Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
Posted by Jim Hogge, District Governor on Dec 04, 2016
As we approach the Holiday season, I have three things I would like to share.
Rotary International Convention. The International Convention will be in Atlanta this June 10-14, 2016. Please sign up for the Convention before the registration price increases on December 15. You will save $75. This year’s convention will be a celebration of 100 Years of the Rotary Foundation. I know you will find this to be a good value in time and money. Please go to http://www.riconvention.org/en/atlanta/register
District 5400 Conference. We are starting the planning for the District Conference in Sun Valley, May 19-20, 2016. We have some great speakers, relevant training, and outstanding fellowship. We are doing our best to make this one of the best District Conferences we ever had.
Family. The Holiday Season is a wonderful time to focus on our families. Our immediate family and our extended family members including Rotarians, enrich and bring meaning to our lives. I encourage everyone to focus on the important things in our lives. I also would ask that you also share your many gifts with those less fortunate in this Holiday season.
Posted by Marianne Barker, District Foundation Chair on Dec 04, 2016
Stephen Merrill of Boise Sunrise received this note from The Rotary Foundation on Friday Dec. 2:
“Congratulations! Your global grant application for funding to provide a vehicle and medical training to communities surrounding Gorongosa Park in Mozambique, submitted by RC Beira and RC Boise Sunrise, has been approved by The Rotary Foundation. The award is in the amount of $48,098.”
The club will send to TRF the money it has collected from the various other club partners to generate the matches from District Designated Funds and the World Fund, and once that is done, TRF will fund the project! Good work making the world a better place, Rotarians!
Eagle/Garden City Rotary Club will hold their 3rd annual TO DIE FOR CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Meridian Senior Center from 5:30 to 8:30. This is expected to be the biggest festival so far, with various chocolate and dessert vendors offering tastings of their delicious wares. There will be a “wine wall” again this year, featuring wines worth from $20 to $100 per bottle or more which can be purchased by guests for a flat price. The exciting part is that the wine will be in bags so guests will not know what wine they are purchasing until they pay their money, choose the bag they like and open it. Adding to the fun and entertainment, will be a silent auction. The proceeds will be used to provide incentives for Eagle Academy graduates who have overcome tremendous obstacles to go on to college. To purchase tickets or for more information contact Cathy Sears at jcsears625@gmail.com or any club member.
Rotary Foundation grants for twenty-five clubs and the district were approved in the full total amount requested by the clubs of $47,835. Amounts varied by club from $500 to $5,000. The projects include irrigation and mango trees to help feed children in Haiti, library space and books for an orphanage in Zambia, and a number of local purposes within our district boundaries such as the support of education and literacy, handicapped assistance, community and park improvements, clothing and food for the homeless, and programs for low income children to gain experience and build confidence.
The clubs are doing a great job making a difference in their communities as well as in other spots around the globe. Applications for next year's Rotary Foundation district block grant opportunity are due June 1, 2017. Please start looking for great projects. This is your money, returned to us from your contributions to The Rotary Foundation through Annual Fund-SHARE. Clubs participating this current Rotary year are working on projects and are to provide progress or final reports by May 15, 2017.”
Membership in our ClubRunner User's Group has expanded to well over 30 people, as we added some new folks from around the District after discussing the importance of club bulletins and the features of ClubRunner at Zone last month. Our next ClubRunner Go-To-Meeting session will be Thursday, December 15th at 7:00. We'll do an overview of the bulletin module, with tips and tricks. If you haven't already received the GTM invitation, please me know. John.Biggs@rotary5400.org
By the way, remember that "Internet Presence Report Card" project we completed last spring? You can look forward to a re-do of that exercise to see if we've made some progress!
The Rotary Foundation, the charitable arm of Rotary—a global network of volunteers committed to improving lives and communities around the world—has been named the 2016 Outstanding Foundation by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
From its first contribution of $26.50 almost a century ago, The Rotary Foundation’s assets have grown to approximately $1 billion, and more than $3 billion have been spent on projects that promote peace, fight disease, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, and grow local economies.
On Thursday, November 17, 2016 the Buhl Rotary Club held their annual Octogenarian Dinner at Popplewell Elementary in Buhl. The Octogenarian Dinner is an annual event that is specifically reserved for those special individuals in the West End of the Magic Valley (Buhl, Castleford, and Hagerman) that are eighty years old or older. There is no cost or fee associated with attending the event. All expenses are paid internally by the Club.
This year, the Octogenarian Dinner celebrated its 64th anniversary with approximately eightyfive (85) local senior citizens as the distinguished guests. The dinner included turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, cranberries, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream for dessert. The tables were decorated with holiday floral arrangements and various chocolates donned the centers of each table for snacks before and after dinner.
Boise Centennial Rotary is hosting its 7th Annual Winter Wined Up on February 24th, 2017. Festivities will be held at the Arid Club and will start at 6 PM. Tickets are 40 dollars in advance and 50 dollars at the door.
The Winter Wined Up will have four local wineries and a brewery. There will be a wine pull, paddle raise, and both silent and live auctions. Hors D'ouevre and a no-host bar are also provided for our guests.
Proceeds from the Winter Wine’d Up will benefit Giraffe Laugh, a local non-profit, and scholarships to University of Idaho, Boise STate University and Idaho State University. Giraffe Laugh provides early care and education to young children by ensuring school readiness, empowering families and building strong futures. Giraffe Laugh works to ensure that every child in the Treasure Valley has access to quality early care and education and that all parents are empowered and supported through the early years of parenthood.
Enjoy a firkin beer with the Boise downtown club, 5 pm February 9th at the Boise Basque Center. Early bird tickets at www.boisefirkinfrolic.com which make great stocking stuffers. Next time you get fined at a club meeting pay up with a firkin ticket; you will put a smile on someone's face. Six local breweries will tap and serve a firkin created especially for this party. A firkin is a "Real Ale" that hasn't been cold filtered, pasteurized, carbonated, or screwed up by any other source. You will be drinking a free range, cage free beer, just like those back in the first days of beer drinking. So a firkin is a time machine to take you back when beer was actually beer and a Firkin Frolic is a great place to enjoy that real beer with real friends.
The Twin Falls Times News published two very interesting articles last week, all about the Magic Valley's service clubs. All three Twin Falls Rotary clubs were among clubs featured as the author made visits to all and reported her findings and impressions. The second article explains the need for all service clubs, not just Rotary, to recruit younger members to keep the service legacy alive. Read them here:
Posted by Terry Ziegler, District 5890 on Dec 04, 2016
One New Polio Case reported this week (Pakistan).
What is that Polio Eradication Picture?
It's a depiction of the combination of the Oral Polio Vaccine and the Inactivated Polio Vaccine. New studies have shown that a fractional dose (about 1/5 of the full dose) of the Inactivated vaccine - given in conjunction with the Oral vaccine, gives as good or better immunization that a full dose of the Inactivated vaccine.
Could we see the last reported Polio case in 2016?
Polio Eradication Fundraising - A continuing column featuring a weekly Polio Eradication Fundraising Idea.
The next five (17-22) Polio Fundraising Ideas are Rotary's Five Talking Points to Promote Polio Fundraising - When asked why we must continue to fund raise and advocate for Global Polio Eradication when only a handful of cases remain: Third - Stepped-up surveillance is vital to ensure that the virus is truly gone from all parts of the world. That means checking every report of sudden onset of acute paralysis (floppy arms or legs) and testing of water rivers, open gutters, and sewer systems, for live Poliovirus. The network of 145 laboratories which can identify the Poliovirus from stool samples must also be maintained and staffed.
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Stephen Merrill of Boise Sunrise received this note from The Rotary Foundation on Friday Dec. 2:.JPG)
Eagle/Garden City Rotary Club will hold their 3rd annual TO DIE FOR CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Meridian Senior Center from 5:30 to 8:30. This is expected to be the biggest festival so far, with various chocolate and dessert vendors offering tastings of their delicious wares. There will be a “wine wall” again this year, featuring wines worth from $20 to $100 per bottle or more which can be purchased by guests for a flat price. The exciting part is that the wine will be in bags so guests will not know what wine they are purchasing until they pay their money, choose the bag they like and open it. Adding to the fun and entertainment, will be a silent auction. The proceeds will be used to provide incentives for Eagle Academy graduates who have overcome tremendous obstacles to go on to college. To purchase tickets or for more information contact Cathy Sears at 
Rotary Foundation grants for twenty-five clubs and the district were approved in the full total amount requested by the clubs of $47,835. Amounts varied by club from $500 to $5,000. The projects include irrigation and mango trees to help feed children in Haiti, library space and books for an orphanage in Zambia, and a number of local purposes within our district boundaries such as the support of education and literacy, handicapped assistance, community and park improvements, clothing and food for the homeless, and programs for low income children to gain experience and build confidence.
Boise Centennial Rotary is hosting its 7th Annual Winter Wined Up on February 24th, 2017. Festivities will be held at the Arid Club and will start at 6 PM. Tickets are 40 dollars in advance and 50 dollars at the door.
Enjoy a firkin beer with the Boise downtown club, 5 pm February 9th at the Boise Basque Center. Early bird tickets at 
