Rotary District 7730

RYLA

The RYLA Conference is coming soon! Jan. 26 – 28 at the Trinity Center, Pine Knoll Shores, NC. District RYLA Chair Keith King tells me that our RYLA rolls are growing each year. We have at least 83 delegates registered at the present time. This promises to be an exciting and inspiring weekend for our young people, as well as for the Rotarians who are chaperoning the event. I look forward to being there. Thank you, Rotary clubs, for your support of the great event!

Ambassadorial Scholar Orientation

Leaders from District 7730 just returned from the Ambassadorial Scholar Orientation in High Point, NC, also an inspiring event for all the districts in Zone 33.  This was the first year that an orientation for Group Study Exchange Teams was included. (Our GSE Team didn’t need to go, since they had already visited and returned from Japan.)  Sixty scholars and GSE team members were present from NC, SC, TN, VA, WV, and GA, scheduled to depart in 2007-08 for countries all over the world.  Many of the scholars did not have their sponsor counselors with them, but I’m proud to say that our two scholars did!  Pictured with me are (front row, left to right) DGE Partner Bobbie Ray, Scholar Jessica Hutzul, District Scholar Chair Magda Baggett, (back row) Tim’s sponsor counselor Dale Smith, Scholar Tim Carnes, Fayetteville Rotary President and Jessica’s counselor Stephen Pederson, and DGE Wilson Ray.  Both Jessica and Tim are 6 month cultural scholars who will study language in their respective host countries.  Jessica will study in France; and Tim, sponsored by the Wilmington Rotary Club, will study Arabic in Egypt.

District Conference, May 3-6, Holiday Inn Sunspree, Wrightsville Beach

Rotary Presidents and District Leaders, the upcoming edition of the District Newsletter, ROTARY LEADER, will be devoted in large part to the District Conference. The conference will be an exciting and fun-filled event that is sure to please our Rotarians, Rotary partners and families. As you know, because of the clubs’ contributions to the conference, registration and lunch on Saturday will be at no charge for those who register by April 3, 2007. We plan on having many Rotarians attend and we are counting on you to help us promote the event. Presidents, please keep in mind that a requirement of the Star Club Recognition is that at least 10% of the club register and attend at least a ½ day of the conference. I’m counting on you to “Lead the Way”!

Presidential Citations

Rotary Presidents, if you have not done so already, now is the time to go through the Presidential Citation check list and make sure that your Rotary Club qualifies. Your Assistant Governors will be pleased to help you with the paperwork. You can download the Presidential Citation brochure and Certification Form by linking to:

This is also a good time to check off your club’s accomplishments so that your Rotary club qualifies for the Star Club Recognition. Go to: http://www.rotary7730.org, then to “District 7730”, then to Star Club Recognition.
 

District Calendar

Assistant Governor Meeting, Monday, 1/8/07, 6pm, Holiday Inn Express, Wallace, NC
RYLA, 1/26 – 1/28, starts 2pm, Trinity Center, Pine Knoll Shores, NC
Council of Governors Meeting, Sunday, 2/4, 2:30 pm, Holiday Inn Express, Wallace, NC
Rotary Day at Boys & Girls Home, rededication of Rotary Cottage, Sunday, 2/11, 10:45 am
Benefit for Boys & Girls Home, Ocean Ridge Singers, Saturday, 2/24, 7:30pm, Odell Williamson Auditorium, Brunswick Community College, Supply, NC

Rotary Foundation Thought of the Week

Brought to you each week by PDG Bevin Wall, District Rotary Foundation Chair; and reproduced courtesy of  www.rotary.org. This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about how Rotary helps communities impacted by disasters long after many relief agencies have moved on.

Shortly after the deadly tsunami struck south Asia on 26 December 2004, The Rotary Foundation established the Solidarity in South Asia fund to assist Rotarians in supporting long-term recovery efforts in affected communities. In addition to $4.8 million in contributions from Rotarians around the world, more than 75 Rotary districts allocated over US$700,000 in District Designated Funds (DDF) for rebuilding efforts. This DDF was a result of Annual Programs Fund contributions made three years ago, in which the districts had not yet allocated to a specific TRF program. As a result, Rotarians were able to respond quickly to the disaster, and provide much needed financial support, through The Rotary Foundation. Rotary Sri Lanka set the pace for the massive rebuilding effort of schools destroyed by the tsunami; with 25 schools spread across the country allocated to Rotary for rebuilding. The first batch of schools is scheduled to be completed by the end of November 2005. Rotarians can expect equally worthy projects in Indonesia, India and Thailand and in areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

We can all be proud to be a part of an organization that is so responsive to needs in our own country and those around the world.

For more information on giving or program participation, contact PDG Bevin Wall District 7730 Rotary Foundation Chair at Bevin@RLI33.org.

Lead the Way!