Today, we look ahead toward a Rotary year that may one day be known as the greatest in our history: the year that sees the world's last case of polio. Wild poliovirus caused only 74 cases of polio in 2015, all of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As we continue to work tirelessly toward our goal of eradication, we must also look beyond it: preparing to leverage our success into even greater successes to come.
It is tremendously important to Rotary's future that our role in the eradication of polio be recognized. The more we are known for what we've achieved, the more we'll be able to attract the partners, the funding, and, most important, the members to achieve even more. We're working hard at RI headquarters to be sure that Rotary gets that recognition. But it can't all happen in Evanston. We need you to get the word out through your clubs and in your communities about what Rotary is and what we do. We need to be sure that our clubs are ready for the moment when polio is finally eradicated – so that when people who want to do good see that Rotary is a place where they can change the world, every Rotary club is ready to give them that opportunity.
We know that if we want to see Rotary Serving Humanity even better in the years ahead, we'll need more willing hands, more caring hearts, and more bright minds to move our work forward. We'll need clubs that are flexible, so that Rotary service will be attractive to younger members, recent retirees, and working people. We'll need to seek out new partnerships, opening ourselves more to collaborative relationships with other organizations.
Looking ahead, we also see a clear need to prioritize continuity in our leadership. We in Rotary are all playing on the same team, working toward the same goals. If we want to reach those goals together, we all have to move in the same direction – together.
Every day that you serve in Rotary, you have the opportunity to change lives. Everything you do matters; every good work makes the world better for us all. In this new Rotary year, we all have a new chance to change the world for the better, through Rotary Serving Humanity.
Forms were set on Wednesday in preparation for a new concrete pad that will hold the building at the Balloon Field. Once the concrete has been finished we will schedule a time to actually lift the partially completed walls up and move them to the new pad. Stayed tuned.
The July 2016 Board meeting was held at Crouse Cafe on July 7, 2016.
Present: Laura D,, Dave T., Seth L., Scott G., Mckinley S., Ron H., Jennifer Mc.,Tim Mc., Drew G., Arlen S., Terry P.
Arlen provided an update on the Warm Coat project and will have supply information available in time to make decisions at our August Board meeting. Additional discussion in August will include providing hats, gloves and boots.
Terry noted that the forms were in place to pour a new concrete pad for the building at the Balloon Parking field. When the pad is poured a work party will be requested to help move the partially completed structure to the new pad and proceed to finish the building. A building permit and zoning variance have been submitted to the County for compliance. Changes to the location have increased the cost of the project, which are now projected to be about $5,000. The National Balloon Classic Board has agreed to share in the expense by covering $2,100 of the total costs.
Dave gave the group an update of efforts to create an Interact Club at the Indianola High School. He stated that several people from the School system are very excited about creating a club that focuses on leadership. Meetings have been scheduled and the Board will updated timely. The goal is to have everything in place by the beginning of the School year.
Dave also indicated that our request to add a "Rotary Banner" to those banners currently in the High School.
The Board continues to seek a person willing to join our leadership team.
Two members, Kelly Walter and Joyce Godwin, have resigned from our club.
Laura reviewed the "Essential Changes for Clubs and Districts" provided by the RI 2016 Council on Legislation. A) The Club Treasurer is now a permanent member of the club board; B) Written minutes should be prepared for all club board meetings and made available to members; C) RI Semiannual dues were increased by $4 for each of the next three years to - Half-year Totals = $30 (2017/18); $32 (2018/19); $34 (2019/20); D) Club meetings can now vary and cancel meetings when a Holiday falls during the week; -See attached list for detailed information.
Laura will ask members for a volunteer to help with the Ninth Annual Rotary Polio Plus / Iowa Energy Basketball Fund which is being scheduled for late January or early February 2017.
DG Chris Knapp will visit our club on July 22nd. Board members and officers are encouraged to attend a 10:30 a.m. meeting at the Country Club to update DG Chris on our club's activities and learn about his plans for the 2016/17 Rotary Year.11
Greetings to all of our D-6000 RFE tour friends, as well as to the members of your respective Rotary Clubs!
Many, if not all, of you by now would have received Graham “K’s” award-winning weekly newsletter, the Sandtarian, in which we reported on the progress of our joint Tracker Dog Project. Just in case you didn’t, I have taken the liberty of sending a copy to you directly, along with the pictures as attachments so that you can see them more clearly.
As you will appreciate, a vital matter is a name for each of the dogs. I mean, you can’t go around calling it “Hey, you!” and expect it to respond, not so?? We were advised that we could select names for the dogs, even though they had already been named “Badger” (the male) and “Bailey” (the female). The breeder had chosen these names for no reason other than they began with a “B” that indicated they were from the second litter.) We were also assured that a name change would not be a problem as the dogs would adjust reasonably quickly over a relatively short period of time.
As you can imagine, plenty of debated ensued around the braai. We wanted names that were courageous, strong, and war-like. Names considered included Thor, Warrior, Hunter, etc. We also thought of some African names, but in deference to our US friends and their ability to master the required tongue-clicks and other pronunciation hurdles, decided not to go this route!
After probably the third “iced tea”, we realized that we were racking our brains (possibly a little befuddled by then…) for naught. That is, the name “Badger” fitted our criteria perfectly! The reason is that the badger, also known as the honey badger, has the reputation as a fearless and ferocious animal that doesn’t back down from a fight and is quite capable of punching way above its weight. If you want to see proof of this, take a look at this really amazing YouTube video from an incident in the bush involving 6 lions.
Regarding Bailey… Well, John, drawing on his legal background, explained that up until the mid-1970’s a “Bailie” was a Scottish term applied to a person in a position similar to a magistrate. Whilst this may not be as “fearless and ferocious” as Badger, we felt that it was at least still as appropriate.
So, without further ado, please allow me to present to you….
JOHN F. GERM
Forms were set on Wednesday in preparation for a new concrete pad that will hold the building at the Balloon Field. Once the concrete has been finished we will schedule a time to actually lift the partially completed walls up and move them to the new pad. Stayed tuned.
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