Rotary International Theme 2024-2025	THE ROWEL Rotary Club of Durham		Rotary International President: Gordon McInally Rotary District 5160 Governor: Clair Roberts Durham Rotary President: Glenn Pulliam _____________ Editor: Phil Price Publisher:  Jen Liu
	November 19, 2024	Crab Feed 2025 Will be held on Date: January 25, 2025

The Meeting Opening We met at the BCCC. The meeting was called to order by Janelle Thorp.  Excuse me, who?.  But she is the president of the Durham High School Interact Club, not Durham Rotary. Oh, that’s right.  They took over and conducted our meeting.  Janelle asked Steve Plume to lead the pledge, which he did.    Since Larry Bradley was absent, there was no song tonight. Following that, Janelle asked Jim Patterson presented the invocation which he did.

We had Kevin Ahlswede and John Ryan from the Chico Club visiting.

We also have four Interact students, parents and other visitors here with the Interact students, as follows:

Janelle Thorpe, Interact President and her parents Jessica (a member, not a visitor) and Matt Thorpe.

Ava Bunch, Interact Vice President and her parents, Steve and Michelle Bunch.

Bryce Landon, Interact Treasurer and his father, Buzz Landon.

Miguel Heras, Interact Secretary and his parents, Irene and Joshua Evans.

Susan Ladd. Durham High School  Librarian and interact Advisor.

Christy Spade, Durham High School Counselor and Interact Co-Advisor

Marty Wilkes, Durham High School Principal

New Member

Then Glenn introduced Imogen Hinds, who is now a member of Durham Rotary.  He presented her with her Red Badge and allowed her to tell us a little bit about herself and where she came from.

 Announcements

Peggi reminded members that it is now time to obtain donations to the Crab Feedsilent auction.  She has emailed everyone a list to the items donated last year and the names of the member who obtained those donations.  Please start getting donations from those who donated last year and from new doners.

Tonight’s Meeting Program

The program for tonight’s meeting was presented by 4 members of the Durham High School Interact Club. They were Janelle Thorp, Bryce Landon,

Miguel Heras and Ana Bunch.  They talked about the club’s purpose of service and that each member is supposed to contribute 10 hours of service.  They talked about the assistance they give us at the Harvest Festival and the Crab Feed as well as other Durham Park and Rec events. 

Interact clubs bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of Service Above Self.  The Durham Interact Club currently has about 70 members.

Our Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be our Christmas Holiday Party on December 3^rd at the BCCC.

We plan to do a Gift Exchange, (an approximately $15-$20 value), like previous years, and have Ravi Saip as our terrific Master of Ceremonies once again!

The night of the event, please have your payment on hand. We can accept credit card payments at the door.  The cost is $60 per person and includes dinner with Chopped Salad, Garlic Bread, Chicken Piccata, Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Roasted Seasonal Vegetables, and dessert.

RSVP to Peggi by Tuesday, November 26th.  Her email is:  mwitman18@gmail.com.

Recognitions

Membership

Bring guests who you think you can interest in becoming a member.  Your dinner and your guest’s dinner will be paid for by the Club.  Also, bring a guest to one of our occasional social gatherings.

District 5160 Governor, Dan Geraldi is asking each club member to bring at least one guest to a meeting this year.

Go to the following Rotary International web site for information on membership development:  https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/learn-topic/membership .  From this website there is access to membership development and other related information.

The Rotary Foundation Donations

You can make a difference in this world by helping people in need. Your gift can do some great things, from supplying filters that clean people’s drinking water to empowering local entrepreneurs to grow through business development training.

The Rotary Foundation will use your gift to fund the life-changing work of Rotary members who provide sustainable solutions to their communities’ most pressing needs. But we need help from people like you who will take action and give the gift of Rotary to make these projects possible.

When every Rotarian gives every year, no challenge is too great for us to make a difference. The minimum gift to The Rotary Foundation is $25.00.   An annual $100.00 gift is a sustaining member.  Once your donations accumulate to $1,000 you become a Paul Harris Fellow.

If you have any questions ask Steve Heithecker.

It is possible to learn more about The Rotary Foundation on the Rotary web site. 

Your gift can be made online or by sending Jessica Thorpe a check made out to The Rotary Foundation to Durham Rotary, P.O. Box 383, Durham, California 95958.

Must Be Present to Win Drawing:

Janelle drew Jim Patterson’s name.  He was present so Jessica delivered the winnings to him.

Janelle then closed the meeting.

 From District 5160

Candidates for District Governor

World Peace Conference – January 24-26, 2025, Rohnert Park (Sonoma Wine Country)

World class speakers including RI Past President Jennifer Jones, panelists, instructors and others working in the field of peace are coming together for the region's first ever Rotary Peace Conference on January 24-26. Registration opens Aug 31 atPeace25.org

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What do Rotary Foundation Month and Thanksgiving have in common?

They both happen in November!

A coincidence? I don’t think so! This month, we gather on the 28^th with family and friends to count our blessings and give thanks for what we have received – and for what we can sharewith others.

As you know, The Rotary Foundation (TRF) provides the financial fuel that allows Rotarians and Rotary Clubs to share with others through life-changing (and lifesaving) projects in our home communities and around the world.

To all District 5160 Rotarians who have already shared their gifts with TRF since July 1, THANK YOU! Special thanks to those members who make recurring donations -- monthly, quarterly or annually –by participating in Rotary Direct. (Just Google “Rotary Direct” if you want to join them!)

If you haven’t already made your donation to TRF this year, November is the perfect month to do so! Remember, all donations to TRF are tax-deductible – and you can take satisfaction in knowing that your gift will be used by one of the most efficient foundations in the world –consistently rated 4 stars by Charity Navigator – to make truly positive changes in people’s lives.

To make your gift TODAY, please go to Rotary.org/give. When deciding on which fund to allocate your donation, I recommend “Annual Fund-SHARE.” Nearly half of those funds donated by D5160 Rotarians this year will come back to the district during the 2027-28 year to fund District Grants and Global Grants to our clubs.

SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY: District 5160 has more than 300 Paul Harris Society (PHS) members: Rotarians who commit to giving $1000 or more each year to TRF (any fund or funds). We lead all the districts in Zone 26/27, which consists of 30 districts throughout the western US and Hawaii.District Governor Dan Geraldi and I would love to widen that lead by welcoming 50 new PHS members this year. It’s a generous commitment, we know, but not all that difficult. Using Rotary Direct, you can donate $85 per month and become a PHS member! I’ll make sure you receive a distinctive PHS chevron that attaches to your Paul Harris Fellow or Major Donor pin to identify you as a Rotarian who has made this continuing commitment.Please contact me if you’d like more information.

November is a month to give thanks and a month for giving. Please take full advantage of both opportunities! On behalf of DG Dan, please accept my best wishes to you and your family for a very Happy Thanksgiving – and thanks for giving to The Rotary Foundation!

_______________________________________________________________ri

From Rotary International’s News and Features Website

{Note that the following may not be the complete article.  See the complete article on Rotary International’s News and Features web page}.

Clubs donate supplies, raise funds, and volunteer

By Arnold R. Grahl and Etelka Lehoczky

Kelsey Mitchell grimly sums up the effects of two subsequent hurricanes on the state of Florida, USA.

“When this storm came through, it put an even bigger mess on top of the mess we already had,” says Mitchell, the governor of Rotary District 6960 in Florida. “We had to stop working in all the flooded areas and go back to preparing fort he storm.”

Mitchell’s district was one of several where members were working to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene, which hit the southeastern United States at the end of September. Now, in the wake of Hurricane Milton, members are once again organizing relief efforts.

“We work with our local partner organizations, which we already support, to identify the communities that have the most need and least ability to provide for themselves,” Mitchell says. “We already had a disaster committee on the state level. The district governors had been meeting every month to prepare a response, and since the hurricanes hit, we have met almost every day.”

Hurricane Milton made landfall on 9 October in Florida as a powerful Category 3 storm.Mere weeks before, Hurricane Helene battered areas in and around the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and parts of the United States’ Eastern Seaboard. Storm surges and heavy rains produced extreme flooding throughout the region. More than 250 people have died in the U.S. states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Other countries and areas that experienced severe flooding include the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Honduras,and Mexico.

Sandra Lilo, a member of the Rotary Club of Seminole Lake, Florida, USA, says she’s lucky that her house wasn’t destroyed.

“Of the 80 houses on my street, probably 78 took water. I and my next-door neighbor did not,” she says. “Some of my neighbors took 4 feet of water. There are 2 or 3 feet of muck in most people’s houses.”

Even if they and their fellow club members weren’t directly affected, Rotary members all over the southeastern U.S. immediately offered funds, supplies, and their own labor. Members of the Rotary Club of Alpharetta, Georgia were just spared the hurricanes’ devastating effects, and quickly began collecting supplies and raising money for people in neighboring states.

“One of our members owns a cabinet-making business, so he had a trailer. We reached out to a few clubs in the area and compiled a list of needs, and we completely stuffed the truck with supplies,” says Jeff Davis, the club’s president. “The trailer is 10 to 12 feet long and 6 or 7 feet tall, and it was literally stuffed.”

A club member drove the truck to a supply drop-off site in North Carolina. The club is also raising money to buy generators. In Florida, members are helping to remove sodden drywall and flooring from flood-damaged houses.

“You have to get the wet stuff out as fast as you can to prevent mold,” says Ed Hallock, another member of the Seminole Lake club. “Otherwise, it destroys the whole living space.”

The Rotary Club of Dunedin North, Florida, USA, rented a 26-foot moving truck to collect donations. It was filled with shovels and rakes, cases of water, garbage bags, and utility knives to cut up and remove wet carpet. The club has set up four distribution centers where people can get supplies.

“This is why you are a Rotarian,” says Mark Middleton, a member of the Dunedin North club and a district governor-nominee. Dunedin North has five members whose homes were destroyed.

“We have multiple clubs going to homes, mucking out and gutting these houses.Drywall has to be cut out as high as the water line, and all flooring has to be cut out,” Middleton says. “What a blessing it is that we can help and be therefor them. You become close to your Rotary family. When we can support and help each other, it becomes impactful.”

The Rotary Foundation has awarded three $25,000 Disaster Response Grants to provide food, medication and supplies to areas affected by the hurricanes. Many Rotary clubs are collecting and distributing supplies, raising funds, and assisting those affected. Here is information about some of the efforts:

• The Florida Rotary districts’ disaster relief page is posting information about various initiatives.
• Rotary Zones 33 and 34 are collecting donations for disaster relief.
• Rotary District 6950 in Florida is providing Instagram updates on relief efforts.
• The Rotary Club of Babcock Ranch, Florida, USA, is collecting supplies.
• The Rotary Club of Empowering Our Girls is donating menstrual hygiene supplies.
• The Rotary Club of Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA, is sharing disaster relief information.
• The Rotary Club of Pisgah Forest, North Carolina, USA, is assisting neighbors.
• The Rotary Club of Zebulon, North Carolina, USA, is seeking volunteers and supplying toiletries.

  Donate to Rotary’s Disaster Response Fund, and find a Rotary club near you.