The Warm Springs Rotary News

“ Service Above Self ”

 

 

Rotary Club of Warm Springs

Navigating To Leading The Way

June 16, 2006

Board of Directors

  • Ruth Traylor, President
  • Don Brown, President–Elect 2006-2007
  • Eva Stone, Treasurer
  • Ron Chapman, Secretary
  • John Souza, Sergeant of Arms
  • Steve Wyant, Public Relations
  • Billy Sandbrink, Vocational
  • Loren Harper, International
  • John Blakely, Intl. Foundation

Foundation Directors

  • Bob Dubro, Foundation President
  • Eva Stone, Treasurer
  • Ron Chapman, Secretary
  • Owen Aurelio, Director, Past President
  • Brian Conley , Director, Past President
  • Luis Lira, Director, Past President

The 97th Annual Rotary Convention of 2006 had approximately 14,700 plus attendee's representing 140 Countries, gathered in Malmo , Sweden and Copenhagen , Denmark.

The Oresund Bridge encapsulates the theme of the Rotary's 2006 Congress, which has been called “Bridging The World”.

The Rotary Convention is often described as a “Mini United Nations” because of the organization's international, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity.

 

As the stage came alive with native performers singing, “Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen, Friendly Old Girl Of A Town” lyrics Danny Kaye sang in the 1952 musical film, Hans Christian Anderson.

Dancing around the singer were people dressed as sailors, street entertainers, flower vendors, and fish mongers. All costumes represented Denmark 's past.

The Rotary International 97 th Convention officially began welcoming Rotarians around the World and the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark to the opening session.

Our 2005 – 2006 RI President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar addressed the audience. Describing the progress made during his presidency expanding Rotary into other countries.

Two Clubs were chartered in China , and the RI Board of Directors agreed to expand Rotary into Cuba , Kosovo, Laos , and Vietnam .

He also mentioned that Rotary needs to take a look at its rules, and if they have not been used, then they need to be eliminated. Saying “We need to adjust Rotary to the Rotarians and not Rotarians to Rotary”.

Turning to membership, he says he wants women to make up 52 percent of Rotary's membership, because that is the gender ratio in the worldwide population. Not just because they are women, but because they bring talent, and foresight to Rotary. Furthermore, he says that Rotary must increase the number of its younger members. As they bring in new ideas and energy for the benefit of community service.

Then talking about Rotary's role in the world, he said it should be the same as what former United Nations Secretary General Daj Hammarskjold's believes the UN's role should be – not to bring humanity to heaven, but to save it from hell.

By: RI President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar

The Business of Rotary International Voting Delegates

Issues came before us concerning the “By-Laws of Rotary” as a Statement of the Rotary International Board of Directors, concerning;

The Board of Directors faced a very troubling situation at its November 2005 meeting. Compelling evidence indicated that the process for nominating the 2007 – 2008 RI President had been seriously corrupted by a few individuals. The Board acted as it believed was necessary under the circumstances and took corrective measures consistent with the RI Bylaws to protect the integrity of Rotary's election process.

An appeal of this Board action has been filed by the Rotary Club of North Providence, Rhode Island, USA, and concurred with by approximately 80 of Rotary's 32,000 clubs. The Board asked that we as voting delegates to send a clear message that any efforts to manipulate Rotary's election processes will not be tolerated.

Summary of Facts

The Nominating Committee for President of RI in 2007-2008 met on September 2005 and selected Past RI Director Donald E. Osburn, of the Rotary Club of Easton, Maryland, USA as its nominee.

The day after the committee meeting, Past RI Director and Nominating Committee member James Shamblin drafted an e-mail that he apparently intended to send to other members of the committee who had joined him in supporting Past Director Osburn. In the email,Past Director Shamblin Indicated that some committee members, whom he referred to as “Don;s Determined Demons” had worked together to have Past Director Osburn selected by the committee – in clear violation of Rotary's rules against campaigning, canvassing, and electioneering. However, instead of sending the email to those committee members, Past Director Shamblin accidentally sent it to 47 other Rotarians and RI Staff. As a result, many Rotarians became aware of the actions of certain members and were outraged.

Past Director Osburn's club, the Rotary Club of Easton, on March 3 rd filed a lawsuit on his behalf in Chicago, Illinois, against Rotary International, each director, and General Secretary Ed Futa. The lawsuit requests that the court intervene in this election process and require Past Director Osburn to be named the President-Nominee. Past Director Osburn has stated that he has personally funded the lawsuit.

The RI Bylaws require Rotarians and clubs to complete an appeal of a Board decision regarding the election complaints to the Convention before filing a lawsuit. This allows disputes to be settled within the Rotary Family, specifically by you the delegates to the Convention. Because the Rotary Club of Easton, acting on Past Director Osburn's behalf, choosing to circumvent the appeal process by filing a lawsuit before the conclusion of this appeal to the Convention, Past Director Osburn is disqualified as a candidate for RI President for 2007 – 08 according to the RI Bylaws.

The decision of the Court was that it was up to the decision of the Delegates of the Convention to sustain or not to sustain the decision of the Board as to the Rules of the Bylaws.

The Decision of the Voting Delegates were to Sustain the Decision of the Board and the Bylaws of Rotary.

The President Nominee for 2007 – 08 is Past Vice President Wilfrid J. Wilkenson, of the Rotary Club of Trenton, Ontario, Canada.

The Conclusion of Rotary's 101 st International year

As Rotarians looked ahead to Rotary's 102nd year, the 2006 RI Convention drew to a close the night of June 14 th . This concluded the first Rotary convention to be held in two countries. The event drew more than 14,700 attendees from about 140 countries.

Our incoming RI President William “Bill” Boyd, after presenting his family and his wife Lorna, to the audience his address stressed that Rotary provides an incredible example of how to overcome obstacles of bureaucracy and intolerance.

“Through Rotary, we have had the chance to touch lives in ways that we could never have imagined before we were part of it – through the tremendous power of our vast network of clubs and members, worldwide.

He went on to emphasize the power of Rotary through club service and fellowship as something that transforms the lives of members and the community. Offering examples of how Rotarians came to the aid of thousands following devastating disasters, such as Katrina and the south Asian tsunami.

Emphasizing the continuation of RI President Stenhammar's water management, health and hunger, and literacy. He also adds a fourth emphasis: Family of Rotary.

Acknowledging the challenges of keeping Rotary's ranks going strong. He stressed that Rotary must keep strengthening existing Rotary Club programs and projects. “The daily work of making a Rotary Club good, inviting, and useful is up to everyone of you”.

“We must make our Rotary Clubs and

The conclusion by asking all Rotarians to put the coming year's theme, “Lead The Way”, into action.

“We are not content with the status quo, and we do not look at a problem only to say, ‘Someone else will solve it'. We are the ones who ask, why not us? We are the ones who must “Lead The Way”. This is an affirmation of my belief in the power of Rotarians to change the world, one positive act a time”.

By our 2006 – 07 RI President William “Bill” Boyd.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The House of Friendship

With 70 booths in the House of Friendship we had a booth of District 5170 for Interact being manned by 2 Interact Students from San Jose, along with Nick Leon, and Pat Fox, of which Don Brown assisted for a 2 hour period while Pat and Nick was able to take a break on the 13 th of June, many different clubs became interested in the Interact Program. Of which will be most likely developed in their own clubs within their countries of origin.

The Rotary Doctor Bank , Lars Braw, Founder, has another vision: that Rotarians in other countries start new doctor banks, in this way be able to provide and help even more people to good health.

He says it has succeeded in the Nether-lands but what about the rest of the world.

Lars Braw mentions that during two visits to the USA , he had the opportunity to describe their activities and make several contacts with many interested Rotarians.

This is how the Doctor Bank works, The Doctor Bank develops interested Doctors to be able to go out to other countries, to provide care along with health instructors for training and informing about HIV and other health related diseases.

A Few of the Programs of Interest

The Wheelchair Foundation was present showing their video and the wheelchairs that are furnished to those in need, as a gift of a free wheelchair improves the quality of life for the recipient and every member of their family. The cost of a wheelchair is $150.00 and for a donation of $75.00 the Wheelchair Foundation will match the $75.00 and pay for shipping. This would be for a shipment to one or more locations of a full container.

Water and Health Literacy

In Africa, Asia and in the Americas , the need to walk to distant water sources, to queue for inadequate supplies, or the impact of sickness from water-related illnesses, means that many pupils miss out on some, or even all, of their education. The consequences can be long term or damaging.

Just think of what we have worked on with the good work of Owen Aurelio, in El Salvador and our Interact kids at Irvington High School and District 5170 accomplished in their Pump Aid program.

Tony de St Dalmas – RI Director, on a visit to a Rotary funded water and sanitation project in Tanzania , said; “I have never been more convinced of the need for disease free water than I am now…I have seen it . I have felt it.

The challenge for Rotary in 2006/2007 is to tackle the root causes of poverty by providing communities with access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education.

Water Aid is supported by Rotary International and Rotary Clubs of Great Britain and Ireland .

Entrepreneurship & Vocational Training

The Rotary Club of Altadena in Pasadena California , developed a program for Native Indians for Entrepreneurship as many were unable to find suitable means of employment.

Why Entrepreneurship?

  • Learning how to start your own business, teaches youth to create their own job opportunities.

  • Entrepreneurship encourages youth to become solution oriented.

  • Entrepreneurship fosters a thriving business community.

  • Entrepreneurship helps the youth to have more self confidence and become self sufficient.

Vocational Training

Our students of today, as I have witnessed over the years are in school until 2:00 – 2:30 PM, then as their parents most likely are not home, the student is free to do what ever they so wish to do.

Vocational Training, is a program that needs to be developed in our own community as a model to be expanded. With the cooperation of the School Districts , The Chamber of Commerce and Partnering with Industry. With the model we develop could be expanded across the globe.

The Benefits of Vocational Training

  • The Student learns a job skill.
  • The Employer has a trainee that he can train from the ground up of work related skills of the company.
  • The Student obtains self confidence.
  • The Student obtains credit through Job Skills obtained.
  • The Student obtains a training stipend from the Employer
  • The Employer obtains a Grant from the Government for the training of the Student.
  • The Community Benefits.
  • By having less teenage crime.

An Opportunity

In some discussions with Pat Fox and Nick Leon at the Interact Booth, for the 98 th RI Convention in Salt Lake City .

We discussed how we can implement having a section for District 5170 of several booths, at the next RI Convention in Salt Lake City , since there would be no cost for the booths, such as:

  • Interact
  • Rotaract
  • Ryla
  • Sister Families
  • Student Exchange
  • Others

There are so many opportunities and programs for the benefit of the communities locally and internationally to be involved with it is difficult to determine what is of the most important.

Definitely seeing Rotary International in action at the 97 th Convention was certainly an eye opener of what we as Rotarians around the World have to offer. It is no-wonder why we are considered a Mini-United Nations.

As it is the ideals of Rotarians around the world exemplifying the ideals of “World Peace and Understanding”, regardless of Race or Religious convictions of the Nations of Rotary.

It is definitely we the Rotarians who have the ability to Navigate through the Visions in finding opportunities to assist those who are less fortunate and to develop programs and projects for the communities we serve .

“By Leading The Way”!

I may conclude:

It is the visions in which we have to be viewed as a means of development, to be positive in our thoughts, to be persistent in our actions of development, and to have patience in the development of our visions for the benefit of the communities of which we as Rotarians serve.

It is the vision and the workings of team players regardless of the vision large or small in which we are able to accomplish the vision.

We should not ask what Rotary can do for us but what we can do for Rotary … as a benefit of those in our communities of which we serve whom may be less fortunate than we may be.

We need to visualize what we may be able to do in developing programs for vocational training, working with the school districts, the chamber of commerce and partnering with industry to develop the mentoring of job skills. In so doing we are able to develop more self esteem, and the elimination of teenage crime.

Our Young Adults are our Future Leaders, it is our obligation to develop their skills,

By Leading The Way.

By Don Brown, President Elect 2006-07