A Periodic e-Newsletter to Rotary Leaders across Zones 23 & 24 and Beyond

July 31, 2008
Issue 15

2007-08 Final Membership Results Just Released:
Through 30 June 2008

In Brief:

Worldwide Membership: 1,231,483 Rotarians for a +7,315 Net Gain. (This represents the largest annual net gain in membership since 2001-2002.) A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Past RID Ron Beaubien and his team on the RI's global Membership Development and Retention Committee.

Congratulations to the following:

Zone 23: #1 Zone in North America (out of 13 Zones) with +676 net new members. CONGRATULATIONS to all 12 District Governors in Zone 23 as well as RRIMC Rosemary Aragon (photo to left). What a fabulous team effort! Zone 24 with Barbara Risher Welch as RRIMC had a solid gain of +266 new members (finishing #6 out of 13 North American zones).

But wait! There's more!!

District 5020 - DG Norm Watts (2007-08): Finished #2 out of all 168 Districts in North America with a net gain of +162 members (counting both the USA & Canada portions). District 5080 - DG Elizabeth Cytra (2007-08): Ranked #4 out of 168 districts in North America with a net membership gain of +119. Both D5020 and D5080 will move totally into Zone 23 (when it is renumbered as Zone 25, effective July 1, 2009). Meanwhile, not far behind: District 5240 - DG Jane McClenahan (2007-08): Finished tied for #5 out of the 168 North American districts with a Net Gain of +115 members.

But what about % Gains? Take a look at:

District 5180 - DG Clarence Parkins (2007-08): Ranked #4 (out of 168) in North America in Highest Percentage Gain with +5.30%. District 5260 - DG Larry Jernigan (2007-08): Finished #7 (out of 168) with a net percentage gain of +5.06%.

Rotarians Respond to California Wildfires

First this news update from last Friday, July 25th - courtesy of the Associated Press.
"California fire officials say the thousands of blazes sparked by a massive lightning storm are 98% contained after burning for more than a month. Of the more than 2,000 fires ignited during the June 21 storm, only 27 were actively burning. Fire officials warn that fire danger remains very high throughout the state."

If you would like to learn more about how Rotarians and Rotary clubs have responded to this extraordinary series of fires, primarily in Northern California, click here. THANK YOU District 5220 and District Governor Janine McClanahan for providing the best updates I've been able to locate.

Southern California Earthquake

We have received a number of calls and emails from around the world asking "how much damage was done by the earthquake?" It was centered about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday.  The great news is: nothing of consequence. I was riding in my car at the time and didn't feel a thing. Diane was at home and felt the shaking, but no damage.  Nonetheless, it never ceases to amaze me how the television and print media coverage can make something such as this look like a really big deal!  But then, there are aftershocks to think about .....!

This news line from KNBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles sums it up well:  "A magnitude-5.4 earthquake centered near Chino Hills shook buildings and rattled windows across the Southland Tuesday, causing some minor structural damage and disrupting transit service, but causing no major injuries."  You can find out a lot more about the quake by clicking here.

As a general rule, thanks to stringent building codes, it takes an earthquake in the magnitude range of 6.0 and above before we begin to see much damage to our structures and infrastructure. Of course we are all grateful to the Los Angeles 2008 Host Organization for arranging a "quake-free" environment for the 18,702 official attendees to the 2008 R.I. Convention in L.A. last month!

Make Dreams Real by Reducing Child Mortality

With one of R.I. President D.K. Lee's top priorities the reduction in child mortality - I've had a number of inquiries about where Rotarians can find more information about this issue. An excellent publication, produced by UNICEF, is now available at this site by clicking here. It is also posted on our Zones 23/24 website News Center.

Service Above Self Award Winners from Zones 23/24

R.I. has officially announced the 2007-08 recipients of the Service Above Self Award - Rotary's highest honor for individual Rotarians. No more than 150 recipients receive the award each year - worldwide - out of over 1.2 million Rotarians. So it's a very special recognition. This year 11 recipients came from within Zones 23 & 24.

Please join with me in congratulating each of the following well deserving recipients:

D5000 - Gloria M. King D5000 - Claude Thompson D5020 - William McCarthy D5030 - Ed Vander Pol D5080 - Elaine Ross D5100 - Robert Benham

D5130 - Dale Ann Knight D5150 - Pauline Stuber D5160 - Mary Elena Dochterman D5180 - Hal Shipley D5240 - Jan Corwin Lindsay

Save the Date - 2009 Rotary Institute Announced

Millennials a Key to Rotary's Future

And finally, here is a "must view" for any Rotary leader interested in how we can better attract the millennial generation into Rotary. It includes three speakers ages 25-27 speaking for a total of 40 minutes PLUS 10 minutes for Q&A from the audience.  It was recorded recently during the District 5650 Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's worth a look! Click here.

Paul Netzel
RI Director 2007-09
Zones 23-24

Your Comments are Welcome. Please click here: pnetzel@earthlink.net to send RID Paul an email to share your comments and/or to offer suggestions for future e-Briefs topics.

You can find more information on Zone events on the Zone Website Calendar.