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Thanks for a Great Year...
This has been an awesome year for Rotarians in District 7910. It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve as your District Governor. Together we have accomplished a lot.
There is excitement in our District inspired by a year where you have taken action in many ways. We are part of the 1.2 million members of Rotary International, with a shared dedication to the ideal of Service above Self. You have touched the lives of others, providing support and encouragement. You have held fundraisers, volunteered your time in your local community, provided scholarships for high school seniors, enjoyed the fellowship of your club, made a contribution to The Rotary Foundation, and provided comfort to those in need.
As a District we can proudly say we had the largest membership increase in Zone 32 which is made up of 22 districts, even without counting the incredible growth of the Worcester Club. This speaks to the importance of sharing the message of what Rotary has to offer. In the words of Rotary International President Ron Burton: “The job doesn’t end when a new member joins. It’s not done until that new member is engaged in Rotary, inspired by Rotary, and uses the power of Rotary service to change lives.”
Our District made a successful transition to the new Foundation grant model by executing 32 District Grants and initiating four new Global Grants while continuing work on 14 others. Through the leadership of the Rotary Club of Watertown and the financial support of the Wachusett Area and other Rotary Clubs, we are supporting a $261,850 international, multi-district global grant to purchase water filters for use in homes ravaged by typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
About 25 Clubs, or half of our 52 clubs, have received funding under the District Grants program. That’s phenomenal! Money has gone toward Stop Hunger Now packing events, the NicView camera project at UMASS Medical, reading projects in local schools, winter coats, air conditioners in senior public housing, park beautification, technology for a senior center, backpacks and educational resources for homeless children and many more worthwhile programs.
Our Gift of Life and Gemini programs are supported by many dedicated Rotarians throughout the district. We continue building our Assistant Governor program to help improve communication between our 52 clubs and their presidents.
As part of our youth Avenue of Service, we had a very successful Rotary Youth Leadership Awards weekend. High school sophomores learned leadership skills, ethics, communication skills and lots more. This is the 22nd year the 3-day conference has taken place. Our ESSEX program (Eastern States Student Exchange), Interact and Rotaract programs continue with huge impact on young people. Rotary does what our youth want to do—change the world.
We have increasing interest from our members in attending Rotary Leadership Institute, with the program being offered in District 7910 for the third year. Rotarians taking advantage of this opportunity are learning more about Rotary as an organization and what it can accomplish in service above self.
District 7910 is not afraid to try something new.
Almost a dozen clubs so far have gone through “Visioning” and several others are planning to undertake this four-hour brain-storming session to think and talk about what they want their club to be in the years ahead.
The newly formed Rotary Alumni Association of Greater New England (RAAGNE) held its first annual meeting. Its directors are working to bring together students and other non-Rotarians who have benefited from Rotary exchange programs and scholarships, into a network of people who will hopefully become future Rotarians.
We have completely reworked the District website, which we hope will become a more effective communication tool for the District as well as a storehouse of useful information. More work will continue over the coming months.
My focus this year has been: “Fighting Hunger One Meal at a Time” both locally and internationally. We surely met the challenge of providing a million meals. Through the Stop Hunger Now program, the Rotary Clubs of Nashoba Valley, Clinton, Littleton, Wellesley, Natick, Bedford, and Watertown have packaged 160,000 meals. An additional 26,000 meals were packaged at District Conference and shipped to Panama. Locally, many clubs have provided meals for senior citizens and supported soup kitchens and food pantries. Thank you for all you have done to shine the spotlight on hunger.
I also asked you to share your stories of our commitment to the Avenues of Service—to show how we Engage Rotary by giving back to our community and making a difference in the world by changing lives. By sharing our stories and the friendships we have made, others will want to be a part of what we do.
Congratulations on a successful year in Rotary. Thank you Rotarians in District 7910 for your support.
Doug Detweiler, District Governor 2013-14
District 7910
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