District 5420 Newsletter - September 2024

Amazing! Fun! Original! Interactive! Rewarding!

Hello Rotarians!  

I hope you enjoyed the Special Conference Edition of the Newsletter that was sent out a couple of weeks ago. It was entirely devoted to our upcoming District Conference. Please review it again if you have questions about the conference. It will be Amazing! Fun! Original! Interactive! Collaborative! Rewarding & Full of prizes for your club to earn. ($11,000.00 will be awarded to clubs!)

You won’t want to miss this Historic District Conference in Cedar City on September 27th & 28th. You may either register for the Conference here or go to our website UtahRotary.org

Our website is continuing to receive a new face lift. It will ultimately be a one-stop Rotary Center for information for both Non-Rotarians AND Rotarians.

1. Front Page, Invitation for Non-Rotarians to join, donate or volunteer
2. Gallery of Photos
3. District Calendar of Events
4. Access All ZOOM meetings on-site
5. DACdb log in
6. My Rotary log in
7. Just Serve log in
8. Library Tab for: Grants, Newsletter and recorded District meetings
9. Information on Foundation, Youth groups, membership and MORE

I’m so pleased that it will be an all-inclusive website. Thank you to ALL who continue to work on it and ensure up-to- date information.

I hope to see YOU at the upcoming District Conference!

 Todd Boyer

Utah Rotary District Governor 2024-2025

RotaryBoyer@gmail.com

Join us for an Historic District Conference!

This year’s District Conference at Southern Utah State University is set to be a landmark event you won’t want to miss! For the first time ever, over $11,000 in awards will be distributed to Rotary clubs. This is your chance to shine and be recognized for your club’s outstanding contributions. Visit UtahRotary.org to explore the award categories and submit your nominations.

The $99 registration fee is a phenomenal bargain, covering:

• Continental breakfast, lunch, and dinner for both days of the conference
• Admission to the play “39 Steps” on Saturday at 8 pm.

Event Details

• Dates: Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28
• Venue: Haze R. Hunter Alumni Center, 351 W University Blvd, Cedar City, Utah 84720
• Breakfast: 8:00 am both days
• Program Start: 9:00 AM on both days

The Haze R. Hunter Alumni Center is a stunning venue, perfect for hosting our two-day event. For a detailed agenda and more information, check out the special Conference Edition of our newsletter.

Let’s come together to celebrate, learn, and make history. See you there! 

An Academy Award Approach to the District Conference!

This year $11,700 in cash incentives shall be distributed to qualifying clubs in the categories as listed below.

Go to UtahRotary.org to register

The Power of We membership challenge

Meet Melynda Thorpe - our District Public Image chair

Melynda belongs to the Cedar City Rotary Club. She serves as Assistant Vice President of Workforce & Educational Opportunity at Southern Utah University.

In addition to serving as a higher education administrator, Melynda is an accredited public relations strategist and has been teaching college-level public relations since 2001.

Currently, Melynda is a doctoral student at Kansas State University and is serving as president of the Utah Chapter of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Melynda loves to golf and her granddaughters call her Gigi.

News of Note

Five Utah Clubs Awarded the Club Excellence Award

Congratulations to the five clubs in UtahRotary District 5420 who earned the Presidential Citation (now called the Club Excellence Award) for accomplishing at least 13 of Rotary International’s 25 goals for clubs in RY2023-2024. Applause goes to:

Centerville-Farmington Rotary Club

Millcreek Rotary Club

Murray Rotary Club

Park City Twilight Rotary Club

Rotary Club of St. George

Don't miss the International Service table

at District Conference Saturday morning.

At the International Service Table at the Rendezvous Fair Saturday morning at District Conference:

• Ask about challenges with your current project.
• Ask how to find an international project for your club to do.
• Why did The Rotary Foundation (TRF) stop matching club and private money?
• Want to serve in a certain county? How to start?
• You know a non-profit you want to help, but how do you find an in-country host Rotary Club?
• How to successfully get other clubs to donate to your global grant (GG)?
• You’d like to contribute to a global grant (GG) project. How to investigate which one?

No question is dumb!

A question I hope Rotarians ask so I can explain better than here:

Why is it valuable for my club (every club) to contribute to a global grant?

Say your club every year budgets $3,000 for a global grant. That $3,000 is matched by the district with $3,000 and then The Rotary Foundation World Fund matches with $2,400. You just did $8,400 of good!!! The only way to multiply your money is to contribute to a Global Grant!

Maybe this is the most important question a Rotarian can ask. 

Which projects are presently lacking the needed funding?  

The projects below significantly lack enough commitments for money to fund their budgets.

• Prevent TB to END TB, Nepal  $200,000+  Scott Leckman leckman@xmission.com  SL Rotary
• Ukraine Refugee Children’s School, Hungary $200,000+  Steve Getz  sagetz@aol.com Moab Rotary 
• Agriculture development, Armenia $200,000+ Eryn Rogers eryn.rogers@gmail.com Spanish Fork  
• Fruit Tree, Water Well, Phytoremediation, Uganda $90,000+ Drew Allen houndoc@aol.com  Millcreek
• Reconstructive Urology Prog, Cambodia $95,000 Jane Kurtzman jane.kurtzman@hsc.utah.edu SL

Talk to me. I’d love to help you decide to which project you’d like to contribute. 

DISTRICT CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS ONLY $99! See you there.

Jerry Summerhays, SummerhaysGS@gmail.com

District International Service Chair  

Help by building safety rails

I am not sure if it would be safer, going up or down these stairs!

Can you imagine what a sturdy handrail would do to help one make the trip up or down these stairs? So many in our world are standing, or possibly crawling, along such a precarious stairway of life. 

As Rotarians, we can be there to help them by building safety rails. The Rotary Foundation was started with the goal of “doing good in the world.” The seven areas of focus include: 

peacebuilding and conflict prevention

water, sanitation and hygiene

maternal and child health

basic education and literacy

community economic development

disease prevention and treatment

supporting the environment

You can be a part of this critical aid by donating to the Rotary Foundation directly, donating to Polio Plus or by the actual construction of a safety handrail by means of a global grant. Our District has many such projects in the works - why not join one!

Next time you use a handrail, think about others that do not have that assistance and how you can change danger into security, even if for one person!

Bruce Powell

District Foundation Chair

Rotary Direct is one of the easiest and secure ways to give.

Last year, thanks to generous donors, our Foundation was able to fund more than 1,200 global grants, 480 district grants, and 105 disaster response grants to help communities in need. Rotary Direct is one of the easiest and most secure ways for our donors to support the Foundation: because contributions are automated, donors don't need to worry about sending checks or remembering to make an annual contribution on time.

Rotary Direct saves time and reduces administrative costs. Monthly, quarterly, and annual gift options are available. Members can enroll at the Rotary Direct page, return a completed Rotary Direct enrollment form, or enroll by phone by calling the international office that serves their area or +1-866-976-8279 if in the U.S. 

Paul Harris Society

Using Rotary Direct it is simple and easy to become a Paul Harris Society member.

1. Click on the Rotary Direct page
2. Click on the button of the featured cause you would like to support (we encourage you to select the Annual Fund-SHARE as your default cause)
3. Next under the Choose Frequency drop down arrow, select monthly, quarterly, or annually
4. Next select an amount. For example, if you want to become a member of the Paul Harris Society and want to contribute annually, select the $1,000 amount. Or, select monthly, then Other amount and indicate $85. It only takes $85 per month to become a Paul Harris Society member. Easy and fairly painless!

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.

Dennis Knoles – Northern clubs

Kim Kerr – Eastern clubs

Sue Vanderhoof – Northern Salt Lake Valley clubs

Steve Getz – Southwest area clubs

Lynn Hillstead – Southern Salt Lake Valley and Utah County clubs

Lynn Hillstead

Annual Fund Sub-Committee Chair

Play Rotary Youth Foundation Jeopardy!

Does your club or youth program still have questions about the Utah Rotary Youth Foundation? Just in case, here are some answers (in Jeopardy gameshow style) before you need to ask!

·        Question: “What is the minimum amount a club can request for a youth ‘service above self’ project?”

·        Answer: $500.

·        Question: “What is the amount URYF received in April – May 2024 for the purchase or renewal of Utah Humanitarian license plates?”

·        Answer: $700

·        Question: “How many generous Rotarians have supported Utah Rotary’s youth programs with the purchase or renewal of license plates in 2024?”

·        Answer: 28

·        Question: “Where does a Utah youth program get more answers on how to apply for funding to support their projects … or to request an application for grant funding?”

·        Answer: URYFoundation@gmail.com

Linda Sappington

District Governor 2020-2021

Welcome Youth Exchange Students

We are excited to welcome our new batch of long-term Rotary Youth Exchange students to Utah this year. We have two students from Argentina, one from Spain, one from Chile and one from Taiwan.

We took the kids to California for a long weekend to have an orientation with all of the exchange students in our multi-district, which includes Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Southern California and Hawaii. They got to intermingle with all the exchange students in these respective states. This was a fun weekend.

Thank you to the following clubs for sponsoring our long-term students this year: Bountiful, Heber Valley, West Jordan, Cedar City. We look forward to introducing you to these great students at District Conference. If you know of any students, ages 15-18 who would be interested in becoming a youth exchange student, please direct them to Aaron Lowe, our district Youth Exchange Officer, at (801) 592-0913 or transitreg98@gmail.com. 

Opportunities in the District

Have a peace presentation at your club.

Invite District Peace Chair Kris Swanson to your club hear her presentation, "Create Your Piece of Peace," and learn how you can create more peace in your own life and your community.

As a humanitarian organization, peace is a cornerstone of Rotary’s mission. Rotary believes when people work to create peace in their communities, that change can have a global effect. Kris leads our District’s Peace Committee and will provide insight and practical tools to extend peace in our community.

To book your Piece of Peace email kris@creativecommconcepts.com or call 970-309-3353.

Park City Sunrise Rotary's Shot Ski Fundraiser is Saturday, October 12

Imagine 3,000 skis linked together and running up and down Park City’s Main Street and 1,385 people drinking from shot glasses to raise more than $40,000 for charity. That’s what happens at Park City Sunrise Rotary Club’s Shot Ski event every October.

The 8th annual fundraiser will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Participants gather on Park City’s Main Street from 12 noon to 2 p.m. when the anticipation builds. Shots are poured from co-sponsor High West Whiskey by DABS trained Sunrise Rotarians – or Apple Cider if you prefer.

Promptly at 2 pm, 551 skis will be raised simultaneously to beat the world record of the most skis in our friendly rivalry with Breckinridge Ski Resort. 

Park at Park City High School and take the free bus to Main Street. Tickets can be purchased now at https://parkcityshotski.com Don’t miss it! 

Support Sandy's Ride to Nowhere

against polio before October 24

Join me for my 8th Annual Ride to Nowhere on October 24 when I ride a 100-mile century on my Peloton stationary bike in one day.

Use the QR code to go to “Raise for Rotary” and your donation will be applied to your individual account at The Rotary Foundation.

My goal is to raise $5,000. and with the Bill and Melinda Gates 2:1 match you can do the math. I dedicate my ride to all the workers and their security who put their lives at risk every day to give those two life-saving drops to the children of the world. 

Remember - a case of polio has now occurred in Gaza!

Sandi Schwartz PDG 

St George Sunrise Rotary

Help create Rotary’s Rose Bowl Parade float

Immediately after Christmas, Rotarians from here, there and everywhere are invited to help bring to life Rotary InternationaI's entry in the 136th Pasadena Rose Parade (January 1, 2025). It is the ultimate Rotary "service above self" project, a great social event and a unique opportunity to see dozens of this year's amazing Rose Parade floats up-close before the event begins.

The "work" involved is securing flowers and other natural materials to the float frame. Easy, peasy!

Wanna join in the FUNNN? Volunteer signups begin September 1 at RotaryRoseParade.org.

Murray Rotary Club runs blood drive with the Red Cross

Murray Rotary organized a member blood drive during August working with the Red Cross. We learned that there is a nationwide shortage of blood and tried to do our part in helping with a very worthwhile activity.

September - Basic Education and Literacy Month

Sept 1      Pasadena Rose Parade volunteer sign-ups open

Sept 5 - 6 Brigham City Peach Days, Brigham City Rotary Involved

Sept. 10 - 14 DGE and DGN Zone Institute in Spokane

Sept. 24 - Rotary Club of Millcreek, Wine into Water fundraiser

Sept. 27, 28 District Conference in Cedar City

October 2024

Oct. 1   Rotary Youth Exchange application process opens 

Oct. 24 World Polio Day - begin today to plan your project or fundraiser

December 2024

Dec, 15 Deadline for submission of Rotary Youth Exchange applications 

February 2025

February 20 - 23 Southwest PETS in Los Angeles (PE’s and spouses)

June 2025

June 21 - 25 International Convention in Calgary, Canada