The
Highlighter
October 2010
Vol 84 No 4
Table of Contents
Business Networking NOT Business Marketing
Roger Schulte
On
an evening over one hundred years ago four lonely men gathered
together as business associates in Chicago. Chicago was a frantic,
bustling, cut-throat, corrupt, commercially exploitative place to do
business, and they missed the honesty, intimacy and friendliness of
the small towns of their youth.
At that meeting Paul Harris (a lawyer) proposed to Silvester Schiele (a coal dealer,) Gustavus Loehr (a mining engineer,) and Hiram Shorey (a merchant tailor) the idea of forming a club based on mutual business cooperation and informal friendships. They agreed that only one member would be invited from each profession or business and that only those demonstrating high integrity would be invited. It would be from this growing group that they would practice reciprocal trade and enjoy each other's fellowship.
The reciprocal exchange of business was central to Rotary in its early years. In fact one of the most important early club officers was that of the statistician. Whenever a member gave business to or received an order from another member, he wrote the details on a postcard and mailed it to the statistician.
Rotary was founded on business reciprocity (today, we call might call it "networking") and friendship (aka, "fellowship"). Later with the development of the Avenues of Service, Vocational Service was included. It is important not to lose sight of our roots, especially in these difficult financial times.
October is Vocational Service Month. Rotarians and their clubs are encouraged to consider what they do to support this Avenue of Service.
Some suggestions gleaned from club visits:
- Hold social mixers at members' places of business.
- Initiate or be speakers at career days at middle and/or high schools.
- Select a featured member each week to give a three minute mini-vocational talk.
- Invite local business owners to a club meeting(s) specifically designed for business networking.
- In small clubs, have members introduce themselves each meeting, stating their occupations.
- Belong to and be involved with the Chamber of Commerce (always wearing your Rotary badge.)
- Be on-the-job mentors for students in continuation high schools.
- Distribute plastic card file folders at a meeting and have members exchange their business cards.
- Recognize employees of the month, men/women who have selected military service as a career, service employees of the year, etc.
- Include the occupations (or classifications) or each club member on rosters and fliers used in the community or with prospective members.
- Create an on-line community job bank.
- Hold a community workshop for those looking for work, teaching them how to job-search, to improve their interview skills, to fill out an application, etc.
- Teach workshops on the use of technology for business promotion.
- Select and honor a local business-of-the-year for its contributions to the community.
- Distribute copies of The Four-Way Test to local businesses.
- Hold essay or video contests among your Interactors on The Four-Way Test.
- Work with your local high schools to sponsor a class on entrepreneurship using materials and resources provided through our District Vocational Chair, C. Ray Carlson.
- Sponsor a business plan competition at your high schools. Winners will be honored at the district conference in June.
Some Rotarians confuse "business networking" with "business marketing." We are not an organization through which members primarily "sell" their wares or services. We are, however, an organization of professional and business men and women who share common business desires as stated in the Object of Rotary:
- To encourage high ethical standards in business and professions;
- To recognize the worthiness of all useful occupations; and
- To dignify each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
Group Study Exchange
October 3
Centennial Hills 2nd Annual Charity Golf Tournament
October 8
October 15
Las Vegas
Summerlin
The Affair to
RememberSM
October 22
October 22 and 23
North Las Vegas
Fuggetaboutit
Theatrical Fundraiser
October 22- 24
Seven District Interact Symposium
October 23
West Covina and West Covina Sunrise Red Ribbon Rally and Car Show
October 23
Apple Valley's 9th Annual Happy Trails Chili Cook Off
October 25
Pasadena Rotary Golf Tournament
November 6
Pahrump Valley Rotary Cash Extravaganza
November 7
Arcadia's "Team Rotary" ,"Walk for a Cure" of Juvenile Diabetes
November 14
West Covina Sunrise Fundraiser - Honky Tonk Musical and Lunch
Feb 22 - Mar 8, 2011
D5300 Fellowship Tour
Egypt, Jordan, Israel
Million $ Dinner
Many people are asking how to make The Rotary Foundation a beneficiary in their will, trust etc. Here is sample will and codicil language for The Rotary Foundation (TRF) in the United States, but be sure to check that the interest is applied to the SHARE Fund as the default is that TRF says how ALL the interest will be used. If you are drafting a new will or codicil or establishing a trust, the following is sample language that can be used in making a bequest to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International:
I give to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, an Illinois not-for-profit corporation, located in Evanston, Illinois (insert here the sum, description of property, or percentage of residual estate). This gift is to be placed in said Foundation's endowment, The Rotary Foundation Permanent Fund, from which a spending portion will be used to support the Foundation's activities and programs.
Unless further directed by the donor, the spending portion will be directed to support Foundation programs as determined by the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation. If it is your intention that a portion of the spending be directed through a specific Rotary district, please indicate this on the Benefactor Commitment Card.
The Rotary Foundation urges you to seek advice from a legal or financial professional of your choosing in all matters pertaining to a bequest or living trust.
By using this language to assign $10,000 or more to the Permanent Fund of TRF you can ensure that the work of the Foundation continues as a memorial to you and you will receive an invitation to the MILLION DOLLAR DINNER on January 14, 2011. Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith will recognize you and your donation at the prestigious event. Check next month for more details about the event location as final details are still being arranged.
Contact Pat Carlton, Margaret Cooker (760-243-5928) or Jerry Tambe for more information.
Next month's theme
Rotary Foundation
Click here for publishing guidelines.
Annual Safety Officers Awards Recognition
Event
The
Rotary Clubs of Southern Nevada sponsored the Ninth Annual Safety
Officers Awards Recognition Event on September 13, 2010. This
event began after 9/11/2001, when the Sunset Rotary BOD voted to
establish a yearly event to honor local heroes. From that meeting
President Janie Lynn and Robert Wood spearheaded the first Safety
Officers Awards. Over 300 local heroes have been honored to
date, with the support of 16 agencies and the 13 Rotary Clubs of
Southern Nevada.
This year's SOAR Committee included
Gregg Townsend, Kathy Pirmantgen, Sandra Simmons, Suzy Baldwin, Jack
Spinato, Rose Lee, and Janie Lynn. Representatives from each
of the clubs presented the awards to agencies in their area.
The agencies honored included Clark County School District
Police, Henderson Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Henderson Fire Department, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, Las Vegas
Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada Highway Patrol, N. Las Vegas
Police Department, N. Las Vegas Fire Department, Mesquite Police
Department, Mesquite Fire & Rescue, City of Las Vegas Detention &
Enforcement, Civil Air Patrol, Nellis Air Force Base, Pahrump Fire &
Rescue, and U.S. Marshall Service.
District Governor
Roger Schulte presented "A Rotary Moment," and PDG Tom Novotny was in
attendance. The Mayor of Mesquite came with what appeared to
be the entire Mesquite Police and Fire & Rescue Department. The
delightful voice of Genevieve was enjoyed by all with her heartwarming
rendition of the National Anthem. She is a regular at this event.
Local Newscaster Mitch Fox from Channel 3 was our Master of
Ceremony, and the event was televised on Channel 3 at 5:00PM on
September 13, 2010.
After 9 years, this is still
one of the best kept secrets in Southern Nevada. The goal for next
year is to change that!
Vocational Service Receives Renewed Emphasis by R.I.
‘Membership in Rotary is based on our vocation, with each club striving to create a microcosm of its community's business and professional world. This unique feature provides the source for Rotary's historic commitment to vocational service.' So states R.I.'s new brochure on this second area of service. But what does it mean in practical terms?
High ethical standards in all our business and personal dealings is an important emphasis, of course, with the Four-Way Test as our guideline. But we need to promote this to the youth of our community and the annual essay competition is important in doing so. Maybe we can gain access to all the students in our community by offering to make relevant presentations to every classroom for one period each year or as part of an all-school assembly on citizenship.
Reading Literacy has been an important focus of many clubs as it becomes evident that the low academic performance index of many schools, and especially of second language children, is due to a lack of reading skill.
The need for Financial Literacy has become apparent as so many youth (and their parents) are simply unable to handle carefully the money they earn or receive from parents. Literacy is fundamental to success in all vocations.
A new paradigm has become especially important in this grim economy where so many are without jobs – Entrepreneurial Literacy. New jobs must be created on a massive scale to make up for the millions that were lost as businesses trimmed back in order to survive, while other jobs were lost permanently as businesses failed. It is important that we apply our business-savvy to the teaching of youth about business principles and how to write business plans based on the students' own ideas. The classic program for teaching entrepreneurship is the J.A. Company curriculum which has been carried out by Junior Achievement since 1919. Many of us have benefitted by one or another J.A. class along the way, since they now offer subjects for K-12 that build upon earlier ones. Other curricula are available, too, from other sources.
A District-wide Business Plan Competition is planned in the Spring for high schools sponsored by Rotary Clubs that have enabled a local school to conduct a class on entrepreneurship and how to write a business plan. This is Vocational Service at its best as it impacts the New Generations with skills they would not otherwise get. And it gives the students an option of being their own boss, maybe in collaboration with a parent or a sibling. But it will also make them better employees because of their understanding of the significance of ‘the bottom line.'
The New Generations understand social media and networking in communicating with their peers, that it is imperative in the sale and marketing of new products and services. They understand what their peers might be interested in buying and can try meeting a need or wish at very low entry cost.
"#1 in Innovation" is an ad-heading of the Wall Street Journal and "Innovation is the Key to Success," they further state. Let's use our savvy and vocational skill-sets to come up with brand new ideas for serving the New Generations.
Information: C. Ray Carlson, <ray@rotapreneur.com>
West Covina Fire Explorers Visit Rotary,
Teen Recognized
About
the Explorers
The City of West Covina Fire Department
Explorer Program offers young adults between the ages of 15 to 21 years
of age the opportunity to become part of its explorer program. Fire
explorers meet once a week at one of the 5 fire stations in the city
where they learn fire-fighting skills, hose lay evolutions, ladder
techniques, salvage operations, wildland fire fighting procedures,
proper use of fire fighting tools and equipment, breathing apparatus,
basic first aid, patient vital sign assessment, and other related
subjects.
After explorers meet the requirements, they
have the opportunity to apply skills they have learned and gain valuable
experience through the fire department's Ride Along Program. During a
Ride Along, an explorer can work side by side with firefighters and
respond to actual fires and emergencies on paramedic engine companies or
the fire department's Ladder Truck Company.
Fire
explorers compete in muster competitions using old time fire-fighting
techniques in friendly competition with other explorer posts and are
also involved in many community service projects and can often be found
side by side a Rotarian at many events.
Teen
Recognized
Earlier in the year, Cody Salter, a member of the Explorer program, made
the decision to sell his custom built BMX bike, which had taken years to
build, so that he could attend Fire Training in Chicago for 4 days. He
could have chosen to stay behind and hang out with friends, but instead,
he sacrificed the one thing he owned that he knew would take him years
to replace in order to attend 4 days of training in leadership,
firefighting, and discipline. For the West Covina Rotary clubs, this
was a reflection of his commitment to service that most teens would not
have made.
Both
the West Covina Rotary Sunrise and Noon clubs dug deep into their
pockets and were able to raise $1,135.00 to help Cody get his bike
rebuilt. Dicks Sporting Goods offered to match these funds with a
donation to the Explorer Program, and Walmart approved a $10,000
donation to the program as well. These funds will be used to purchase
much needed equipment, helmets, and gloves for the Explorers.
Arcadia Rotary Seeks to Raise Funds for Pakistan Flood Relief
In an effort to provide assistance to the 12 million Pakistanis rendered homeless or needing urgent assistance due to extreme flooding, the Arcadia Rotary Club has embarked on a fundraiser to provide temporary housing and other emergency supplies through the ShelterBox program.
"Inside each ShelterBox is a tent that can house up to ten people for temporary shelter during disasters such as earthquakes or floods," said Arcadia Rotary president-elect Dr. Brad Miller. "ShelterBoxes also include items such as thermal blankets, cooking equipment and other lifesaving and comfort items, depending on the nature of the disaster, along with food and water purification supplies for up to three weeks."
ShelterBox is part of a disaster relief program sponsored by Rotarians in six countries. Each costs $1,000 each, including delivery to the relief site.
"I realized that despite Haiti and the Gulf oil spill, Pakistan is a human tragedy as big as anything we have seen and while I was sitting in the air conditioned comfort of my living room a world away, hundreds of thousands of families were trudging through waist deep murky water looking for dry ground," said Miller. "The combination of vivid TV images and the personal grief of an individual on the radio made me realize how lucky we are and that perhaps we were not stepping up enough."
Miller then went to club president Matt Weaver with an idea to challenge club members to contribute $50 per person towards the purchase of ShelterBoxes.
"If we raised $5,000 in the next month to purchase five boxes, 50 people could be sheltered, a drop in the bucket, but at least something," said Miller. "I challenged our board to support the project 100% and challenge friends, family and the local community for a contribution of at least $10."
According to Miller, the ShelterBox tent itself can last as long as a year as other relief organizations follow-up with additional food, water, and other supplies. Once purchased, they can be tracked on the internet and their delivery location observed by donors.
"The Rotary Foundation has established the Rotary Pakistan Flooding Recovery Fund for the purpose of collecting funds to be used to assist the disaster affected areas of Pakistan," said Miller. "The funds will be collected until December 31, 2010 and will be used as the Foundation's basis for matching grants which could allow our $5,000 to become $17,000 – 17 Shelterboxes that could shelter 170 people."
Tax deductable donations for the purchase of ShelterBoxes can be sent to the Arcadia Rotary Club, PO Box 660638, Arcadia, CA 91066. Checks should be made out to The Rotary Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
West Covina Rotarian
Works with Make-A-Wish Foundation
As we
continue our missions of Service, it is important to recognize the
efforts and actions of our fellow Rotarians outside of Rotary. For
many, Rotary is a way of life. This was exemplified recently with
fellow Rotarian Joe Secard of the West Covina Noon Rotary Club.
Here's the story as reported by David Keck of the VV Daily Press.
Jake Edmonds spent the entire
month of March in the hospital, where he had 180 seizures. All in
one day.
Edmonds suffers from Rasmussen's encephalitis,
a rare, chronic inflammatory disease that affects the left side of his
brain and causes frequent seizures. Doctors diagnosed him with the
disease when he was 10. Now 17, he takes more than 60 pills a day to try
to deal with its effects, explained his mother, Rhonda Palmer.
But he didn't worry about that
Saturday. Through the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Secard Pools gave a pool
to the Apple Valley family so they could enjoy the summer. "I love
it," Jake said of the pool, finished last Tuesday. "I'll probably go in
it every day."
Jake chose a pool after doctors decided
that his condition barred him from traveling. Doctors cleared him for
the pool as long as he wears a life vest specially designed to keep him
floating on his back if he has a seizure.
The full
story can be found at:
http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/valley-19567-apple-wish.html
This random act of kindness and
service by Rotarian Joe Secard is a reflection of how Rotarians are
changing lives and making a difference in the lives of our children.
Thank you, Joe, for making this youth's wish come true!
Three New Rotarians at Industry Hills
The
Rotary Club of Industry Hills and Governor Roger Schulte inducted three
new members. Pictured are Mr. Moises Ortega, Vice President of One West
Bank in the City of Industry, Dr. Cartha Tennille, retired educator, and
Mr. Martin Galindo, Superintendent of Bassett Unified School District in
La Puente. The new members will be a huge asset as the Club gears up for
the Teacher Mini-Grants and Thanksgiving Baskets in November. The Rotary
Club of Industry Hills also sponsors three Interact Clubs at Wilson, La
Puente, and Bassett High Schools and each Interact Club needs Rotarian
member support.
Warm for Winter
The Rotaract Club of Las Vegas will be collecting new & un-used gloves & winter hats for elementary school children within the Las Vegas community. We hope you will take part in this joint – effort to provide a warm winter to a child.
Your glove and hat donations will be
distributed to over 200 school children at the annual Santa Clothes
event on December 1st 2010
All gloves, hats, & monetary donations will be collected now through NOVEMBER 15TH!
Donations can be sent to:
Rotaract Club of Las Vegas
C/O Amanda Hurst
4505 S Maryland Parkway Box 452013
Las Vegas, NV 89154
TLC
Update
Teen Leadership Camp (TLC) is upon us and we need your commitment to help send 188 students to a fantastic Leadership camp in Irvine where these young men and women will learn how to become better leaders, build better teams and become better decision makers.
This years TLC will be held on November 19-21, 2010. We still need to fill 32 slots with students and we are looking for your clubs to help. Due to some financial struggles some of our clubs this year have shared the sponsorship of students since they couldn't afford to send 2 students from their own clubs. So if you would like to join the fun and sponsor a student check around and see if any of the clubs in your area would like to jointly sponsor some students.
Don't let our future leaders miss out on this opportunity. If you have any questions please fell free to contact our Registrar, Julia Morse at 760-963-8072 or via email at h.morse@alaskausa.org. Or you may also contact our Chair, Luis Chacon at 626-625-2831 or via email at luis@teamchacon.com.
We hope to see some new faces this year and we are looking forward to a full house of our future leaders in Irvine and Rotarians don't forget we still have room for you as well. Remember to get your students names into the Registrar by October 15, 2010. And it isn't too late to participate and take advantage of this wonderful life changing opportunity!
Power Weekend for Interactors
Could the Interact club you're sponsoring use a shot in the arm? Could they benefit from increased membership/retention, better fund raising programs, and more effective meetings? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then make plans to send your team to Interact Symposium 2010.
Students, faculty advisors, and Rotarians will gather to learn about these topics and much, much more on October 22 through 24, at the Outdoor Education Center in Orange, California. Seven RI Districts will participate. So space is limited. You won't want to miss the "early bird special" either. Get your reservation and payment in by October 1st and you'll save $45 for every team of three you send.
To place your reservation, and get your team registered go to http://www.district5300.org/Interact/Symposium/index.html. You'll find everything you need from the Symposium brochure and Parental Consent forms, to Club Intention to Participate forms and online registration for you and your team. If you have any questions, please contact Interact Symposium Chair, Mike Driebe today at michael.driebe@methodisthospital.org. Don't delay; register your Interact team today!
"TEAM ROTARY" Is Recruiting Rotarians for the Dodger Stadium "Walk for a Cure" of Juvenile Diabetes
The
November 7, 2010 Walk to Cure Diabetes comes a week before the World
Diabetes Day (proclaimed by the UN at the request of Rotary
International, JDRF, and others) on November 14. Rotary
International also started a special action group on the subject. For
its part, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is not only
highly respected, but also the world's largest charitable funder and
advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research. Such research can
also be useful in treating type 2 (adult) diabetes.
Just as World Polio Day is October 24, so World Diabetes Day is November 14 (thanks, inter alia, to Rotary International). It is time to see the parallels between the two crusades. Like Infantile Paralysis, Juvenile Diabetes victimizes the very young. The former is crippling; the latter can be fatal. The former has a vaccine; the latter is still seeking a cure – as well as a means to get insulin to children in third world countries.
As observed by Syed Azmatullah, a Phoenix Rotarian: "It is shocking to learn from Martin Silink, president of IDF [and Secretary of Rotary's Action Group] that half of the 440,000 children with diabetes worldwide lack access to the insulin they need to live. It is necessary that every Rotary District observes World Diabetes Day to spread awareness of and help detect and treat the silent killer."
Rotarians are active in projects in Nepal and Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Nigeria, and Cameroon, and support at least 5 foot care projects in the Caribbean through the matching grant process, with the potential for forty more countries by 2012.
This year there will be a "TEAM ROTARY" headed by Michael Ojeda of Arcadia Rotary. We are building on last year's Walk in which an estimated 15,000 people (including Rotarians) took part. Other Rotarians made donations to the JDRF. This year in the memo space of your checks payable to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, please write "TEAM ROTARY".
You are invited to join us on November 7 for a healthy 5K walk around Dodger Stadium and the infield as we help to raise money.
Joining our winning team is easy! First, sign up with "TEAM ROTARY" captain Michael Ojeda or register online at www.jdrf.org. Second, simply ask your family, friends and neighbors to sponsor you by making a contribution to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or to walk with you on "TEAM ROTARY". You can even fundraise online at JDRF's Walk Central to raise even more money. Third, join us as we Walk to Cure Diabetes!
Rotary Friendship Tour to Jordan, Egypt, and Israel - February 22-March 8, 2011
The Rotary Friendship Tour accords Rotarians, spouses and friends in District 5300 and other Rotary Districts a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Jordan, Egypt, and Israel to witness first-hand the centuries-old history and rich culture of the region as well as to meet with Rotarians and their families. We will also have the option of attending a one-day peace conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, organized by Rotary International District 2450. DG Roger has selected this region for our 2011 GSE destination. Great fellowship, extensive sightseeing tours, cultural programs, the cuisine of the region will be awaiting the tour participants. Please register early! REGISTRATION DEADLINE: OCTOBER 23, 2010. The group will be led by PDG Dr. Garbis Der-Yeghian who is an expert on the Middle East and has visited the region on numerous occasions. For the daily tour itinerary, costs, and further information visit the District Website: district5300.org. For questions, please contact PDG Garbis E-mail: mashdots@aol.com, Cell Phone: (818) 523-3353. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity!