August is Rotary’s membership month. As the new Rotary year begins lets all look forward at the possibilities. With Counsel of Legislation changing the membership rules to “How can Rotary fit the Member”. Here is a list of some new ideas for membership - -
Associate membership
Corporate membership
Shared membership
Family membership
Dual membership
I was in the Verizon store this week and a young man ask me “what is Rotary?” and after a short explanation his comment was “I don’t have time”. I then asked if he had 2 hours a month. His answer was “YES”. I invited him to a lunch meeting to learn more – he accepted my invite.
As your clubs look at membership, the rules are again ”how can we make Rotary fit the member?”
Rid’n for the Brand - - Rotary: Making a Difference.
Terry Jones, '17-'18 D5400 Governor
Remembering Sam Owori
On July 13th, 75-year-old RI President-Elect Sam Owori passed from complications during surgery.
A member of Rotary Club Uganda for 40 years, Sam served many leadership roles within both his district and Rotary International. One of many accomplishments during his service was growing the number of Uganda Rotary clubs from nine to 89 during his time as District Governor.
Sam served as the executive director of the African Development Bank, managing director of Uganda Commercial Bank Ltd and director of Uganda Development Bank prior to his recent position of chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda.
His passion for Rotary was indisputable, and his influence will no doubt transcend the years he served as a role model for Uganda and the world.
The RI nominating committee will meet in August to interview candidates to take Sam's place. They have requested that candidates from the group Sam Owori was selected from, representing from Europe and Africa, resubmit their name for consideration (approximately 7-8 people).
Source: The Ugandan and Jennifer Deroin
30 Years Ago: Duarte Stands Against RI for Women
While the first Rotary club was established in February 1905, it took 82 years for the California Supreme Court to rule that disallowing women to join was gender discrimination and unconstitutional, which paved the way for global female Rotarians.
The road to this moment in history was not a friendly one. It started when Rotary Club of Duarte in Las Lomas, California inducted two female members, which was when Rotary International decided to terminate the club's RI membership status for violating the Rotary constitution. The club filed suit against RI for violating the California Unruh Act, which bans business establishments from discriminating based many factors, including gender. The state actually ruled in favor of RI because it didn't see Rotary clubs as businesses. However, when an appeal was filed, the previous ruling was reversed after the Court of Appeal identified several "businesslike attributes" of RI, including its complex structure, large staff, budget, and extensive publishing activities. As a result, the court ordered the reinstatement of the club and restricted RI from enforcing its gender-specific membership requirements.
This was in 1987. That same year, Rotary Club of Duarte elected Sylvia Whitlock to become the first ever female club President, and the world followed suit. As a Rotarian and a woman, I'd like to personally thank them for making my membership possible.
Our new RYE Committee Chair has been a Boise Sunrise member since 2009 who has hosted four inbound exchange students with his wife Pam. District leadership is not new to him, as he served the last three years in the D5400 RYE Coordinator role. Additionally, his daughter Jessica went to Chile as a D5400 outbound in 2004-2005. An involved and passionate Rotarian, John brings a lot of experience to his new role.
"I am a proud Rotarian and greatly enjoy the various projects we support around town," says John. "I am thrilled and a bit intimidated to be taking on this new set of responsibilities but I know I have a strong committee to work with and I know that all of you have my back as well."
Beyond Rotary, John is also the new Chairman of the Board of Semilla Nueva; an NGO in Guatemala that many of us are familiar with. He loves to travel, garden and ski, and he plays trombone in the Boise Straight Ahead Big Band.
His first public show this year is on Aug. 17 at the Idaho Botanical Garden for the Great Garden Escape concert series, so you should attend and show support for our talented fellow! If you can't make it, he will also be playing at Lobsterfest on Sept. 8.
RYE Update
The process of saying farewell to last year’s Inbound students is a bittersweet one for them and us. We have witnessed tangible personal growth in these teenagers and proudly send them home as true “world citizens”, representing the strategic intent of Rotary Youth Exchange; to foster better international understanding in the hopes of furthering world peace.
In August we will be welcoming our '17-'18 Inbound students to southern Idaho. I wish to put forth some ideas for all D5400 Rotarians to consider. First of all, if your club or one nearby is hosting a student, find out when that student is scheduled to arrive and be part of the welcoming crew at the airport or in their new hometown. These are courageous and curious teenagers who are thousands of miles from home and family in a new country that speaks a foreign language. Seeing a large group of supportive adults who are enthusiastically awaiting their arrival will certainly get the transition off to a good start.
Secondly, if your club is hosting, talk to your RYE Chair to arrange a meal or movie night with your Inbound. One of my hopes is to get more Rotarians involved directly with the students. Treating that foreign teenager to a meal (all teenagers love to eat!) or an evening out is a great way to pursue that objective.
It’s going to be another great RYE year in D5400. We hope you can join us in this adventure.
John Lodal, RYE Chair
Conflict and the 2009 D5400 Ambassadorial Scholar
Jillian Foster was 25 years old when she received D5400’s Ambassadorial Scholarship. She had actually applied for it in 2008 but was denied. True to her nature, she determinedly sought out a new approach and ended up receiving a sponsorship from Boise Metro Rotary in 2009. That year she was granted the Ambassadorial Scholarship from District 5400, which she used to attend University College London and earn her Masters in Gender Studies.
“Without the scholarship I probably wouldn’t have been able to go to London,” Jillian told me during a conversation earlier this week, “I wanted to study for my masters abroad. It enabled me to do that.”
She went on to obtain her second Masters in Applied Quantitative Research at New York University. With her knowledge, Jillian founded Global Insight, a research, data, and monitoring and evaluation consultancy specializing in the use of data-driven and gender-sensitive methods in fragile states. Since 2011, she’s led Global Insight's portfolio of gender-based violence, peacebuilding/conflict and humanitarian projects, working with UNHCR, UN Women, Save the Children, the UN Trust Fund, the International Rescue Committee, and countless other INGOs.
“Conflict is human, it’s what humans do. I was working in Nigeria on a peace-building program and the major conflict was the fight of time and all eternity: Herders against farmers. This is the fight we’ve been having forever. It’s every day. Perhaps we need to just accept this as human nature,” Jillian explained, “but there are large-scale mass atrocities that I would like to see stopped. There’s no need for us to have gigantic displaced populations like refugees and famine. We can work those conflicts out through diplomacy.”
Her new project, Women in Conflict, brings global awareness to the sometimes-misconstrued female roles in conflict zones. “What I want from this project is to break open the definition “woman” in a conflict setting. Right now we think of women as passive victims, but that’s inaccurate. I want their voices and experiences to be heard and spark discussion about them as active participants. Just because you aren’t looking doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
Through uncensored stories of the actual women she researches, Jillian brings clarity to their involvement that either reinforces the traditional gender role of caregiver and peace-builder, or counters it by revealing other roles such as violent combatant.
“It’s dangerous for these women to come forward, but many of them have already taken that risk; Life itself is a risk when living in a conflict setting. They are often women who have already elevated themselves to some degree as community leaders.”
The conversation then turned to thoughts on Rotary International’s next mission to end human trafficking. “It’s a valuable cause and I support it,” she said, “The power Rotary has is amazing - they made a gigantic imprint on Polio, and I think they can do that similarly with human trafficking. It’s valiant.”
While we spoke I could hear the sounds of Jillian’s treasures being packed into boxes as she prepared to move from California to Connecticut, where she’ll be starting at Yale this fall. While she is clearly a capable and passionate woman, I wonder how much harder it would have been to achieve her successes without the help of the 2009 D5400 Leadership Team and Boise Metro Rotary. It’s proof that any district, any club or any person can make a global impact.
Michela Swarthout, Boise Centennial Rotary
200 Miles of Rotary Friends
The two day Seattle To Portland (STP) bike ride offered a great way to meet Rotarians from around the Northwest. 10,000 bicyclists enjoy the ride, chatting along the route and at the evening camp. I wore my Rotary jersey, sharing Rotary with those who wondered about the cog. I met an immediate past club president, a group of Rotarians hosting one of the water refill stations, and a group of Lions - who teased me about Rotary - helping make the event successful. The STP bike ride was a great way to spend a few days with my daughter Ida and to promote Rotary.
What can you do to share the Rotary story?
Todd Fischer, Proud member of the Rotary Club of Boise
Idaho Rotary Celebrates 100 Years
Did you know that the Boise Downtown Rotary Club is the oldest club in Idaho? The move to organize Idaho's first Rotary Club began with a letter dated June 30, 1916 from R. R. Alexander, the club’s eventual first secretary, to Dr. F. C. Witherspoon of Montana, the Governor of the District 14 International Association of Rotary Clubs. Subsequent correspondence with Dr. Witherspoon and International Secretary Chesley R. Perry resulted in the designation of Charles E. Cochran, President of the Portland Club, as acting Deputy District Governor, to assist the Boise Club with its organizational plans.
On March 2, 1917 a list of 100 approved classifications was received from Secretary Perry and the Organization Committee began to work rapidly. On March 29, they met for lunch at the Chamber of Commerce and created a temporary organization.
The Boise Rotary Club was installed at an Owyhee Hotel Banquet attended by more than 100 prominent business and professional men from Boise, Portland and Salt Lake City on April 28, 1917.
A gala celebrating Idaho's 100-year anniversary was held June 24, 2017 at the Boise Centre, where Idaho Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter proclaimed the week of June 18-24, 2017 as Idaho Rotary Centennial Week.
Source: http://boiserotary.org/history
Lobsterfest is Back
Boise Sunrise, Boise Southwest and Boise Downtown Rotary clubs are pleased to present the 9th Annual LobsterFest Fundraiser on Friday, September 8. All proceeds from this evening of great food and fun directly benefit charitable organizations in the Treasure Valley, including Hope House, as well as Rotary youth programs.
Hope House helps young people who may have “fallen through the cracks” of other governmental and/or private agencies, providing a home for children who are emotionally impaired, developmentally disabled, and/or come from disrupted adoptions or dysfunctional families. Hope House helps these young people reach their fullest potential by providing love, structured activities, appropriate discipline, educational and vocational opportunities and people who listen.
What: 9th Annual Rotary LobsterFest
Where: CenturyLink Arena
233 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise
When: Friday, Sept. 8
Doors Open at 5 PM
No Host Wine and Beer Bar until 6:00 PM
Cash Bar
Everyone is invited to enjoy this great evening of fresh Maine lobster (or steak), silent and live auctions, drinks and live entertainment.
We anticipate welcoming 600 guests to LobsterFest this year. Non-Rotarians are encouraged to attend! Rotarians are encouraged to invite family, friends, associates, clients or prospective members!
Individual LobsterFest tickets are $75, Standard Table (8) tickets are $600 and Sponsor Table (8) tickets are $780. All money raised will support youth programs in the Treasure Valley.
Questions? contact Tricia Stingley, Auctions Made Easy at tjstingley@gmail.com or 208-703-9477.
No Wild Polio Cases Reported This Week
One new wild Polio case reported this week.
Global Leaders and Key Donors took the stage on 6/12/17 at the Atlanta RI Convention to pledge their support for the effort to End Polio, committing a total of $1.2 Billion toward the Global Polio Eradication $1.5 Billion funding gap. Our 2017-18 Goal will be $50 Million (as it will be each of the next three years) - which the Gates Foundation has pledged to match $100 Mil to our $50 Mil per year.
World Polio Day - October 24, 2017 - See this link for ideas about How to Host Your Own World Polio Day Event. Many Districts leave part or all of their District Designated Funds (DDF) unspent. RI President Ian is asking each District to donate 20% of their DDF to PolioPlus. I am proud to report that District 5890 did so this week - giving $44,034 to END POLIO NOW.
Quote of the day - "Optimism is what brings us to Rotary. But Rotary is not a place for those who are only dreamers. It is a place for those with the ability, the capacity, and the compassion for fruitful service.” Sam F. Owori, 1941-2017
Syria - No new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) were reported in the past week. The total number of cVDPV2 cases remains 27.
The Final Three Endemic Countries:
Pakistan: No new Polio cases reported this week. Three cases reported in 2017 the most recent with an onset on 6/10/17. 20 Polio cases were reported in 2016. Five country-wide vaccination campaigns have been held in Pakistan since October 2016, preparing for the 2017 high season for poliovirus transmission. Six new WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported in the past week, all collected in July.
Afghanistan: No new Polio cases reported this week. Three cases reported in 2017 -the most recent on 6/10/17. 20 Polio cases were reported in 2016. Five country-wide vaccination campaigns have been held in Pakistan since October 2016. Six new WPV1-positive environmental samples were reported in the past week, all collected in July.
Nigeria: No new Polio cases reported this week. Four Polio cases reported in 2016 - with no cases reported in 2015. The most recent case was reported on 8/2016 on Borno State.
Terry Ziegler, Rotary District 5890 Polio Eradication Chair & Zone 21B/27 PHS Coordinator
Buy a brick, support a Rotarian effort and help fund a park celebrating the final section of the Boise Greenbelt for only $50!
- This is also a thoughtful gift idea that will be appreciated for years to come-
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Owori passed from complications during surgery. 
This was in 1987. That same year, Rotary Club of Duarte elected Sylvia Whitlock to become the first ever female club President, and the world followed suit. As a Rotarian and a woman, I'd like to personally thank them for making my membership possible.
The two day Seattle To Portland (STP) bike ride offered a great way to meet Rotarians from around the Northwest. 10,000 bicyclists enjoy the ride, chatting along the route and at the evening camp. I wore my Rotary jersey, sharing Rotary with those who wondered about the cog. I met an immediate past club president, a group of Rotarians hosting one of the water refill stations, and a group of Lions - who teased me about Rotary - helping make the event successful. The STP bike ride was a great way to spend a few days with my daughter Ida and to promote Rotary. .png)
