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Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
Sage
     Rotary District 5400
     43 Clubs       1900 members
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December 29, 2015
 
Stories
GOVERNOR'S MESSAGE
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and Happy Festivus!  If there are any other well-known (or not so well-known) seasons or days I should be including, please know that I mean no slights by omission…..I’m just a simple farm boy.
 
That bit of levity aside, this really is the season when we consider our blessings and celebrate with our families.  In the words of a popular song, it is “that most wonderful time of the year.”  It is certainly right that we pause and realize just how blessed we are, and how doubly blessed we are as Rotarians.  Regardless of our individual circumstances, we know that we always have the welcoming family of Rotary to support us, as we support others. 
 
Most frequently, we envision this support to be our “outbound” efforts to help other areas of the world whether they be water projects in South America or in Africa, polio elimination efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan, or earthquake relief in Nepal.  Occasionally, though, the need for support hits closer to home. 
 
Two years ago, severe flooding in Colorado materially damaged a number of communities in that state, and Rotarians stepped up to assist.  As I write this, I am receiving emails from my district governor classmate Larry Webb from District 5810 (Dallas, TX area) about the tornados which recently struck.  Larry reports that five tornados struck over the weekend of Christmas, with some a quarter mile wide that stayed on the ground for over 13 miles (and over 20 minutes).  The devastation is still being evaluated, and District 5810 is stepping up to provide both short term and long term relief needs assessments and coordination to address those needs.
 
If you or your club are looking to find a “local” project, District 5810 would welcome your help.  Although we don’t yet know if individual Rotarians have been impacted by this disaster (and some likely have), there are certainly a lot of people who will need some help.  I’ll publish more information on our district website as it becomes available.
 
Best wishes to all of you for a happy and healthy 2016!
 
DEROIN SELECTED OUR DISTRICT GOVERNOR '18-19
I am excited to announce the District 5400 Nominating Committee has selected Jennifer Deroin from the Rotary Club of Nampa to be the District Governor for the 2018-2019 Rotary year. Her official title is District Governor Nominee Designate!  After she completes the required training (Governor Nominee Training Seminar, Governor Elect Training Seminar and International Assembly), she will lead our district in the Rotary year 2018-2019. 
 
Jennifer has been a Rotarian since 2007. She is a Past President of Nampa Rotary and currently serves as the District Membership Chair. She has been a faithful supporter of the Rotary Foundation. Jennifer works for the Nichols Accounting firm in Nampa.
 
 
The leadership team of District 5400 is excited to have her step up to this significant role, and we look forward to working with her!
POLIO PLUS UPDATE
Two cases of polio each in Pakistan and Afghanistan were reported last week for a YTD total of 70 cases in 2015.  This is compared to 341 in the same time period last year.  The good news is we’re gaining! The other good news is that not a single case of polio has been reported in 2015 in a non-endemic country.  Rotarians in 25 clubs in D5400 have given financial support to the polio eradication effort since July, contributing a little more than $21,000.  Boise Metro leads the effort with $94 per capita, followed by Blue Lakes-Twin Falls at $33 per capita and Rigby at $30 per capita. The district benchmark for per capita giving to PolioPlus is $20.  Besides these three, Idaho Falls, Boise Sunrise, Canyon County Sunrise and Jerome have exceeded that amount.  Thank you Rotarians for your generosity!  Every dollar Rotarians worldwide donate to PolioPlus – up to $35 million – will be matched by the Gates Foundation 2:1.  
VERIFY YOUR MEMBERSHIP DATA
Here's an important message from ClubRunner:

As you are aware, Rotary International invoices clubs for membership dues twice a year, in January and July. The invoice totals are based on your membership as of January 1 on the RI database and not ClubRunner, so please ensure you login to RI and verify your member count by December 31 at the very latest.
 
Even if your ClubRunner site has Rotary Integration turned on, it is important that you verify your membership on RI, as some changes take a few days to update on RI's end or might not be supported. Please note, that honorary member changes are not integrated, so you will have to manually terminate active members who are being converted to Honorary.
 
EAGLE - GARDEN CITY LOVES CHOCOLATE
 
NOT TOO LATE FOR YEAR-END FOUNDATION CONTRIBUTIONS. CATCH UP TO TWIN FALLS-BLUE LAKES!
We’re halfway through our Rotary year, but it is nearly the end of the 2015 U.S. tax year.  There’s still time to make a tax-deductible donation to charity by giving to Annual Fund-SHARE of The Rotary Foundation.  Why not send in the money now that you’ve been collecting from your club members since July.  Would you believe that fewer than half of the clubs in D5400 have mailed in their members’ contributions so far this Rotary year?  Credit card contributions must be authorized by your bank by midnight on Thursday Dec. 31, 2015.  You can make a credit card contribution online at www.rotary.org/myRotary using the online multiple donor form or you can fax the form with credit card instructions to 847-328-5260.  Do not email credit card information.  Of course you can send in your money the old fashioned way: both the postmark on the envelope and the date written on the check must be no later than Thursday, December 31, 2015 and received by Friday,  January 8 , 2016. Mail to The Rotary Foundation, 14280 Collections Center Dr., Chicago, IL 60693.
 
Blue Lakes-Twin Falls leads the way in per capita giving to Annual Fund-SHARE thus far at $86/capita, followed by West Boise and Boise Southwest each at $63/per capita. The district average is $29/capita against our goal of $95/capita.  These numbers will change any day, as soon as the donations from the recent “District match” are posted.  Blue Lakes-Twin Falls, Boise Metro, Boise Southwest, McCall, Nampa and Pocatello-Gate City are the only clubs who requested the $100 district match for their eligible donors.  The next match will go in March 1, 2016.  Please send in your requests before then!
ROTARY HAS HEART
"Rotary Has Heart" is a new program introduced by Zones 21b and 27 to show how much Rotary cares.......that Rotary Has Heart! There are 1900 clubs in our Zones and if we all work together, imagine the impact we can have by promoting the image and work of Rotary. 
 
For all the good work being done by our districts and clubs, many people simply don't know what a Rotary club is or does, and why they should be part of Rotary. We need to talk about what Rotary does and make sure our communities know how much our clubs care. 
 
 
Read more...
HAVE YOU HELD ELECTIONS?
Just a reminder, but your club should have held its elections of officers for the 2016-2017 Rotary year. We need to notify Rotary International pretty soon. And, we have to get your incoming Pres and Pres-elect ready to attend PETS which will happen in March.
RYLA SEEKS CAMP DIRECTOR
The District Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) committee is searching for a Camp Director to succeed Natalie Lemas Hernandez, who has contributed her time, talents, and passion to our RYLA program for the past 13 years.

Responsibilities include leading the planning and running of the camp. Fund raising and recruiting the students will be handled by others. If interested, please contact Saeid Rezaii.

Saeid Rezaii
RYLA District Chair
saeid@galaxymc.com, (208)-681-0499