Rotary International Theme 2025-2026	THE ROWEL Rotary Club of Durham		Rotary International President: Francesco Arezzo Rotary District 5160 Governor: Joy Alaidarous Durham Rotary President: Tom Knowles _____________ Editor: Phil Price Publisher:  Jen Liu
	January 6, 2026	Crab Feed 2026 Will be held on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026

The Meeting Opening Past President Peggi Koehler called the meeting to order at the Memorial Hall in Durham. Peggi asked Jen Liu to lead the pledge, which he did. She then asked Larry Bradley to presented the invocation, which he did, talking about the Doug La Malfa’s sudden death. She then asked Larry Bradley then lead us in singing a song.  Larry decided that we could no longer sing a Christmas song, so he led us in singing God Bless America. Peggi asked members whether they had anything to be happy about that they wanted to contribute Happy Bucks,for.  She then described being sick, most of December, with a fever for 14 days.  She was happy to be over it, so contributed $25 in Happy Bucks, for. We then had dinner which was Tostadas from La Hacienda, in Chico, brought to us by Jessica.

Introductions

We had two visitors.  One was Todd Kimmelshue, visiting from Chico Rotary.  The other was Rebeca Oberdorf who intends to join Durham Rotary with her husband, Sean.  Peggi asked her to talk about herself.  She talked about her history as a teacher and her current teaching from home as a High School History Teacher at California Virtual Academies.

The Program

The meeting was at the Durham Memorial Hall for the purpose of planning the Crab Feed.  There was a discussion, around the table (see photos below) between various member about specific things relating to the Crab Feed.

Announcements

Paradise Rotary had contacted us about assisting them with their Shelterbox project.

The Paradise Rotary Club is deeply involved with ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity that provides emergency shelter and supplies,leveraging Rotary's global network for logistics and volunteer support, especially after local disasters like the Camp Fire, helping them provide hope and essential aid to families worldwide.

How it Works:

• Partnership: ShelterBox began as a Rotary project and is now an official Project Partner, using Rotary's extensive network to activate responses quickly.
• Local Activation: After a disaster, ShelterBox often contacts local Rotary clubs, like Paradise, to activate their networks for on-the-ground assistance.
• Logistics & Volunteers: Rotarians serve as consignees, helping clear customs and manage aid, while also providing volunteers and fundraising support.
• "HERO" Clubs: Rotary Clubs can become "HERO" Clubs by committing funds, enabling ShelterBox to pre-position supplies for faster responses, a system supported by the Paradise Rotary Foundation. . 

In essence, the Paradise Rotary Club integrates with ShelterBox to bring immediate shelter and dignity to people in crisis, both locally and globally, building on a strong, decades-long Rotary-ShelterBox relationship. 

Paradise Rotary is having a fundraiser to raise money for a Shelterbox Kit.  See the box above

Closing

Peggi then closed the meeting.

Next Meeting

The next meeting, on January 20th, will again be at the Memorial Hall in Durham.  It will be a Crab Feed planning meeting.

Membership

Bring guests who you think you can interest in becoming a member. We Need More Members! 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.

President Tom is asking the members to bring in new members 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.

The District Newsletter has been uploaded to DACdb - to view it there go to the District tab, open the District Bulletin file and look for the pdf file named Rotary District 5160 Newsletter.

{Note that the proceeding may not be the complete article.  See the complete article onRotary International’s web page.}

Note that the photos in the original article may not have been reproduced here.

An old cure for loneliness

Since its start, Rotary has been a place for genuine connection

By John Hewko

In the summer of 1910, while visiting his cousin in Chicago, P.A.C. McIntyre, a businessman from Winnipeg, heard about a club where people of different trades and professions gathered weekly to share friendship and perform community service. Since members of the club rotated their meetings at one another’s offices, they settled on “Rotary” as a fitting name. Keenly interested, McIntyre met with Paul Harris, the young Chicago lawyer who had founded the first Rotary club there five years earlier.

During their conversation, Harris explained that the club was intended to restore the sense of camaraderie and community he had known growing up in small-town Vermont but found absent in urban life. “Everywhere there were people but nowhere a familiar face,” Harris recalled in his autobiography as he described the loneliness and social alienation that he and others had experienced. He wanted to establish a place for people to come together — not just to conduct business, but to form lasting, genuine connections.

Impressed by Harris’ vision and Rotary’s early success in Chicago and other U.S. cities,McIntyre returned to his hometown and formed the first Rotary club outside the U.S. in 1912. That one club in Winnipeg soon became dozens and then hundreds  as the passion for fellowship and good deeds swept across the country.

Members of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg travel by train to a district conference in 1932.

Rotary International archive

In recent years, there’s been much talk about social isolation or the “loneliness epidemic.” Even though it’s portrayed as a modern illness or a long-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness is hardly a new phenomenon, as Rotary’s story shows. At the beginning of the 20th century, loneliness and isolation became increasingly recognized as a societal problem in North America because rapid urbanization shifted populations from smaller, tighter rural communities into more anonymous city existences. In response to the social crisis,organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions emerged and flourished.

Unfortunately, in the past decade the idea of belonging to a traditional civic organization has become perceived as obsolete. Many see the groups as relics of their grandparents’ generation and instead flock to online communities. Despite being more digitally connected than ever, those same people are struggling to forge the kind of deep, meaningful relationships that give life purpose.

The Commonwealth Fund’s 2021 survey of older adults ranked Canada as the loneliest among 11 developed nations. According to Statistics Canada, nearly 1 in 4 people ages 15 to 24 report feeling lonely always or often.

Loneliness is more than a personal struggle; in 2023, Dr. Vivek Murthy, who was then the U.S. surgeon general, declared loneliness a public health crisis on par with smoking or obesity in terms of its detrimental effects.

We don’t have to go far to search for a cure. Canada’s historical ties to Rotary make it the perfect place for an antidote to the loneliness epidemic. While joining civic organizations might seem outdated to some, it has proved to be effective at creating connections — much like Grandma’s homemade chicken soup, which, after many generations, still provides spoonfuls of comfort.

At their core, Rotary and other groups complement governments by addressing social needs and advocating for change. The 2025 Rotary Convention in Calgary, which brought together 15,000 Rotary members from more than 120 countries and regions, offers a powerful reminder of the strength of service organizations.

At present, the trend toward isolationism is taking hold in many countries; in some instances, it’s accompanied by drastic shifts in governmental policies that have led to significant cuts in funding for humanitarian programs and economic development. Civic organizations are stepping in to fill the gaps in essential social services. They wield a potent soft power and project their values of compassion and giving onto universal issues, from global health and disaster response to development programs and education.

For more than 100 years, civic organizations have fostered the kinds of connections that sustain us. This time-tested cure can work miracles at a time when loneliness threatens our collective well-being.

John Hewko is general secretary and CEO of Rotary International.

This story originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of Rotary Canada magazine.

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