Register Now! District Conference

May 3-4, 2024

Let’s Create Hope!

 Register NOW for the 2024 District 6360 Conference

Registration CLOSES Friday, April 19!

“Building Resilient Communities

through Dynamic Rotary Service!”

Rotary District 6360 Conference

May 3-4, 2024

Kalamazoo Radisson Hotel

Kalamazoo, Michigan

Serving with LOVE is at the core of EVERYTHING we do as Rotarians! Join us at this year’s educational and inspirational CONFERENCE to learn, grow, engage, share, energize and CELEBRATE our commitment to serving others with open arms, willing hearts and inviting spirits!

The Annual Meeting will be on Friday, May 3 at 11 AM. The Hero Dinner is on Saturday evening, May 4!

Come Get Rotarized!

From Urban Gardens to Mental Health Walks,

Community Art Hops to Peace Scholar Talks!

Youth, Strategic Doing, Bridge-Building & More,

Unique Projects, Passionate People, Brilliance & Beauty, are in Store!

We’ve planned an Action-Packed Event that features each of Rotary’s Areas of Service in impactful ways! Knowledge is POWER! Rotarians lead best with our full humanity on display. This conference seeks to inform and transform. Building resilient communities begins with our own resiliency. When we get inspired, we rock with sensitivity and strength!

“Together, we can support one another, our loved ones, our clubs, and our communities, to CREATE HOPE IN THE WORLD!” Rotary International President Gordon McInally, 2024

Come get Rotarized!

Join the Stepping Up to Save Lives Mental Health Walk During the District Conference!

Looking to get your blood pumping along with a few extra endorphins while doing something good? We have just the thing. Join us on Saturday, May 4 at 9:30 for "Stepping Up to Save Lives Mental Health Walk."

Showing Rotary solidarity, we will be wearing our Rotary T-shirts as we are led by the Saturday key-note speaker, Mr. Frank Mumford, director of NAMI SW MI. The 1/2 mile route will begin at the conference and end at Ministry with Community. While there, you will be able to have a tour to see all the wonderful services they provide.

The 4 way test will be alive that morning as we come together to help those who need support. Please see the list of items below that we will be collecting to drop off at the end of our walk. So please skip a late breakfast and come join us in friendship, fellowship and service by Stepping Up to Save Lives at our first annual Mental Health Walk.

The following needed essential supplies will support one week of client needs/requests:

        100 Deodorant (travel size)

         280 Shampoo (travel size)

         280 Conditioner (travel size)

         200 Lotion (travel size)

         280 Toothpaste (travel size)

        280 Bar soap (travel size)

        200 Tampons & pads

        150 Two-blade razors

        100 Toothbrushes (individually packaged)

50 Shaving Cream

Looking for Tips and Techniques to

Help Your Club Grow?

What's Up With District Youth Services?

RYLA Camp is getting ready to open registration for all high school students to attend RYLA Camp 2024. An email for Opening Registration information with the new online application link was sent Friday, March 8.  

• Camp dates: July 12-14, 2024. Registration closes May 31. Let’s have every club send at least two (2) campers!
• Recommended Action: Talk with your high school personnel to find at least two (2) sophomores or juniors that have leadership potential. Give the counselors/high school staff the registration link so students can apply for the camp. Clubs will be notified when a student has completed the application for your approval. 

Interact – It's not too late to register for the District Interact Conference on Friday, May 3, at the Radisson Hotel in Kalamazoo. This event will be in conjunction with our Rotary District conference. We hope every Interact Club will be represented. 

• Recommended Action: Work with your Interact Club to attend the District Interact Conference. Register them at

https://www.dacdb.com/Calendar/Event.cfm?EventID=77734829&CalClubID=0&R=0.4291360359464309

See the flyer below!

Rotary Student Program – This is a real service to our high school students. 

• A Virtual event will be held April 24, from 4:00 – 5:00 pm via Zoom!  We will feature Skilled Trades for this event. We are open to 45-50 students that would like to talk with a person in the Skilled Trades. Students will ask the professional skilled trades person questions about their job – the good, the bad, the challenges AND the path to get into the trade!  Look for more information coming soon. 
• Recommended Action: Talk with your high school staff to get the word out to students that are thinking about the trades as a career. Let them know about the upcoming event on April 24. More information will be coming at the end of the month!

Rotary Youth Exchange – NOW IS THE TIME to commit to hosting a student from another country for 2024-25. We will have four (4) students assigned to District 6360 that we will host. Contact Margie Haas to learn more!

Current Giving to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund Share

Gull Lake Area Rotary Club Learns

"QPR" to Save Lives

South Haven Rotary Club Supports

Their Local Robotics Club

Rotary is Betting on Buttercup to Win…Supporting South Haven’s Robotics Team through Their Tournament Season

The Rotary Club of South Haven has donated $1,000 to the Ramageddon Robotics Team to support their participation in multiple tournaments this spring.  The Robotics team has achieved an impressive record in competitions throughout the state over the past several years and we want that legacy to continue. Now with Buttercup, this year’s new robot, they face unique and novel technical and operational performance challenges in the tournaments. The team has shown innovation and business and technical skill in designing, building and programming a robot to successfully meet these challenges.

A few members of the Ramageddon team made a presentation to the Rotary Club earlier this month and they were an inspiration to the entire club. The team competed at St. Joe on March 8^th and 9^th, finishing qualification matches in 16^th place out of 38 teams. From there, the team proceeded to the playoffs where they performed extremely well, making it all the way to the semifinals before they were eliminated. We wish them the very best of luck at their upcoming competitions.

The Robotics team has also been invited to demonstrate Buttercup at this year’s Rotary Spring Fling Car Gathering on May 15 at the Senior Services parking lot. For more information on that event go to the Rotary website at https://www.southhavenrotary.org

Photo below: South Haven’s Ramageddon Robotics Team sharing their plans for the 2024 season: (Lt R) Kim Wise (Business Team Coach) & Students: Neela, Hayden, Brendan, Tre, and Ian

2024 Grant Management Seminars

Come Run for Fun!

South Haven Rotary Supporting SHAPE

Beach Safety Programs 

The Rotary Club of South Haven is proud to support the South Haven Ambassadors Program and Education (SHAPE) to help advance their mission to “…create an improved level of safety for South Haven's main attraction - Lake Michigan.[and to] promote a safe, family-oriented vacation destination through beachside water safety education.”

Heather Welsh-Johnson, Executive Director of SHAPE accepted the donation on behalf of the SHAPE organization. She noted that the gift will help to cover the costs of additional printed materials for the upcoming season. These materials have proven effective in reaching a large number of residents and visitors, raising their awareness about the dangers of Lake Michigan, especially rip currents, and how to stay safe in the water by knowing when not to enter the water and when to get out of it. The materials also provide information about alternative safe and fun activities for red-flag days.

According to Melinda Gruber, President of the South Haven Rotary Club, water safety is a primary focus of South Haven Rotary’s public service initiatives. The past few years have seen significant investment in life jacket and life preserver stations on the beaches and piers and red-flag day alternatives at the splash pad, Mitten Museum and Maritime Museum. Rotary is proud to be partnering with SHAPE and its ambassadors ‘with sand between their toes’ to carry this important mission to people right at the water’s edge.  

 Rotary would like to echo SHAPE’s commitment, as published on their website, “…to create a safer environment for beachgoers and ultimately save LIVES.”

Pictured in the photo below are: (LtoR) Heather Welsh-Johnson, Executive Director SHAPE, Mary Sue Lyon and John Mellien, Rotary Club of South Haven.