The Highlighter
March 2012
Vol 85 No 9
Table of Contents
Governor's Message
Doug Fowler
My
approach to the March topic of Literacy Awareness was to simply talk
about the many book projects our clubs participate in during the
year, but this subject is much more than that.
Literacy is broader than just reading. Literacy is not only the ability
to read for knowledge, it also includes the ability to write coherently,
and also to think critically about the written word. It can also include
the ability to understand all forms of communication, including body
language.
The United States tied for 20th for
countries with the highest literacy rate according to Wikipedia. Yes, a
high percentage, but tied for 20th! The country of Georgia
is ranked number one at 100% of its population being literate.
So how does literacy play a part as an area of emphasis for
Rotary? In 1985 Rotary declared basic literacy to be a
pre-condition to the development of peace. As I get older I have
mellowed to the extent that I now truly feel peace will only come from
understanding. That is why Rotary has such programs as Rotary
Peace Scholars, Ambassadorial Scholars, GSE Teams, and Youth Exchange
Programs. These programs are geared to the understanding of other
cultures. During my club visits I found many of our clubs
participate in literacy programs in both their own community and in
other countries. We provide books to children, we donate to city
libraries in the name of our speakers, and we provide computers for
schools throughout the world.
In Turkey nearly 10,000
adults have participated in Rotary literacy programs. Also,
because girls don’t have the same access to education in many parts of
the world it’s reported that rates in low-income countries have a 20%
difference between genders. The ability to read and write is
something we all take for granted. The newly created focus areas
of Rotary that include: peace & conflict resolution, disease prevention
& treatment, water & sanitation, maternal & child health, basic
education & literacy, and economic & community development require some
basic understanding accessible only through literacy.
Since Deborah is a first grade teacher and she loves to read. Her primary focus is teaching young children to read. My home club provides books to all kindergarten kids, and dictionaries to all 3rd grades in the school district. It is only a small step, but these are the people that can change the world someday. Rotary is something different for everyone, but through literacy programs, Rotarians are finding ways to “Reach Within to Embrace Humanity.” Your lives will certainly change.
Happy Trails! Doug and Debbie.
March 2
Pico Rivera Rotary Club Presents 1st SoCal Idol
March 24
Mesquite Sunrise's 3rd Annual Poker Run
April 7
Lancaster West's Rotary Wheels at Willow Springs
April 21
Centennial Hills' Comedy Golf Tournament
April 27
May 6-9
Optional Pre and Post Rotary International Convention Tours
June 2
Ontario's Inland Valley Street Rods Rally and Cruise
June 10
San Marino's Rotary Car Classic
Larry Skaggs
Larry
was born in northern IL and grew up in the western Chicago suburbs.
He began his lifetime of service by joining the Boy Scouts, where he
attained the rank of Eagle Scout. In 1975, Larry was hired by the
Aurora IL Police Dept. and during the course of his employment worked in
nearly every division of the department. After a successful and
enjoyable career, he retired as a Lieutenant in 2003.
While working for the police department, Larry continued his education,
earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal / Social Justice from
Lewis University and a Master of Science degree in Public Service
Administration from DePaul University in Chicago.
Larry first joined Rotary as a member of the Rotary Club of Aurora
Sunrise, serving for several years on the board of directors and he was
named club president in 2001 - 2002.
Upon retirement
from the police department, Larry moved to Henderson, NV and worked for
several years as a college instructor, mainly teaching Criminal Justice
courses.
Shortly after moving to Nevada, Larry joined
the Rotary Club of Green Valley (Henderson). Since then he has
been a regular member of the Board of Directors, he served as club
president in 2009-2010, and has twice been named Rotarian of the Year.
In addition to his active participation in club activities, he has
edited the club newsletter and he established and still maintains the
club’s website.
Larry has served on a number of
different District 5300 committees, including being an Asst. Governor,
and in 2008 he was selected as the GSE team leader to Australia.
Larry has been married to Vicki since 2003. He has 2 adult
daughters (Andrea and Amy who live in IL), and a stepson (Brian) and
three grandchildren who live in Las Vegas.
Larry is
also a member of the Board of Directors of the Trauma Intervention
Program of Southern Nevada and during the Christmas season he volunteers
as a train engineer at the Opportunity Village Magical Forest in Las
Vegas. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow (Vicki is also a PHF)
and both of them are members of the Rotary Foundation Bequest Society
and Benefactors.
Cowboy Logic
Next month's theme
Rotary Magazine
Click here for publishing guidelines.
[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.
In This Issue
Entrepreneurial Education – The Way Out of
Poverty
JOBS!
Jobs! That’s what all politicians are promising these days. And
the media are all analyzing what should be done to reduce the horrendous
unemployment in our land. It’s on everyone’s mind.
I
believe that Rotarians may be best at stimulating Job Creation. We can
take our business savvy and years of experience and share it forward to
the New Generation who are having a tough time finding decent jobs after
high school or college.
At recent Zone 26 Assemblies in
Santa Ana and Pacific Grove, I spoke on the new opportunities for us to
stimulate Job Creation. The Rotary Foundation has added a new section to
its traditional six Areas of Focus – Job Creation & Entrepreneurship.
Business Plans are very important for showing whether a business idea
can be viable and earn a profit after paying off any loans needed to get
started. This is easily taught by Rotarians in 8 to 10 class
periods in a high school. A team of 4 to 6 Rotarians with
different skill sets and experience can divide up the classes and, using
a curriculum like Making A Job* can complete the course with but a few
hours of personal time. That is true Service!
Vocational Service!
Our District 5300 will have
a 2nd Annual District Business Plan Competition on May 17th, at Altadena
Rotary, Altadena Town & Country Club. This competition is between
high schools sponsored by a Rotary Club. Last year a business plan
from a San Marino H.S. student sponsored by San Marino Rotary won first
place. Business plans by students of the Business &
Entrepreneurship Academy of John Muir H.S. in Pasadena won second and
third place.
Under the new Future Vision Plan being
introduced in our district shortly, Vocational Service is going
International. Vocational Training Teams will be sent abroad to “teach
business leaders in developing communities how to create a business plan
and maintain accurate financial accounting.” We are already doing
this but we call them Entrepreneurial Training Teams that teach New
Generation young adults. They grasp concepts more quickly and know how
to apply them in a social media age. Now the cost of travel can be
included in the Matching Grant and there must be two or three
non-Rotarians on the Team. An opportunity to recruit new members!
Altadena Rotary is sending two teams to Nigeria in April with two
$25,000 Matching Grants. We still need $1,756 each so maybe you’d
like to help with a part of that and gain experience as an ‘investor’
that you can apply to your own project next year.
Contact me for details. Tel 1-800-448-3456; <crayc@me.com>
* Making A Job, Marilyn Kourilsky, PhD, Professor
(ret.) Urban Schooling, UCLA Graduate School of Education.
Available from EntrepreMedia, 1-800-448-3456,
ray@rotapreneur.com
Rotary Club of Las Vegas-West Club
Service Awards Program
In
July 2011, the Las Vegas West Rotary Club instituted its Club Service
Awards Program. The program is designed to recognize outstanding and
sustained support of the mission and goals of our club.
There are three levels of award that can be earned by financial
support, commitment of time, or a combination of both.
Hours spent in weekly club meeting and board meetings do not count
towards these awards. Also, these awards are designed to be separate
from RI awards, so contributions to PHF and Foundation giving do not
count towards our Club Service Awards, since RI already rewards those
contributions.
Each member gets a booklet to keep track
of the hours and dollars contributed towards achieving the award. The 4
way test applies.
The award criteria are as follows:
Gold Award - $10,000 to club charity account or 1,000 hours of
service in support of club's mission
Silver Award -
$5,000 to club charity account or 500 hours service in support of
club's mission
Bronze Award - $1,000 to club charity
account or 100 hours service in support of club's mission.
To achieve a Gold or Silver level Club Service Award, a member must
have served in a club leadership position. Duncan Lee was awarded the
first Bronze Award on 11/3/2011. In December 2011, Ted Gurr earned the
first Silver Award. As of today, there are five additional bronze award
members.
If you would like more information please
contact Bill Pierce (bill.pierce@ubs.com).
Peace Conference Video Contest Begins
Entries are now being
accepted for the annual video contest as part of Rotary International
District 5300’s 17th Annual Peace Conference. The theme of this
year’s conference and the topic to be portrayed in the video entries is
“Opportunities for World Peace – In Rotary and Beyond.”
The contest is open to any student residing or attending school within the boundaries of Rotary District 5300, which includes portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties in California and Clark, Lincoln, and Nye counties in Nevada. All contestants must be 12 years of age or older.
The Peace Conference will be held on March 24, 2012, at Victor Valley College, Victorville, California. Entry forms and rules can be found on the Rotary District 5300 website at http://www.district5300.org/peaceconference/index.html.
The contest closes on March 9, 2012.
Outgoing GSE Team Prepares for Their Trip to Chile
We want to share our experiences in Chile with all of our Rotarian
friends back home.
Please LIKE our Facebook page and follow our adventures in District 4320.
You can find us on Facebook at: District 5300 2012 Group Study Exchange to Chile.
If your Rotary Club has a Facebook page, please post the link to our GSE page!
The Rotary Club of Boulder City Celebrates
75 Years!
The
Rotary Club of Boulder City will have a 75th Anniversary Celebration on
Saturday, March 31, 2012. The club was sponsored by the Las Vegas
Rotary in 1937.
A Wine and Cheese Celebration
open to the public will begin in the Boulder Dam Hotel lobby at 5:00 pm
and end at 6:30 pm. The Boulder Dam Museum will also be open for
tours.
Donations to support the museum may be
made at the event. The hotel is located at 1305 Arizona, Boulder
City, NV. It is a part of Boulder City's historic downtown.
In addition to a celebration, The Rotary Club of Boulder City wishes to
promote the club's over 75 years of fundraising and service to the
community!
Charitable contributions to support
the Boulder Dam Museum may be send to the Rotary Club of Boulder City,
P. O. Box 60924, Boulder City , NV 89006.
Rotary Wheels at Willow Springs: The Race to End Polio
How
would you like to spend a day enjoying a top tier auto racing track and
dining on a fine steak dinner while helping to rid the world of Polio?
After 20 years of effort, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of
eradicating polio, but a strong push is needed now to finish the job.
Your participation will help Rotary raise the funds needed to support
immunization campaigns in developing countries. These countries are
where polio continues to infect and paralyze children, robbing them of
their futures and compounding the hardships faced by their families. As
long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children
everywhere remain at risk due to global travel. Come out to Willow
Springs International Raceway and help the Lancaster West Rotary Club
make this the biggest END POLIO NOW fundraiser in the United States this
year.
You will have the opportunity to drive your car
on what is known as the "Fastest Road in the West,” or drive a go kart
on a specialized go kart track, or ride with a drifting expert and
experience a real thrill. You can stay for a porterhouse steak dinner
and enjoy a variety of vendor booths throughout the day.
There are a limited number of spaces for participants in all these
events and detailed information and registration forms are conveniently
located on our website at
www.rotarywheelsatwillowsprings.com or in the attached document. We
are also looking for vendors and sponsors and all the details about
these opportunities are located in the same place. Feel free to contact
us by return email with your questions.
Willow Springs
International Raceway is located in Willow Springs near Rosamond and
Lancaster, California, and is about an hour north of Los Angeles. This
motorsports park is a 600 acre complex of eight racetracks hosting
nearly every conceivable motor sports discipline. This world-famous
track hosted the first two NASCAR events west of the Mississippi, the
first F.I.M. 500 Grand Prix motorcycle race in America, the first AMA
events, the first 24-hour motorcycle endurance race, the first kart road
racing in America, and the first California Sports Car Club racing on a
purpose-built road course. Over the years, track records have been set
and broken many times by internationally famous drivers and riders.
Lapping Big Willow is an exciting event on the main track, a
challenging 2.5-mile road course patterned after the great road racing
courses of Europe that have challenged many road racing drivers.
Michael Andretti has the track record of 1:06 in an Indy Car, with
Nigel Mansell a fraction of a second slower in a Formula One car. Our
Lapping Big Willow event allows drivers of all ability levels to come
out and do laps on this great track. This is an opportunity to
exercise your car and polish your driving skills. Participants
will be grouped by experience level so that even if you've never driven
on a race track or "at speed" before, you'll have fun.
Drifting is a driving technique and motorsport where the driver
intentionally over steers, skidding the rear wheels through turns.
The spectacle of smoke billowing from tires while the driver maintains
vehicle control and a high speed has made drifting a popular motorsport
worldwide. One of the top Drift clubs in the country will demonstrate
these skills. Best of all, you can ride along as the drift cars
slide around the specially designed course.
Karting or Kart racing is a low-cost and relatively safe open wheel
motorsport that can introduce drivers to motor racing. Many people
associate it with young drivers, but adults are also very active in the
sport. Virtually all current Formula One drivers and many drivers in
most of the top racing series grew up racing karts. Let Rotary Wheels
at Willow Springs give you the thrill of a lifetime with the Karting
Experience. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned kart driver,
we'll place you in the appropriate group and make sure you get lots of
seat time.
A porterhouse steak barbeque will
round out your day at Willow Springs. Dinner includes delicious side
dishes, desserts and soft drinks. Draft beer and fine wines are
also available. This year's event at the Budweiser Balcony
provides panoramic views of the entire Willow Springs Motorsports Park.
Vendor opportunities at this event will allow you to showcase your
business. A variety of booths selling motorsports and non-motorsports
oriented merchandise will be open through the day. Don't forget
your inaugural Rotary Wheels at Willow Springs t-shirt from the
Lancaster West Rotary booth, ;t's bound to be a collector's item!
For more information about participating as a vendor, call or email Gus
Camacho at (661) 609-9927 or
gus@camachoauto.com
Would you like to be a
charter sponsor of Rotary Wheels at Willow Springs? Sponsorship
opportunities are available. For more information, call or email
John Currado at (661) 945-2696.
On
Friday, April 27, 2012, the Las Vegas Fremont Rotary Club will be
“Celebrating Rotary - Las Vegas Style!” with an
old-fashioned block party in the heart of old downtown. Please join us
at the Fremont Street Experience, center stage, as we enjoy drinks,
food, fellowship and dance to the live music of The Wedge Brothers from
6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
We will have a “Dutch” raffle and live auction for items you won’t want
to miss. All proceeds benefit our club Foundation and Operation
School Bell through The Assistance League of Las Vegas.
Operation School Bell annually provides new school clothing,
jackets, shoes, backpacks, and school supplies to over 6,900 children
from families with extreme need that were referred to them by the Clark
County School District. The simple act of providing new school clothing
gives these children renewed self-esteem and improved school attendance.
Please contact Co-chairs Robin
Smith, redzlife2@aol.com, or
Carla Smith, carsmith@cci.edu if
you want more information or are interested in participating as a
sponsor of this event.
General admission is $50 per person. Last year this event was the talk of the Rotary community – don’t miss it!
