Club Invitations & Success Stories • Calendar • Resources for Clubs & Rotarians
Will AI replace the DG?
Visiting our Clubs is among the most rewarding aspects of being District Governor. Each Club is unique, with its own personality, culture, and strengths. Connecting with our members, both those whom I’ve met previously and those who I am meeting for the first time, is truly an honor and privilege.
Although our Clubs are all quite different, there are some universal questions that arise whenever I ask about the challenges our Club leaders face. Given all the publicity surrounding the development of AI (artificial intelligence), I thought it would be interesting to pose these questions to these new tools. So, I signed up for Open AI’s Chat GPT and Microsoft’s Bing and started asking some of the questions our Club leaders raised during my visits. I was truly amazed at the accuracy, quality, and usefulness of the responses.
Join us for a spectacular evening at Fenway Park for Rotary Night as the Boston Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox on Friday, September 22nd! Rotarians, friends, and family from across multiple districts could join us for only $39 per ticket while supporting our Foundation. $5 of each ticket purchased will come back to us to support The Rotary Foundation! Enjoy a Friday evening game at this gorgeous park and check out the city of Boston while you are here.
Tickets for the Rotary Night game must be purchased at: https://fevogm.com/event/Rotary in order for us to be grouped together and for the donation to get back to our district. The DEADLINE for ticket purchase is September 14th at 11:59PM so don't wait! We would love you to wear your Rotary gear and we look forward to seeing you at Fenway Park!
It is the beginning of this year’s nominating cycle for District leadership positions and this is an exciting time for District 7910. The future of our clubs depends on qualified candidates serving in leadership roles throughout the District. In order for our Clubs to grow and have more impact addressing local and international needs, there must be Rotarians who will fill leadership roles and provide vision and management skills in support of the business aspects of running our District. The link for the general call for nominations is found here, and the link for the applications for DGND and District Trustees is found here.
Join us on Zoom Tuesday, September 12 at 6:30 pm for the kickoff meeting of the District 7910 chapter of the Rotary Action Group for Mental Health Initiatives. Bob Anthony, Chair of RI's Action Group for Mental Health Initiatives, will be joining us to explain the mission, goals and opportunities for our Clubs to help remove the stigma associated with mental health diagnoses and treatment.
How do we help the Rotarian who sits across the table from us? We invite you to download the presentation "Looking Inward" which outlines President Gordon's vision and can be used as a tool to begin the conversation about Mental Health Awareness in your Club. The presentation includes a video with Patriots wide receiver Danny Amendola where we see how self-talk either helps us or becomes a barrier to our connection and communication.
Take the Survey
Looking Inward includes a brief anonymous survey to help assess our members' perception of their own mental health. President Gordon has asked that we survey our membership to provide a snapshot in time. Please complete the survey (takes about a minute) by Saturday, September 9th so we can review the results at our meeting on September 12. Click here to take the survey.
The Rotary Citation award (formerly the RI Presidential Citation) recognizes the hard work clubs do throughout the year. It is one of the highest honors that Rotary International can bestow upon a club. To achieve the recognition, These Club Presidents (Dawn Kociubes, Teresa McCarthy, Jack Colamaria, Johnny Ahern and Susan Wilkinson) had to choose 13 out of 26 RI stated goals covering, for example, membership, sustainable service projects, giving to the Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in their communities. And then they helped steer their clubs this past year to achieve those goals.
By working to achieve their goals, they helped engage their members, stay relevant in your communities, and have more fun. And they contributed to the overall health and culture of Rotary for generations to come.
Current Club Presidents, it is never too late to enter your goals in Club Central and work towards achieving a Rotary Citation for your club.
This year's Learning Agenda begins with a series of interviews with recent club Presidents who have successfully led their clubs forward. In each interview we focus on the "secret sauce" brought to the club by this leader, and provide hints for making the club more exciting and successful over time.
Join us on Thursday, September 28th at 6:30pm to learn about some fascinating pollinator research being done right here in Massachusetts! Dr. Robert Gegear founder of the Gegear Lab at UMass Darthmouth and his team are attempting to answer questions such as: What is the significance of floral display complexity? Why does foraging vary among pollinator species? What are the causes and consequences of global pollinator decline? How effective are different restoration and conservation strategies for native pollination systems? To address these questions, they use highly integrative experimental approaches that combine concepts and methodologies from fields such as animal behavior, human psychology, molecular biology, community ecology, and computational biology. Click HERE to learn more about the Gegear Lab.
Rotary District 7910 has a new Facebook page! For reasons we have yet to determine, Facebook suspended our original Facebook page. We're told this is not uncommon in our Rotary world and that many Clubs and Districts have had similar experiences. Unfortunately, Facebook does not provide an easy path to communicate about their decisions, so the only solution is to create a new page. We've done so, andhere's the link (https://www.facebook.com/RotaryD7910). Please like, follow and share our page and posts so that we can continue to tell our story of Creating Hope in the World.
RLIis a multi-district, grassroots leadership development program of member districts organized into regional divisions in various parts of the world.
Using trained facilitators, RLI seeks to provide quality education in Rotary knowledge and leadership skills to Rotarians interested in enhancing their Rotary knowledge and have an interest in potential club leadership. These educational opportunities teach skills that will benefit the members both in their lives and in their volunteer service.
District 7910 will have multiple dates available in 2024 for RLI. The first RLI will be on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at the Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlborough. Should you have any questions about RLI please forward them to Mark Vital at marlboroughrotaryleadership@gmail.com.
What is Interact? Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18 (middle and high schools). Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting.
1. Create a list of all the great things about your club. 2. Keep a list of potential members. 3. Know your club’s strengths. 4. Make membership growth your club’s top priority. 5. Look to young Rotarians for fresh perspectives. 6. Identify occupations lacking in your club. 7. Appeal to local volunteers. 8. Connect with their passions. 9. Talk about Rotary wherever you go. 10. Make a list of club member’s responsibilities. 11. Realize there is no finish line. 12. Emphasize service. 13. Celebrate when you get a new member. 14. Get new members engaged right away. 15. Be persistent. 16. Be vibrant. 17. Embrace diversity. 18. Get them in the door. 19. There are no Rotary police. 20. Make it fun.
If your club has been growing over the last year, what strategies did you engage in to attract new members? Please let the District Membership Committee know by emailing membership@rotary7910,org – We’ll share your success stories in our next newsletter.
Buffeted by waves as high as 10 meters (32 feet) in China’s Yellow Sea about 30 kilometers off the coast of Shandong province, two circular rafts carrying neat rows of solar panels began generating electricity late last year, a crucial step toward a new breakthrough for clean energy.
The experiment by State Power Investment Corp., China’s biggest renewable power developer, and Norway-based developer Ocean Sun AS is one of the most high-profile tests yet of offshore solar technology. It’s a potential advance in the sector that would enable locations out at sea to host renewables and help land-constrained regions accelerate a transition away from fossil fuels. Click HERE to read the full Bloomberg.org article.
A fun time was had by all during our stay at the Cape Cod home of Victor Tom and Sze-Wen Kuo in Marstons Mills, MA. We ate well and had terrific fellowship. We even conducted District business when we chose PDG Tom Polito to serve 3 years on the Nomination Committee. Present in the photo are IPDG Victor Tom, Ingrid Detweiler, PDG Cliff Rober, PDG Klaus Hochfeld, PDG Diana Nestorova, PDG Bob Cassidy, Glenys Hochfeld, PDG Dick Manelis, Sze-Wen Kuo, PDG Carl Kalzewski, DGE Joyce Graff, PDG Carol Toomey, Joe Toomey, PDG Jim Fusco, Karen Fusco, Reina Rago and DG Elliott Rittenberg.
The Wachusett Area Rotary Club will be holding our signature event and main fundraiser, our annual Golf Tournament, on Monday, September 18th at Oak Hill Country Club in Fitchburg. This year we are commemorating our 30th anniversary of running this event to raise funds for our projects, grants and scholarships. Please consider supporting us through purchasing one of our sponsorship packages.
Opportunities range from affordable promotional signs on tees and greens through packages that include playing spots and premier corporate recognition. Or if you’d just like to play golf, that’s an option as well.
The Rotary Club of Marlborough will be hosting an exciting golf tournament at Juniper Hills Golf Course in Northborough on September 20th. We are hopeful that other clubs will participate with foursomes and sponsorships as all proceeds will be used for the Rotary Homestead, a homeless shelter for single women in greater Marlborough.
A round of golf is just $140 which includes golf, a cart, and a delicious meal afterwards. We will be also having a raffle and silent auction (donations gladly accepted.
Come on over to beautiful Juniper for some exercise, fellowship, and fun!
Join us for the 2023 Weston Antique & Classic Car Show. The weather is perfect this time of year and we look forward to seeing all our friends return again to support this great event. Arrive early for best location. Thanks for your support!
WOW, CAN YOU BELIEVE OUR THIRD DECADE? OUR 26TH YEAR!
Join us for the 26th Annual Weston & Wayland Rotary Club Antique & Classic Car Show scheduled for September 23rd, 2023. Rain or shine promises to be another great event for car owners and families alike. The 2019 Car Show attracted over 200 cars ranging from Classic Muscle Cars to Micro Messerschmidts and over 2,000 attendees. We are pleased to be bringing this show back to life after covid!
The island in the middle of the rotary connecting Common and Orchard street is filled with all kinds of greenery for the public to admire. On July 20, the Rotary Club of Watertown spent their day gardening the rotary so the city can add some colorful plants to it in the near future.
The weeding and cleaning of the island through the City of Watertown’s Adopt-an-Island program is one the many events Watertown’s Rotary Club holds each year.
The Rotary Club of Ayer, Harvard, Shirley and Devens had a special international guest in early August all the way from Pakistan. Rana Saeed Ahmad is the Past President of the Rotary Club of Faisalabad, where he has had perfect attendance for the last 30 years. His club is 70 years old and works on many projects centering around school and literacy. He credits the youthful membership in his club to good speakers, sports and a viable Rotaract program. Saeed spoke to us with interpretive assistance from his son, Jalal Rana, who lives in Shirley and works in Marlborough as a mechanical engineer, manufacturing vaccines.
Photo: Visiting Rotarian Rana Saeed Ahmad, left side center, with members of the Rotary Club of Ayer, Harvard, Shirley and Devens. He is spending the summer in Shirley, visiting his son, Jalal, seated right, front.
Needham Street traffic, in Dedham, often sees cars and trucks speeding past the Riverdale Elementary School at 30 to 45 mph, despite being a signed school zone, and having a raised speed table in place.
Dedham’s Active Transportation Working Group (ATWG) was looking for a low cost, but elegant solution, to this safety hazard. They found it in the Mass Government’s Safe Routes to School program.
The ATWG planned a mural as a low cost, temporary intervention to promote traffic calming in the area and received two grants to implement the project. They also received funding from the Neponset Valley Sunrise Rotary Club for paint for the project.
Public Image Primer: 3 Rotary Logos Do's and Don'ts
1. DO use your custom Club logo all the time. DG Elliott's Westborough Club's logo is perfect. If you're not using a logo that looks similar, you can find your Club logo in this folder. If you're club is using the "old" wheel/gear/cog that has yellow and blue, you gotta change it.
2. DON'T use the Rotary "Mark of Excellence" for your Club's program, event, or anything. Use your Club's custom logo for everything.
3. DON'T use the Presidential "Create Hope in the World" theme logo for anything that will go to folks who are not Rotary members. That's why the banner at the top of this newsletter no longer has the logo below.
To conform to Rotary's brand guidelines, you'll have the easiest time if you never use that logo at all, beautiful as it may be.
Learn about Rotary club and district roles, as well as their impact on your community. Find resources and tools that support members in these roles.
Fellowships & Rotary Action Groups -- another corner
Rotary Action Groups: Visit this page to see complete information on the 25 dRotary Action Groups.
Mental Health Initiatives(Rotary Action Group; RAGMHI): The Goals of RAGHMI are: Breaking Stigma; Raising Awareness; Increasing Capacity.
Rotary Fellowships The Rotary Fellowships program is a structured program of Rotary International that comprises more than 75 independent fellowships. Join the growing number of Rotarians who are sharing their favorite activities and professional interests through organized recreational, vocational, and health/medical-related groups within Rotary. Visit the RI Fellowships page.
Cycling: If you are a cyclist and might be interested in Rotary rides, please visit the Rotary 7910 Cycling Group page to join the email group (which you can leave at any time, of course).
Pickleball: If you play pickleball, or want to, and might be interested in Rotary pickleball games, events or tournaments, please visit the Rotary 7910 Pickleball Group page to join the email group (which you can leave at any time, of course).
What's your favorite Rotary Fellowship?
We'd love to feature it. Please send us a note to publicimage@rotary7910.org or submit info through our wicked simple form that reaches the WebTeam.
Will AI replace the DG?
Join us for a spectacular evening at Fenway Park for Rotary Night as the Boston Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox on Friday, September 22nd! Rotarians, friends, and family from across multiple districts could join us for only $39 per ticket while supporting our Foundation. $5 of each ticket purchased will come back to us to support The Rotary Foundation! Enjoy a Friday evening game at this gorgeous park and check out the city of Boston while you are here.
7910 Action Group Kickoff Meeting 
The Rotary Citation award (formerly the RI Presidential Citation) recognizes the hard work clubs do throughout the year. It is one of the highest honors that Rotary International can bestow upon a club. To achieve the recognition, These Club Presidents (Dawn Kociubes, Teresa McCarthy, Jack Colamaria, Johnny Ahern and Susan Wilkinson) had to choose 13 out of 26 RI stated goals covering, for example, membership, sustainable service projects, giving to the Rotary Foundation, and building awareness of Rotary in their communities. And then they helped steer their clubs this past year to achieve those goals.
This year's Learning Agenda begins with a series of interviews with recent club Presidents who have successfully led their clubs forward. In each interview we focus on the "secret sauce" brought to the club by this leader, and provide hints for making the club more exciting and successful over time.
Join us on Thursday, September 28th at 6:30pm to learn about some fascinating pollinator research being done right here in Massachusetts! Dr. Robert Gegear founder of the Gegear Lab at UMass Darthmouth and his team are attempting to answer questions such as: What is the significance of floral display complexity? Why does foraging vary among pollinator species? What are the causes and consequences of global pollinator decline? How effective are different restoration and conservation strategies for native pollination systems? To address these questions, they use highly integrative experimental approaches that combine concepts and methodologies from fields such as animal behavior, human psychology, molecular biology, community ecology, and computational biology. Click 
Rotary District 7910 has a new Facebook page! For reasons we have yet to determine, Facebook suspended our original Facebook page. We're told this is not uncommon in our Rotary world and that many Clubs and Districts have had similar experiences. Unfortunately, Facebook does not provide an easy path to communicate about their decisions, so the only solution is to create a new page. We've done so, and 
What is Interact? 
1. Create a list of all the great things about your club.
Buffeted by waves as high as 10 meters (32 feet) in China’s Yellow Sea about 30 kilometers off the coast of Shandong province, two circular rafts carrying neat rows of solar panels began generating electricity late last year, a crucial step toward a new breakthrough for clean energy.
A fun time was had by all during our stay at the Cape Cod home of Victor Tom and Sze-Wen Kuo in Marstons Mills, MA. We ate well and had terrific fellowship. We even conducted District business when we chose PDG Tom Polito to serve 3 years on the Nomination Committee. Present in the photo are IPDG Victor Tom, Ingrid Detweiler, PDG Cliff Rober, PDG Klaus Hochfeld, PDG Diana Nestorova, PDG Bob Cassidy, Glenys Hochfeld, PDG Dick Manelis, Sze-Wen Kuo, PDG Carl Kalzewski, DGE Joyce Graff, PDG Carol Toomey, Joe Toomey, PDG Jim Fusco, Karen Fusco, Reina Rago and DG Elliott Rittenberg.
Great opportunity to promote your business!
The Rotary Club of Marlborough will be hosting an exciting golf tournament at Juniper Hills Golf Course in Northborough on September 20th. We are hopeful that other clubs will participate with foursomes and sponsorships as all proceeds will be used for the Rotary Homestead, a homeless shelter for single women in greater Marlborough.
Join us for the 2023 Weston Antique & Classic Car Show. The weather is perfect this time of year and we look forward to seeing all our friends return again to support this great event. Arrive early for best location. Thanks for your support!
The Rotary Club of Ayer, Harvard, Shirley and Devens had a special international guest in early August all the way from Pakistan. Rana Saeed Ahmad is the Past President of the Rotary Club of Faisalabad, where he has had perfect attendance for the last 30 years. His club is 70 years old and works on many projects centering around school and literacy. He credits the youthful membership in his club to good speakers, sports and a viable Rotaract program. Saeed spoke to us with interpretive assistance from his son, Jalal Rana, who lives in Shirley and works in Marlborough as a mechanical engineer, manufacturing vaccines. 
Needham Street traffic, in Dedham, often sees cars and trucks speeding past the Riverdale Elementary School at 30 to 45 mph, despite being a signed school zone, and having a raised speed table in place.
1. DO use your custom Club logo all the time. DG Elliott's Westborough Club's logo is perfect. If you're not using a logo that looks similar, you can 
To conform to Rotary's brand guidelines, you'll have the easiest time if you never use that logo at all, beautiful as it may be.
Learn about Rotary club and district roles, as well as their impact on your community. Find resources and tools that support members in these roles.
Mental Health Initiatives
Pickleball: If you play pickleball, or want to, and might be interested in Rotary pickleball games, events or tournaments, please visit the .png)
