Announcements

The Crab Feed preparations are progressing.  However we are still very short on donations to the Silent Auction.  All member need to solicit these dontions.  That is where a substantial part of our profit come from.  Crab Feed Tickets will soon be on sale.  The price will be $75 per person or $650 per table.  If you want tickets let Jessica Thorpe or Diane Seland know, before they sellout.

The following is a repeat from the last Rowel:  Billing of members is changing.  Beginning January 1^st you will receive a statement quarterly, at the beginning of each quarter.  However, because on January 1, 2024 you will also receive a statement for December 2023, the first quarter’s statement will not be sent until mid-January.

Introduction of Visitors 

The following members introduced visitors:  Jim Patterson, Bruce Norlie, Peggi  Koehler, Tom Knowls and John Bohannon.  But if you think that I could hear, much less, get the names of all the visitors in my notes, think again.  There were many.  It should be noted that Pam and Brian Grey, from the Paradise Club were here.  Both are past Presidents of the Paradise Club and she is a Past District Governor.  President Glenn hung on tightly to his Bell while they were here.  

Recognitions

President Glenn noted that we do not normally have any recognitions at the Christmas party but since today was Roy Ellis’ birthday it was recognized and we sang “Happy Birthday” to him.  He contributed $10.

Later in the meeting, President Glenn also noted that Jim Patterson’s anniversary is coming up on the 19^th.  It will be his 59th anniversary.  So, counting down 9 from 50 he contributed $41. 

Next Meeting

The next meeting will be next week on December 19^th.  Tom Knowles will present the program.

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.

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.

Tonight’s Meeting Program

The meeting was the Christmas Party

The Durham High School Jazz Band played from the beginning of the meeting through dinner.

Larry Bradley then led us in singing Christmas Carols.

Following that we had the gift exchange introduced by President Glenn and led by Steve Heithecker and Eric Hoiland.  It should be noted that throughout the exchange many jokes from Ravi Saip (who was not present) as well and some member were told.  Most were pretty bad, although there were a few good ones.  Steve and Eric were attempting to out “Ravi” Ravi when he normally does the gift exchange.

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:

None tonight

Conclusion

President Glenn then closed the meeting.

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From District 5160

Spring Assembly – South: March 23

Spring Assembly – North: April 6

Field of Rotary Dreams 2023-24 District Conference, Sacramento: April 26-28

The playing field has been set for the Field of Rotary Dreams District Conference held April 26-28, 2024.  Early Bird registration of $280 ends December 31st and will increase!
For current information and updates on the conference, check out rotary5160.org.
Here is some important information from the District Conference Playbook.
Holiday Inn Downtown-Arena
300 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814 (Friday Check-in 3:00 pm)
Join us Friday Night to Kick-off the 2024 District Conference at the Club Hospitality Night and Great Team Tailgate which includes food, music, friends and YOU!  This event is included in your registration fee. A cash bar will be available.
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Rotary clubs in Brazil stand ‘Together Against Polio’

From Rotary International

Rotary Clubs in Brazil Stand ‘Together Against Polio’

By Etelka Lehoczky

Donate to help put an end to polio.

Not everything that happened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been negative. In Brazil, the pandemic led directly to the creation of a powerful new campaign to promote polio vaccination.

Anti-vaccination sentiment emerged all over Brazil during the pandemic. To reassure people that vaccinations are safe, Antônio Henrique Barbosa de Vasconcelos — a member of the Rotary Club of Fortaleza-Alagadiço, Ceará, Brazil, and now a member of Rotary International’s Board of Directors — suggested creating an evidence-based information campaign. The campaign, called Information Saves Lives, highlighted facts and statistics from the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization.

“The COVID campaign was a complete success,” Vasconcelos recalls. “At the launch, we used a room for 500 people. It was packed in the first few minutes.”

For the Information Saves Lives campaign, Vasconcelos’ team designed a wide array of media to promote vaccination: magazine ads, billboards, stickers for bus windows and bus stops, radio spots, a website, and social media graphics. The materials were distributed to clubs all over Brazil, many of which were able either to raise money to pay for media placement or use partnerships to secure free placement.

Soon, Vasconcelos and the other planners realized they could use the same approach to promote polio vaccination. Polio was last recorded in Brazil in 1989, but low vaccination rates could lead to reappearance of the disease. According to the country’s Ministry of Health, the vaccination rate was just 72% in 2022 for children under five years of age. The goal of the National Immunization Program is to vaccinate between 90% and 95% of that group. 

Vasconcelos assembled a team made up of Rotary public image coordinators, polio staff, members of Rotaract and Interact, and staff from Rotary Brasil magazine to create new messaging addressing polio. In addition to the media used in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Together Against Polio also includes designs that can be printed on balloons and T-shirts. The Together Against Polio website and social media graphics take the message online

One of the advertisements in the Together Against Polio campaign

The new campaign’s colorful artwork was deliberately upbeat.

“The idea was to get children vaccinated against poliomyelitis and at the same time to work on diversity — to show different people united together,” says Carlos Daniel Fernandes, a Rotary public image coordinator and a member of the Rotary Club de Ribeirão Preto-Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil. “We wanted to draw attention with joyous images, not sad scenes.”

The Together Against Polio campaign is even stronger than the Information Saves Lives campaign was, Vasconcelos says. At the new campaign’s September launch, almost 2,000 people attended in person, and more than 800 joined online. 

“We have had great feedback,” Vasconcelos says. “We receive dozens of publications and images of events and actions throughout Brazil from the campaign every day.”

As with the Information Saves Lives campaign, Rotary clubs have often been able to print materials and secure ad space for the Together Against Polio campaign at no charge through local partnerships.

“We got static and digital billboards in my city of Fortaleza for free,” Vasconcelos says. “The clubs in my city had 2,000 posters made to be placed in hospitals, schools, health centers, buses, and other visible places, free of charge.”

Because the Together Against Polio messaging has already been approved, the materials can easily be used by clubs, says Aurea Dos Santos, senior content and public relations strategist for Rotary International’s Brazil office.  

“Clubs all across the country don’t have to modify anything in order to use the materials,” she says. “Everything is available on the website, and members can download and use them according to the places and media outlets they have available for the campaign in their regions.”

As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary is part of a joint effort that has led to a 99.9% reduction in polio cases worldwide since the establishment of GPEI in 1988. Rotary and its partners have immunized three billion children against polio in 122 countries.

– November 2023