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

January 14, 2008
Issue 7

"Make Dreams Real"
Earlier today 2008-09 RI President D.K. Lee introduced his presidential theme before a crowd of over 1,000 DGEs, spouses and other Rotary Leaders at the International Assembly in San Diego. The theme was enthusiastically received. Also unveiled at the IA’s first plenary session was the presidential jacket (deep blue) and theme tie (peach).

In his remarks RIPE D.K. pointed out that every day some 30,000 children under the age of five die from preventable causes. He said, “Every day, around the world, children die needlessly of pneumonia, measles and malaria. Thousands die every day from the lack of a most basic resource: clean water. And many more die from a combination of factors, in which malnutrition and poverty play major roles. I would like to see reducing the child mortality rate become a key goal of club and district service projects in the year ahead.”

He went on to say, “For the last few years, RI’s presidents have chosen to continue a consistent set of service emphases, focusing every year on projects in health and hunger, water and literacy. I plan to keep these three emphases but to ask the entire family of Rotary to make a special effort to focus on projects that will make a difference in the lives of children.”

2008 Rotary Rose Parade Float Showed How ROTARY SHARES
The 119th edition of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade featured the theme “Passport to the World’s Celebrations.” The January 1st Parade was seen along the parade route by nearly 1 million people with tens of millions more watching from around the world. Those on hand to view the parade included RI President Wilf Wilkinson, the 7 SoCal/SoNev DGs and spouses, PRIVP/PRID John Germ & Judy and others.

Congratulations to Rotary Rose Float Committee Chair Ray Bushnell and his entire committee of dedicated Rotarians and friends of Rotary for producing a beautiful float and helping spread the word of the important work Rotary is doing around the world in the area of literacy and so much more. For more photos and videos of the parade, click here.

The 2008 Rotary Rose Parade eye-catching float was themed “Sharing Rotary Literacy Day” and celebrated Rotarians in service worldwide. Eight International Exchange students representing different parts of the world rode on the float.

Zones 23/24 Gains 719 Net New Members Thru Dec. 31st
Congratulations to the 23 District Governors and the 1,162 club presidents in our two zones for their combined net gain of 719 new members thru 31 DEC 07. Out of the 13 R.I. Zones in North America, Zone 23 ranks #2 in growth with an increase of 379 new members while Zone 24 ranks #3 with an increase of 330.

Ethics Study – First Phase Nears Completion
Last year we established a Rotary Zones 23/24 Ethics Task Force (for details, please visit: www.rotaryzone2324.org/ethics.html) with the vision to effectively integrate the Rotary Four-Way Test and other ethical principles into RYLA, Interact and general club functions as part of a pilot program. The internationally respected Josephson Institute of Ethics was retained by the Task Force to help assess the current and potential role of ethics and the Four Way Test in these programs. Over the past six months more than 1,000 Rotarians, RYLA and Interact alumni in 13 Districts in Zones 23/24 have been involved in various stages of this project, thus far. (Ultimately it’s our goal to have all 23 Districts involved.)

Some of the preliminary findings from the study suggest that these youth programs are good, but could be made even better. These youth experiences are effective in teaching youth the principles of leadership and many of the RYLA programs are successful experiences.

Even though ethics was determined to be an essential element, The Four-Way Test was not seen (in the survey) to be an integral component of RYLA or Interact. And even when utilized, The Test was not applied with the greatest rigor. As RYLA is a highly decentralized program, it was determined there is a lack of uniformity and consistency in the recommended core curriculum.

The study found significant disparity in what adults and youth believe should be included at RYLA related to ethics of leadership and the frequency of the actions that occur. The findings indicated there is often a lack of uniform and professionally developed materials, particularly in ethics of leadership and that there is need for (RYLA/Interact) staff to be trained. For RYLA and Interact, there was only a minimal effort to establish or formally evaluate instructional objectives. Further, a need exists for quality resources that a local Rotary club might more fully integrate The Four-Way Test into its programs.

The Zones 23/24 Ethics Task Force will be meeting with Michael Josephson and his team soon to further review and discuss the study’s findings, recommendations and next steps. We anticipate developing a program component specifically addressing the critical core values associated with The Four Way Test and the need for uniform instructional materials as well as a means to measure the effectiveness of the ethics-related components ofRYLA and Interact. Stay tuned!

This is the first in a series of reports on the Ethics Pilot Project being undertaken in Zones 23/24. If you are interested in participating or in receiving additional information, please let us know.

Diane and I hope that you will consider joining RI President Wilf Wilkinson and Joan at the Rotary World Peace Summit. The location for the Peace Summit is strategic in that it physically and metaphorically connects people and ideals. The Ambassador Bridge spanning from Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan symbolically connects these two great nations and clearly punctuates the fact that Rotary exists without borders in more than 200 countries around the world.

This Summit will be the fourth and culminating Rotary International Peace Forum for 2007-08. Earlier peace forums have taken place this year in Bulgaria, Turkey and Africa. To learn more about this final Peace Summit and to register, click here.

Paul Netzel
RI Director 2007-09
Zones 23-24

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