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

February 15, 2009
Issue 20

Australia Rotarians Need Assistance!

For those of us living on the USA West Coast, we can empathize with what we're learning about the raging bushfires in Australia. Yet, what is happening in the southern state of Victoria is unlike anything we've experienced in recent memory. Already the fires are the deadliest natural disaster in Australian history.

News reports have confirmed 181 deaths, with fears of as many as 300 dead, thousands of properties lost (1,830 houses have been destroyed to date) and some 7,000 people have been left homeless.

There are entire townships that have simply disappeared from the map. The fires are still burning, and the forecast is grim with more high temperatures in the coming week. Distraught relatives, unaware of the fate of their loved ones, are leaving messages on community notice boards. These two web links will give you the latest: click here and here.

I have been in touch with R.I. Director John Lawrence - whom many met during our 2008 Rotary Institute in Portland last September. RID John, shown (in the photo to the left) talking with RIPE John Kenny during a panel discussion during the Institute, wrote me to say:

"We are heartened by your enquiry to help the victims of 'Black Saturday' in Victoria. The five Districts in Victoria have come together to ensure a coordinated and relevant response to this disaster. Fortunately, no Rotarian's life has been lost but a number have lost their homes.

"The needs are great and District 9800 has established a Trust Fund with all the necessary approvals - they encourage any fundraising efforts to be directed to this fund. District Governor Jim Studebaker advises that whilst there are many government and NGOs already working in the affected areas, the District intends to use these funds on medium to long-term assistance with a primary emphasis on community rebuilding.

"District 9790 appears to be the hardest hit. The combined Districts' disaster relief team have indicated their focus will be on long term measures of rebuilding of communities and the infrastructure not being covered by Government or Red Cross relief efforts, and they will be utilizing local Rotary clubs to identify needs and grant applications.

"In talking with DG Peter Gilbert, it is obvious his District 9790 has been most devastated by these unprecedented fire storms. He advises that funds should be sent as detailed below.

"The following information will be required by anyone overseas who wishes to transfer funds into the District 9790 Bank Account:

1. Account Name - Rotary International District 9790 Inc.
2. Bank - Commonwealth Bank of Australia
3. Address - 375 High Street, Preston Victoria 3072
4. Account Number - 1049 886
5. BSB - 063 163
6. Swift Code - CTBAAU2S

"You may also e-mail our District Treasurer Frank Smith at treasurer@rotary9790.org.au with details of any transfers. Be sure to include name of Rotary Club etc. for any future acknowledgement."

District 5100 Youth Exchange Update

The recent tragedy involving the Youth Exchange Program in D5100 has resulted in international media coverage. R.I.'s website has provided a continuing update of coverage - click here.

Meanwhile local media throughout the state of Oregon have provided regular updates on the OregonLive.com website.

In learning about this horrific event, it's likely to cause many of us to pause and ask questions such as, "What if this had happened in our District? How would we respond? What would this mean for our Youth Exchange Program?"

DG Dennis Wickham's letter to his District's Rotarians beautifully summarizes the situation and helps put this tragedy in perspective. His letter reads, in part:

Dear Rotarian Friends;

Tragedy struck January 24, 2009 at a youth club in downtown Portland, the result of what police described as a random act of violence by a young man with a gun. This act resulted in the death of two of our exchange students, Ashley Wilks, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Clackamas, and Martha (Tika) Paz De Noboa, from Peru, hosted by the Rotary Club of White Salmon-Bingen.

Several of our other exchange students were also injured. Ashley and Tika were part of a group of youth exchange students participating in the birthday celebration of another exchange student. They had just arrived at the youth club and were waiting outside to enter. They had no connection to the gunman.

I know that I speak for all Rotarians in our district in expressing our deepest sympathy to the families of the Rotary Youth Exchange students (as well as to the other victims) who were killed or injured in this tragic and senseless incident.

Our District Youth Exchange (YEX) Committee, led by Katsumi Itoh, has performed professionally from the beginning of this incident. Committee representatives had responded to the two designated trauma centers in Portland and were in communication with me within a couple hours of the incident. DGN Barb Crozier and Youth Protection Officer Scott Bieber, as well as others, worked with our District YEX committee to monitor and respond to inquiries. I commend them for their professionalism.

It is ironic that this tragedy came the week before the start of Rotary World Understanding Month, as the articles planned for this month's newsletter focused on this topic and several were about youth exchange.

Some might say that this incident is a reason that Rotary should not participate in youth exchange, but I beg to differ. The Youth Exchange program supports Rotary's efforts to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace. Think about how we are changing the world for the better by exposing youth from different countries to different cultures. This is a life changing experience. Our daughter went to Thailand on a Rotary YEX. Were we concerned as parents, sure we were. But her YEX experience changed her as you will see in the article she wrote for this newsletter.

We take risk every day of our lives starting when we get out of bed in the morning, driving to work, using electrical appliances, going to the store, or traveling to another part of the world to be involved in a Rotary humanitarian project. This incident was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The sidewalk, outside of the club that has been described as a safe environment for youth, suddenly transformed into a dangerous environment after the arrival of the gunman.

Life is about taking risks and Rotarians are about changing lives!

Providing "Service with Pride" to "Make Dreams Real",

Dennis & Elizabeth

THE REST OF THE STORY: What's not shared above is the fact that DG Dennis was leaving at 6:00 AM the following morning (January 25th) for a Rotary project in Belize; DGE Kristi Halvorson was in San Diego wrapping up her week-long experience at the International Assembly. DG Dennis indicated, "I wanted continuity in the change of command through the event... and DGN Barb rose to the occasion, as I expected she would."

Last night I spoke with DGN Barbara who added her praise to all in the District who have assisted during this situation. In addition, she added how valuable the tremendous support she and her district received from R.I. staff, particularly Wayne Hearn and General Secretary Ed Futa, among others.

Memorials: District 5100 has established a fund to assist with medical, travel, and memorial/transportation expenses incurred by the victims, their families, and the host families. Should there be any funds remaining after paying these expenses, the remaining funds will continue as the Martha (Tika) Paz De Noboa Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Also, the Rotary Club of Clackamas has established a fund in memory of Ashley Wilks that will be used to fund college scholarships. Contributions should be designated Ashley Wilks Memorial Fund.

To learn more about these funds, please click here.

2008 Rotary Institute Wrap-up

Zones 23/24 held its 2008 Rotary Institute in Portland, OR last 25-28 September. Whether you were unable to attend - or did and would like to refresh your memories of this highly successful event - you can review highlights in the just-published Proceedings by clicking here.

A special thanks to Proceedings Chair Rob Martin and his committee for producing this excellent overview.

Also available on the Institute's News Center is a copy of the financial summary and photos readily available to be downloaded.

AND FINALLY...

Selected Decisions from the R.I. Board's January 2009 Meeting

E-5. Membership Slogan
DECISION: The Board

1. agrees to the use of the membership slogan "Each One, Reach One" pending review by the general secretary on the use of this slogan by other organizations;
2. authorizes the Executive Committee to approve the use of this slogan, if required.

E-9. Future Vision Pilot District Training Program
DECISION: The Board

1. agrees that the training for Future Vision pilot districts shall be held two days immediately before the 2010 International Assembly;
2. agrees to reduce the 2010 International Assembly and training leaders seminar to five days each;
3. agrees to allocate to The Rotary Foundation up to one-half of the savings realized in reducing the International Assembly to five days, to help offset its costs for Future Vision training;
4. authorizes the general secretary to transition to a five-day International Assembly program in future years, preceded by a four-day training leaders seminar as contract negotiations permit;
5. authorizes the president and president-elect to waive selected provisions of Rotary Code of Policies Article 58, "International Assembly," as requested by the president-nominee in preparing and conducting the 2010 International Assembly, and requests a report on these waivers at its June 2009 meeting.

E-10. Membership Development Strategy
DECISION: The Board

1. thanks Vice-president Audenart and Executive Committee Chairman Netzel for submitting the Guiding Principles and Strategy for Membership, outlined in exhibits E-10-a and E-10-b;
2. adopts the Guiding Principles in Exhibit E-10-a in support of the association's long-term membership strategy;
3. adopts the new member sponsor and retention recognition program as shown in Exhibit E-10-b effective 1 July 2009;
4. affirms its intention to establish additional recruitment recognition programs for Rotarians who commit to sponsor at least one new member into Rotary each year, as noted in Exhibit E-10-b, and requests the 2008-09 RI Membership Development and Retention Committee to meet via correspondence and consider this issue and additional elements of the membership strategy noted in Exhibit E-10-b, for recommendation to the Board at its June 2009 meeting.

X-1. Gates Challenge Grant
DECISION: The Board

1. notes that its June 2008 decision B-4-c concerning the potential supplemental challenge grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was to be kept confidential until the execution and announcement of a final agreement between the parties;
2. notes further that this grant was officially announced at the 2009 International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA;
3. requests the general secretary, therefore, to release the June 2008 decision as a supplement to the minutes of that meeting.

X-8. Youth Exchange Students Incident
DECISION: The Board

1. extends its deepest condolences to the families of the Youth Exchange students killed or injured in the recent tragic incident in Portland, Oregon, USA;
2. expresses its appreciation to the local Rotarians for the immediate response and outstanding assistance they provided to the students and their families in the wake of this tragedy.

Rotary Video Reminder

Don't forget to periodically visit RI's video page to check the latest videos - to do so, click here. Also, click here to view the latest videos on our Zones 23/24 Website.

Paul Netzel
RI Director 2007-09
Zones 23-24 (to become Zones 25-26 effective 1 July 2009)

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 RID's e-Briefs topics.

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