Notes from the Governor
How The Other Half Lives
As we move from summer to fall, it is a good time to look around and take stock of our situation. As I have mentioned before, we can either be sad about where we are not, or we can embrace where we are. However, it is important to figure out if we are headed in the right direction or if we can do a better job of getting to where we want to go.

Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to visit numerous clubs and see what each is doing. Every club is doing something a little different than others. However, each of them could learn from one another.
The beauty of Rotary is that we are all Rotarians. That means that while we are members of a specific Rotary Club, we are all members of the same fraternal organization. We have 1.2 million brothers and sisters around the globe that we can learn from. I cannot tell you the number of amazing ideas that I have learned from my virtual travels around this District. 

However, I have also learned so much from my fellow District Governors as they describe actions that are underway in their Districts. For instance,

  • In West Virginia, they are in the process of establishing a cause-based Rotary Club that would work entirely on issues around veterans and service members. 
  • In Florida, they have established a program that seeks to transition Rotoractors into Rotary Clubs through development of young professional satellite clubs. 
  • Rotary International Director Peter Kyle is about to unveil a fantastic program titled “Rotary plus Youth plus Peace” to develop greater engagement with a more diverse membership.
  • In the Bahamas, my good friend Governor Charles Sealy has developed an amazing public image campaign called “#itstartswithme” where Rotarians take a picture in front of a mirror and utilize social media to tell how they are looking to bring change to Rotary and how it starts with them.
  • In Georgia, my good friend District Governor Tina Fischlin likes to tell her Rotarians that while Rotary Opens Opportunities, opportunities also open Rotary!
 
There are countless other initiatives that I could list here. 
As we access where we are, let us use this opportunity to visit with other clubs in our region, in our District, around the country, and around the globe. If every other week, we visited just one other Rotary Club (and with most meetings virtual it is very easy to attend a meeting), think of the great ideas we could come back home with. So, take an hour this month and find out how the other half lives and visit a club, come back and tell your club’s leadership what you learned and how it might be beneficial to all concerned!

Thank you for everything you do.
Yours in Rotary,

DG Harry Henderson

In This Issue
  • Election 2020
  • Stafford County Recognizes World Polio Day
  • Double Booked
  • Peacebuilder eClub Chartered
  • Arlington Gets Trivial
  • 3D Printing PPE's
  • New Members
Election 2020, Rotarians Worldwide Are Watching
By Lori Prencipe, District PI Chair, Bailey's Crossroads
Breda, Netherlands
Rotary members from all across the world are watching the U.S. presidential campaigns and upcoming election. DG Harry Henderson and District Public Image Chair Lori Prencipe will be presenting on this historic campaign season to the Breda Club in the Netherlands (District 1610) on October 19. They'll cover issues from social media disinformation to the key dates for the Electoral College and expected litigation on the results. If you're interested in attending, please reach out to Lori at loretta.prencipe@gmail.com. Space is limited for this virtual event.  

Stafford County Recognizes World Polio Day
By PDG Sandy Duckworth, Stafford
With members of the Stafford, North Stafford, and Rappahannock-Fredericksburg Rotary Clubs looking on, Meg Bohmke, Chairman of the Stafford County Board of Supervisors, reads a proclamation, establishing October 24th, 2020 as World Polio Day in Stafford County.
Pictured from left to right are: Michael Smith, Stafford, Chairman Meg Bohmke,
Bob Sorkhe, Stafford, AG Rene' Laws, North Stafford, Polio Chair Felton Page, Rappahannock-Fredericksburg, PDG Sandy Duckworth, Stafford, Don Duckworth, Stafford,
Immediate Past President Leigh Anne Poland, Stafford, PDG Janet Brown, Rappahannock-Fredericksburg, and District Treasurer Jake Almborg, Stafford.
Photo by Earl Baughman, Rappahannock-Fredericksburg
Double Booked!
By Lena Gonzalez Berrios, North Stafford
The North Stafford Rotary Club and e3kids international have teamed up to give Kenyan students the support they need.
A Royal Kids School student studies for an entrance exam
Imagine being required to take an exam without access to teachers or textbooks. That is the position that Kenyan 8th and 12th graders find themselves as they prepare for the KCPE and KCSE exams that will determine if they can continue to high school or university. During this pandemic, many students around the world have had to put their education on hold, but in Mombasa, these Royal Kids School students continued to prepare with what they could find.
The North Stafford Rotary Club learned of their need and determination. In July, Past President T.J. Walding pledged $1500 in club funds to purchase books through the e3kids international Library Project, and the Project matched those funds to double the impact. With $3100 in funding, 428 textbooks were purchased to ensure that Royals students have what they need to succeed. Read Determination Has No Barrier by Rotoractor George Omiro for more information about the Royal Kids School.
The Rotary eClub of Global Peacebuilders
Charters On World Peace Day
By Bill Cawley, West Point
Through a herculean effort with the cooperation of its 24 club members, district leadership and RI staff, the newest club in District 7610 held its chartering ceremony on Monday, September 21st—the UN International Day of Peace. It was no accident that the Rotary eClub of Global Peacebuilders worked so diligently to charter on World Peace Day, but to do so 71 days after the initial thought of forming the club was just short of a miracle!
With members and attendees from three continents (Africa, Europe and North America) viewing by Zoom, a virtual social time began at 6:30 pm EST. The club meeting was called to order at 7 pm EST by presiding officer Ralph Menzel who welcomed everyone and introduced the several PDGs in attendance.

Ralph turned the program over to PDG Juanita Cawley who introduced club adviser PDG Glenn Yarborough who delivered words of support. Next, DG Harry Henderson spoke on this club being a good example of Rotary’s current theme—Rotary Opens Opportunities. Harry said, ”With Rotary’s increased flexibility clubs are no longer bound by location and can be organized by a cause its members feel passionate about.” Harry then challenged club members to “look for doors to open to create opportunities as this new eClub begins its Rotary journey.”

Juanita then introduced Rotary Zone 33-34 Director PDG Peter Kyle as the evenings keynote speaker. Peter conveyed his excitement anytime a new club charters in the zone. But, for a cause-based peacebuilder club to charter on World Peace Day was “icing on the cake.” In his address, Peter highlighted the many intersections of Rotary and the desire to create a more peaceful world starting during World War I and continuing toward the formation of the United Nations with 47 Rotary delegates. “Peacebuilding is in Rotary’s DNA, therefore Rotary has a responsibility to bridge the sharp divide between and within countries,” Peter explained. Peter concluded his remarks by reading the words from the club charter and a letter of congratulations from RI President Holger Knaack.

Now it was time to install new members and club officers. PDG Jonathan Lucus installed the 11 new members of Rotary and Harry installed the club officers, including club president Ralph Menzel. The text of Ralph’s speech follows.

Good evening my fellow Rotarians, guests and RI Director Peter Kyle. Thank you all for attending our wonderful event tonight. My special thanks go out to my wife Laurie of 33 years, for significant support and encouragement, and also, to my friend and mentor, Juanita for her continuous guidance and keeping me on track throughout these past 71 days!

I am sure that you would all agree that it has been a wonderful night of fellowship, as we mark the beginning of a new cause based Rotary Club dedicated to peacebuilders, and our 11 brand new Rotarians. What a fantastic way to help commemorate World Peace Day, on this, the 21st day of September 2020. As a United Nations-designated day, it was first established in 1981 and encourages the world body of all countries to observe and adhere to 24 hours of non-violence. “Shaping Peace Together” is the theme for world peace this year in face of the global pandemic. It in itself, has reminded us that we are all interconnected and need to work together to overcome global challenges.

Our Rotary Theme for this year is “Rotary Opens Opportunities”. What a fantastic connection to our new cause based Rotary e-Club of Global Peacebuilders.

This e-club will be open to anyone anywhere who has a passion for peacebuilding. We will strive to grow understanding of peacebuilding and conflict prevention/resolution through education, service, and fellowship among our members. We are in the process of developing and creating our infrastructure— a website, our club officers, a strategic plan and peace building projects. We have already established our Facebook page, a club Dropbox for member information, and our Zoom account to conduct our meetings. We will continue to communicate with all of our members for increased participation; find out their passions and help them learn about the worldwide community that is Rotary International.

I am indeed honored to be given the opportunity to serve as the first club president. This is my 3rd Rotary club charter, and my 7th role as a club president in a variety of different non-profit social-service organizations and I am hoping to continuously get better! You have my sincere assurance that I will be dedicated to the cause of Rotary in this role, the same way I have demonstrated my commitment over the past 11 years since I was first inducted into Rotary International.
In closing I would like to make mention of a quote by Winston Churchill who said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” We exist in a society where much emphasis is placed on personal wealth accumulation. However, we must always remember the less fortunate among us, and the fact that life in abundance, comes as a result of giving ourselves to others.

This is who we are as Rotarians...we know that the more we give of ourselves, the more we are likely to receive, so that we can continue to make a difference in the lives of others. As our motto states—Service above Self. Thank you.”

With that, the club adjourned with enthusiastic applause and multiple hurrahs! 
Arlington Rotary Pursues Trivia,
Meets with Crystal City and Rosslyn Clubs
By Bob Carolla, Arlington
The Arlington Rotary Club heads into October readying for its annual fall fundraiser on Friday, Oct. 23, Trivia Night. The contest will be held virtually, a challenge for every club’s major fundraising events during the pandemic.

“We are hoping for a record turn-out,” said ARC President Chelsi Dildine. “Last year’s was a big success. We had 100 players in-person. This year our Zoom goal is 150 participants.We invite Rotarians from clubs throughout the district to join us. You will have fun!”

Over the spring and summer, ARC held bimonthly virtual “trivia happy hours” as a spin-off from the fall 2019 event. On average, there were 60 players in those games. This fall’s Trivia Night will be the club’s 2nd annual one for what Chelsi hopes will become a growing tradition—proven by the popularity of the smaller contests.

Trivia Night will run Fri. Oct. 23rd from 7-8:30 p.m. Registration is $10 per player. All proceeds go to the Arlington Rotary Educational Fund. Players can register solo or as members of partial or full teams. Solo players or partial teams will be grouped with other players. There are (8-10 players per team). Please register at https://arlingtonrotaryclub.org/page/donate.
On Sept. 17th, ARC met jointly with the Crystal City-Pentagon and Rosslyn-Fort Myer clubs to discuss their respective projects--with the clubs intending to continue to meet jointly each quarter. Chelsi noted that Crystal City regularly fielded a team for ARC’s trivia happy hours—and became the team to beat.
ARC has inducted Krysta Jones as its newest member. She is the founder and CEO of Vote Lead Impact, a member of the Arlington Community Foundation board and writes the column” Community Matters” published biweekly in ARLnow.com. One recent column, Transforming the Next 100 Years in Arlington Civic Life, emphasized the need for organizations to recruit new leaders intentionally from outside traditional networks.
Krysta Jones is Arlington’s
newest member
North Stafford Rotary Club Partners with Fellow Rotary Clubs to Provide 3D Printing Supplies for PPE
By Tracy McPeck, North Stafford
The North Stafford Rotary Club, along with the Stafford, Fredericksburg, and Rappahannock Rotary Clubs, partnered with Central Rappahannock Regional Library in April 2020 to produce PPE for medical workers and law enforcement in our community. The four Rotary clubs and other local organizations donated funds for purchasing 3D filament and supplies.
Library staff set up all 12 of its 3D printers and, as of September 21, have printed 673 face shields, 158 Montana masks, 475 ear guards, and 220 stethoscopes. The PPE has been distributed to LifeCare Medical Transport, Westmoreland County sheriff and correctional officers, and Mary Washington Healthcare. Nathan Sekinger, Gayle Middle School Librarian, provided consultation on the digital files and supplies needed.
New Members
These are the new members added in August 2020
Editor's Note: This report was generated from the DACdb database. In addition to those who are brand new members in District 7610, it includes several long-time Rotarians who have recently become affiliated with the new e=Club of Global Peacebuilders.