work and will be able to help the students with on-going experiences using the techniques.

Buckley, who lives in Frederick, MD, is known for her wit, humor and personal stories. She has been a featured teller at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough. She has performed and conducted workshops in the United States, Canada, England (her native land), Holland, South Africa and New Zealand. She has taught workshops for public defenders and social workers.

An ordained minister, Buckley has been the chaplain of the largest men’s prison in Maryland. She is currently enrolled in a year-long hospital chaplaincy program.

While in Oak Ridge, Buckley will also conduct a confidence-building workshop for Men of Tomorrow.

The third annual Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival will be June 6, 2020, at the historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge. Bil Lepp, Kim Weitkamp and Andy Offit Irwin will appear in three performances with different stories at each session. Known as the “uncalled for trio,” the three present annual ensemble Christmas performances at the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough.

Tickets for Flatwater Tales are available at www.FlatwaterTales.com.

Maryville Rotarianswill dig out their bellbottoms, put on some bling, and return to the '70s on February 7 for Rotary Night Fever. The gala evening will feature a live and a silent auction, dinner, and dancing. In addition to art, jewelry, tools, and household times, auctions items will also include cabin and hotel stays, event tickets, liquor, admission to attractions, and gift certificates.

Proceeds from this fun event will be used to fund club project, including food for Kids (providing and packing food for five school in Second Harvest Food Bank's backpack program), Heart2Heart (projects in Mexico via this multi-district organization), scholarships and aid to re-entering students at Pellissippi State Community College, dictionaries for all their-graders in Blount County, and sponsoring a Youth Exchange Student to Peru.

The event will take place at the Capitol Theater in Maryville from 6:00 to 10:00 PM on February 7, 2020. Tickets are $50 each, and a cash bar will be available. For additional information or tickets contact Bob Beasley at bobbeasley.rotary@icloud.com

Disclaimer: this first story happened in September, but let's pretend like it didn't.

It was 8:OO in the evening and the sun had set for the day. In the US I would’ve been doing homework at that time probably in my pajamas on my bed, fighting away sleep. But this is Italy, baby, I hadn’t even had dinner. My host mom drove up to the restaurant; I saw my classmates were waiting outside. The rest arrived shortly after then we waited for their math teacher from the previous year. When she arrived, we all quickly filed into the pizzaria to the back corner where a long table awaited us. I picked a random pizza.

Now this was not my first rodeo, I knew how to prepare to have pizza in Italy. I didn't eat anything for at least three hours before, and when I left the house I made sure my belt was not on too tight. Because here, you order your OWN pizza, and you're expected to finish it. It’s so delicious that you want to finish it, but unfortunately, carbs are filling. So, the pizza arrived. I could barely wait to eat it, but I knew I should wait for everyone to be served first. And then I heard music to my ears, “Vai, mangia.”

Then came the time where I’m a little over a quarter of the way through my pizza when I look around and notice everyone else is over HALF way done. Aurora looked over at me, “Giuliana, I’m going to teach you the correct way to eat pizza.” She showed me how to fold the slice in half, so it created a pocket of mozzarella and nothing falls out. You know what this means: New Yorkers eat pizza correctly.

That aside, the table was cleared, and a tray of small pastries was placed in front of us. As they were picked at, stories were shared. I swear, Italian is like learning sign language: the hand gestures are very important. The conversation became so lively, I started to laugh. Not because everything was so stereotypically Italian, but because I actually understood the story being told. I understood the story after that, and the one after that, and I kept understanding despite the speed with which they spoke. By the end of the night my head hurt, but I was so in love. The animation and vivacity with which they speak is magnetic; you feel yourself lean further and further into the conversation until it’s just you, the food, and the wonderful people you’ve met.

This monthflew by with laughs, smiles, and lots of dancing. With festival season at its peak, this month started off with the end of Navrati, which loosely translates to “nine nights” and is a celebration taking place over nine nights celebrating the defeat of evil. People all come together celebrating in different ways, whether that be through Pujas or my favorite, Garba, a form dance that uses simple steps but slowly increases as the music speeds up. Despite being awful at the Garba dance, I had a great time and participated twice in the celebration, both with friends from school and other inbounds. My Rotary club also had a Garba Night that I went to where we dressed up and had a dance contest instead of a meeting.

With the end of Navrati my host family went on a destination wedding trip to Dubai, so I stayed with another host family for a week. During this time I went to morning Zumba classes, and they took me out to the local country clubs most of the nights I stayed with them. I also went to the Laughter Club, a morning exercise club that is super inviting and aims to make you smile through light exercise. The Budhwani Family also took me and one of my inbound friends to the Koradi Temple to tour and see the gorgeous architecture of the temple, which was gorgeous! I had a blast. Frequently, my host mother there would take me to the market and even helped me pick out a custom-tailored lehenga for Diwali.

Disclaimer - I’ve included lots of pictures from the first exchange trip, but I have unfortunately forgotten the names of almost every place we visited - picture descriptions might be vague!

Well,I’ve probably attended less than a week of school this month, so October has been great! My family and I kicked off the month at my uncle’s wedding, and we even had dresses custom-made. We’ve been going to the tailor for dress fittings for the past month, which was something I’d never done before. It was pretty cool, except for the part when the tailor told me I’ve gotten fatter.

We were late to the wedding and missed almost all of it (#peruvianhour), but the reception was beautiful. There was lots of dancing and dinner wasn’t served until 10:00, so it was a pretty typical Peruvian party. Unfortunately, my host mom tripped and fractured a bone in her foot that night so she’s been in a boot this whole month. This month, I also tried ceviche, convinced my host sister to come to Pizza Hut with me, and started accompanying my Rotary counselor to an adult reading/writing class that she teaches every Sunday morning.

This month all of the exchange students took a two-week trip to Cusco, Puno, Lago Titicaca, and Colca. After Peruvian Airlines unexpectedly canceled all of their flights, we had to take a 10-hour bus ride from Arequipa to Cusco. However, the bus was surprisingly luxurious (we each had a TV, snacks, and we were able to recline our seats all the way back) so it ended up being pretty fun. The history and landscape of Peru is so much more beautiful and diverse than I ever imagined - and I saw way more llamas and alpacas than I expected!

Overall, my favorite experience was staying on the island of Amantaní. We lived with host families for two days, ate the typical food (cachanga, a type of fried bread, is life changing), and even got to attend a party wearing traditional Amantaní clothing! Oh, and we painted a school. There were no showers or electricity, but the cachanga made it worth it.

October has goneby crazy fast. I started the month on fall break, which is two weeks long here, and I loved it. The first week I spent here in Einfeld with my friends and I shopped, I went to Kiel, and I went to my first Abitur party (Abitur is the degree you get your last year). The second week I spent in Italy with my host family. We stayed in a small city in the north near Merano, and it was beautiful. We did a lot of hiking, which killed my legs, but it was a lot of fun and just gorgeous. We also went to Merano, which is the closest city and walked around and went in the shops and sight saw.

When we got back we had a few days of break left, and my host parents needed to go to Berlin to visit my host Mom’s dad in the hospital, so I stayed with my second host family for a few days. That weekend we had a day for exchange students organized by Rotex. It was so much fun to be with everyone again.

That next week I started my Praktikum for school, which is like an internship. I’m doing mine at a veterinary clinic and a bookstore. These first two weeks I’ve been at the vet and it’s been very interesting to see how they do things (my allergies aren’t very happy though).

I feel this month has also been a turning point for me in German. I’ve noticed that I can understand a lot more and I don’t have to focus as hard to understand either. I just can’t wait till I can speak fluently!

Konnicha, minna-san! The literal translation of that is “As for this day, is mister everyone.” Of course, that’s not what I think when I hear it. The actual translation as you’re supposed to take it is “Good afternoon everyone!” Now that I have taught you how to be fluent in Japanese, you are probably thinking of things you want to do with your new-found ability. One of the first things that comes to your big, beautiful brain is going to visit Japan, as all big, beautiful brained people as yourself would reasonably come to the conclusion to. With this knowledge, you might be thinking, “But, Caleb! What would I do in Japan and what is it like?!?” Well, do not fret, my friend. I am here to guide with my experiences I have gained thus far. My list is as follows:

First, typhoons and earthquakes! I know typhoons and earthquakes are an incredibly tempting reason to come to Japan. But! They are not as bad as it seems. At least not in my town. The second typhoon, typhoon number 19, hit a big portion of Japan and was kinda scary, but nothing happened in my town except for a few minor details. We had to metal bar all of our windows, carry all the plants and outside decorations inside, and the wind shook the house, but that’s basically it!!! Also, we had no running water after it for a solid four days. So, that resulted in going to the local hospital for water, which was being supplied by Japan’s military service. That was an experience.

And, earthquakes aren’t that bad either. The worst ones I have experienced only wakeup me up at night. See! No natural disasters can stop you!

Second, Nagasaki! If you remember learning this in high school history class or perhaps history interests you, the name Nagasaki will ring a bell. Were you there for WWII? Probably not, but near the end of that calamity was Hiroshima and Nagasaki. America was responsible for nuking these two towns located in southern Japan. Now that you are history buff, let me indulge you more. I went to a museum there dedicated to the bombings in Nagasaki. I will talk more about Nagasaki and my trip there in a more joyful setting at a later number, but now I will talk about the travesty of the bombings. Of course, this may disturb whoever reads this, so skip to the next number if you’re not interested.

October has flown by here. It’s beginning to warm up here, and summer feels like it’s just around the corner. Beginning this month I spent some time exploring the city because I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable with the language and local area. My language has recently improved to the point that I can navigate day-to-day life pretty easily. My speaking is a little rough still, but I can understand almost all of what people are saying around me, which really helps me not feel as isolated here.

At the beginning of the month I went hiking with friends of my host parents at Itupava, the closest mountain to my city. I also have been taking part in a few local volunteer programs with a Brazilian friend of mine. My host dad, Joscelito, also took me to my first football game here between a local team CAP and Flamenco, the largest team in Brazil.

School has been generally pretty uneventful, but this month we had a job fair and expo and I took part in a dance with my class. I have also visited a few museums including the Oscar Meyer. My host parents took me out into the country to visit their friends and their parents and at the end of the month the ROTEX here had a Halloween party for the exchangers.

So, I have been here in Taiwan for two months now and a lot more has happened since my last report. My mom told me that there are a lot of interesting things that maybe I would not think are that cool but that you guys would like to hear. So I will try to include some of those details. Also, she told me that those spinning table from my first report are called Lazy Susans, and they are a thing in the US too.

I guess I will start from where I left off in my last report from September 1st. On that day my host family had promised me that they would finally teach me how to use the buses in Taiwan to get where I wanted to go, but specifically to school. On my first day my host dad had driven me to my high school, but he said he could not do that every day so he had to teach me how to use the buses. I was really happy about this since until then if I wanted to go somewhere, I would have to ask my host dad to take me or I would use the family bike which could not take me very far. I didn't do much until 11:00 that day when they said we were heading out to take the bus to Chung Yuan Christian University so I could learn how to do it myself. It turns out the big secret to taking the bus was Google Maps. I just had to set my destination and put it on transit and it would tell me exactly how to get to where I wanted to get to. It was a bit underwhelming but also it meant that I would not have to go through the effort of learning my bus numbers and times. It would not be very beneficial for me to do so because of how many times I would have to switch families, which also meant changing location and using different buses. (I’m already on my second host family right now with six more changes to go just for reference).

On a side note: it is not normal to have seven host families. Normally an exchange student has three or at the most four over the course of a year, but I am the only exchange student coming to my specific Rotary club so I got a lot of families. Sorry I'm pretty scatterbrained so there will probably be lots of little rabbit holes like this. Also, I got a full day to write this report because school was cancelled due to a typhoon coming in (I'll talk about this later). This report should be pretty long.

This month of October,I’ll say wash the best. It was filled with the unexpected new experiences, laughs, and journeys. This month I had to go to my first training meeting in Belo Horizonte. I was originally supposed to go earlier, but since I arrived late I couldn’t. It’s a mandatory thing and there I met the other two Americans who live there. Out of the whole group of inbounds here in my area, there’s only five Americans. I was surprised because I thought there would be more.

Next I made American pancakes and cookies for my host family. They said they really like it but, I didn’t and I think that’s because it’s really different from America. All their stuff is just made different, like the flour I used was just...I don’t know how to explain. Let’s just say it’s different but in a good way.

Also this month my host mom had to get surgery on her foot for a torn tendon, so she can’t drive or anything. This means I have to take ubers. I can’t get picked up from school anymore or when I want to go out with my friends. I mean this is a new experience I've never ridden in an uber in America soo..yeah lol.

My host parents before she had surgery on her foot, we went bowling with my third host mom and the exchange student from Taiwan she is hosting. When she is done hosting him, I will go to her house and he will come to my first host parents' house. But anyway, we went bowling and I kind of sucked kkkkkk. I enjoyed the time with all of them though. “kkkkk” is the way that they laugh so if I'm saying it a lot that’s what it means.

Rotariansare people of action! And, every club’s activities should be reported to other Rotarians in our District. If you have news about a club project or an upcoming fundraiser; if you have good news about a member or members or someone being honored, please share it with us so we can share it with the rest of the District in the newsletter!

Simply send an email about your news to SUEANNE LEWIS and attach an article or information you would like to have in the newsletter. Articles don’t have to be written out; a bullet list will do. Tell us the who, what, when, where, and how of your event, and we’ll write it up. Please include contact information so we can call or email if we have questions.

And, send us pictures and videos too! Pictures should be in .jpg and .png format.

We can only report what you tell us. If you have questions, please call SueAnne at 865-482-1386 or email to 6780news@gmail.com.