3/8/03

Hi Evening Rotary Club Members!

A summary of last week's meeting and Rotary activities are noted as follows:

- We had a great program last Monday night! Mulima Walusiku presented information regarding Rotary International's global efforts to eradicate polio worldwide by the year 2005. Other partners that are a part of this effort include the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These organizations have managed to free all but seven countries of the world from polio to date. Mulima said that our club has exceeded its goal in pledge payments that total $5,400! (Way to go, team! Mulima, thanks for such an excellent program and thanks for your leadership on this project!).

- Frank Pisano discussed the upcoming Rotary Essay Contest that our club is sponsoring. We are seeking to recruit students in grades 9 - 12 for this contest. The due date for the essays is March 31. (Please see Frank, Suzanne, or Brent for details on the essay themes.)

- Tony Hiesberger and Katherine Schedler have graciously agreed to help with Student Government Day on March 24 this year! They will spend the day with local juniors and seniors who come to Jefferson City for one day to learn about state government. Thanks to both of you for your Service Above Self attitude! We appreciate you!

- So, when is our next Habitat outing? Well, Harry Richter announced that we need to change the date from April 5 to Saturday, April 26. So, mark your calendars for April 26 and plan to come out and have some fun and fellowship while you serve your local community with this very worthwhile project that provides housing for those who might not be able to afford it otherwise. (Harry, we look forward to this project!)

- Jeff Kunce was recognized for a recent district scouting award that he received and his commitment to Service Above Self. (We're proud of you, Jeff!)Also, Jeff gave an update on the Rotary International Youth Exchange Program. Fourteen students from the Rotary District, including mid-Missouri, will be leaving this summer for destinations such as Belgium, Brazil, Ecuador, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Thailand. In fact, Jeff's daughter, Kit, will be headed for Brazil.

- Tony Hiesberger announced that our district governor, Duane Benton, has arranged at the district conference in May for display areas to be available to the 46 Rotary Clubs to display information regarding their good works and accomplishments during the past year. Tony called for us to be a part of this and volunteered to help our service committees with providing these displays. (Thanks, Tony for your help with this!)

- So, how are we doing with our raffle ticket sales for the YMCA fundraiser? It appears that Lora Nelson and Harry Richter are in the lead with ticket sales for our club! Keep up the great work! Our club will receive $12.50 from each ticket that we sell! (It's still not too late to catch up with Lora or Harry. See Paula or George Hartsfield for additional tickets.)

- The Breakfast Rotary Club that meets at the Capitol Plaza Hotel on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 am have invited the school board candidates to speak at their club on March 19. Each candidate will have about five minutes to answer a couple of questions such as what they see as the greatest needs to be addressed by the school district and how the candidates would address those needs as a board member. (What a great idea! Bryan or Hal, can we do something like this?)

- Our board met last Monday night and made decisions on at least a couple of items that I want to share with you. First of all, they decided that since we aren't that big yet as a club that we should have joint committee meetings. So, the International Service and Community Service Committees should meet together. Also, Club Service, Vocational Service, and the Membership Committees should meet together. Each committee would still retain their chairs, but the larger groups would facilitate a better exchange of ideas! On another matter, our board is concerned about our dues being a burden to some individuals. Therefore, as an incentive, our board approved a system in which a member receives a $5 credit for every member recruited and a $1 credit for each guest that a member brings to our meetings to be capped at a total of $20 per quarter. The secretary will track this and notify the treasurer prior to each payment period. The credit system would start fresh each quarter. So, it really benefits us individually and as a club to bring in and recruit more members! (Thanks to our board for these actions!)

- Well, would you believe that our quarterly dues of $50 are now due? Yes they are! Please give your check for $50 to Haroun or Vic this Monday night, March 10.

- Thanks to Bryan Pope for agreeing to provide refreshments for our club meeting this Monday night, March 10!

- Who haven't we seen at meetings recently? Some of those that we haven't seen and miss include Dean, Brent, Mark, and Sam. We miss each of you and hope to see you soon!

- Remember, recruitment and retention are ongoing challenges that we have! It's up to each of us to help with these efforts! Now, we have a recruitment incentive that will save us a little money on our dues!

- We're looking forward to a program this week compliments of our Club Service Committee! Don't miss it! See you this Monday night, March 10, at 5:30 pm at Grace Episcopal Church!

Yours in Rotary,

Vic