Here's another chance to watch the District Governor's May video message!

You can win this stunning limited-edition print in the silent auction at the District Conference!

The "Imagine One's Dream" original painting was a combination of acrylic paints, industrial staples, shredded studio paperwork, plaster and beach sand painted on a wooden panel. For this piece, Jones used beach sand from their family cottage in Ontario, and paper he shredded and used from the Rotary website to include the "Objects of Rotary and the Four Way Test." After the textures were layered and dried, Jones said he began the colour process by literally applying paint to his hands and then onto the panel. The colour pallette was inspired by the colours of Rotary and the Presidential theme. "The gradient shading is also done on purpose to create a more landscape emotion, representing the horizon we all walk towards!!" states Jones.

The numbered print includes a signed Certificate of Authenticity and is valued at $800. It is beautifully framed in brushed silver as suggested by the artist, slightly lighter than this picture. It would be a beautiful addition to a home or office to reflect the importance Rotary plays in the lives of people around the world.

Signed and dated by Darren Jones, Chicago artist and brother to RIP (Rotary International President) Jennifer Jones

It is a busy time of year for your District Youth Exchange Committee. We have 14 long-term exchange students from our communities who will be departing for their exchanges this summer, and 7 short-term exchange students who will do a family-to-family exchange over the summer. We are currently busy preparing these future outbound students for their exchange. These future outbound students have been joining the Youth Exchange Committee via zoom meetings, learning all about Rotary, who we are, what we do, and how they (the students) can be good ambassadors for their country, communities, and Rotary. These students are keen to get involved with their Rotary clubs and participate in service and fund-raising projects.

District 5080 Rotary clubs are busy preparing for their future inbound students who will be arriving this summer from Italy, France, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Japan, Thailand, Brazil, Ecuador and Chile. Over the last 9 months our clubs have been hosting some amazing youth from these countries.

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Our Rotary District loses about 2.5 percent of its membership each year. In the past 15 years, there was just a single year in which membership increased, in 2009, and we’ve lost about a third of our members since. Over that same time period, we lost the Rotary Clubs of Beaver Valley, Hayden Lake, Lakeland Sunrise (Rathdrum), Cheney, Spokane Daybreak, Spokane East, Spokane Hillyard, and Spokane West. This year, we’ll lose another club to a merger. It’s time to start replacing our losses.

Fewer Rotarians leads to less giving to the Rotary Foundation, fewer hands to do service work, fewer new leaders. As expenses increase each year, and with fewer Rotarians and donations to cover administration and project costs, our costs per member naturally will increase.

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There is now a very useful tool for clubs wishing to fine tune their online presence called the Social Media Toolkit. Here's how it works: At your request, Todd Shepard will do your club's Social Media Assessment, and then will meet with your President, President-Elect, Public Image Chair, and Membership Chair (or any combination) to talk you through his recommendations. The Toolkit has the guidelines to accomplish your club's resulting social media goals. I recently did this with him, and it's worked wonders for my club's online presence! Concepts introduced and understood, and guidelines to follow to enact the changes I wanted to make.
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DEI Book Review, April 26, 2023

The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson (1994)

The D5080 DEI Book Group just finished a 2-part discussion of Isabel Wilkerson’s masterpiece (and her first book!) about the Great Migration in which more than 6 million southern black Americans moved to the North, the Midwest and the West AFTER the Civil War. They moved partly for better opportunities, but in large part to escape the severe restrictions and dangers of the Jim Crowe laws and to find freedom in their own country. This epic work of history and storytelling is the result of more than 1200 interviews with people who decided to leave home and family and make their way to a new home where they hoped to be able to work, raise their families and avoid violence and the possibility of lynching.

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The DEI Book Club has scheduled the following books for summer reading.

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan to be discussed on July 26^th

The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone to be discussed on August 23^rd

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander to be discussed on September 27^th.

To learn about these new books and other books discussed in past meetings, click on the link for the latest updated version of the District 5080 DEI Book Club Readers Guide Flipbook.

Hello Rotarians,

Our Naksup Club would like to invite you all to a presentation by Ann Frisch on TPNW (Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons) on May 9 at 6:00 pm (PST).

This presentation is to help understand about the resolution as our Nakusp club will be proposing it again this year at our May conference. The presentation will be 20 min followed by 10 min Q & A.

Ann Frisch is a member of the Rotary E-Club of International Peace in District 5000. In 2017, she received the Rotary UN People of Action Peace Champion Award.

If you are interested, please join us!

Are you wondering why you might not have as much energy to give Rotary as you had before? Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association (WGIPPA) President and member of the District 5080 Passport Club Maria Kliavkoff as an idea to find your rejuvenation!

Watch the video here.

If you have never attended a Zone Institute, here's a great opportunity! A 'Zone Institute' is like a District Conference on steroids.

Make plans to discover San Diego this November at the beautiful Town & Country Resort. The welcome Mix & Mingle officially kicks off the Zones 26/27 Institute on the evening of Wednesday, November 8, with sessions and programming continuing to Sunday, November 12. Come to connect and renew, and explore all that San Diego has to offer. Make room reservations today for the Town & Country.

Our Zones are known as the Innovation Zones, and this event will live up to our reputation.Visit www.zoneinstitute.org to make your hotel reservations and learn more!

In case you didn't know, District 5080 is part of Rotary Zone 27. The Zone exists solely to be of assistance to Clubs and Districts. They've provided us with a new tool, the Expert Hub!

I checked it out, and it looks really useful! They've provided us with a list of 'experts' in any field related to running a successful club. You'll find folks to connect with in Public Image, Membership, The Rotary Foundation, Club (and District) Administration, End Polio Now, Youth Programs. You will also find resource folks for other sub-topics such as Empowering Women and Girls, Conflict Resolution, Vocational Programs, and Development and Training.

Here's a promotional video to pique your interest!

Your Rotary Coordinators have spent the better part of this Rotary year discussing strategies for growing membership within your clubs. The need to evaluate meaningful data has been the foundation of those discussions. But first, the data has to be accurate!

The process for entering new members can be arduous at best. If an entry error is made while inputting new members, it is likely that information will not be transferred to Rotary International, which could affect the new member's status. Past district leaders have experienced an increase in membership simply by taking a deeper dive into club information found within ClubRunner and DACdb versus Rotary International.

We are within the last quarter of this Rotary year. If you have not done so already, assemble a team to look at each club and compare the data – a perfect task for an Assistant Governor, Membership Committee, or other leaders within the district. You may be surprised at what you find.

Use these links to learn how to compare club membership data with RI member data for clubrunner and DACdb:

Clubrunner: https://www.clubrunnersupport.

com/kb/articles/how-do-i-use-the-compare-synchronize-tool

DACdb: https://www.dacdb.com/Rotary/

Accounts/6910/Downloads/0/Training/DACdbRotaryCompareBriefIntro.pdf

Questions or Need Ideas? Reach out to Rotary Coordinators Jennifer Deroin or John Chase at membership@zone2627.org.

Female vaccinators are a key part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s strategy to advance equality and empower women. Women make up two-thirds of Pakistan’s polio workforce. Their work is crucial for us to meet our goal of interrupting the transmission of wild poliovirus this year, but the importance of their efforts goes far beyond polio eradication.

This photo essay from Rotary magazine’s April issue illustrates the work of female vaccinators and highlights five of the women who are working to end polio in Pakistan.

Thankfully, April 18 has come and gone for submission of our U.S. income taxes. If you’re due a refund, please consider The Rotary Foundation as the recipient for some of your refund. Remember…

• Annual Fund SHARE helps fund our Districts’ global and district grant programs;
• Disaster Response Fund provides funds for Ukraine and disasters in the United States throughout the world;
• Polio Plus provides funds for our ongoing immunization and monitoring efforts;
• Endowment Fund SHARE, like Annual Fund SHARE, splits the earnings evenly with the World Fund AND half returns to your district for both district and global grants.

Any contribution will help Rotary members address issues around the world… Here is the link to contribute today: https://www.rotary.org/en/

donate

Your Big West TRF Coordinator team will be providing annual training for members of your entire District TRF fundraising committee, including your Endowment and Major Gift committee. Virtual training will likely take place either the second or third week in July. Stay tuned for the link to register for this event. This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce new team members to their subject matter.

Finally, here is a link to the updated District Guide to Growing our Endowment Fund: https://my.rotary.org/en/

document/district-guide-growing-endowment

Questions? Contact your Zones 26 & 27 Endowment/Major Gift Advisers:

Steve Lewis: emgazone27@zone2627.org

Tom Walker: emgazone26@zone2627.org