Notes from the Governor
June 28, 2020, was one of my life’s proudest moments: Past District Governor Jonathan Lucus swore me in as District Governor for Rotary District 7610 - in my driveway.
That’s not the usual pomp and circumstance for club and district officers taking their oath. It’s certainly not how I and my wife and great partner Katie Harper imagined this moment would be two years ago, when I chose to start down this path. It’s not even what we imagined 4 months ago.
 
Last June I sat down with DG Jonathan Lucus and DGN Pat Borowski. We discussed DG Jonathan’s year and my role to support him as DGE. We made plans for modernizing Rotary and making our District more transparent, which he carried through impeccably. My thanks to him and countless other Rotarians for their quick action as the pandemic hit. You have set new standards for leadership and a high bar to hit!
 
This June, we face new opportunities and challenges as Rotarians in District 7610 (and globally). We are serving our communities during a pivotal historic moment, a global pandemic and a sweeping change in society’s recognition, understanding, and actions on social and racial injustice. Without a doubt, these are times that test us as individuals and as Rotarians. We are built for this.  
On the global pandemic, we can and are serving families decimated by the pandemic and people without jobs. We know how to do this. 
 
On social and racial injustice, we have work to do. In the past two years, I can only recall discussing social justice three times, two were at a Peace Conference and the other was at DG training on diversity. That is not enough.
 
But in District 7610 we have taken steps that few others, if any District, has. Working closely with DG Jonathan, Rene Laws, outgoing Chair of the District 7610 Diversity Committee, Club and community leaders, and current District PI Chair Lori Prencipe, we have stood up a forum to address racial injustice.  (See that letter here.)
As I enter into my year as DG, here are the tenets of my work ahead.

  • No member lost: We will not lose a member during this time due to financial hardship. This is not the time to put dues before people. When we act with grace toward our current and prospective members, they will remember what Rotary did for them forever.

  • Be a voice for social and racial equality: We will and are taking on the difficult subject of injustice. The work and dialogue to understand and end racial and social injustice will not be easy and it most certainly will not be comfortable. But it is critical. This is not political; it’s standing up for what is right. I have faith in our members and in our clubs, many of which are led by people of color. This work is not just for our clubs, it’s for our communities. We need to embrace what our communities look like and do the work to have our clubs better reflect our local community demographics. In the end, for our clubs to be welcoming of our community, we must first understand the challenges of our communities.

  • Be in our communities: I know what you’re saying. “Harry, we do lots of service projects in our communities.” Yes, these are impactful projects. My questions to Rotarians in District 7610 are these: We assume that our communities know who we are, but have you asked them? Do they really know what Rotary is all about? Do they know what the local club does and stands for?

I suspect that the answers may surprise us. The Rotary brand is what others (not us) think it is. We can do a better job educating our communities on what Rotary really is and how we are helping our communities.
 
In my next few letters, I will address each of these platforms in more detail. In the meantime, I welcome your comments at [email protected].
 
I believe strongly that this is a new day for our District, for our clubs and for ourselves. Change is rarely easy and rarely clean. However, in order for our organization to grow, modernize, and look like the communities we reside within -- change we must.
 
Rotarians are people of action and these are times that Rotarians can make a profound and lasting impact in our communities. I could not be prouder to stand by you, to serve our clubs and communities and to be a Rotarian than at this very moment.

Thank you for everything you do.
Yours in Rotary,

In This Issue
  • Who is that Masked Man?
  • Arlington Zooms in after 90 Years
  • Rappahannock Responds in Ecuador
  • Scholarships in Fairfax
  • Fairfax Teachers of the Year
  • A Peacebuilding e-Club
  • Volunteer Recognized in Gloucester
  • New Members



Service Above Self
Who was that Masked Man?
By Randy Fleitman, President, Rosslyn-Fort Myer
Rosslyn-Ft Myer Club President Randy Fleitman presented 20 three-ring binders and other filing/organizing materials from the club to the Arlington Career Center on July 9. Assistant Principal Jessica Baker accepted them for the school, saying they would be put to good use for their students. The Rosslyn-Ft Myer Rotary supports the Career Center and the Rotaract Club with leadership training, a speech contest, and college scholarships. In this case, we made lemonade from the bittersweet experience of removing all our club records and paraphernalia from our venue of 40 years, the Holiday Inn of Rosslyn, which is closed for demolition. After salvaging key records, we combined the empty binders with others from our members and took them to the school. 

Despite Covid-19 and the hotel closure, our club never missed a beat. We switched from lunch in the Vantage Point restaurant to zoom meetings in the evening, which enabled our employed members to join in. We continue to enjoy fellowship and host interesting speakers on both local and international topics. We invite Rotarians from other clubs to join us on Tuesdays at 6:30 by asking Tim White at [email protected] for a meeting invitation.  


Arlington Rotary Zooms into 2020-21 with Scholarships, Speaker Series, and Trivia Contests 
By Bob Carolla, Arlington
The Arlington Rotary Club moved forward quickly in launching its 2020-21 service year. It also completed the 90 th anniversary year of its founding on July 4, 1929. “We now begin a decade of service that will take us to 100,” said Chelsi Dildine, the club’s new president. “It’s an exciting challenge. Like others in District 7610, we have an amazing club. There is great energy and creativity throughout Rotary despite the shutdown of in-person meetings and activities over the past four months.”
On July 9, Arlington launched a virtual speaker series, promoted to the public, featuring National Public Radio (NPR) global health and development correspondent Nurith Aizenman. The event attracted three visitors interested in becoming club members.

The club also is continuing its “Trivia Happy Hour” contests on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m., launched in May to raise money for community projects. The events have quickly grown in popularity, at one point drawing more than 70 players--including one Rotarian couple who were on the road driving from LA to Albuquerque. District 7610’s Crystal City Pentagon Rotary Club so far has established itself as the team to beat. The cost is $10 per player organized in teams of 6-8 persons. For more information see:  ARC Trivia Happy Hours
  • Proceeds from the Trivia contests support the Arlington Rotary Educational Foundation’s projects such as its annual college scholarships. Coinciding with the graduation of the Class of 2020, the Foundation announced this year’s recipients:
  • Maria Canales-Williams, a graduate of Washington-Liberty High School has been awarded $10,000 to attend Virginia Tech University where she intends to study biology and pursue a career as a research scientist in gene therapy.
  • Daniel Meskel, a student of Arlington Community High School was awarded the "American Challenge" scholarship in Memory of Audra Rafter for $8,000 to attend Northern Virginia Community College. He intends to study computer science.
In addition to our new President, Chelsi Dildine, Arlington’s news officers are T ony Weaver, President-Elect; Matt Weller, Secretary; and Carlton Ambrose, Treasurer. The Foundation’s officers are President Kim Durand and Treasurer Steve Klemp. is a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones with her office in Ballston.

Chelsi is a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones with her office in Ballston.  She previously served as a Foreign Service Officer for seven years with the U.S. Department of State. She joined the ARC in 2017 after returning from Istanbul. “I want to thank especially Raquel Neumann, ARC’s immediate past president, who ensured that our club’s support for Arlington’s needs continued in spite of the shutdown that resulted from the pandemic,” Dildine said. “She has shown exceptional leadership in a year that has marked an exceptional moment in world history.”
‌
District 7610 and the
Rappahannock-Fredericksburg Rotary Club
Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic in Ecuador
By Woody Van Valkenburg , Rappahannock-Fredericksburg
Background:
 In early April, Tom Carlson President of the Rappahannock-Fredericksburg RC received a request from our brother Rotary Club Quito Valle Interoceanico to become the International Partner for a Global Grant to respond to the fast spreading Coronavirus in Ecuador. As early as April, Guayaquil Ecuador’s largest City and Port, had become a South America epicenter of COVID 19. The Healthcare system was collapsing and the need for medical ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) was greater in Ecuador than in United States.
Initially, The Rotary Club of Quito Valle Interoceanico together with other Rotary Clubs in Quito, District 4400, had begun funding the development, testing, and the government approval of a new, low-cost ventilator. The Global Grant was to be centered in the purchase of these new ventilators but would also include the repair of some existing ventilators and the purchase of PPE. Further investigation determined that there were over 300 ventilators awaiting repair in numerous public hospitals throughout Ecuador and that putting them back in service would be more expedient and cost effective than developing new ventilators.

Meanwhile, the Rappahannock-Fredericksburg Club quickly established a three-member subcommittee of the International Service Committee to deal with the situation. This team started to develop a database of Clubs and Districts that might be interested in supporting the Global Grant. However, the Grant process moved so quickly and the response from other International Rotary Clubs who were aware of the situation in Ecuador was so overwhelming, that the necessary local funds were pledged without further “arm-twisting”, and the Global Grant application was quickly finalized.

In District 7610, DG Jonathan Lucas; Ronnie Chantker, District Foundation Chair; Andrew Wade, District Global Gant Chair; and Tom Carlson, our Club President, all responded positively and signed the Global Grant Application on May 4 th , the evening it was submitted for approval. On May 5 th , less than 24 hours later, the Global Grant for $85,210 was approved by The Rotary Foundation. It took just a month from concept to approval. The Rappahannock-Fredericksburg RC pledged $3,000 which were matched with $3,000 from District 7610 Designated Funds.

Results to Date:

As has been the case in so many responses due to urgency of the Pandemic, the RC Quito Valle Interoceanico didn’t wait for the funds to be sent from TRF. In late April they established a workshop staffed with biomedical specialists who began repairing the off-line ventilators. In addition, they lined up sources for PPE to be purchased with the Global Grant funds.
This Global Grant brought together 14 Ecuadorian Rotary Clubs,
6 International Rotary Clubs and District 7610.
Repaired ventilators with Rotary logo prominently displayed.
Ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment ready for delivery to the Ministry of Public Health
On June 28 th , the Ecuador Ministry of Health published the following article.

TRANSLATED FROM ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASES IN SPANISH

QUOTE

MSP Received International Rotary Support in
Biosecurity Kits and ventilators Repowering

local

June 28, 2020 PressEc0 

The Ministry of Public Health (MSP) received a donation of biosafety kits from the organization “Rotary International”, for health personnel working on the front lines for the health emergency due to COVID-19. 

The delivery consists of biosafety suits, gloves, face protection screens and also protection screens for the Intensive Care Units (ICU). Likewise, a demonstration was made of five ventilators belonging to the Health System that have been repaired and re-powered by the "Group I do not surrender", made up of Ecuadorian engineers and technicians, who are part of this cooperation. These ventilators will go to the Morona Santiago and Bolívar hospitals.
 
The head of the National Directorate of Hospitals of the MSP, Eduardo Puente, highlighted the management of Rotarians who seek to contribute to the protection of health personnel. In the case of the ventilators, he explained that a total of 48 were repaired and Rotary International has the capacity to repower 60 more ventilators. "Repowering for the normal use of our patients and intensive therapies has been a valuable contribution."
 
The repaired and repowered ventilators are distributed in 14 provinces of the country, mainly in the hospitals of Quito, as well as in Cuenca, Riobamba, Latacunga, and will also be sent to Orellana. 

Source: Ministry of Public Health
June 28, 2020 PressEc0

UNQUOTE

Follow-up:

Four days before the presentation to the Ministry of Public Health, the two Rotary Club partners had submitted a second Global Grant to continue the work of the first. We are waiting for TRF’s decision.
Fairfax Scholarships
By Paula Kelley, Fairfax
Each year, the Rotary Club of Fairfax is proud to award college scholarships to Fairfax High School students.  During this unusual year, many Fairfax Rotarians attend virtual weekly Rotary meetings. Although the club would much rather celebrate the award winners in person, this year, the scholarship winners were announced at a recent Zoom meeting.  Fairfax Rotary New Generations/Youth Services committee chair, Verne Tuininga, was very impressed with the students in their quest for academic and community excellence.    Many of the graduating seniors were the first in their families to attend college. 

One scholarship, the Paul J. Brown award for community service, was awarded to FHS senior, Kevin Chen. Kevin has been a consistent volunteer throughout the community. He formed a non-profit STEM teaching service. Among other activities, he volunteers at Walter Reed Medical Center and raises money to send FHS atheletes to competitions.

Additional Fairfax Rotary scholarship recipients from Fairfax High School this year were:

Miss Jin Wen Xie - Pat Laing Memorial Scholarship (Pat Laing was former Athletic Director of Fairfax High School and a Rotarian.);

Mr. Temujin Choijilsvren- Fairfax Rotary Memorial Scholarship;

Miss Meghana Kamineni – Setty Family scholarship (Mr. Bogi Setty is a longtime member of Fairfax Rotary.);

Mr. Christian Segovia – Pathways scholarship to Northern Virginia Community College;

Miss Nerissa Leonardo -Pathways Scholarship to Northern Virginia Community College.
Two "Teachers of the Year"
By Frances Cox, Leesburg
This year, the Rotary Club of Fairfax is proud to honor two “Teachers of the Year” from the City of Fairfax schools. In forming a Teacher of the Year selection committee, the club supports Rotary International’s overall efforts in education and literacy, one of its six areas of focus. In selecting the honorees, the committee carefully reviewed several outstanding teacher nominations submitted by City of Fairfax principals. Each of the two honored teachers will receive a cash prize and will be invited to an awards ceremony when the Rotary club is able to meet in person again.  The Rotary Club has highlighted only some of the notable accomplishments of these awarded teachers below.

Mrs. Anna Weaver, Social Studies Teacher, Fairfax High School
The Teacher of the Year committee was most impressed by what students, teachers and Principal Erin Lenart had to say about Mrs. Weaver, a social studies teacher and department chair. Principal Lenart shared: “ Anna is a teacher who inspires her students through creating a safe and nurturing classroom environment where they take risks and feel respected. Her schoolwide volunteerism and leadership are second to her passion for her students and the classroom.”
“Mrs. Weaver is always making a point to her students that we come to school to learn and…to do the best we can do,” Junior Spence Toth said. Junior Eunice Lee shared that, “Mrs. Weaver creates assignments and notes in a manner that allows the student to creatively think about what we are learning….she inspires all of her students to reach new levels of learning and achieve the grade you work for in class.” Other students describe how Mrs. Weaver helps them to learn from their mistakes and how she understands their stress in the high school years.
 
Social Studies teacher, Mike Barbee, said, “Anna is a phenomonal teacher. The work she did (in a joint project) was amazing. She has gone to great lengths to challenge her students within the subject in many ways.” She has her students, “look at history through many different lenses” and puts an emphasis “on life skills and being culturally aware historians within her class.” Mr. Barbee also commends Mrs. Weaver’s leadership skills as the social studies department chair.

A colleague, Mrs. Ronetta Lyons, points out that Mrs. Weaver is an advocate for “all teachers in the building.” She has built relationships with teachers throughout the Fairfax community. Mrs. Weaver is also an active member of Fairfax’s Multi-Tiered System of Support team in which she takes on the role of helping classroom teachers improve their Tier 1 practices to benefit all students. She works with members from all collaborative learning teams to promote effective teaching and high student achievement. She also has become an in-house resource for Tier 2 students who are presented with challenges.

Mrs Weaver’s supervisor, Maureen Keck said, “Anna’s love for learning transcends every relationship she establishes at Fairfax High School. She creates an environment in which students believe that they can achieve greatness in academics whether she is teaching an AP Comparative Government class or a standard level World History class.” Mrs. Weaver has the “ability to identify and balance the needs of diverse learners with high levels of success...” according to this supervisor. 

An enthusiastic Mrs. Weaver is also a co-sponsor of the current Freshman class. She put in extra hours at school, helping the freshmen build their float and get ready for their first homecoming and homecoming parade. In addition to her many attributes as a teacher and leader in an academic setting, she also fosters school spirit and pride in the newest students at FHS.

Mr. Alan Borhauer, Academics Resource Teacher, Providence Elementary School
The Teacher of the Year committee found several of the same attributes in Mr. Alan Borhauer, when reviewing the application submitted by his principal. Mr. Borhauer has a true interest in helping his students, his school and also, his community. 
Providence Elementary principal, Dan Phillips, describes Mr. Borhauer as often the first person to arrive at school and, frequently, the last to leave. Mr. Borhauer is currently the advanced academics resource teacher (AART), where his primary responsibiilty is to teach and encourage students to use critical and creative thinking strategies. In this role, Mr. Borhauer is able to identify students who need differentiated instruction. Mr. Phillips emphasizes that Mr. Borhauer truly knows the Providence students and with his keen observations, can identify students who may have great academic and thinking talents. This presents a great opportunity to a student new to this country, or a student living in poverty, who may qualify for the Providence Young Scholars program. Mr. Borhauer sees each student as a capable, important learner. 

He also works closely with students who have been identified as gifted learners and who might need an additional challenge to supplement rigorous work in the classroom. He develops creative programs from science experiments to strategic games. 

He is a leader and was a guiding force in the transition to offer what the county schools call, “Local Level IV Services.” This program allows many of the brightest, most creative students who would opt to go to an Advanced Academic Center school to receive the same services at Providence Elementary School. Mr. Borhauer helps to develop and run the annual STEAM night and is the lead instructor and planner of the summer school program at the school.  

Like Mrs. Weaver, Mr. Borhauer collaborates with school staff. He has provided professional development activities and taught classes for the staff and for others in FCPS.  He also works with the administration on their School Improvement Plan.

Principal Phillips emphasized that one of Mr. Borhauer’s most important accomplishments at the school was the planning and development of the school courtyard. Over his years at the school, Mr. Borhauer took a large, unused outdoor area in the center of the building and turned it into a center of learning, collaboration and enjoyment for the Providence students, staff and families. The courtyard has become an outdoor classroom, pavillion, garden and learning center for the school. 
A Peacebuilding e-Club
By PDG Juanita Cawley, West Point
With the support of our District Governor, Harry Henderson, and District Membership Chair, PDG Jonathan Lucus, District 7610 is in the process of forming a cause-based Rotary e-club focused specifically on peacebuilding. The club will be open to anyone anywhere who has a passion for peacebuilding.
 
This e-club will strive to grow understanding of peacebuilding and conflict prevention/resolution through education, service, and fellowship among its members. We are in the process of gathering the names and contact information of any individuals who are interested in learning more about this new club by attending a virtual informative meeting in the coming weeks.
 
If you are interested or know someone who might be interested in this peacebuilder’s Rotary e-club, please contact PDG Juanita Cawley ( [email protected] ) .
Community Volunteers Recognized in Gloucester
By April Martinex, President, Gloucester
Gloucester Rotary Club President Lisa Jackson recognized Honorary Paul Harris Fellows April Martinez and Craig Monsen during the club’s July 9 meeting at Ware Episcopal Church's picnic shelter. Foundation Co-chair Henry Moncure (right) presented the awards.  Martinez and Monsen serve as the club's public relations chair and club director, respectively.
Craig Monsen was recognized for his tireless service to as an EMT
April Martinez was recognized for her leadership of Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society, a non-profit animal shelter with a 97 percent live-release rate.
New Members
These are the new members added in June 2020