The
Highlighter
December 2010
Vol 84 No 6
Table of Contents
The
Family of Rotary - A Different Perspective
Roger Schulte
December's
Rotary theme is The Family of Rotary. Usually when we address this
theme, we consider how Rotary's goals, values, activities, and
principles extend beyond its members and how they relate to their
families and friends. Discussions usually focus on family-centered
Rotary activities, socials, needs, concerns, and attentions. How
Rotarians bring Rotary home, extend it to their spouses and children
and grandchildren.
Let's look at this theme on a more basic level, the Family of Rotary within the club itself. Having completed most of my official club visits, my leadership team and I often (but not always) ended up discussing the following topic with the club presidents and their presidents-elect and secretaries: Interpersonal discord within the club. This was expressed in a variety of guises: power-struggles, individual domination, club politics, lack of respect for others' ideas, rudeness, unwillingness to compromise, and cliques, to name but a few.
A Rotary club is like a large extended family. It is composed of different people, men and women from different backgrounds, of various ages, representing a variety of occupations and educational training. Levels of income vary considerably. Members see the world with different political and religious persuasions and perspectives. Each of us brings our self to Rotary and looks to Rotary to fulfill various needs, some personal, some business-related. We come with our own expectations of the organization; hence our viewpoints of Rotary can differ greatly.
Such diversity within a club is usually looked upon as a strength, but in practicality it can be a source of interpersonal discord. Clubs may have become divided. Some members have, in a way, dropped out, showing up infrequently to meetings, seldom volunteering, and rarely participating in the activities of the club. Some have resigned from Rotary.
All families have issues. Effectively functioning families address them. As Rotarians, each of us is a member of a Rotary club. This is our primary Family of Rotary. For our Rotary club to effectively carry out the Objects of Rotary, we each individually should:
- Welcome diversity
- Reach out to all members, come to personally know them and their families
- Understand what they value in Rotary and how it fulfills them
- See new opportunities for service as expressed by others
- Compromise, reach consensus, give in once in a while
- Let the little things go
- Express personal feelings without blaming
- Shun gossip, negative evaluations, ill will
- Lend support, offer encouragement, express empathy
- Listen thoughtfully, listen without judgment
Rotary was founded on fellowship. Fellowship begins with the club, our first Family of Rotary. Through fellowship we can accomplish the unimaginable. By working together in fellowship we provide Service above Self to others.
Group Study Exchange
December 4 (NV) and
December 11 (CA)
December 15
Nominations for 2013-14 District Governor
January 14
January 28-30
Feb 22 - Mar 8, 2011
D5300 Fellowship Tour
Egypt, Jordan, Israel
February 25-27
June 12
Our Million Dollar Dinner - Will You Be There?
As you all know by now, the District is hosting our first ever Million Dollar Dinner – so named because we hope to raise in excess of one million dollars in cash and pledges to the Permanent Fund of The Rotary Foundation. To celebrate those pledges of donations in wills, trusts, beneficiaries of accounts and insurance, and to thank those contributing cash now, we are holding a gala dinner on Friday evening, January 14, 2011 at the Doubletree Hotel, Ontario. Our special guests will be RI Director John Blount and his wife Patti, and our keynote speaker is none other than RI President Ray Klinginsmith.
President Ray is an interesting and entertaining speaker, full of down-home cowboy logic. Although the dress will be black tie, and the event oh so elegant, you can be sure the atmosphere of friendship and fellowship will be casual fun.
How can you attend? By making a $10,000 pledge in your will or trust documents to the Permanent Fund of The Rotary Foundation and joining the Bequest Society. It only takes completing and sending in a pledge card, with a sincere attitude, and the logistics of paperwork and legal/financial advice to follow shortly at a timing determined by you! Those who have pledged will receive a printed invitation from The Rotary Foundation to attend the gala at $100 pp. Dinner reservations will be taken online at the District website. We are opening the dinner to family members and GUESTS of those invited. So another way YOU can become involved.
The Million Dollar Dinner flyer and the TRF Bequest Society Pledge Form can be found under The Rotary Foundation on the left-hand side of the District website home page. Questions? Contact Event Organizer PDG Margaret Cooker ( Victorville), Honorary Co-Chairs PDGs Lee Mothershed (San Marino) or Tim K. Siu (Alhambra). District Permanent Fund Co-Chairs PDG Jerry Tambe (Claremont) and Patrick Carlton (Las Vegas) also can be most helpful. Don't delay – the deadline is fast approaching!
Somewhere In Between
Neither Europe or Asia, Azerbaijan is an incredible bundle of contradictions. The Azeri mindset juggles many apparently contradicting influences: Muslim yet beer-loving; Turkic yet Eurocentric hospitable yet plagued by a strong sense of Soviet-era suspicion. This quirky blend of mismatched ingredients is bound to keep me on my toes as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the North West region of Azerbaijan. As one Azeri remarked to me, “Azerbaijan has been like a 19 year old teenager since we gained independence in 1991. We are developing all the time and so fast, we are trying to figure out our problems and solutions in a way that agrees with Azeris.”
Azerbaijan
is combating several contradicting issues and identity crises due to the
rapid arrival of oil wealth, departure from Soviet rule and infamous
territorial battle over the Nagorno-Karabakh region which Armenians
currently occupy. Even the name Nagorno-Karabakh seems to hint at the
identity crisis Azerbaijan is working through, as all three words are
derived from different languages. “Nagorno” means mountainous in Russian,
“Kara” means black in Turkish, and “bakh” means garden in Persian. To
confuse matters even more, the Karabakh region legally remains part of
Azerbaijan, while at the same time it can only be visited through Armenia,
which currently controls the territory. All this to say that Azerbaijan's
transitional period – one in which Islam, Iranian heritage, Soviet roots.
and new found independence come together to form an at times somewhat bland
interpretation of cultural identity.
And still one thing is certain, I am having one heck of a time exploring this country and living side by side with Azeris. I will leave Sumgayit on December 10th to live in Sheki, Azerbaijan for the full two years of my service. Sheki is an outdoor treasure trove nestled in the Caucus mountains of Azerbaijan. I will be working with an organization that handles microcredit loans for farmers in rural parts of Azerbaijan. More specifically, I will be traveling Azerbaijan, along with my Azeri counterpart, to facilitate business trainings to current and aspiring entrepreneurs. I am really looking forward to the challenge.
My days thus far have been consumed by language training and technical sessions in preparation for the three months of service at my site in Sheki. It has been said that our Peace Corps Volunteers' presence in regions will be perceived by many in the villages of Azerbaijan as though we were gorillas dressed in clown suits offering to find solutions to improve current conditions. This scenario has kept me chuckling to myself at times, as it resonates a lot of truth. With Azeris often asking somewhat intrusive questions as a means to satisfying their curiosity - I am taking both my language training, reputation, and personal relationships into account as I seek to develop legitimacy within the community, as so much of what is accomplished in a community is based on personal relationships.
I hope these updates are somewhat insightful to my experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Looking forward to hearing questions and updates on your lives!
Perfect
Attendance
Industry Hills Rotary honored two of its members for perfect attendance: John Kramar for 16 years and Patricia McIntosh for her 21 years of perfect attendance.
Next month's theme
Rotary Awareness
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[Editor's Note] We would like to have participation and contributions from members of your Interact Clubs. Please encourage them to contribute to The Highlighter. Interactors can receive The Highlighter by sending their names, club names, and email addresses to highlighter@district5300.org.
The Family of Rotary Lives in San Gabriel, CA
Every
year the Rotary Club of San Gabriel and its membership looked forward to
working with and engaging in services with the Gabrielino High School
(GHS) Interact Club, and this year was no different.
Over the years the GHS Interact Club has consistently set record membership numbers for their club. This year was no different. For their 2010-11 service year, the GHS Interact club started the year with a record 468 members. Having a large Interact club is nice but brings unique challenges: how to organize a large group, where to meet, and how to maximize each member in the club's services and fundraising efforts.
These issue were resolved by Rotarian Interact Advisors Pat and Lee Freeman, GHS Faculty Advisor Linda Ho, along with the GHS Interact Club Officers. With the large number of Interact members, it was decided to split the 468 Interactors into eight groups. These groups are known as Service Circles. Each Service Circle is led by a Circle Leader and a secondary Interact Officer and supported by a San Gabriel Rotarian (aka Circle Rotarian).
The Rotary Club of San Gabriel and each Circle Rotarian, understands the importance of its support to the GHS Interact Club and the long-term benefits this can generate. The relationship between the Rotary Club of San Gabriel and the GHS Interact Club serves as the basis of the Family of Rotary. The goal of the Family of Rotary is to promote the understanding of Rotary as a family to the families of Rotarians as well as encouraging a new generation of Rotarians, i.e. Interactor, to continue the Rotary journey
Over the 2010-11 service year, Circle Rotarians will share their experiences and knowledge of Rotary to their Service Circles. During a past Service Circle meeting, Circle Rotarians explained Rotary's Four-Way Test and how it can be utilized in one's professional and personal life.
The Rotary Club of San Gabriel and its members are committed to working side by side with the Gabrielino High School Interact Club to show their support of their commitment to service. This support will hopefully transform this generation of Interactors into "Rotarians of the Future."
Summerlin Rotary Family Reaches Out
A good time, great community service, and wonderful family memories. When Rotary activities involve the whole family in enjoyable, service oriented projects, everyone benefits.
For our neighbors in need, the holidays can be particularly challenging. The Summerlin Rotary Club is stepping up to the challenge, aiming to provide a ray of hope in tough economic times. In keeping with a long tradition, our Rotary service projects are very much a family affair, involving Rotarians, families and friends.
For Thanksgiving, we're collecting food for HELP of Southern Nevada. Organized by members Betty Mahalik and Malinda Maile, Rotary members have taken dozens of collection boxes to work to be filled.
December
is obviously prime holiday season. On December 1st, Summerlin Rotary
will participate in Santa Clothes, an ongoing local Rotary project,
spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Las Vegas. The Summerlin club
will sponsor ten local needy children. Rotarians and friends meet
with the children at a local participating J.C. Penny's, shopping with
the child for shoes and clothing, then joining others for a holiday
party. Dennis Ortwein is coordinating this event for the Summerlin club.
Later that evening, Summerlin Rotary will provide volunteer help in the form of Rotarians, friends and family to Opportunity Village at the Magical Forest. Sean Mullaly is coordinating club participation.
On December 4th, it's the Great Santa Run which benefits Opportunity Village. Picture close to 9,000 people of every size and shape, all in full Santa suits, at Town Square. Dennis Filangeri is coordinating. The Rotary Club of Summerlin has already signed up as a sponsor and will take part in the Santa Run as well. Friends and family always take part since it's definitely a case of “the more, the merrier.”
It's been our experience that when friends and family have the opportunity to take part in Rotary activities, everyone benefits, so we of Summerlin Rotary always try to make our service projects true family affairs.
'Tis the Season for Giving!
Isn't it great to be a Rotarian during the holidays – even more so than during the rest of the year, when it is also great to be a Rotarian. If “Service Above Self” has a special meaning for you, then Rotarians can submerge themselves in multiple efforts at serving now and throughout the year.
The Rotary Club of Alhambra swung into the spirit in November with two special projects and one ongoing, but very special, project – our Thanksgiving Food Basket distribution to needy families, now titled the John J. Eimans Food Basket Program.
A dedicated Rotarian (as he was a Kiwanian before the local club disbanded), John brought the Thanksgiving/Easter food basket program to Rotary, and it was endorsed strongly by the club, becoming one of the most important, hands-on service projects on the yearly schedule.
John passed away last year, but his program (now bearing his name) continues, and has expanded this year to benefit 55 families, partly from tributes paid in John's name and partly from an increased 2010-11 club service budget.
New hands-on projects in November included participation in the creation of a “Childwatch” room at our local West San Gabriel Valley YMCA – the room dedicated to the children of Y members attending meetings, swimming, exercising, or generally providing service to the Y. The children will be creatively attended, providing their parents with time to participate in activities knowing that their children are safe.
Also in November, the Rotary Club of Alhambra co-sponsored a community Health Fair, along with volunteers from the Alhambra Hospital Medical Center and the USC School of Pharmacy and other Trojan medical schools. A listing of the free screenings and services provided would take an entire page, but suffice to say that the Alhambra community is living healthier this season, thanks to Rotary and a slew of volunteers.
Alhambra Rotary's Teacher Mini-Grant Program kicked off in November also, with announcements of the program distributed to all teachers of the Alhambra Unified School District. Teacher proposals – describing how they will creatively use a grant of up to $200 for classroom projects not funded by the school district – are due in December, and Mini-Grants totaling approximately $8,000 will be distributed early in 2011.
And the service goes on!
Summerlin Rotary Teaches Life Lessons
Something
new has been added to the Las Vegas Summerlin Rotary's Kideract program
this year. Working with fifth graders at the Kermit T. Booker Elementary
School, the club is going beyond bringing in various speakers talking
about their vocations and the possibilities for the children's future.
This year they are presenting five developmental assets to help the
youngsters shape their success in school and in life in proven and
practical ways. Spearheaded by Rev. Guy Lynch of Unity Church of Las
Vegas and Spencer Horn of Rapport International, the program will
include lessons on how to set goals, how to get family support for these
goals, school bonding, how to stay safe, constructive use of youth
programs, and attaining positive values. These new teachings augment
ones from the past including ethics and integrity and how to make a good
first impression.
Kideract has been an integral part of Summerlin Rotary. Some of the most popular presentations from the past included an introduction to foreign exchange students teaching cultural diversity and demonstrations of how to make one minute radio commercials.
The club intends to begin a Mideract program at a middle school where many of Booker's students will be going to sixth grade.
Industry
Hills Rotary Delivers 300 Thanksgiving Baskets
The Rotary Club of Industry Hills delivered 300 Thanksgiving baskets to families in need in La Puente, Hacienda Heights, and the City of Industry. Helping with the enormous task of assembling the baskets were the Interact Clubs from Bassett, Wilson, and La Puente High Schools. Over 100 volunteers from the YMCA Family Resource Center, Bassett Unified, and Hacienda La Puente Unified School Districts, United Pumping Service, and Rotarians were also present.
Every year, the Rotary Club receives strong support from the Los Angeles County Fire Department stations in the area. Families enjoy seeing the big red fire trucks drive up to their homes with the huge laundry baskets filled with food. We are grateful to Sterilite Corp. of Arizona, who donates the baskets, along with the many other generous donors of food items.
This year, we commemorated three special people on our flyer to the families: Dr. John Mayne, Rotarian of 56 years, Retired Capt. Joe Sotro of the L.A. County Fire Department and Rotarian, and Founder of the Thanksgiving Basket Program, Mary Boutwell, wife of our Rotary President Dwight Boutwell.
Arcadia Rotary Spearheads Drive for Juvenile Diabetes Research
Spearheaded
by the Arcadia Rotary Club, local Rotarians, along with friends and
family, raised over $3,000 to help find a cure for juvenile diabetes
through their participation in the Juvenile Diabetes Research
Foundation's (Los Angeles Chapter) 2010 Walk to Cure Diabetes held
November 7 at Dodger Stadium.
Diabetes is a "chronic, debilitating disease affecting every organ system. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which a person's pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person's body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively."
The day began for Team Rotary, captained by Arcadia's Michael Ojeda and Rosie Mares, at 8:30 am.
"Following registration and opening ceremonies, we began the 5-kilometer route with some 15,000 walkers outside the Dodger Stadium field," said Ojeda. "One of Team Rotary's walkers was a type 1 victim."
According to Ojeda, last year the team raised $500 for Team Miranda Sara, which they donated to the organization in support of Arcadia Rotarian Dirk Hudson's granddaughter, but this marked the first year the group participated in the event itself.
"We walked inside the stadium for our third lap and as the names of the teams were flashed across the marquee, for the first time there was Team Rotary," said Ojeda. "As we took it all in, we couldn't help but feel that history was being made."
Ojada and the Arcadia team, which also included members of the San Marino, Sierra Madre and Monrovia Rotary clubs, were inspired at the sight of participants holding hands as they walked and children riding atop their parents' shoulders.
"It was quite a sight," he said, "although unrehearsed, a symbol of a common purpose."
The team's initial goal was to raise $1,000.
"So far we are well over $3000!" said Ojeda. "It was a great event and we hope to participate even bigger and stronger next year."
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) "is the worldwide leader in funding research to cure type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly and lasts a lifetime. JDRF sets the global agenda for diabetes research and is the largest charitable funder of and advocate for diabetes science worldwide."
Industry Hills Rotary Gives Mini-Grants to 20 Teachers
The
Rotary Club of Industry Hills gave out Mini-Grants of $300 each to 20
teachers from the Hacienda La Puente and Bassett Unified School
Districts on November 10, 2010. This year there were over 70
applications from teachers in kindergarten through adult education.
Each year Industry Hills Rotary tries to ensure that different schools
and grade levels are represented. Of special note was the generous
contribution made by a representative from State Farm Insurance, who
presented a $2000.00 check at the Teacher Mini-Grant Awards ceremony and
reception.
Rotary International World Peace Fellow Recipient for 2012
Chantelle
Doerksen has been selected as a Rotary International World Peace Fellow
Recipient for 2012 and is beginning her application process to the
Universidad del Salvador in Argentina. Her interest in International
Relations, passion for working with people, and experience in community
development were strong motivators in her decision to apply. She is
proud to be nominated by District 5300 and the Las Vegas Rotary Club,
with Karen Whisenhunt as her sponsoring counselor.
In 2006 Chantelle graduated from the University of California Davis with her Bachelor's in International Relations, with an emphasis in Peace and Security. Since then career and volunteer opportunities have given her over 4 years' experience working in the community locally and abroad. She is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Paraguay, where she served as a Rural Health Volunteer working with a women's commission, a local non-profit, and in community health education.
Chantelle and her parents immigrated to the US from Canada in 1987 as a result of her father's job. Since then she has called Rhode Island, Washington State, northern California, and Nevada home. Her parents returned to Nevada in 2008, and in December 2009 Chantelle relocated to Nevada as well. Her brother, nieces and nephews, and all extended family live in Canada.
Chantelle is currently the Youth Advocacy Coordinator with the American Lung Association in Las Vegas. She works with teen groups to develop leadership skills and promote tobacco prevention among youth. She enjoys practicing her Spanish with friends, at work, and in the community when possible.
If accepted into the Universidad del Salvador, she will pursue her Master's in International Relations with the goal of working in international development and with immigrant populations upon the completion of her degree.
Vocational Training Team from D-5300 heading to Nigeria
A
3-person team - John Frykenberg, Julius Johnson, and Sarah Philips -
will teach basics of entrepreneurship and how to write business plans to
about 1,500 university students in two polytechnic universities in
Nigeria, one in the South (Owerri) and one in the North (Kaduna). The
one-week, day-long intensive workshops in each location in early January
are intended to stimulate job creation through new business start-ups.
A Matching Grant from The Rotary Foundation will provide the finances
for the trip and printing of curriculum.
The goal is for 1 in 5 of the students to actually start a business some day that will hire on average 4 others, thus creating 5 jobs for every 5 students taught. The 4 out of 5 students that do not start a business should nevertheless become more employable because of their understanding of business basics and the importance of ‘the bottom line.' College graduates face unemployment rates of 50 percent or more so interest in the workshops is great. Kaduna Polytechnic University is starting an Entrepreneurship Center and the workshops should spark interest in the center.
John Frykenberg, past president of Altadena Rotary, is making his third trip to Nigeria and last year conducted a similar workshop in Owerri Polytechnic (Nekeda) where 1,000 students filled the lecture hall for intensive instruction by Frykenberg and a team including members of the Rotary Club of Owerri, the faculty, and the business community.
Fellow Rotarian and prominent Altadena African-American attorney Julius Johnson is making his first trip to Africa and is excited to be doing in Nigeria what he has done several times in Altadena Rotary's Vocational Service program in the Pasadena Unified School District - teach about legal entities for business pursuits.
Nigerian-American Sarah Philips, in process for membership at Rancho Cucamonga Rotary, launched the first program in her former home town of Kaduna in 2005 among high school students and it was very successful. “Working with university students will be better because they are more mature and see the need for making their own jobs,” she believes. As former Chief Legislative Officer in the Kaduna State Parliament, she is adept at cutting through red tape and getting things done. Nigerian National TV and Public Radio, along with newspapers, gave her nation-wide publicity because of curiosity about this Nigerian-born woman coming back to help create jobs for youth. The same national attention is expected for this Rotary project.
District 5300 Represented on 2011 Rotary Rose Parade Float
The Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee Inc presents our 2011 Rotary Float, “Building Communities, Bridging Continents,” the theme of 2010-2011 Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith.
Nine Rotary Club members will be riding on the float, and eight will be walking with the float. Each one - wearing the traditional costume of their country of origin or the USA - represents the continents where 34,000 Rotary clubs form a global network of community volunteers, more than 1.2 million strong!
Float Riders and Outwalkers have been selected by the District Governors of the southern California and southern Nevada Rotary Districts, whose clubs and members provide seed money to start building the float. Funding is completed by donations from Rotary clubs and members across the USA and Canada. The float is not a project of Rotary International and RI does not contribute financially to the float.
District
5300 float participants on January 1, 2011 are Float Rider Tatiana
Shabelnik of the Pico Rivera club and Float Outwalker Christina Shu,
associated with the San Marino club.
Tatiana Shabelnik is current President of the Rotary Club of Pico Rivera. She was born in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, and grew up under the former Soviet Union. After completing her BA and Masters degrees from the Belarusian University of Culture in Library Science, she taught at the same university, working with students from Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Tatiana's connection to Rotary International goes back to 1992 when she was a Rotary exchange fellow in the city of Weert, Holland, with an internship at the Weert Public Library. Her host Rotarians became an inspiration in Tatiana's life.
In 1994, she came to the United States as a graduate exchange student sponsored by IREX (USIA) to study at Louisiana State University. She received her Master's degree in Library and Information Science as well as Advanced Certificate in the same field. From 1997 till 2001 Tatiana worked as a web manager and librarian for Michigan Technological University where she subsequently completed all the coursework for her PhD in Rhetoric and Technical Communication. In 2001 she accepted a position of web manager for Whittier College where she currently works. Tatiana also works on a part-time basis as a librarian for Rio Hondo Community College and does freelance work in web design.
Tatiana joined Rotary in 2006 after speaking at the Rotary Club of Pico Rivera to share her ideas about a student exchange with Belarus. While attending a Rotary meeting in Minsk, she learned about “Project Baby Heart.” “Baby Heart” is a medical charity that provides surgery to children with congenital heart defects. Rotary Club of Pico Rivera is now a sponsor of the “Baby Heart” project.
Rotary
Float Outwalker Christine Shu was a 2009-10 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar
sponsored by the Rotary Club of San Marino. Christine applied for the
Ambassadorial Scholarship while studying abroad in St. Petersburg,
Russia, during her junior year of college.
Three months after graduating from Colby College in May 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, Russian, and Anthropology, she shipped off to Almaty, Kazakhstan, for her Ambassadorial Scholarship year.
In Kazakhstan, she studied in the Master's of International Relations program at Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research (KIMEP). She also did volunteer work teaching English and the concept of volunteerism. Since returning from Kazakhstan, Christine has enjoyed speaking about her experiences abroad.
Christine plans to begin law school next fall, focusing on International Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution, a field that she was inspired to enter thanks to her Rotary year abroad.
Meet the other 2011 Float Riders/Outwalkers and view videos and slide shows about the Rotary Rose Parade Float at www.rotaryfloat.org.