Month: March 2013

Rogers Rotary was well represented when the Big Check for $10,000 was presented to Principal Roman Pierskalla and Superintendent Mark Bezek (both left of Bruce).

The District Choir will perform three songs at the District Conference’s noon luncheon on Friday, April 19.

If you are interested in joining the choir, it will rehearse at the Sofitel Hotel about 11:15 a.m. (room TBA). Please email choir director Gary Mosiman at carleymosiman@msn.com.

Watch a rehearsal and learn your part using available sheet music. (There is a $2 charge for the music.). Gary hopes for 75 or more performers. Choir members need to register for the $35 luncheon.

Last year Rotarians discovered how much impact they could make as Junior Achievement classroom volunteers at Hassan Elementary. Heather Farr announces that there are shifts available this spring. Contact her at heather@visionstaffingsolutions.com if you’re interested in a regular or shared shift. Open Classrooms at Hassan Elementary:

2^nd Grade

Teacher: Emily Nelson

Months: April/May

Day of week: Flexible

Time of day: Best is 3 p.m.

 4^th Grade

Teacher: Julie Stella

Month: May

Day of week: Flexible

Time of day: Best is 1-2 p.m.

The new Rogers Elementary School theater lighting system truly fulfills grant requirements for “club sweat equity.” Many Rogers Rotarians had hands-on involvement and all members contributed financially.

The inaugural production, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, is onstage this weekend. Project coordinator Floyd Ingersoll offers special thanks to:

• Jack Hines and Chuck Christian for bring the project to the club
• Lenny Kirsch for keeping the project alive during his year
• Mike Vetter for organizing participants, offering his meeting room, and helping getting a great deal on 18 lights 
• Marco Verweg for 19” flat screens for
  the control board
• Bruce Johnson for grant application
  writing help
• Joe Primus and Jana Hennen-Burr for school district coordination
• Carol Parrish, District 5950 NCS Grant Committee, for shepherding the application through the process
• All Rogers Rotarians for their support during this project

And we thank you, Floyd, for your persistence and commitment!

Excerpted from www.Rotary5960.org

Members in our neighboring District 5960 brainstormed ways to curb member resignations during the recession. Rogers Rotary has already implemented some of their ideas listed below. What else can we do to make membership as affordable as it is fun?

•  Separate dues cost from the meal cost and allow people to attend and pay for coffee only.
• Make the 5^th meeting of the month  a “brown bag” at a member’s business for a Vocational Day.
• Meet and eat with the Interact Club at school. It’s a good connection and communication with our young future Rotarians, and school lunches are cheap!
• Picnic at a local park during the summer.
• Find a less expensive meeting venue like a church or town hall. Meals can be “brown bag.”
• Re-evaluate fining. Encourage Happy Dollars as the alternative.
• Look for hands-on projects to give members alternatives to just
  writing checks.
• Consider a joint project with County Extension (or other groups in the community) to teach young families how to do things for themselves, like gardening, canning sewing, home repairs, carpentry
  (all the things our schools are no longer able to teach).
• Replace the annual Foundation Gala with a “Subsistence” Dinner (based on typical Third World meal) with a minimum donation for dinner, but a great program inviting contributions to TRF. Money goes to TRF instead of to a fancy meal and evening for the attendees.

Are you ready to take the next step in Rotary? District Governor-Elect Diann Kirby has her leadership team in place for 2013-14. Now those com- mittees are adding new members.

District 5950’s Training committees plan training events and secure breakout session leaders. Membership committees work with youth and young professionals, retention, membership growth, and Friendship Exchanges. Community Service and International Service each have numerous projects to promote and monitor.

If you would like more information and a district contact name, talk to President Lenny Kirscht or District CFO Lee Ashfeld. Some committees’ contact information is on the District website: http://tinyurl.com/bsnwubx.

President Lenny asks each Rogers Rotarian to complete a club survey and offer your feedback. The survey committee hopes that your thoughtful answers will illustrate the club’s strengths and areas where we can continue to grow and improve. 

Go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z86ZVVQ by March 18 to access the online survey. Your input is anonymous. Let’s get 100% participation!

Come bask in the glow of new theater lights that our club secured through:

$ 5,000 Rotary CAP grant

$ 3,000 Rotary NCS grant

$ 2,000 Rogers Rotary donation

$10,000 school district matching funds

$20,000 community project

The ceiling installation eliminates wiring on the floor during performances. A control board and dimmers run stage lights. These permanent lights eliminate yearly rentals and make the lights available to other performance groups like choral and band.

Many Rotarians were involved in this large community project. We’ll look at all their donated expertise in next week’s newsletter.

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”

Location – Rogers Middle School

Dates – Thurs.-Sun., March 21-24
      Rotary Night is Friday!

Showtime – 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Fri., Sat.;  2 p.m. on Sunday

Admission – $8 Adult
                   $5 Seniors, Students

—RI News

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced a $100 million donation to support polio eradication efforts through Bloomberg Philanthropies. The donation represents a six-year commitment to help fund the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

“We’re at a critical juncture in the global effort to end polio,” says Bloomberg. “If we’re going to achieve a polio-free world, we must act quickly and commit to providing the resources needed.”

Rotary International, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are global partners in the GPEI.

“On behalf of Rotary International — and on behalf of all Rotarians — I thank Mr. Bloomberg and his foundation for this generous contribution
of $100 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative,” said Robert S. Scott, chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee.

Kohl’s has offered the Kohl’s Associates In Action (AIA) volunteer team to partner with Rogers Rotary because of its 501(c)(3) status and youth involvement.   The AIA team is looking to hold an event between April 6 and May 5 that serves youth and benefits the environment. If five Kohl’s associates volunteer for three hours, Kohl’s will donate $1500.

The Kohl’s contact suggested activities and urged Rotary to think of other ideas like:
– Clean up the grounds at a local park
– Plant a sustainable garden at a food pantry or plant flowers at the children’s hospital or local park
– Install rain barrels at a local nature center
– Refurbish a local little league field
– Set up a recycling program at a shelter that houses kids
– Collect used car seats at a children’s hospital for recycling
– Assist children with activities at a local Earth Day event.

Kohl’s needs to know the event plan and Rotary commitment by March 7. Bring your ideas to Wednesday’s meeting!