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

November 30, 2007
Issue 6

Gates Foundation Awards $100 Million Challenge Grant to Rotary for Polio
Wow! By now you've probably heard – last Monday (11/26/07) the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced its partnership with Rotary International and TRF to produce US$200 million toward the global effort to eradicate polio. The Gates Foundation's $100 million challenge grant will be matched on a dollar for dollar basis by Rotary over three years.

This grant is remarkable both in size and scope. It also underscores just how significant the work of Rotarians around the world has been in its quest to eradicate polio. For more information:
www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/071120_news_gannounce.aspx

GOOD NEWS TRAVELS FAST: Within hours the news of this grant and Rotary's role in polio eradication was picked up by print and electronic media from Argentina, Brazil to France, from Korea to the United Kingdom, and, of course, throughout the US – from Los Angeles to Boston. Reuters, Associated Press and BBC were among the news agencies helping spread the word. Rotarians are doing the same!

SPREAD THE WORD: Rotarians are urged to share the news of the $100 million challenge grant to Rotary International with their local media. For suggestions on ways to do this, look here:
www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/071129_news_gatespublicity.aspx

Southern California Fires Update
The 23 wildfires during the last days of October 2007 touched all seven Rotary districts (5240, 5260, 5280, 5300, 5320, 5330, 5340) in Southern California (go to: www.rotaryzone2324.org/map.html and click on a District number to go to the District's website). In just 10 days, some 515,000 acres were burned, more than 2,000 homes and nearly 1,000 other structures were destroyed. Visit www.fire.ca.gov/index.php for photos and further official reports on the fires.

The two Rotary Districts that sustained the most severe damage from the fires are D5330 and D5340.

DG Mark Howison, D5330, recently wrote to say: "As hard as it is to believe, out of over 500 homes destroyed or damaged by the fires in our District, only two Rotarians lost homes. This does not mean we have forgotten about our "Fire Relief" program. So far, we have raised over $11,000 to help all the people impacted by the fires. We have done a PSA about our effort and a mass emailing to friends and neighbors about it. A comittee comprised of the five mountain Rotary Club presidents will direct the proceeds providing fast assistance to 'fill in the gaps' of government agencies and other programs."

Here is the link to D5330's web about the sticker program: www.rotary5330.net/districtinfo/firerelief.asp

DG Jim O'Meara, D5340, reports: "I will be providing our generous Rotarians a report on contributions made to the After-The-Fire-Fund. The District received many calls and e-mails offering assistance. We directed all contributions to the San Diego Foundation, After-The-Fire-Fund. I received calls from as far away in the US as New Jersey, Connecticut, and Internationally from South Africa."

Here is the link to the San Diego Foundation's After the Fire Fund: www.sdfoundation.org

DISASTER! Is Your District Ready?
The years 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007 brought the word "disaster" into our consciousness in ways it had seldom been before. These were years of tsunamis, hurricanes, fires, earthquakes and floods. Past RI Director Bob Stuart observes that "Individual Rotarians and clubs will always reach out with their hearts and hands to their fellow men and women stricken by disaster." After these recent experiences many believe that "...we who are in a position to assist should position our clubs, districts and zones to be able to respond and assist when disaster strikes."

To advance this issue, the 2nd North American Rotary Emergency Disaster Initiative Workshop will be held Dec. 14-15, 2007 in Nashville, TN.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND? This practical and hands-on workshop is intended to prepare club and district leaders for emergencies and disasters, which are inevitable almost anywhere. Sessions will emphasize working with established emergency management systems and developing a Disaster Operations Manual for your club and district.

To learn more about this Workshop and to register now, please visit this Website: www.naredi.org/home.php

New Promotional Technology Being Tested for the LA2008 Convention
December 15, 2007 is rapidly approaching. It's an important date because that's when the Los Angeles 2008 Rotary Convention registration fees will increase! To help ensure that the word of this deadline is approaching, the Host Area District Governors have been fitted with a new "on line" satellite-enabled communication system (SECS) that permits each of them to be in instant contact with their club presidents. Shown being fitted for his SECS is David Moyers, Governor of District 5280, site of the Los Angeles Convention Center. By the simple act of pushing a button in the center of the device, instant access is provided to each club president. (It is rumored that if this technology proves effective, Rotary International might wish to adopt the system to remind club when they are delinquent on their financial obligations.)

Don't Miss Far West Live! at the LA2008 R.I. Convention
The annual get together of Rotarians from Zone 23 and 24 at R.I. Conventions will again take place during the Los Angeles 2008 Convention on Monday, 16 June 2008 – 7:00-8:45 AM at the L.A. Convention Center. This year's gathering — called Far West Live! — will be a breakfast with your Morning News & Talk … live! Realizing that LA2008 is a convention based within the boundaries of our two Rotary Zones, something very special is being planned. Every single District from Zones 23 and 24 will be covered with live interviews, news, weather, traffic, entertainment or commercials. Save the date and time now... then look for future announcements about how you will be able to register on-line! Reservations will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. You and all the Rotarians from Zones 23/24 attending the LA2008 Convention won't want to miss Far West Live!
Online registration for this event will be released soon on the zone website.

November R.I. Board Meeting Highlights
The second meeting of the 2007-08 RI Board of Directors was held on 29 October-2 November 2007, in Evanston, Illinois, USA. At this meeting the Board reviewed reports from 17 committees and recorded 112 decisions. For highlights of the actions taken by the Board, click here.

Rotary UN Day A Full House
The 7th Annual Rotary Day at the United Nations was held on November 3rd with a full house of 1,308 in attendance – including Senior Rotary Leaders, District Governors, Rotarians and Rotaractors from 48 countries. From a personal perspective, Diane and I believe our time was well spent. We heard powerful presentations given by UN and UNICEF leaders on Literacy, Water, Malaria, and Hunger – with added emphasis on the important role Rotarians are playing around the globe in each of these areas.

More than 300 who registered late were not admitted ... so, Register Early for 2008 if you would like to attend next year's UN Day on Saturday, November 8th. Remember: Rotary's UN Day is open to ALL Rotarians!

Paul Netzel
RI Director 2007-09
Zones 23-24

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