January #UtahRotary Newsletter

District 5420 Newsletter - January 2025

Service Above Self

- thoughts on this New Year

Hello Rotarians,

As we look towards a new year, my thoughts turn to the fact that Rotary is more than an organization—it’s a global movement that changes lives. It’s about thinking of others—embodying our motto of "Service Above Self" every single day. This mindset isn’t just a noble idea—it’s our reality. We’re a group that asks, “What can I do for others?” rather than, “What’s in it for me?”

A wise person once said, “If you want to find yourself, lose yourself in the service of others.” Isn’t that exactly what we do in Rotary? We lose ourselves in service to uplift the human condition. Remember, our attitude of gratitude determines our altitude. Let's rise to the challenge, speak words that inspire, and act with compassion in everything we do. Let’s continue changing the world—one word and one action at a time.

This year’s theme, The Power of We, supports our mission. We are team players - our strength comes in numbers. By achieving our goal of 2025 members by July, 2025, our district can do more service projects and serve more people. I am asking that everyone work to bring in new members so we achieve 2025 by 2025.

This New Year take a moment to reflect on the remarkable strength we possess—not as individuals, but as a team. As Rotarians, we know that our greatest achievements are born from collaboration—just as a coach needs a team and a team needs a coach.

For 25 years, I’ve coached sports. I’ve seen what happens when individuals come together with a shared goal. It’s not just about the skills or the strategies—it’s about the heart, the drive, and the commitment to win together. And let me tell you something: You—each one of you—are a team of superstars.

This year, I have the honor of being your coach. But what excites me most is seeing all of you—the team—ready to step up, ready to shine. My role is to guide, to lead, but you are the ones who make the plays, who push forward, who win the game. Together, we’re unstoppable.

Happy New Year!

Todd Boyer

Utah Rotary District Governor 2024-2025

RotaryBoyer@gmail.com

Ideas you can use to achieve 2025 x 2025

Share your Rotary Stories at the beginning of your club meeting for 2-3 minutes. You know those stories - heartwarming anecdotes from your holiday service projects; the reaction of your guest who attended the last club meeting. These are inspirational. Have fun sharing.

Bring one person to each service project. Demonstrate the magic of Rotary - don't just talk about it. Give them a task to do. Involve them!

Talk to somebody about Rotary each week. Don't be bashful about spreading the word. Talk to the guy on the treadmill next to you at the gym, the friend in the same line at the grocery store. Good news travels fast and helps cheer up the doldrums in the dead of winter.

Share a Rotary event on Facebook or Snapchat. You've got the technology, use it! A picture is worth 1000 words!

Invite, invite, invite! 'Nuf said.

Governor Todd Boyer will write more about his personal experience with these ideas in February. They really work and they're FUN!

Blanding Rotary's Luminary Walk

- an annual favorite at the Four Corners

In December the Blanding Rotary Club’s annual Luminary Walk and Nativity Creche lit up the season at the Nations of the Four Corners Cultural Center in Blanding. With a full moon lighting the trails, community members enjoyed a live nativity scene complete with a resident donkey and a shepherd’s camp - with sheep. At their “pioneer cabin,” a bass and tenor chorus accompanied the tableau. Strolling further, residents enjoyed demonstrations of traditional string games and flute playing in a hogan and teepee display. Blanding Rotary’s Luminary Walk is an annual highlight of the season where the view from a starlit tower overlooking the canyon and community is humbling and inspiring.

Park City Sunrise Rotary celebrates eight years of vision care and an anticipated a Global Grant

It began in 2017 when Park City Sunrise Rotarians flew with a team to Uganda where they loaded nine huge bags of vision equipment along with their tiny personal bags into two buses at the airport. After a bumpy 10-hour ride, they arrived in Bwindi and began clinics. On Day 1 they turned a village schoolhouse into a Hope Alliance vision clinic complete with lensometers, autorefractors, tonometers, eye acuity charts and 3,000 pairs of eyeglasses.

Soon their patients lined up. 700 of them. Few had ever had their eyes examined. Many couldn’t see. No longer could they make a living hand embroidering or sowing crops. Sight is a miracle and the Rotarians brought that miracle in the form of eye examinations and prescription eyeglasses.

The next day the vision team drove on more bumpy roads to another village. This time they set up the equipment in a partially constructed church. The Rotarians would create a vision clinic at three more villages, changing lives so completely it was the real deal - Service Above Self.

The Hope Alliance, co-founded by Dr. John Hanrahan, Utah Rotary District Governor 2019-2020, continues to run vision clinics around the world with Sunrisers on board over and over again.

This spring, the future of vision care for Ugandans will be even brighter if a $274,000 Global Grant becomes a reality. Twenty-eight clubs all over the US, two from District 5420, have raised $200,000 so far to equip the Bwindi Community Hospital Dental and Vision Clinic. More club contributions are fulfill to this dream.

To donate to the Global Grant, contact Stacy Lippert, Park City Sunrise Rotary Club, lippertlodge@gmail.com, or PDG Rick Benson, D7980 International Service Chair, at dgrick7980@gmail.com

Awesome!

We are up to 27 Utah clubs helping with Global Grants!

That’s up from 16 clubs at District Conference!

Thanks to promotion of Global Grants in this District Newsletter.
Thanks to project sponsors for approaching other clubs, and even giving club presentations, to get more club commitments to fund their budgets.

Global Grants Prevent TB to End TB, Nepal, Water/Agricultural Productivity, Armenia, and Ukrainian Refugee School, Budapest are now fully funded. Thanks to the clubs that committed $ to help them. The money is not collected until the Global Grant is accepted by The Rotary Foundation (TRF).

Examples from the 27 clubs helping Global Grants:

Monticello Rotary Club pledged $300 to the Armenia Global Grant and $300 to the Budapest Global Grant. Their $600 will be matched by District Designated Funds and the Rotary Foundation World Fund - thus doing $1,680 of good!
Roosevelt Rotary Club committed $2,500 to the Armenia Global Grant. When matched - $7,000 of good!
Rotarian Monty Eggett committed his $1,000 Paul Harris Society money to the Reconstructive Urology Training Program, Cambodia Global Grant - when matched Monty does $2,800 of good!

The following three project sponsors need your help to fund their budgets, so 18 clubs not yet contributing should expect personal calls:

Dr. Jane Kurtzman, Salt Lake Rotary Club, is setting up appointments to talk to Farmington, Lehi, Provo, and St. George Sunrise, and is seeking more appointments to present the Reconstructive Urology Training Program, Cambodia Global Grant. Beat her to the punch and ASK her to present to your club by emailing jane.kurtzman@hsc.utah.edu.

Drew Allen, Millcreek Rotary Club, offers three smaller opportunities: Fruit Trees, Phytoremediation, and Water Wells - all in Uganda. The Water Wells Global Grant host sponsor is a Rotaract Club. Sponsor the young Rotarians or, if you’re a Rotaractor reading this, perhaps your club will support it? Ask Drew for more information -houndoc@aol.com.

Jose Velasco, Midvalley Rotary Club, is developing a new Wheelchair Global Grant in central Mexico and partnering with the Vernal and Tooele Rotary Clubs. Wouldn’t your club like to engage a Global Grant in Mexico? Ask Jose to come and tell you about the Mexico Wheelchair Global Grant. Contact him at josevelasco5420@gmail.com

The fearless NINE

Of our 18 Rotary clubs not contributing to a Global Grant this Rotary year, nine of them are funding an international project with their own dollars without matching. Before applying for a Global Grant, I encourage clubs to do a small pilot project using their own money with the in-country host club to prove that the host club communicates well and they do what they say they’ll do. Then, having tested the host club, you can safely do a Global Grant with them and get matching $. Doing a Global Grant is the only way to get matching money back from The Rotary Foundation.

If your club is developing a Global Grant project, please communicate with us in the District Rotary Foundation Committee. We can help you save time. We can help you avoid mistakes. We can help you get money.

Jerry Summerhays, District International Service Chair, SummerhaysGS@gmail.com

Rotary values the next generation

Rotaract District Conference announced

The #UtahRotary District Rotaract Conference will be held on Saturday, January 25 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Sandy. All Rotaract.club members and Rotaract Advisors are invited.

Watch for more information!

2025 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

RYLA will be held June 9 -12, 2025

Wasatch Academy, Mount Pleasant, Utah

Inspiring our next generation in leadership, service, and making peace a priority.

Applications now open!

Consult with your members, Interact Clubs, your school counselors, your faith leadership and neighbors to find 2025-2026 high school sophomores, juniors and seniors with potential to represent your Rotary Club.

The student’s application will be forwarded to your club president for your club to review for the qualifications you are looking for in leadership and Service Above Self. Student sponsorship by your club is $425, and transportation needs to be provided by your club or coordinated with a neighboring club to carpool.

Student application link: https://www.IsMyRotaryClub.org/App/?ID=250

Sydney King 5420.ryla@gmail.com

Facilitators sought for RYLA June 9-12, 2025

Application deadline: January 8, 2025

Are you passionate about leadership and community service? Join us as a facilitator for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program, an impactful leadership development experience for high school students, scheduled for June 9-12, 2025.

What You'll Do

Lead small groups in workshops on leadership, communication, problem-solving, and community service. Must commit to stay the entire four days.
Facilitate activities and discussions to foster growth and team building.
Mentor and inspire young leaders with positive feedback and encouragement.
Create a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Who Should Apply

Rotarians who are passionate about youth development and leadership.
Former RYLA participants eager to share their journey.
Excellent communicators with strong interpersonal skills.

Apply now and join us in creating a transformative experience for tomorrow’s leaders! Deadline is January 8, 2025. Contact Brent Parkin, RYLA Facilitator Chair at 801-698-5444. All applicants must complete Youth Protection Training and complete background check.

Important Messages

Not just another pretty face.

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with Rotary, but I am told a pretty face and small animals can be used to get one's attention!

This message is important enough for your attention! The Rotary Foundation is one of the world's outstanding Foundations, consistently rated in the top three in the world, not for its size, but for the good that it does throughout the world!

You can be a part of this by automatic withdrawal or so many other means, donating to specific grants or areas of focus, pinpointing where you would like to affect the world for good.

I am a Rotarian because of this fact. Having travelled to dozens of project sites, filled out just as many detailed forms with receipts showing where the money went and returning to see the actual results of the work.

We are down to two endemic countries with polio! This is something that I could not have began to understand while I waited in line with my mother more than six decades ago to receive two drops of medicine that has changed the world. Millions have received this blessing, but there are still more that have not. You can make this difference!

There are still four clubs that have not completed their contracts to receive their District Grants.

Thank you all for your commitment.

Bruce Powell

District Foundation Chair

Area Governor organization and process for 2025-2026

YES with the blink of an eye, it is 2025. With six short months remaining before I begin my journey as your District Governor, I would like to invite you all to consider serving on the District Leadership Team for 2025-2026. During January and February, we will begin recruitment for Area Governors. With over 1,600 Rotarians in our District, we are moving toward an application process to assist in managing and selecting potential candidates. The application, which I promise will be short, will also include the job description and expectations. If you are interested in receiving an application, please email me at DgSuzanneleonelli@gmail.com or my Chief of Staff, Scott Rosenbush at scottrosenbush@gmail.com.

The current Governor of District 5420 is Todd Boyer. The District Governor-Elect is Suzanne Leonelli, July 2025- June 2026. This and any other correspondence sent by Govenor-Elect Leonelli is solely intended to assist in preparation for her stewardship year that begins July 1, 2025, and is meant to foster a seamless continuity of mentorship provided by District 5420 to the clubs.

Suzanne Leonelli, District Governor Elect

Dgsuzanneleonelli@gmail.com

More members of Gov. Todd's team

Savannah Bristol

District Rotaract Representative

Started in Interact in 2016 & attended her first RYLA
Worked with Cedar City Club to rebuild SUU Rotaract & was president for two years
presented with a Paul Harris Fellow for her countless hours of service
Studying Political Science at UVU
Working as a Real Estate and Commercial Photographer

Michael Anglin

District Interact Chair

Retired from UPS after 38 years, going from entry level to directing the Marketing to Professional Service.
Currently the president of Project Strong, a non-profit organization providing services to children and young adults with muscular dystrophy
On the Board of Directors for Community Education Partnership
Serving as the Valley West Rotary Club President

Utah Rotary celebrates final tree planting and the generous donors who made it happen

Reported by PDG Jerry Summerhays, Coordinator of the District Tree Project

Utah Rotary celebrated the final planting of trees in Canyon Park by Cedar City Rotary in November. This statewide project funded by Joe and Kathleen Sorenson (left), benefactors of the JKS Legacy Foundation, Rotary Clubs, and anonymous donors has been years in the making of a greener, healthier Utah.

Many thanks are due with tremendous gratitude:

Past District Governor Jose Velasco for creating this project.
Joe and Kathleen Sorenson for their generous donation of $100,000.
Three anonymous Rotarians who contributed $10,000 to TreeUtah so that the JKS Foundation and Rotary club donations went 100% to trees and tree planting.
Amy May of TreeUtah and the arborists for professionally leading the whole project. Rotary Clubs now have a great relationship with TreeUtah. Let’s keep working together to plant trees all over Utah. The arborists of Tree Utah traveled to our planting sites, delivered the trees, made sure the trees were planted in sustainable sites, and taught us how to plant correctly.

Finally, many many thanks to the Utah Rotary clubs which contributed $50,800 to qualify for 2:1 matching money from the JKS Legacy Foundation:

Cedar City Rotary Club

Bountiful Rotary Club

Brigham City Rotary Club

Cache Valley Morning Rotary Club

Hispano-Latino Rotary Club of Salt Lake City,

Holladay Rotary Club

Hurricane Rotary Club

Layton Rotary Club

Lehi Rotary Club

Logan Rotary Club

Murray Rotary Club

Park City Rotary Club

Millcreek Rotary Club

Park City Sunrise Rotary Club

Ogden Rotary Club

Orem Linden Rotary Club

St George Rotary Club Rotary Club

Spanish Fork Rotary Club

Richfield Rotary Club

Roosevelt Rotary Club

West Jordan Rotary Club

Tooele Rotary Club

Salt Lake Rotary Club

South Valley Rotary Club

News You Can Use

Centerville-Farmington Rotary &

Dolly Parton imagine BOOKS!

The Centerville-Farmington Rotary Club is thrilled to announce a partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

This program mails a new book each month to children from birth until their fifth birthday, promoting literacy and preparing them for school. Generous funding from Ogden Clinic, the Government Employees Health Association, and our District Donor Advised Fund has allowed us to launch this effort.

Key to the program’s success are:

Fundraising to sustain and grow the initiative.
Enrolling children through ongoing community outreach.
Expanding the program into new areas.

We invite other Utah Rotary clubs to join this exciting opportunity. Contact Bryce Peterson at bryce.peterson@gmail.com for details.

Let’s work together to change lives through literacy!

Schedule your club's Piece of Peace today.

District Peace Chair Kris Swanson will provide your club with the most important tool you can use to begin building peace in your own life, your club, your community and beyond.

Your Piece of Peace presentation is an excellent preparation for anyone interested in the new Empowering Peacebuilders program Kris will teach in the spring. More information to come on this exciting program designed by the Rotary Action Group for Peace!

Recruit candidates for Rotary Peace Fellowships

It's time to begin recruiting candidates interested in becoming Rotary Peace Fellows. Do you know a non-Rotarian whose work would benefit from advanced training in the area of peace and conflict resolution? Kris Swanson, Peace Chair, is available to answer questions and assist with the application process.

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.

This time of year, all the hard work of the Bountiful Rotary Club pays off. The proceeds from the summer Coats for Kids Car Show are turned into vouchers for families to purchase warm coats at Walmart. So far 600 kids have received vouchers, exceeding last year’s number. With a few weeks left, we expect the 600 number to go higher. Children are warm this winter because of all the hard work and love from the Bountiful Rotary Club and the community!

The night after celebrating holiday cheer and friendship at their annual Holiday Party and gift exchange, Hurricane Valley Rotarians were at the Utah Food Bank helping others in the community. They sorted canned goods, dry goods, breads, and other foods from large cardboard bins into smaller plastic crates for distribution around the region. As we move into the new year, Hurricane Valley Rotary turns its focus to the Easter Car Show, being held this year on April 19. The featured cause this year is Youth Mental Health.

Park City Sunrise Rotary celebrated the holiday season with three big service projects. Sunrisers stuffed 100 backpacks full of useful items for homeless teens at the Volunteers of America Teen Center. In Park City, we held our annual Christmas Party for 100 working families at St. Mary’s Church where Santa (Sunrise Rotarian Scott Peppler) found out what each child wanted for Christmas. Holy Cross Ministries and Sunrise collaborate to create custom gift bags for each family, with our South Summit Interact Club, create games and fun for kids and marvel at the Nativity pageant the children ages 4-8 enact beautifully each year. Sunrisers also laid Christmas wreathes on the graves of veterans at the Park City Cemetery during Wreaths Across America. Happy New Year, Everyone!

Millcreek Rotarians made the season bright again this December, partnering with our City Academy Interactors and the Asian Association of Utah afterschool program at a local Title 1 elementary school. Almost every Millcreek Rotarian participated in some way: buying a gift bag loaded with toys and treats for each of 24 kids, donating warm winter clothing distributed to parents after the party, bringing food and beverage to the celebration, and/or volunteering to shepherd the kids through five fun activities planned and implemented by our Interactors. The club contributed $50 Walmart gift cards to each family, and Holbrook HVAC (a local business partner) bought a new coat for just about every family member. A great time was had by all! It always feels good to do good things.

Great People Make Rotary Great. The Logan Rotary Club is thrilled to announce that Gary Garnand has been named the 2024 Rotarian of the Year during the club's annual Christmas dinner.

This prestigious recognition highlights Gary's exceptional commitment to service and his impactful contributions to the community.

Again, this year the Murray Rotary Club sponsored Operation Santa in conjunction with the Murray School district, police, fire and local Goodwill store. A police and fire escort led buses filled with 100 children from local Title 1 schools to the Goodwill store where each child got to "shop with a cop" including a $63 shopping spree plus a $32 pair of new boots and a picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus. A week later, Murray Rotary staffed 16 hours of Salvation Army bell ringing and raised $1978 for a very worthwhile cause.

The Park City Twilight Rotary Club finished the year up in a flurry of activities. Our members were busy volunteering these past few months: First, our Literacy program where every student receives a book to read along and take home; second, the Days for Girls Utah Chapter where they assemble hygiene kits that are shipped to young women of third world countries so they will not have to miss school; third, the VA Hospital annual tree decorating which is always an honor; and lastly, the Senior Center Holiday Party brought much cheer and joy to our senior citizens. Our club wishes you a Happy New Year.

The Rotary Club Hispano Latino organized a project on December 24th, Christmas Eve, for 65 low-income families called “Make a child happy this Christmas.” Rotarians and friends of the club adopted families to give them a Christmas toy. A total of 160 boys and girls received a gift this Christmas. We also received donations of tamales, bread, chocolate, and candy, which were distributed among the families who came to pick up the gifts.

The Sandy Rotary Club was busy in December! We assisted the Utah Food Bank with food distribution at Midvalley Elementary.

We sponsored a family’s Christmas with presents and gift cards, donated food and supplies to the Sandy Boys and Girls Club Pantry, and served lunch at the Sandy Senior Center, and rang the Bell for the Salvation Army.

We also donated, and volunteered for the Multi-Cultural Club donation to unhoused individuals in downtown Salt Lake City.

The St. George Rotary Club had a very busy December beginning with the induction of two new members (with two more to be inducted in early January) bringing our total of new members to date in RY2024-25 to 10! We also prepared 1482 dictionaries for distribution in the new year to 3rd graders in 17 elementary schools; rang the Salvation Army’s bell; drove the 18-20 hour round trip to Halchita to once again deliver Christmas to this tiny tribal community on Utah’s SE border; helped welcome 2025 at the St. George Children's Museum New Year’s Day Balloon Drop … and had a fun and well-attended club Christmas party!

The St. George Sunrise Rotary Club has had a busy and enjoyable month dedicated to giving. We assembled over 200 Christmas bags to spread a little holiday cheer to those who are homebound; these bags were delivered by Meals on Wheels. We also collected coats and new clothes for Millcreek High School, aiming to provide warmth to students in need. Additionally, we participated in bell ringing for the Salvation Army.

Sugarhouse Rotarians have been supporting the Salvation Army’s bell ringing efforts.

We had a very musical holiday celebration at Westminster University in December.

This Christmas season the Washington City Rotary Club presented a $1,500 District Grant check to Donna McBean, founder and executive director of the St. George nonprofit Neighborhood Connection to purchase food and supplies. Donna is known for her boundless energy and laser-focus on fighting childhood hunger. Her organization provides supplemental weekend food for school children who qualify for school breakfast and lunch programs. A cadre of volunteers helped prepare the pantry packs - large Ziploc bags filled with enough child-friendly, shelf-stable food for two breakfasts, two lunches, and several snacks. Donna is thankful for the volunteers who help support students who would otherwise go hungry. The Washington City Rotary Club thanked Donna for her extraordinary drive and commitment.

Last fall, UVU Rotaractors in the Sustainable Mountain Development class at Utah Valley University joined Orem-Lindon Rotarians in service projects.

We observed World Polio Day by highlighting the personal contributions of local Rotarians in the implementation of six priority Rotary International themes.

UVU Rotaractors also compared Utah’s model of sustainable development with other mountain states in the US and the world.

Our work prepared Rotaractors for their visit to the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March.

This December, the Orem-Lindon Rotary Club continued its cherished tradition of spreading holiday cheer through its Sub4Santa program. A family of five, displaced from Ukraine, enjoyed a festive dinner at Orem's Outback Steakhouse, generously hosted by the restaurant. Club president and Santa's special helper, Mike Rich, joined the family for the occasion. The children were delighted with thoughtful gifts, while the parents received much-needed gift cards for groceries and other essentials. The second family, a single mother with five children, experienced the magic of a surprise visit from Santa and the Rotary Club’s “elves.” Together, they delivered a generous supply of food, toiletries, and other necessities to help brighten the family’s holiday season. Sub4Santa serves as a heartwarming reminder of the power of community and the importance of coming together to support those in need.

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