District 5420 Newsletter - July 2024

What is the Power of WE?

Hello Rotarians!

My Rotary story began in elementary school, when I’d occasionally accompany my dad to his Rotary lunch at the Sugar Loaf Cafe in downtown Cedar City. Those early examples of camaraderie and service in our community took root, and my love for Rotary began to grow. Even though I was a little guy, I recognized Rotary as a ‘big deal.’

Now, decades later, I’m honored and humbled to serve as your District Governor. With 44 clubs in #UtahRotary, we have the opportunity to increase our footprint and make a real difference in the impact and good we can do in our communities and throughout the world. With that in mind, and building upon DG Redd’s focus, I’m excited to announce “The Power of WE” as the campaign for #UTAHROTARY.

I’m a believer in teams. Strength comes in numbers. I love to see people excel and accomplish new things. When we bring more people into our Rotary family, we increase the amount of good we can do. At the start of this Rotary year, I invite you to join me, and the Presidents of your clubs, in hitting our target of 2025 by Twenty Twenty-Five. [2025 members in our district by June 30, 2025] Once achieved, this will be the biggest Rotary Membership Growth goal ever attained in the U.S. and would increase our membership by 23%. I believe we simply need to ask people to join us. Our spouses, our friends, our family members and yes, strangers too! EVERYONE BRING ONE. In addition to the many good things you are doing in your clubs, let’s make this year about bringing more good people into our humanitarian ranks. I know that as we work together we’ll be able to hit our target - and even exceed it.

How do we hit this target? Share your Rotary story! Celebrate Your Wins! Tell people why YOU are a Rotarian. As we share our story and experiences with Rotarians and non-Rotarians, it will strengthen and energize #UTAHROTARY in new and exciting ways. Can we do this? YES! We can hit our target because of “The Power of WE.”

Todd Boyer

Utah Rotary District Governor 2024-2025

RotaryBoyer@gmail.com

This year's RYLA rated 10 out of 10!

In June, 120 Utah high school students, 40 Rotarian volunteers and facilitators, and 20 alumni converged on the campus of Wasatch Academy in Mount Pleasant for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards.

Three days of speakers, workshops, team building, leadership development, and new friendships earned rave reviews from students:

“This was the best experience ever.”
“Amazing.”
“I loved this whole event and can’t wait for next year.”
“A 10 out of 10.”

Students were inspired by the spirit of Service Above Self and an amazing keynote speaker; stoked by all the leadership skills they learned.

RYLA camps occur all over the Rotary world. Our District Governor John Redd and his wife Nicole, Governor-Elect Todd Boyer, and Governor Nominee Suzanne Leonelli engaged with the students. Past Rotary International Director Vicki Puliz and her husband Tim dedicated the Rotary Peace Pole on campus. Rotary Youth Exchange students, both inbound and outbound, also participated.

Hats off to RYLA Chair Sydney King and her committee whose organization of the camp really paid off.

Sandi Schwartz

St. George Sunrise Rotary Club

Past District 5240 Governor

Utah RYLA co-chair

Include money in your club budget for an International Project

The only way to get empowering matching money back from The Rotary Foundation is by doing a global grant or helping another club fund their global grant.

If your club is developing a global grant, tell the District Foundation Committee and ask other clubs to help you with club contributions (usually $10,000 to $15,000). A grant sponsoring club can get $15,000 only if they involve two other Utah clubs in their project. They need your help!

I recommend that you visit and present to other clubs. And submit an article to the District Newsletter.

If you want to help another club, contact myself. Bruce Powell or Egor Shulman, to review some of the global grant projects other clubs are developing; then contact the club you want to help. Below are two excellent, developing global grants which need your help very much.

Jerry Summerhays, SummerhaysGS@gmail.com

Phyto-remediation in Uganda

As a follow-up to a highly successful fish-farming global grant in Uganda, a new project has been developed in the same communities.

They will plant bamboo along the waterways to improve water quality including the removal of toxic heavy metals, a process known as phytoremediation. Those interested in partnering with us should contact Drew Allen at Houndoc@aol.com.

Self-reliance training and

microfinance in Peru

Self-reliance training and seed capital grants help individuals, families, and communities lift themselves out of poverty. Three new projects in three of the poorest regions in Southern Peru (Ayacucho, Huancavelica, and Arequipa) are very rewarding grants. Please email Mark Maxfield at markallenmaxfield@gmail.com.

Accomplishments from Around the District

Bountiful Rotary pours love into

raising money for kids' winter coats

June 14-15 was our 26th year of pouring our hearts and souls into Bountiful Rotary Club’s Coats for Kids Car Show. Our fundraiser started when the chairman was 55 - he will be 81 this year. The event is two days of cars, food, a parade, a burnout (!), skydivers, prizes, and memories.

With the help of the community, sponsors, volunteers and car enthusiasts, we have provided warm winter clothing for thousands of children in South Davis Elementary Schools. Children who received coats are now parents bringing their own kids to give back because they understand what a warm winter coat can do.

The anonymity of the voucher program gives us true joy - kids get to pick out new coats in their size and style at Walmart without knowing vouchers make the purchase possible. We hear from principals and teachers every year telling us how this program has changed children’s lives and how it has brought the community together for a cause everyone believes in.

This year our own Rotarian Dan Bradshaw thanked the crowd with tears streaming down his face - he was so overcome with the vast crowds he experienced for two days and the selfless giving from the Car Show family we have created.

Krista Simonsen

Bountiful Rotary Club

Utah Rotary plants hundreds of mature trees at schools, parks and communities across Utah

It has been two years since the creation of our district tree planting project. More than half of the clubs participated, contributing a match of $50,000 to the $100,000 graciously provided by the Joseph and Kathleen Sorenson Legacy Foundation. We were able to plant hundreds and hundreds of mature trees at schools, parks and communities across Utah.

Communities and organizations gladly joined forces. We thank Tree Utah, our non-profit partner. Without their awesome organization, valuable skills and additional volunteers, we couldn’t have accomplished this.

I have to say thank you to the 2022–2023 club presidents who adopted the project and their Rotarians who identified the locations and organized the plantings. I also thank Jerry Summerhays and Dennis Hullinger from our Murray and Tooele clubs. Without their enthusiasm and incredible spirit of service, this project would not have happened.

Thank you to Governor John Redd for allowing us to continue the planting activities through the 23-4 Rotary year.

On June 1 we celebrated our last tree planting event at Pleasant Green Park in Magna Utah. Fifty trees were planted by Rotarians from many clubs and Tree Utah volunteers, mostly from the Salt Lake Valley. We greatly benefitted future generations. Congratulations Utah Rotarians!

Jose Velasco

District Governor 2022-2023

Celebrating unity and inspiration - the Roast &Toast Event for Gov. Todd Boyer

If you happened to miss the sold-out Roast and Toast event honoring Governor Todd Boyer and his 44 Rotary Presidents, let’s paint a vivid picture for you.

Culinary Delights. The air was filled with the tantalizing aroma of delectable dishes. Attendees savored every bite, and the event buzzed with compliments and positive feedback.
Laughter Echoed. Picture this: the venue reverberated with laughter as we playfully roasted the incoming Governor. Good-natured jests and camaraderie flowed freely, creating an atmosphere of joy and connection.
Tears of Emotion. Amid the laughter, there were tender moments. Kimberly Jaramillo, the 13-year-old singing phenomenon, brought many audience members to tears with her melodic sound and rendition of the ‘Prayer.’
Rotary in Action. Beyond words, Rotary’s spirit permeated the event. Attendees witnessed Rotary’s principles in action—service, fellowship, and goodwill. Deeds spoke louder than any words, even in jest.
A Perfect Gathering. Imagine a room filled with 100 people, each connected by a shared purpose. Outgoing Governor John Redd’s legacy shone brightly, and incoming Governor Todd Boyer stepped into his role with the Power of We campaign—a promise of collective impact.

Congratulations to both Governors for their remarkable service!

Feeling like a deer in the headlights?

For all you brand new "deer in the headlights" Club Presidents, I am writing to let you know you will survive! Having been a Club President twice, I know this to be true, but I would like to give you some advice.

Show up to your club meetings!
Surround yourself with seasoned Rotarians. Ask for their help. And use it!
Make being a Rotarian desirable, exciting and rewarding.
Rotarians love to serve. Find ways they can serve!
Participation in International service provides great rewards to the club and its members.
Encourage donations to the Rotary Foundation to create COMMITTED Rotarians.
'Hands on' service makes members Rotarians.
Be an example by donating to the Rotary Foundation. Let others know of your commitment.
Make a commitment to be a !00% Paul Harris club
Encourage donations to Polio Plus. Understand the impact Rotary is making in the world.

As your club becomes involved with RYLA, Global Grants, District Grants. youth service, Interact and local service projects and increasing your donations to the Rotary Foundation, you will have created true Rotarian with a vision of what Service above Self is all about and you will more than just survive, you will succeed!

Bruce Powell

Utah Rotary District Foundation Chair

P.S. This message is not just for incoming Presidents, but for you!

Who is your club's Annual Fund chair? Find out here.

With the start of the new Rotary Year, I’ve been asked to chair the District Annual Fund Sub-Committee. Many thanks to Scott Florence who served as chair last year but has moved on to serving as President of his own club. Allow me to introduce the annual fund sub-committee (AFSC) and their club assignments:

Steve Getz - SW area clubs (St. George, St. George Sunrise, Washington City, Hurricane Valley, Moab, and Cedar City)
Kim Kerr - eastern clubs (Park City, Park City Sunrise, Park City Twilight, Heber Valley, Roosevelt, Vernal, Richfield, Monticello and Blanding)
Sue Vanderhoof - northern Salt Lake Valley clubs (Salt Lake City, Sugarhouse, Hispano-Latinos, Millcreek, Holladay, Valley West, Murray, Midvalley, West Jordan and Tooele Valley)
Lynn Hillstead - southern SL Valley and Utah County cubs (South Jordan, Sandy, Multicultural, South Valley, Utah E-club, Lehi, Orem-Lindon, Provo, Springville and Spanish Fork)
Dr. Dennis Knowles - northern clubs (Logan, Cache Valley Morning, Brigham City, Odgen, Mt. Ogden, Layton, Kaysville, Centerville-Farmington, Farmington and Bountiful)

The Annual Fund Sub-Committee exists as a resource for all clubs to help you determine and realize your goals for giving to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund. We will be reaching out to club foundation chairs and/or club presidents, but feel free to call on any of us whenever you have a question or need help.

Lynn Hillstead

Annual Fund Sub-Committee Chair

License plates fund the Youth Foundation

A new Rotary year and setting goals go together like … chocolate and peanut butter! Now is the perfect time to consider a goal to help your RYLArians or Interactors complete an amazing Service above Self project in RY2024-25 funded by a grant from the Utah Rotary Youth Foundation.

Did you know the source for this funding is you? When you purchase a Utah Rotary - Humanitarian license plate for $91, the state of Utah gets $66 and the youth foundation receives $25. The same happens for renewals of personalized plates, too.

Another way to put money in the Youth Foundation is for you, your club or your members to make a monthly or annual contribution directly to this 501(c)(3) non-profit.

Then District 5420’s Utah Rotary Youth Foundation will share these resources to support Rotary youth programs and projects through your club’s submission of a simple grant application.

Questions? You’ll find answers at URYfoundation@gmail.com.

Linda Sappington

Past District Governor 2020-2021

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.

Forty-seven members and friends of the St. George Rotary Club traveled to Guatemala June 1-8 to build 125 stoves for Maya families. This trip brings the total of stoves funded or built in the 17-year lifetime of this amazing Service Above Self project to 3400+.

In June we also sent five high school students to RYLA, welcomed Ryan and David as our two newest members, cheered our Foundation Chair Dale Desmond, incoming President Dave Prisbrey and Past President Ken Sizemore celebrating his 70th birthday all participating in the “Polio Plunge” fundraising skydive; celebrated President Bryan Thiriot’s successful Rotary year, and inducted our 94th club president at a party in Pine Valley!

Murray Rotary conducted two service projects in June. First-- It takes four hours of work by each of nine Rotarians to hand out 1500 servings of pie and ice-cream consisting of 68 Costco whole pies and 45 gallons of ice-cream. We staffed a tent during the 100-year celebration of Murray Park on June 15 and made a lot of people happy with the free food as well as the very large and exciting LEGO display put together by the Utah LEGO Users Group. Second -- Murray Rotary continued its focus on children's education by "planting" five additional Kid's Read free libraries around the valley on Saturday, June 8. This brings the total libraries installed by Murray Rotary to over 25 and we anticipate continuing such events about twice a year. NEXT, our annual Pancake Breakfast on Thursday July 4 starting at 7 am.

After nearly four years, Richfield Rotary Club’s global grant to build three sanitation units in Tarawa, Kiribati, is finally completed and approved by the Rotary Foundation.

Open defecation has been a common practice in Kiribati, due to the lack of sanitation facilities in homes and communities. Each unit contains five private toilets, an indoor and outdoor shower, hand washing sinks and a large clean water tank that collects rain water.

Richfield partnered with the Host club in Tarawa and District 9920 of New Zealand as well as District 5420.

On May 28 the Cache Valley Morning Rotary Club met at the Park 'n Ride in Wellsville, Utah for a highway clean-up project and a club social. Rotary and Interact Club members came out to help with our assigned sections of the highway. It was a beautiful day and we all worked hard cleaning up any garbage or debris off the sides of the highway, filling up six large bags of garbage. After the clean-up, we all joined in the parking lot for a potluck dinner with hamburgers and hot dogs. It’s great to know we are taking part in keeping our community beautiful!

The Utah Rotary E-club has a Magic Treehouse book project for third graders. Every third grader gets a book of their own with a challenge to read the book and do a book report which the club provides to the students.

We set up a goal to complete the book and book report in 30 days. We have a party and the treehouse book report is the ticket to the party. Some students even do multiple book reports for an extra special surprise.

It was a fun event. At the end of the school year when the teacher asked what their favorite activity was - more than half the kids said the treehouse book report party. Reading is Powerful.

The Hurricane Valley Rotary Club had a very busy spring with many projects. The most fun of all was the Boot Stomp'n the club sponsored to raise money for the Hurricane Veterans Memorial Park the city plans to break ground for on September 11. The club also donated to the city a major portion of the proceeds from the Easter Car Show for the park. The club presented scholarships to graduating Hurricane High School seniors and joined the football team repainting the "H" on the ridge above town. Among other projects, club members took part in the ribbon cutting for a new Utah Food Bank pantry in Hurricane Valley, and worked with Habitat for Humanity to prepare for and hold its spring festival.

The Ogden Rotary Club kicked off summer with several really fun and diverse events! From the political side, we got to hear from Representative Rosemary Lesser of the Utah House of Representatives. She informed members about the working of the legislature and her personal goals and ambitions for the near future.

From the musical side, we got to hear from Mark Daniel, one of the talents from the musical AIDA currently in production at Ogden's Egyptian Theater.

The club also was treated to a performance by the group Kids Act Up who performed Walked Like an Egyptian! Finally, the club is looking forward to our annual Garden Party which will close out this wonderful Rotary year.

In May, the Rotary Club of Orem-Lindon presented the Utah Fire Chief’s Association with a check for $649. The donation was presented by President-Elect Nominee Cathy Ambrose to Chief Clint Smith, President of the Utah State Fire Chiefs Association and Mr. Brad Wardle, Director of Utah Valley University’s Utah Fire and Rescue Academy. This donation will cover the cost of one Galleri Multi-Cancer Early Detection Test for a Utah firefighter. The World Health Organization has classified firefighting as a Group 1 carcinogenic profession. The Galleri test has a 99.5% specificity rate for more than 50 types of cancer using a simple blood draw. Mr. Wardle thanked the Orem-Lindon Rotarians for the donation and shared that, “Currently this type of testing is not covered by any insurance providers.” A portion of the gift was funded by the club’s district grant.

On Saturday, June 8, five Utah Valley University Rotaractors served alongside the 37 Orem-Lindon Rotarians, members of their families, and volunteers at the OremFest Pancake breakfast at City Center Park in Orem. This was an opportunity for them to contribute to the service to the Orem City local community as a tradition established since the 1990s.

Due to joint efforts, Rotarians and Rotaractors raised more than $1,800 for projects including Coats for Kids.

Our participation was a practical contribution from Utah Valley University students to the implementation of the sustainable mountain development agenda in the State of Utah.

The Washington City Rotary Club was formed three years ago with the time-honored Rotary focus on community service. Answering that call each year, WCRC hosts an annual golf tournament with part of the proceeds going to the Utah Food Bank. The Mayor’s Cup has become a signature event for the WCRC with elected officials, business leaders and community members all participating to support families facing food insecurity. This year’s June fun, summer “hot” event was a great success with 29 teams and 117 players hitting the green. Proceeds from the event netted about $14,600 and Rotary members were all smiles as they presented a check for $3,000 to Utah Food Bank Southern Distribution Center Director Jacob Miner to support food bank services.

At the Change of Command Party, incoming club president Lois Mastin said, "It is my honor and privilege to serve as the president of the Park City Sunrise Rotary Club for the 2024-2025 Rotary year. The theme for this year is “The Magic of Rotary.” Believe in the magic of Rotary, Spread the magic of Rotary, Build on the Magic of Rotary, and Celebrate the Magic of Rotary.

As a club we do all of these things . . . we have a jampacked calendar of events with something for everyone from service projects to social functions to fundraising and, of course, engaging and entertaining weekly speakers.