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
	October 22, 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 President Peggi.  She noted that District 5160 District Governor, Dan Geraldi was present,and he had met with the Board prior to the meeting, Peggi asked Daryle Polk to lead the pledge, which he did.    Larry Bradley was absent, so we had no song.   Following that, Jim Patterson presented the invocation President Peggi then recited the 4-Way Test.  She noted that in her former club, you had to recite it to get rid of your Red Badge.  For those who don’t remember, or who have come in recently, all new members of our club received a Red Badge,which they wore for a period of time. Eventually they got it replaced by their Blue Badge.  I think, after they could recite the names of all members at their table.  We should go back to the Red Badge for new members. Following that she recited the following quote: "It is not the years in your life but the life in your years that counts."  She then asked the members who initially said that. No one knew, so she disclosed that it was Abraham Lincoln. Peggi then reported that the Rotary backdrop, which shows in the photos below, was purchased by Diana Selland.  Thank you, Diana .

 It was announced that Loraine Nock, widow of former member, Joe Nock passed away.

Durham Rotarian of the Month

President Peggi, after reciting all the things he has done for Durham Rotary awarded Rotarian of the Month for October to Jim Patterson.

Introduction of Visitors

The only visitor introduced was District Governor, Dan Geraldi.

Jim Patterson’s wife, Nancy, was also present.

Recognitions

President Peggi volunteered that she had had a birthday as did her husband.  Also the recent  xray’s of his fracture site showed that it was now healing.  She contributed $50.

Steve Plume reported that his swimming pool now has water in it.  He contributed $100.

It was noted that Tom Knowles had the Grinder, but he was absent.  So, it was bid on in its absence.  Steve Heithecker got it for $40.

District Governor’s Presentations

Before his program, the District Governor has several presentations.

He made a presentation to Steve Heithecker in recognition of his contributions to the Paul Harris Foundation totaling$10,000.

Then he presented to Steve Heithecker a check in the amount of $12,500 for the District Grant we were awarded for our audio-visual system project at the Memorial Hall.  

Lastly, he presented to Erick Hoiland an award for all the work he had done for Rotary.  A can of beer from a Danville brewery. 

Tonight’s Meeting Program

Tonight’s meeting was the District Governor talking about the various projects of District5160 and of Rotary International.

One of the projects is the Wheelchair project. 

In support of that he auctioned a basket filled with goodies from the Woodland Club.  The basket was bid on by Mike Crump and Steve Heithecker.  Mike got it for $130. 

The money goes to the District’s wheelchair project by way of a grant to the Wheelchair Foundation. 

The Wheelchair Foundation is a nonprofit organization leading an international effort to create awareness of the needs and abilitiesof people with physical disabilities, to promote the joy of giving, create global friendship, and to deliver a wheelchair to every child, teen and adultin the world who needs one, but cannot afford one. For these people, the Wheelchair Foundation delivers Hope, Mobility and Independence.

To ship wheelchairs to other countries they must go in a container.  The wheelchairs that fill a container cost $56,000, but if the District raises $28,000 the Wheelchair Foundation will match that.  The first trip is expected to go in March 2025 and Dan is planning to go with it.

We presented to the District Governor a basket from our club that he will take to his next Club visit, which will be to theConcord-Diablo Club.

He talked about the theme of Rotary International President Stephanie Urchic, “The Magic of Rotary”.  He noted that many projects, such as the water project in the Dominican Republic seemed like magic.

So to does Rotary’s progress in ending polio.  Although there was a slight set back this year, with a slight increasein cases  But 50 a year is a major improvement over 1,000 per day, when the project started.

Dan Giraldi’s theme for District 5060 for this year is “Our Rotary Family”.  He noted that there were 18 grant applications from clubs to the District.  16 were approved.  The grant money comes from the Paul Harris Foundation back to the clubs.

Rotary International wants every District to have 4 new clubs this year, with an increase of 100 new members.

Dan is asking the each club member to bring 1 guest to a meeting this year to promote membership.

Our Next Meeting

There will be a Harvest Festival debrief meeting at 1:00 pm on Friday, November 1^st at the BCCC.  All committee heads and all others with comments to make should attend.

Our next regular meeting will be on November 5^th, at the BCCC.   We will have the District 3 Dairy Princess at the meeting

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 ofRotary 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:

No  drawing tonight.

Peggi 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 an dothers 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

_______________________________________________________________ri

From Rotary International’s News and Features Website

{Note that the following is not the complete article.  See the complete article on Rotary International’s News and Features webpage}.

Rotary projects around the globe

October 2024

By Brad Webber

Rotary members and their partners in service come together each World Polio Day on 24 October to recognize progress in the fight to end the disease. Here is a sample of the ways members are taking action to make history and eradicate polio.

Colombia

Sonia Uribe and her husband, Alberto Londoño, created a stuffed animal collection called El Zoo del Amor, or the Zoo of Love, to comfort seriously ill children and raise money for polio eradication. Sales of Anna the giraffe, Lucas thet iger, and other animals — each wearing a shirt with Rotary and End Polio Now logos — have raised about $550,000 since their introduction in 2018. In addition to giving the animals to sick children, Rotarians carry them on their travels and snap photos of them at iconic landmarks. “All these animals have traveled, being ambassadors of theRotary brand,” says Uribe, a member of the Rotary Club of Nuevo Medellín and, like Londoño, a past governor of District 4271. Londoño is a member of the Rotary Club of Medellín Nutibara. The couple also manage the Fundación Monica Uribe Por Amor, which assists children with spina bifida.

United States

The Rotary Club of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is helping a new generation learn about polio. Students from Dunmore High School have created a documentary based on interviews conducted during a polio and health policy symposium that the club and District 7410 organized for World Polio Day 2023. The film features interviews with International PolioPlus Committee Chair Michael McGovern, other Rotarians, and symposium attendees, and is scheduled for broadcast during the club’s World Polio Day events this month. “It is hard to get hands-on with history,” says Alan Roche, a Dunmore teacher who enlisted about 40 students to produce the video, which includes interviews with three local polio survivors,one of whom taught at the high school. The project was an eye-opener for the young people, he says. “It’s usually a page or two in the textbook, a blip in a slide show,” Roche says. “It’s one thing to just learn about this and another to talk to someone who was affected by it and lives in your hometown.”

France

More than a dozen Rotarians and friends in southeastern France donned inflatabled inosaur costumes and stumbled along a 100-meter course in a playful footrace that raised funds and awareness for Rotary’s mission to end polio. Organized by District 1730, the T-Rex Race took place last October during the Fréjus International Air Festival, a kite fair that draws thousands of people. “The idea came to me to create an event to rejuvenate the image of Rotary in the fight against polio,” says Dinh Hoan Tran, the district’s immediate past governor and member of the Rotary Club of Nice. Spectators could place bets on the contestants. “We made people laugh and we informed people,” says Tran. More than 40 of the district’s 71 clubs participated in the event, as the district motivated clubs to “support PolioPlus to the tune of about $45,000,” he says.

South Africa

To draw attention to the need for vigilance and vaccinations, the Rotary Club of Newlands assembled Rotary members and others for a World Polio Day photo shoot with the landmark Table Mountain in the background. On the day of the shoot, however, a heavy mist enveloped the site. “We made the best of it, chatting and taking selfies, until eventually the sun came out,” says Past President Janey Ball. She used RI’s polio resources toolkit to create artwork for selfie frames and set up a Facebook event called Make Polio History to record the pictures and raise awareness. To encourage Rotary members, Ball suggested using the slogan “focus on the finish.” “The selfie frames have been in continuous use since the event,moving from one club to another,” she says.

Japan

Yoichiro Miyazaki switched into high gear to raise money for the PolioPlus Society.Miyazaki, a member of the Rotary Club of Tokyo Mitaka, cycled the length of Japan last October, covering 2,500 kilometers (1,553miles) in 24 days. “If you don’t act, there’s no point,” he tells Rotary Italia magazine, using a slogan developed for his year as governor of District 2750 in2023-24. Along the way, fellow district governors, other Rotarians, and well-wishers cheered for him as he traversed twisting roads, uphill climbs, and tunnels. RI General Secretary John Hewko, another avid cyclist, offered a video message of support. Prompted by news coverage of his ride, donors contributed$140,000. Miyazaki continues to pedal strong: In late April, he finished the Osaka-to-Tokyo challenge just three hours shy of the 30-hour goal en route to more fundraising for polio.

This story originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Rotary magazine.

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