Considerations in Reopening Rotary Clubs
Rotary Week of Service 2021 Project Photos
CLA Recordings Available
Recordings of the May 1 CLA classes are now available online. Classes focus on Secretary, Treasurer, The Rotary Foundation, Membership, Youth Services and Public Image.
For information, click here!
  
  
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June 2021 News

Still Only 2 Cases of Wild PolioVirus This Year
Posted by Zone 27 Polio Coordinator Bob Rogers
                                  Rotary Zones 26 & 27
PolioPlus Weekly Update 26 May, 2021
 
 
 
 
 

Greetings Polio Warriors:

  • Wild Polio Virus - OK, we can all collectively EXHALE, as I can report to you once again…NO NEW CASES this last week .
 
ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIVE - The number of days since the last case of the wild poliovirus Type 1 occurred in Afghanistan.
 
ONE HUNDRED AND NINETEEN - The number of days since the last case of         the wildpoliovirus Type 1 occurred in Pakistan.
 
TWO - The total number of cases of the wild poliovirus Type 1 that occurred in the world sinceNew Years Day.
 
FIFTY-NINE - The number of cases of the wild poliovirus Type 1 that occurred in 2020 on this date.
 
Last week marks the SEVENTEENTH WEEK IN A ROW that there has been no reported newcases of the wild poliovirus in either Pakistan or Afghanistan. And on top of that, the THIRD WEEK IN A ROW that there has been ZERO positive environmental samples. We have now pushed the envelope out to three weeks without a case or positive environmental sample of the wildpolio virus. We continue to expand our uncharted territory! Once
again…ONE, TWO, THREE, DANCE !!!
 
  • Vaccine-Derived Polio - Last week saw an increase in vaccine-derived polio cases: five in DR Congo, three in Madagascar and one each in Burkina Faso, Congo, Guinea and Mali.However, the case in Mali occurred in 2020, but is just being reported now. That brings us to 96 total cases for the year, compared to 122 at this time last year. 6 positive environmental samples of the vaccine-derived poliovirus were also discovered, two in Liberia, two in Tajikistan and oneeach in Pakistan and Madagascar.
 
Novel Oral Poliovaccine - Towards the eradication of the vaccine derived strain of this disease, a May 4th meeting of the Emergency
 
Committee on the international spread of the poliovirus was convened by the WHO Director General. In the meeting statement, available HERE it was verified that the novel Oral Polio Vaccine Type 2 (nOPV2) has been introduced and delivered in two countries (Nigeria and Liberia) with an additional four countries to implement nOPV2 campaigns by the end of May. This is exciting news IMHO, and as reported earlier, sources say we could hopefully have enough data to publish preliminary results sometime next month…stay tuned, as they say.
 
The PolioPlus year end appeal - We are now a little over 4 weeks away from the end of the Rotary year. As mentioned last week, we are lagging     13% behind last year’s figures in our quest to reach the $50 million dollar goal to take advantage of the Gates Foundation 2:1 match. And you already know about DDF donations growing by a factor of 6:1, so I won’t repeat the details here. But…do please consider donating as much DDF as your District can spare to support Rotary’s #1 goal. To donate DDF, TRF recommends using their online system, with the following link: Online DDF Allocation
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International Service Projects on the Cheap - Part II
Posted by PDG & International Service Chair Abe Feder
If you dialed in to our first installment in last month’s newsletter you (still on line) you understand the nature of this continuing and on-going column.
So without further ado here is a profile of our first project;
 
Flagstaff Rotary Club-Handwashing Stations-Cost $3325-Impact-400+ individuals
 
This Rotary project was done in conjunction the Red Feather Develop Group that serves both Hopi and Navajo families on their reservations that do not have running water and these hand washing stations came into play to help aid in limiting the transmission of COVID19. A total of 33 units were assembled, positioned and delivered by 13 Rotarians, 5 friends of Rotary, and 3 family members. In addition training by Red Feather has created a group of Native Peoples that can produce these units in the future.
 
While many Rotarians wonder how this might qualify as an international service project, it’s important to remember that these Reservations are Sovereign Nations, with their own government, school systems and police force, and Flagstaff President Carla Viola provided all the details about this COVID 19 solution.
 
 
 
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Women Leaders in Polio Eradication
Posted by GPEI Website

Women Leaders in Polio Eradication: Ellyn Ogden

Ellyn in Abia State Nigeria in 1999 © Ellyn Ogden

On Ellyn Ogden’s desk sits a decades old coffee mug. It has a special significance for the woman who has led polio eradication for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) since 1997. On the mug, are ten women, the Ladies in Polio, who at the time were the only women participating in GPEI meetings, and only 2 of them were in leadership positions.  Ellyn takes her status as a leader in polio eradication seriously and by her actions demonstrates commitment, determination and the need to engage women at all levels of GPEI.  As an epidemiologist, public health practitioner and trained ’devil’s advocate’ Ellyn oversees what is cumulatively a $1.3 Billion investment, spanning 30 countries and covering all aspects of polio eradication from surveillance to communication to containment to NGO and civil society engagement.  She is the only female member of the European Certification Commission for polio eradication.

Ellyn’s motto “Don’t ask anyone to do something you won’t do yourself” has led her to spend countless hours in the field, monitoring campaigns in over a dozen countries, participating in surveillance review, visiting laboratories, and listening closely to people inside and outside of GPEI to gain perspective and deeper understanding of the communities and operating environment where GPEI needs to succeed.  One of Ellyn’s most notable contributions to polio eradication was negotiating ceasefires in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which opened access to vaccinate millions of children.  She later received USAID’s award for Heroism in 2008.  Ellyn’s vast field experience combined with her ability to challenge approaches or assumptions, often through a gender perspective, gives her an important edge when pushing for progress.

Ellyn during a site visit in Indonesia © Ellyn Ogden

 

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The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona Update For Year End Awards
Posted by PDG Jeanie Morgan
At the July 10 District celebration, The Rotary Vocational Fund of Arizona will be recognizing the top three clubs in District 5495 for their financial support of TRVFA.  The following four factors will be taken into consideration in selecting the top three clubs:
  1. The total number of donors 
  2. Percentage of number of donors compared to number of club members as of July 1, 2020
  3. The average dollars donated per member, again using July 1, 2020 membership data
  4. Total dollars donated
The majority of dollars received by TRVFA come from tax credit donations from individuals.  In the long run, those donations cost the donor nothing since the donor receives a dollar-for-dollar credit toward their Arizona State income tax obligation.  There is a lot of room to grow in this area.  Just under 10% of Arizona Rotarians have taken advantage of this tax credit giving opportunity this Rotary year.  Nearly 1/3 of Rotary Clubs in Arizona are not represented by even one donation.  This type of giving is not limited to Rotarians.  18% of dollars received in 2020-21 have come from donors not associated with a Rotary Club. 
 
At this time, the three clubs which appear to be the likely recipients of the 2020-21 recognition, have a relatively high percentage of member participation, but the highest percentage at this writing is only 61%.   A very small club could easily pass them with getting all their members on board to give something and maybe even pass them in average dollars per member by also writing a check from their club’s charitable funds.
 
 
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Announcement of DEI Series
As word of Rotary International’s emphasis on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion continues to spread we’re seeing more terrific programs like this one being developed.
 
Please join the Rotary Club of Poulsbo, Washington DEI Series. This is a series of Six one hour sessions live-streamed on U-Tube or Facebook from May 4-June 8:
 
May 4 Setting the Stage
 
May 11 Microagressions
 
May 18 Recruiting
 
May 25 LGBTQ+ Community
 
June 5  Dismantling Racism
 
June 8 Conclusions
 
This series will create an actionable plan for clubs to move forward and will offer a Six Month Retrospective on What worked & What didn’t on November 9th!
 
Go to rotarydei.com for more topic information and subscribe to the club’s mailing list.

Rotary's International Convention Coming in June
 
 
Rotary Opens Opportunities | 12-16 June 2021 

We always need moments to connect and celebrate. Join us at the 2021 virtual convention to learn and engage with the family of Rotary and see how we’ve been growing and adapting!

You don’t want to miss this year’s rich schedule of events which include:

  • Inspiring speakers sharing how Rotary and its members are connecting with our communities around the world. 
  • The Virtual House of Friendship where you can connect with fellow members, chat with staff, shop, and explore exhibitor booths. 
  • Twenty featured Breakouts Sessions covering topics including: how to create sustainable impact, rebuilding after COVID-19, developing leadership skills, Rotary’s new area of focus: the environment, and much more. 
  • Exciting new activities including meet and greets with leaders, virtual cooking classes, Rotary trivia contents, a virtual photo booth, a 5K walk to end polio, and a DJ dance party. 
Don’t forget to share how you’re participating by posting a selfie or other photos on our event page on Facebook. 

Interact Ambassador Scholarships Needed
Posted by PDG Art Harrington
 
After being unable to do so many planned events and projects this past year, if your Rotary club has any unspent funds remaining, certainly one of the best investments you could make with those monies is to provide an Interact Ambassadors Scholarship to send one of our 16 best and most capable Interactors to Kenya or Central Mexico in July.
 
Persisting in believing they could still do this, the eight member Interact Ambassadors to Kenya and Ambassadors to Mexico teams have “kept the faith” this year, and have been diligently working in their bi-weekly online training sessions to prepare for their Rotary international service mission of bringing the gift of mobility to so many of the disabled poor who need this equipment in these countries.  
 
Although fundraising has been difficult this year with the pandemic, our Interact District 5495 has successfully shipped 40-ft. containers of mobility equipment, collected by our Interact and Rotary clubs, to central Mexico and to Uganda/Kenya.  The equipment is now there in the hands of our Rotarian partners in these countries.  Now we urgently need to raise the rest of the funds necessary to send our eager and prepared Interact representatives of our Rotary and Interact districts there to do their work.
 
 
 
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Rotary Means Business Group Forming
Posted by Ed Anderson
Stephen Phair has started a Rotary Means Business group for all Rotarians. He chartered this with help from RI. If you are looking to network with business-minded Rotarians, then the group is for you and your members. 
 
We are starting off the group in Mesa to hopefully draw from a wider geographic area. But, if we get more interest from Chandler and South Valley we will move closer to accommodate. I truly value your input, so if you see any changes or think of something, please let me know.
 
Rotary Means Business. Here are the details as we have them for our next meeting. Please feel free to share this with fellow Rotarians or anyone you would like to invite to the group.
 
Phx Metro RMB meeting information:
When: 3rd Wednesday of each month at 8am
 
Where: Panera Bread Val Vista and Baseline
3426 East Baseline Rd Ste #113, Mesa Az 85204
 
Who: All Rotarians are welcome to attend RMB meetings.
Please feel free to invite non-Rotarians, they will be able visit 2 times before joining.
 
How much: As long as you are a Rotary member in good standing there is no additional cost to join this RI Fellowship, but we do ask that you buy breakfast to thank the location for allowing us to meet and us their room.
 
Why: This fellowship is designed to connect Rotarians in a business networking capacity because, who better to fill your referral pockets with than Rotarians?
 
If you have any other questions please feel free to reach out to me, Stephen.Phair@EdwardJones.com and also find us on Facebook - RMB PHX Metro and on Instagram - RMB PHX Metro.  
 

District 5495 Rotary Leadership Academy Graduates
Posted by Eugene Medina
Congratulations to our District 5495  Class of 2020-21 Graduates of the Arizona Rotary Leadership Academy (RLA)
 
 
Our Class of 2020-21 RLA graduates 
 
Karen Brown, Kingman Route 66 RC
Tony Cerato, Phoenix 100 RC
Linda Fulmore, Scottsdale North RC
Larry Horton, Tempe Rio Salada RC
Mike Jacoby, Scottsdale North RC
Deborah Mahoney, Gilbert RC
Elizabeth Mahoney, Sun City Satellite  RC
Patsy Root, Wickenburg RC
Jim Schmidt, Mesa West RC
 
This accomplished and talented group of nine (9) Rotary leaders have met and exceeded the challenges and demonstrated the rigor necessary to complete the Arizona Rotary Leadership Academy’s “Course of Study”. These Rotarians took courses each month (September, October, November, January, February and March) of this Rotary  year to work both online and via Zoom to explore Rotary leadership. On the average, the program calls for 60 to 72 hours or more of online, offline and Zoom learning activities. As you know from your own experiences, learning seminars/workshops in and of  themselves can be quite challenging because of their impact on our busy lives as Rotarians and professionals.
 
RLA is intended to be the graduate program follow-up to completion of the three levels of Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) and follow-up learning opportunity for past club presidents.  It is a source for linking talented Rotarians to the leadership needs of our district. The Academy explores in depth the areas of Branding/Marketing, The Rotary Foundation, Working Collaboratively to Meet Fundraising Needs, Leadership and History of the District, Membership,  Fiduciary Responsibilities and Youth Protection and  expands and deepens the Rotary knowledge and skills, particularly in leadership of our students.
 
District 5495 is truly fortunate to have leaders of their caliber available to provide Rotary leadership services now and in the  future. 

Rotary Leadership Academy Forming For 2021-22 Year
Posted by Eugene Medina
Arizona Rotary Leadership Academy (RLA): Exciting Leadership Training Opportunity
 
Do you have valuable skills and talents from which your district and Rotary can benefit? Are you interested in growing as a Rotary leader?  
 
Have we got an exciting leadership training opportunity for you!!
 
In 2017-18, Districts 5500 and 5495 formed a partnership to lead and coordinate Rotary Leadership Academy, an innovative online learning approach to Rotary leadership development first created in 2004.  It is the Academy’s mission to train identified and selected Rotarians for future district leadership roles while simultaneously understanding and being sensitive to the demands on Rotarians time and busy schedules.
 
Annually, Past District Governors, current Governors, current Assistant Governors and RLA graduates nominate candidates for the academy. These nominees, past Rotary club Presidents, Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) graduates and Rotarians interested in leadership roles beyond their clubs are provided training which prepares them for the “next step,” a district leadership role. 
 
 
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Rotary Leadership Institute Coming Up In June
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The next session of the Rotary Leadership Institute has been rescheduled from May 15, 2021 to June 26, 2021. It will be a Zoom session form 8:00 am until 12:30 pm.  The event will be free!
 
For more information on RLI click HERE     Or contact Poly Cady at pcady2@cox.net
 

District Grants Update
Posted by Rebecca Wilks
Time certainly passes quickly.  Yesterday (May 23, 2021) was the deadline for 2021-22 District Grant applications.  Thanks for all of the great projects!
 
At the time of this writing, we have already had almost as much money requested as is available.  What this means is that the process will likely be more competitive than last year.
 
There are still a few outstanding grant reports for this (2020-21) Rotary year.  Please get those in right away.
 
The Grants Committee will meet in mid-June and clubs will be notified soon after that.  Most likely funds will be transferred by the first week in July.  Rex Townsend, our district treasurer-elect, will be contacting you in the interim to get your banking information for a timely transfer.
 
Please address questions to Rebecca Wilks, rebecca@skylineimages.net

Phoenix West Rotary Hears About Light Rail Expansion
John Angelo introduced our two speakers for the day on the topic of Light Rail. Michael Book, the Valley Metro Community Relations Coordinator for the Northwest Extension Phase 2 Light Rail Construction project, has worked on Valley Metro light rail construction projects since 2012. He works with stakeholders throughout the project so they always know they can contact him should they ever have questions or concerns. In addition, he communi- cates project information so the public is aware of construction activities before they happen. Michael spoke to the club about two years ago. Bree Boehlke has been with Valley Metro since 2018 and is currently the Business Assistance Coordinator for the Northwest Extension Phase 2 project. She interacts on a daily basis with project business owners and managers and communicates the available resources available to them during light rail construction.
 
 
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Sun Lakes Rotary Awards Student Scholarships
Posted by Dr. Honora Norton
The Sun Lakes Rotary Club (SLRC) extends congratulations to the winners of the Club’s 2021 Service Above Self Scholarships:
  • Lily Grace Steenhard, Queen Creek’s Casteel High School – Lily is considering political science studies. 
  • Aris Ahu, Chandler’s Hamilton High School – Aris is considering information technology studies.  
  • The Club’s 2021 Vocational Scholarship was awarded to Adrianna Camacho, Chandler High School - Adrianna is considering nursing studies.
 
The $2,000 scholarship payments will be sent directly to the school/university the student will be attending this Fall. 
 
A panel of judges reviewed and scored applications from area high school seniors. Each application included a 300 word essay, which provided the student’s beliefs and understanding of what “service above self” means; teacher recommendations; and, student academic standing data.  Also, the Rotary Club’s selections were based on each student’s exhibiting exemplary acts of service and character. 
 
Sun Lakes Rotary Club, chartered in 1986 with Rotary International, is a community leadership organization made up of men and women from local businesses, professional, education, civic and emerging leaders.  Rotary International has over 35,000 member clubs worldwide, with a membership of 1.2 million individuals, known as Rotarians. To learn more about SLRC projects, programs and membership – see www.sunlakesrotary.com .
 
 
Note: Student name and photo releases are on file at the schools. 
 
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Phoenix West Rotary Hears From World's Fastest Reader

Our speaker via Zoom on May 6, was Howard Stephen Berg who is recognized as the world’s fastest reader thanks to the cut- ting edge accelerated learning techniques he developed that turn information overload into information assets. Respected internationally for his contribution to the learning process, he is listed in the 1990 Guinness Book of World Records for reading more than 25,000 words a minute and writing more than 100 words a minute. Howard uses his talents to train you on how to stay on top of the information your success depends upon.

A graduate of S.U.N.Y., Binghamton, he majored in Biology and then completed a four-year Psychology program in one year. His graduate studies at several New York City colleges focused on the Psychology of reading. He is the spokes-person for the SONY E-Reader  along  with  Justin  Timberlake,  Peyton  Manning,  and  Amy  Sedaris.  He  is  also  a  featured guest on Fox News, and Fox Business News with Neil Cavuto. He launched the 4G network for Optus, the second largest phone company in Australia. He has appeared on over 1,100 radio and television programs including Neil Cavuto, Jon Stewart, and Live With Regis. Maybe you saw him with Justin Timberlake & Peyton Manning as Sony's E-Reader spokesperson, or on Cavuto completing    the    1,500    page    health    care    bill    in    just    50    minutes.    Missed    it?    Go    to www.WatchHowardRead.com

 

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Sun Lakes Rotary Awards Teacher of the Month
Posted by Dr. Honora Norton
The Sun Lakes Rotary Club (SLRC) extends congratulations to the winner of the Club’s  May 2021Teacher of the Month Award:  Rose Marie Bogue, 3rd Grade Teacher at Chandler’s Galveston Elementary School.  
 
Rose Marie has been a teacher for over 37 years, 13 of which have been at Galveston Elementary.  Additionally, she is an English Language Development Program Specialist.  Rose Marie earned her Bachelor’s degree in 1984 at California’s Azusa Pacific University; and, in 1987 her Masters Degree from California’s Cal State San Bernardino.   
 
The award selection is based on: teacher’s total years of service in the field of education; examples of how the teacher goes above the normal requirements and enhances student education; the respect shown for the teacher by her/his peers, students and parents; and, the teacher’s involvement in extracurricular activities and service in the community,
 
A $500 check is awarded to the honored teacher - $200 from the Sun Lakes Rotary Club, $200 from Earnhardt Automotive Center and $100 from Trust Bank.  
 
Sun Lakes Rotary holds Tuesday weekly hybrid (Zoom and Palo Verde Country Club) Tuesday meetings for its more than 80 members.   Among the projects supported by Sun Lakes Rotary are education through schools in the Chandler Unified School District literacy through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and water access and sustainability through the Navajo Nation Water Project.