February 2024

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News & Updates

Always check events & resources on utahrotary.org

We miss being with you.

Nicole and I have completed all but two of our club visits. While it has been good to get a bit of a breather, Nicole & I have both commented on how much fun it has been to visit with you all.

Yes, it is a big task and a burden to get out and visit all of the clubs in our district. But there is no substitute for being with you in your club. We have been amazed at how different and unique each club is - right down to the 4-way test, every single club does it differently.

Isn’t that what makes Rotary great? The diversity of thought and action, yet a group of individuals who all have Service above Self as a core part of who they are.

Nicole and I love being Rotarians! We love being associated with each of you; we are better because of it. We are so excited for the remainder of this Rotary year and look forward to hearing all about the great things each of our clubs accomplish.

If you have events or projects coming up, please email Sally Newton sally.newtonrotary@gmail.com with the details so we can make every effort to attend if at all possible.

Stay focused on the Power of One campaign:

1. Grow net membership by 1

2. Increase your best year of per capita giving by $1

3. Engage in the broader world of Rotary.

Remember - it all comes down to The Power of One to Create Hope in the World!

John Redd

Utah Rotary District Governor 2023-2024

dgjohnredd@utahrotary.org

Utah Interact students decorate Rotary Rose Bowl float.

Students from the Snow Canyon High School Interact Club, sponsored by the St. George Sunrise Rotary Club, jumped at the chance to participate in a service project that would be seen on the national stage—the 135th annual Rose Parade held on January 2, 2024.

The St. George Sunrise Club covered all expenses for eight Snow Canyon students to make the trip to Pasadena in the days leading up to the Rose Parade. The teens worked alongside Rotary members and youth from other Interact Clubs, to decorate the Rotary International float to fit this year’s theme, “Clean Water: The Music of Life.”

With the goal of promoting community involvement and the message of Service Above Self to millions of viewers, Rotary International has entered a float in the Rose Parade every year since 1980. The float is funded by annual contributions from more than 700 local Rotary Clubs around the world.

The Snow Canyon Interact Club teens placed greenery, glued flower petals and seaweed, and inserted roses into carefully positioned glass vials filled with water. All of the decorations on a Rose Parade float contain natural products—flowers, seeds, berries and even grains of rice.

Navajo Coat Project donates 452 coats.

The idea for the holiday Navajo Coat Project came from Monticello Rotary Club’s Janet Ross who learned about the serious need for warm winter apparel on the Navaho Reservation. Bountiful, Monticello, Orem, Richfield, and Tooele Rotary Clubs sorted coats, hats, hoodies and gloves. Then Janet Ross and her Navajo friend Rickie delivered them to chapter leaders who in turn distributed:

69 coats to the Halchita Chapter
59 coats at the Gentle Iron Hawk Shelter for abused women in Blanding
40 coats to the Red Mesa Chapter
61 coats to the Aneth Chapter
67 hats, hoodies & gloves to the Mexican Water Chapter
90 hats and gloves to the Navajo Mountain Chapter
66 coats to the Oljado Chapter

District 5420’s Native American Initiative committee continues to support the needs of Utah’s 11 tribal communities and invites clubs and individual members to support this effort.

International & Local Projects

Provide college scholarships to Native American & rural Utah students.

Richfield Rotary Club will submit a Global Grant to provide more than one thousand scholarships for rural and Native American students from Utah and surrounding states who enroll at Snow College. The club has raised $10,000 towards the $25,000 local match for the global grant.

If you or your club can help us reach our goal, please donate at www.Snow.edu. Please note--your donation is for Richfield’s global grant. Or send your donation to Heidi Stringham: Snow College Richfield - 800 W 200 S, Richfield, UT 84701. Our deadline for submitting the grant is April 1, 2024.

Prevent tuberculosis in Nepal.

Problem: Tuberculosis is the biggest infectious disease killer in the world, resulting in 1.5 million deaths and almost 10 million new cases annually. One of three people in the world is infected with TB.

Solution: There is a new safe and effective short TB preventive treatment (12 doses) to treat infected patients before they develop active contagious TB. Salt Lake Rotary and Kathmandu Midtown Rotary and TB experts in Nepal are proposing a Global Grant to scale up TB preventative therapy. This approach can be a model of treatment soon and save millions of lives.

See video here!

If you and/or your club would like to be a part of this effort, please contact Scott Leckman leckman@xmission.com

How to do an international project without frustration.

“I feel your pain,” says Jerry Summerhays. “If you start too big a project or choose the project or NGO first and then try to find a partner club in Colombia, we - your helpers - get stressed out too.”

These steps avoid frustration!

Decide with your club members where you want to serve.
Contact a club in the desired area. Some surely speak English.
Tell them you’d like to start by helping with a smaller project.
Ask them to share several projects they’d like help with.
They select partners (e.g. NGO) to work with, not you.

Engage with your new partners.

Have Zoom meetings with them to get to know them.
Find out how they assessed community wants and needs.
Decide together which of the projects you will help fund.
Stay informed and involved through project completion.

These additional steps really work!

Help with their project that they are highly motivated to do.
Start small to test that they do what they say.
Start small to test that they communicate well.
Google “Areas of Focus Policy”, etc., to be an informed partner.
Consult early with the International Service Chair.
Find that the recipients want and are involved in the project.
Find that the impact will be measurable and sustainable.

Know and trust them before wiring money.
Visit them if you decide to progress to do a global grant.
Consult early with the District Foundation Committee.

I want to keep you from becoming frustrated. Please contact me - District Foundation Committee or District International Service Chair Jerry at SummerhaysGS@gmail.com.

Student applications for RYLA and

Rotarian volunteers are due Mar. 1

Get your young future leaders involved in Rotary today through the inspiring experience of Rotary Youth Leadership Award camp – RYLA - June 10-13, 2024 in Mt. Pleasant, UT.

Here’s how to get going:

If you haven’t already, ask your club board to authorize a budget. The tuition for each student is $400.
Collaborate with your faculty Interact advisor to recruit RYLA students. To get them and your club members excited, invite a member of our RYLA organizing committee who will make brief presentation at your club all of the new, unique things happening with RYLA. Please email Sydney at 5420.RYLA@gmail.com to make arrangements.
Send this link to your faculty Interact advisor and Interact club president. Student Camper Application: https://www.IsMyRotaryClub.org/App/?ID=151
Email this link to all your club members. Talk up volunteering. Rotarian Volunteer/Facilitator Application: https://www.IsMyRotaryClub.org/App/?ID=155

The application deadline for both campers and adult volunteers is Friday, March 1.

Don't wait! Enjoy RYLA – this year at a new campus.

Sydney H. King

Rotary District 5420 RYLA Chair

801.232.8476

Rotary Youth Foundation grants are available - apply now!

Murray Interact Club already awarded $1000.

Murray Rotary’s 68-member Interact Club, based at Murray High School, is the first to be awarded grant funding from the Utah Rotary Youth Foundation. The teens plan to complete six service projects with a $1000 grant beginning with a Valentine’s party at Legacy Village--an Assisted Living, Independent Living and Memory Care facility in Salt Lake City.

Does your club know there is funding available to support Rotary Youth programs and projects? Do your members know the purchase of Rotary-Humanitarian license plates in Utah – as well as individual donations to this 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – help support youth programs such as Interact, Rotaract, RYLA (June 10-23) and Rotary Youth Exchange?

The Utah Rotary Youth Foundation Committee is working hard to build resources to help young men or women in every Utah community take advantage of these amazing Rotary youth opportunities.

Email to URYfoundation@gmail.com for information.

Funds are available NOW so there’s no time to wait!

Our Rotary Youth Exchange program needs host families. Can you help?

Youth is the future of Rotary! Rotary Youth Exchange (“RYE”) gives students aged 15-17 an opportunity to attend school in a foreign country for a year, experiencing a new culture and living with local families. When a student leaves a particular high school for a year abroad through our program, we bring in another student from abroad to Utah to take their place in their school.

During this current year we are hosting six students from abroad; five of which are in school in the Salt Lake Valley. Our program requires that we have at least two host families for these students during the course of the school year.

RIGHT NOW, WE ARE HAVING AN IMPOSSIBLE TIME FULFILLING THIS REQUIREMENT FOR THREE OF OUR STUDENTS. WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!

We are looking for a family in the Skyridge school district to host a male and families in the Alta and Brighton school districts to each host a female. These students are sophomores or juniors at their respective schools. You are asked to provide a bedroom (can be shared with a same sex child), food and a warm, inviting and comfortable environment for approximately three months.

The host family do not have to be Rotarians. They just need to be in the boundaries of the school district. If you yourself or anyone you know is willing to host one of these fabulous kids we need your help right now! What we can promise you is that this experience will be one you will never forget and the friendship that will be forged between you and your host child will last a lifetime.

For more information, please contact Mike Johnson, Inbound Coordinator, 435-671-6998, mike@summiteg.com

Kahrin Sharp, Youth Exchange Officer District 5420, 435-640-5370, kahrin@rjsinc.com

Watch us support our troops.

The Utah E-Club needs your help!

While US troops are away serving our country, their families are left behind. A huge baby shower at a local military facility is coming up and the E-Club is asking all Rotarians to help with this special event. They want to provide gifts to the moms as well as the infants, so they are looking for donations of watches.

Yes. Sixty wrist watches. The moms would really appreciate them; any condition will be okay.

Please reach out to E-Club Rotarian Michael Macy at 916-300-8958. Your contribution will make a significant impact and bring joy to those in need.

It's a jungle out there.

Why your grant funding was late.

This year’s District Grant process proved to be full of vines and fallen branches that delayed the issuance of District Grants.:

Fallen vines. Although final reports for 2023 grants were due on June 15, we could not close the grant cycle until September 15 because so many clubs missed the deadline.

Deadwood. Applicants could not find the 2024 grant application on the website. Hopefully, we have resolved this.

The district committee is learning. We discovered too late that many of the new grants did not comply with the guidelines as described on the Utah Rotary website.

Next year we plan to resolve this problem by requiring that all district grants be reviewed for compliance and approved by August 15. These quick turnaround times are very doable if everyone complies with the guidelines and pays attention to the due dates.

Because Rotary International reviews all grants at the same time, it’s critical that each club pays exacting attention to the guideline requirements so we all benefit.

RI approved everything on January 5. Ten clubs have already returned their contract and checks were issued as of January 17. Get your contracts in and a check will be issued the same day.

Bruce Powell

Utah Rotary District Foundation Chair

Membership growth helps you deliver even more exceptional service.

Utah Rotary is the top membership growth performer in Zone 27 - Northwest United States. This is not a random or lucky outcome—it’s a testament to the commitment and passion of our club presidents and Utah Rotarians, who make membership a priority.

Rotary isn’t a service organization--it is a membership organization that delivers exceptional service to personkind. In Utah Rotary we are not satisfied with the status quo - we strive to grow our club membership every week so more hands will make a difference in the world.

This new year - 2024 - Utah Rotary is up 33 members. Last year, 2023 at this same point, Utah Rotary was up by 56 members. In contrast, in 2020 and 2021, membership was down 24 members. In 2019, membership was down 60 members. Kudos to Utah clubs and their presidents who are working with their members to keep Utah Rotary thriving in service and growing in membership and leading the Zone.

If you or your club wants to learn more about attracting more people, please join the Utah Rotary membership huddles held on the second Thursday of each month via Zoom. For more information contact Mike Wells, membership coach, at mwells2811@msn.com or membership committee member, Brent Parkin at brentparkin@weber.edu.

Brent Parkin

District 5420 Membership Committee

(801) 698-5444

Rotary Peace Fellowships open now.

Each year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of Rotary’s peace centers. The Rotary Peace Fellowship is designed for leaders with work experience in peace and development.

There is a lengthy application process including an interview with the District Peace Committee so candidates must start soon. Click here for more information and contact Kris Swanson, District Peace Chair at kris@creativecommconcepts.com if you are interested.

Don't be fooled by this scam email.

Governor John Redd reports that Utah Rotarians are receiving a scam email. If you receive it, please delete it. No other action is necessary.

Happy 119th Birthday, Rotary!

Of course, we all know Rotary International’s 119th birthday isn’t until February 23, 2024 … but NOW is the time to start planning your community event, fundraiser, “service above self” project … and the ways you’ll make lots of noise about Rotary in social and other media promotion of your activity around this significant day.

Many districts and clubs throughout the Rotary world already have this recognition on their calendar so don’t miss this upcoming opportunity to “say Rotary” in your own community.

Need project ideas? See Rotary Showcase at rotary.org. Need help with your club’s Public Image? Contact District RI Chair Linda Sappington at Lcsappi66@yahoo.com or call 435-669-8020.

Nominations Open - Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award

During the period of 1 January – 29 February, any Rotarian or Rotaractor can nominate any qualifying Rotarian or Rotaractor for the Rotary Foundation Distinguished Service Award.

This award honors those who have demonstrated exemplary service to the Foundation and have received the Citation for Meritorious Service at least four years prior. For more information or to access a nomination form, go to rotary.org/awards.

The Club Hub

Get ideas, support other clubs! Send your service projects & fundraisers to

Newsletter Editor Lola Beatlebrox for this monthly section of the newsletter.

Rotary Past District Governor Sandi Schwartz told Washington City Rotary Club members a child’s proficiency in English by the end of third grade prepares them for success in school and the rest of their lives.

“Literacy in education," she said, "is one of Rotary International’s six areas of focus and is every Rotarian’s responsibility.”

Sandi Schwartz is asking fellow Rotaries to help improve literacy one book at a time by each pledging to donate $1000 to be matched by a Rotary Foundation Global Grant that will then total $1800.

The grant would supply Title 1 schools in St. George with book vending machines allowing students to buy books with school tokens rewarded for good behavior, outstanding effort, etc.

Washington City Rotary Club will donate once the proposal is approved.

Park City Sunrise Rotary Club is featured in the February issue of Rotary Magazine with a story about the club’s big annual Shot Ski event that raises more than $60,000. The Park City Sunrise Shot Ski event supports the club’s Community Grants program.

The Hispanic Latino Rotary Club, in its desire to help the most vulnerable community, organized a brigade called “Abrigando Corazones” on the 6th of Kings (January). Approximately 120 blankets were distributed to migrants from different countries who recently arrived in Utah.

Bountiful Rotary delivered 300+ coats to the Monticello Rotary Club for distribution to Native Americans in the Four Corners area such as Aneth, Red Mesa, and Halchita!

Thank you to all who donated! We were overwhelmed with the response from the community! Lives have been blessed!

Holladay Rotary had two service projects in January. Eleven volunteers packed pinto beans into 1 lb bags for the Utah Food Bank. We were told that the Utah Food Bank had 189,000 volunteer hours in 2023 and distributed 60.2 million pounds of food.

Our club also hosted the Utah Rotary Exchange students at Steiner Sports Complex. We had five students attend from Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Romania and Taiwan. It was fun to see a few of them try out ice skating! The students have been here about six months and are really enjoying their time in Utah.

Millcreek Rotary partnered with the Asian Association and Millcreek City to put on a gigantic fun holiday party for 19 immigrant and refugee families December 2023. Festivities included ice skating at Millcreek Commons, arts & crafts provided by Youthlinc, dinner donated by Millcreek Rotary and Granite Credit Union, music provided by The Gifted Music School. More than $5,000 in gifts from family wish lists were donated by Millcreek Rotarians, bioMerieux, and Holbrook HVAC services. Kroger & Harmons provided $100 in grocery gift certificates for each family. City Academy organized a huge warm winter clothing drive. Much thanks to all involved!

The Ogden Rotary Club had a very eventful January that was full of local charity work and fun! The month began with a presentation from the club's own Nikki Nunez who taught her fellow Rotarians about her Charity Healing Hearts. The club got to hear from another member of their own, Kassi Bybee, who discussed the exciting German Fest, held at the Ogden Eccles Center in Ogden. After two wonderful presentations from the Club's own Rotarians, Mara Brown, the Chief Administrative Officer of Ogden City presented about the happenings in Ogden. Following her presentation, the Club got to hear from Sara Tolliver who represents Visit Ogden and further elaborated on all the wonderful happenings in the local community.

In December, the Rotary Club of Orem-Lindon demonstrated its commitment to caring for the community by donating 67 fleece blankets, including many handmade, to Provo's new warming centers. These centers, a first for Utah County, aid the homeless population during the state's newly mandated "Code Blue Alerts" - shelters are to open when the temperature is expected to drop below 15°F. Debby Lauret and a friend of Orem-Lindon Rotary, Cherise Armstrong led the project. Bringing warmth and comfort during the winter months to our vulnerable community members remains a priority of the club. Community Action Services-Provo and the Continuum of Care distributed the donated blankets.

Murray Rotary Club hosted 70 children to a pizza party and magic show on January 22. This annual event consumed a lot of pizza and cookies, and the magician was met with loud applause for his hour-long program. Special thanks to the Boys and Girls Club---Murray for providing the space and the enthusiastic participants.

St. George Rotary Club kicked off the New Year at the St. George Children’s Museum with 300 “littles” and their friends and family for the annual balloon drop at noon on December 30. It was noisy, chaotic fun with games, crafts and of course the museum’s dragon mascot! Our Dictionary project has been on hold while the district and RI sorted out the bottleneck for getting our district grant, but in the meantime, while we wait for the end of the winter chill, we elected Clint Beecroft as our club president for RY2025-26; and, kicked off our 6th annual oranges fundraiser.

In Fall of 2023, the Southern Utah University Rotaract Club did some amazing things! We quintupled our active membership, raised money to #EndPolioNow at our Pumpkins for Polio activity, and tied blankets for underprivileged families in our community! Thanks to the support we have received from our new members, Cedar City Rotary, and other SUU organizations, we’ve accomplished some amazing and meaningful things! We are grateful for these relationships and cannot wait for what 2024 holds!

Another highway cleanup is in the books! Every six months, the Heber Valley Rotary Club and the Interact kids from Wasatch High School get together to clean up Highway SR 113 from Midway Main Street to Mile Post 2 and the Midway Lane Trail from the Southfield Park to the Legacy Bridge.

During this semiannual cleanup, the Wolfpack Club joined in the cleaning efforts. The cleanup event is just one example of Heber Valley Rotary Club’s many contributions to enhance the local community.

Hurricane Valley Rotary's

Easter Car Show is Saturday, Mar. 30.

Hurricane Valley Rotary’s Easter Car Show will be held on Saturday, March 30 in downtown Hurricane. The annual event attracts nearly 10,000 people from around the West and many tourists from the U.S. and around the world.

Approximately 300 car, truck and motorcycles are entered each year with dozens of food and merchandise vendors, great music, and a lively crowd making for the biggest single day event in Hurricane.

The Easter Car Show is the Club’s major fundraiser each year, supporting the numerous projects it does every year. A primary benefactor for the 2024 show is the Veterans Memorial Park being planned by the City of Hurricane.

For more information, visit eastercarshow.com or check out Easter Car Show on Facebook.

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