DISTRIBUTION: 24-25 Presidents, Assistant Governors, Deputy Governors, and District and Club Committee Chairs

 

Greetings from sunny New Orleans!  I am staying at a beautiful RV resort in the city this week and next as I visit the Orleans and Pontchartrain territory clubs. Visiting clubs is my favorite job as Governor.  Meeting more of my Rotary family and learning about the exciting service projects and activities you organize to Create Magic in our communities and around the world inspires me! 

• Special Event: Grow Rotary with Companion Clubs:  You're invited to attend "Grow Rotary with Companion Clubs," a virtual session featuring the one and only Patrick Longano. Patrick is the Founder of IMPACT, creator of the Companion Club Model, and a global membership growth expert. Many of you met Patrick at the Institute in Huntsville last fall, so you know just how action-packed this session will be!   If you are interested in starting a Companion Club (previously called Satellite club)...join this webinar!  Note: you do need to register for this one to get the link; but I think it is one you won't want to miss! 
  
  Grow Rotary with Companion Clubs
  February 12, 2025
  7:00pm to 8:00pm ET
  Register Now
  
   
• Public Image Resources:  Our fearless Public Image guru, Kelly Boyd, recently held a virtual seminar on Public Image. Following are the links to the presentation materials:
  
  Here are the presentation slides used in the meeting: https://storymaps.com/stories/4b76580f88934cb98d2655913b85fc31.
  Here are the presentation slides developed to present to clubs:  https://storymaps.com/stories/23c0c9d2ce7647a6bc8d2419aa90cb18. Please feel free to use these or adapt these into your own presentation as you see fit.
  
  And please reach out to Kelly Boyd if you need further assistance with Public Image for your club.
   
• Have you reported your incoming officers to Rotary International?   Per RI Guidelines, Club Officers for the upcoming Rotary Year must be reported to RI by December 31^st. If you use Clubrunner and utilize the integration function, you can simply enter the officers for next year in Clubrunner and they will update automatically for RI. If you do not use Clubrunner or do not use the integration features, you will need to manually enter your incoming officers in the RI database. If you have not yet held officer elections, please make this a priority so that you can meet this important deadline. For any questions, please contact me or District Admin Meg Noonan.
   
• District Conference:  Your conference committee has been working tirelessly to bring you an informative and fun conference. For more information and to register, click HERE.  To keep costs as low as possible for attendees, we need to raise funds to offset conference costs, and we need your help!  There are several sponsorship levels available; if you know of a business that could benefit from advertising to almost 2000 Rotarians in MS and LA, please contact John Olinde (LA) johnfolinde@gmail.com or Carolyn Ishee (MS) carolynishee@gmail.com and they will be happy to reach out or coordinate with you.  Club leaders:  In addition to sponsorships, we also have ads for sale in the official program.  This would be a great opportunity for your club to thank outgoing leaders for their service, welcome incoming leadership, or advertise your signature project or event to other members in the district.  Please ask your club members to help spread the word about these opportunities. Many of our members are business owners who could benefit from this advertising opportunity.   

• Rise Against Hunger:   As People of Service, District Conference is the perfect opportunity to come together and participate in a meaningful districtwide service project. I have chosen to host a Rise Against Hunger food packing event on Friday, June 6^th, immediately before Food Fest.  I am asking each club to recruit 5 volunteers (Rotarians, family members, Interact students, etc.) and donate $500 to support this project. Please don’t forget to budget for this project and to begin recruiting members.  Registration for District Conference will open prior to Team Rotary Halftime Show, and more information will be provided at that time.  If you would like to learn more about Rise Against Hunger, visit www.riseagainsthunger.org

• Rise Against Hunger Cooking Competition: To add a fun twist to our district service project, the District Conference Committee thought it might be fun to host a cooking competition utilizing the Rise Against Hunger (RAH) food packets.  Each club president received a RAH food packet at the Halftime Show in January.  All the clubs in each territory should work together to come up with one winning dish!  I will provide a RAH food packet to each Assistant Governor the week of District Conference.  The designated club/member should cook and bring your territory’s winning dish to Food Fest, where impartial, non-Rotarian judges will determine the winner. 

• February—Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution month: Have you scheduled a club presentation about peace and conflict resolution this month? Our world needs peace now more than ever. This would be a great month to learn more about Peace Poles! What is a Peace Pole?  A Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four or six sides. There are estimated over 250,000 Peace Poles in every country in the world dedicated as monuments to peace. To learn more or purchase a Peace Pole for your community, learn more here: https://worldpeace.org/peacepoleproject/  

• Winning Points:  I LOVE seeing the points add up! Keep watching the Thursday Touchdown Times to see where your territory stands.  There are opportunities for clubs of all sizes and types to contribute to the success of your team. You still have a lot of time for your territory to take the lead!

• Help us provide meaningful content in the Touchdown Times: What is your club’s next service project, fundraiser, or really interesting speaker? We want to know! Thanks to those who have already submitted information. Please email Ashley.mayley.5@gmail.com with the details at least 3 weeks in advance so we can help promote your event to other Rotarians in the district.

 

 

Hope you have a great week and are blessed by your commitment to Service Above Self!