DG Andre' Layral October Message to Members
To date I’ve completed thirteen club visits and have plans to visit ten clubs in October. I'm having such a great time meeting new friends, visiting great club projects and events, and seeing the impact Rotary makes in communities throughout our district.
I’m pleased to say that D5010 membership is up in the first quarter by 21 new members (or 1.15% net gain) with a 99.03% retention since July 1, 2019, (the highest of 21 districts in Zone 28). 31 clubs in D5010 have declared a membership goal for their club in Rotary Club Central. Collectively the district goal of these 31 clubs is to increase membership to 1815 members. Congratulations to our clubs who have concrete goals. A shout out to Anchorage Midtown Rotary who recently inducted four new members during my visit.
October is a big month for Rotary Polio Eradication. A great quote I read recently says, “Thanks to polio plus, the world discovered Rotary and Rotarians discovered themselves”. October 24, 2019, is World Polio Day. Rotary has great friends in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative — including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which continues to match every donation 2-to-1. Will this be the historic year when Rotary will announce to the world, there have been no new cases of the wild polio virus? Monitoring new cases requires time and money. A country must be polio free for three years to be considered polio free. The most recent to be declared polio free was Nigeria.
Recently I shared links with club presidents to many resources for promoting World Polio Day. These resources will also put into our new D5010 Mobile APP. I’ve challenged all club presidents to ask every member to make a minimum contribution of $25 to Polio Plus during the week of October 21-25. If 100% of Rotarians in our district make this contribution, it will raise an additional $35,000 over last year ($71,000) and help us achieve $100,000 in Polio Giving.. Clubs are encouraged to consider invoicing all members for the requested amount.
In 2017 Rotary adopted the term “DROP TO ZERO”. Check this out: https://www.rotary.org/en/why-
D5010 was well represented at the Zone Conference in Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada. Attending were Sheri and DG Andre’ Layral, Terese and DGE Joe Kashi, DGN Cheryl and Marty Metiva, Tonya and PDG Brad Gamble, Gloria and PDG Ted Trueblood, Mike Ferris and Lindsay Knight. We also were joined by Emerging Leader Trinitey Letterman, who was awarded a stipend from D5010 and also from Zone 24/32. Trinity has grown up in a Rotary family. I have great hope for the future of Rotary when I see the passion young leaders bring as members.
One highlight of the 2019 Zone conference was learning that in 2020 there will be two Zone Conferences, one in Anchorage Nov. 19-21, 2020and one in Bermuda on January 14-16, 2021. Another highlight was meeting and hearing from 2020-21 Rotary International President-Elect Holger Knaack. There were many dynamic speakers that kept everyone inspired One of the conference emphasis areas was Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, an area that all Rotary Districts are being asked to address with members and clubs.
October is also Community and Economic Development Month. This is the time of year clubs focus on how we give back to Rotary using our vocations to support our economy and communities. There are several ways clubs can engage members through vocational talks at meetings, service projects in the community, practicing high ethical standards, inspiring others, mentoring young professionals and encouraging others by providing professional development.
I’ve added information in the D5010 Mobile APP (under Get Involved button) about Rotary Project Showcase events in Bolivia and Peru, and also about opportunities for clubs to participate in International Service Projects. There is also information about participating in a National Immunization Day in India. Also, we will add information about Friendship Exchange. In the APP under the Resources button, I’ve added details about D5010 Crisis Response protocols and contact information by region. Thank you DGE Joe Kashi for pulling this together.
All D5010 Rotary clubs are eligible for a $200 stipend for implementing their club Public Image strategy. To be eligible, the club must have their Public Image Chair (or designee) participate in a short webinar that will be put on by our Pubic Image Team. We are about a month behind where we had hoped to be, but soon more information will be provided to club presidents, including the date(s) for a webinar and the Public Image proposal form and guidelines.
Several club presidents have asked about the dates for 2020 RYLA in D5010. The dates have been announced by Homer Kachemak Rotarian Beth Trowbridge as March 5-8. 2020 in Homer. While in Homer last week I visited several possible venue and lodging choices, and I feel confident that there is capacity to host RYLA and provide an exceptional experience for the participants, high school sophomores and juniors. Plans are being discussed to provide a tour bus to safely bring all participants and chaperones from Anchorage. The cost of the bus will be part of registration.
I’m so proud to represent D5010 as your District Governor. I’ve met so many dedicated Rotarians who serve their club and community. Ive seen great projects that meet community needs. Clubs are doing tremendous fundraising efforts to raise money to support Youth Exchange, RYLA, Interact and their local and global projects. Thank you Rotarians for the difference you are making in the world.
Sincerely,
Andre’ Layral
D5010 District Governor
October 2019 District Governor Message