District 5420 Newsletter - December 2024

Surprise and wonder

Hello Rotarians!

Rotary Magazine stated that “The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise.” My parents taught my sisters and me the importance of having a compassionate heart by giving and focusing on others around us. I’ll never forget the Christmas season our family decided to help a family in our neighborhood who lived in an old home and didn’t have much.  

We went to the grocery store with mom and shopped for food to drop off to this family. My sisters and I quietly carried the bags of food up to their door. I was the fastest runner, so it was my job to ring the doorbell when my sisters were safely back in the car. All went according to plan, until I tripped while I was running away. Dad thought I was in the car, and he drove off! I crawled behind a bush to hide, so our gift would remain anonymous.

I watched as the kids opened the door. I saw their look of surprise turn to wonder and then excitement and heard them say, “Mom, mom - we have food!” When their mom came to the door she called out, “Thank you, whoever you are!”  

This family was so thrilled to have food on their table - something I had always taken for granted. I’m grateful to my parents for helping me, as a boy, realize the blessing of giving instead of receiving.  

I’m also grateful to each of you who give of your time, are aware of those in your surroundings and involve others in your circle in acts of service. There is no better way to let others enjoy the spirit of giving as they participate in acts of “service above self”.  

Merry Christmas!

Todd Boyer

Utah Rotary District Governor 2024-2025

RotaryBoyer@gmail.com

Cedar City muscles up a 5,000-pound

Thanksgiving Box Brigade

This Thanksgiving, the Cedar City Rotary Club partnered with the Cedar City community to donate and deliver 5,000 pounds of groceries - including turkeys - to residents experiencing food insecurity.

Rotarians worked through Iron County Care and Share, which provides compassionate assistance and resources to people and families in need. Individual citizens, families, 4-H Clubs, businesses, neighborhood subdivisions, and the Elks Lodge all pitched in.

Then the Cedar City Rotary Club recruited the Iron County Yeti Hockey Team to perform a major service. These young athletes from the U.S., Korea, Ireland, Canada, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, lifted, transported, and delivered all 5,000 pounds of groceries! Their participation made Thanksgiving a truly international holiday.

Washington City rustles up 21 Full Time Equivalent employee hours supporting the Utah Food Bank

Food insecurity is a growing challenge across Utah with 1 in 8 Utahns uncertain about where they’ll get their next meal. Every year the Washington City Rotary Club (WCRC) works to address food insecurity by supporting the Utah Food Bank Southern Distribution Center as a regular community service project.

Manager of Operations Angela Torres thanked members for contributing 210 volunteer hours to the Washington City Mobile Pantry equivalent to 21 full time employees. Members also helped distribute 170,000 pounds, or 85 tons, of food to families in need. Angela recognized efforts by the WCRC to make distribution efforts more efficient which are being instituted at other food bank distribution locations. Our thanks to Angela for providing the opportunity to serve!

Rotary exchange students try out TopGolf

Our district's Rotary Youth Exchange students got together for a fun activity this month and played golf at TopGolf.

For those of you who have not been to TopGolf, it's essentially a cross between a golf driving range and a video game, where you score points for hitting specific targets. The exchange students had never played golf before and had a good time laughing with each other as they whacked the balls.

American Rotary Exchange student application deadline is December 15

We are in the final stages of recruiting exchange student applications from Utah teens who would like to go on exchange. If you know of anyone who may be interested, the deadline for applications is Dec 15th.

The application links and information about the program can be found at https://www.utahrotary.org/rotary-youth/youth-exchange/outbound-students/.

Aaron Lowe, Rotary Youth Exchange Officer

+1 (801) 592-0913

Facilitators sought for RYLA June 9-12, '25

Application deadline: January 8, 2025

Are you passionate about leadership and community service? Join us as a facilitator for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) program, an impactful leadership development experience for high school students, scheduled for June 9-12, 2025.

What You'll Do

• Lead small groups in workshops on leadership, communication, problem-solving, and community service. Must commit to stay the entire four days.
• Facilitate activities and discussions to foster growth and team building.
• Mentor and inspire young leaders with positive feedback and encouragement.
• Create a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Who Should Apply

• Rotarians who are passionate about youth development and leadership.
• Former RYLA participants eager to share their journey.
• Excellent communicators with strong interpersonal skills.

Apply now and join us in creating a transformative experience for tomorrow’s leaders! Deadline is January 8, 2025. Contact Brent Parkin, RYLA Facilitator Chair at 801-698-5444. All applicants must complete Youth Protection Training and complete background check.

Important End-of-Year Messages

$Half-million Big West Paul Harris Challenge

Challenge deadline to Join Paul Harris Society: Dec. 31

Dear Utah Rotarians,

In an effort to promote The Paul Harris Society, our Rotary International Director, Dan Himelspach and his wife Leslie Lawson, along with an anonymous donor, are contributing a total of $500,000 to The Rotary Foundation.

They are challenging 500 members from Zones 26 & 27 to join the Paul Harris Society before December 31, 2024, so we can reach $1 million! The Paul Harris Society is a commitment to donate $1,000 annually to The Rotary Foundation. Members can now easily join online by clicking rotary.

If you direct your contribution to PolioPlus, it will be matched at a 2:1 ratio by the Gates Foundation. If your contribution is to the Annual Fund, almost half of it will return to our District in three years in the form of District Grants and Global Grants.

Let's all work together to achieve this important goal!

Scott Leckman

District 5420 Paul Harris Society Chair

We honor our new Paul Harris Society members

Donor Advised Fund Grants - explained

We now have Donor Advised Funds available for qualified applicants (Clubs) during 2023-2024. Please review the guidelines below before requesting a Donor Advised Fund Grant.

1. A maximum of 4.25% of the total or $12,000 in grant money is available to qualified applicants.
2. Grants can be awarded between $500 and $10,000. More grants can be awarded if the request is under $10,000.
3.  Clubs must provide at least 25% of the funding requested from the Donor Advised Fund.
4.  Funds will only be awarded to qualified projects through a 501c3.
5.  Donor Advised Funds cannot be used for goods or services as specified in 501c3 requirements.
6.  Only one grant for any specific or closely associated purpose will be considered within a period of three years.
7.  It is specifically stated in the original policy that HOC DAF Funds are not used to supplement annual budgets of the District Governors of District 5420.

Beverly Christy

Clubs - Ensure receipt of your Di$trict Grant!

District Grant contracts went out this past month and several clubs have yet to return them. If you would still like to receive your District Grant, please return the signed contract right away. You will not get a check unless the contract is signed and returned. Please include three unique signatures. One person cannot sign twice. For questions, please contact your District Grant Chair. 

Kris Swanson

District 5420 Use Side/Grants Chair

Acronyms and grants can be confusing. Here's a little help.

DDF or District Designated Funds are donations given to Rotary International, invested three years and then partially returned to the District to be used for grants.

District Designated Funds are divided into two equal portions. Half is used to create District Grants (DG)s and half is used for larger Global Grants (GG)s. We receive District Designated Funds each year from Rotary. The amount we receive is dependent on the amount individuals of each club donate to Rotary three years previously.   

As a district, we are in a unique situation. After hosting the Rotary International Convention in 2007, we had a reserve of about $250,000. This money was put into a Donor Advised Fund (DAF). The interests on this money can be used (with certain restrictions) for special projects by any club in the district. 

All grants require applications. They are not the same and delay things when confused. Check the District website for more information.

Bruce Powell

District Foundation Chair

Up in the air about Rotary?

I was like that! I had been a club member for a couple of years, but really never been asked to do anything. I enjoyed the meals, the fellowship and the information from the meetings but when something else came up, I left Rotary.

Gratefully, someone recruited me again. When I discovered they were still talking about starting one of the same projects that had been discussed before, I decided not to wait for someone to ask me to do something. I simply started organizing the project. Rotary can be like that! There is work to be done! Jump in! There’s much to do!

Have you contributed to the prevention of polio? If not, Jump in! Have you been involved with the youth programs? If not, Jump in! Have you worked on a district grant? If not, Jump in!

I could ask about so many other programs, but I can tell you the results of jumping in, no matter what you do besides just enjoying the fellowship, Rotary will change you! 

Up high, above the masses, the view is different. It is amazing! Knowing and seeing and feeling, the results of Rotary truly changes your life! 

Make a donation to the Rotary Foundation. Truly get involved. You can change other’s lives, too!

Bruce Powell

District Foundation Chair

Meet 11 District Area Governors

Russ Richards

Sandy | Multi-Cultural

• Joined Rotary in 1986

• Married to Beverly, 2 children, 3 grandchildren. Raised on a farm in North Dakota with 4 brothers. Extremely active in service organizations.

Wishing there was no phishing

All Rotarians should be aware that somebody is phishing using the district governor as a cover. The email they used was:

rotarydistrictgovernor24.25@gmail.com and included a signature under Todd Boyer. Ignore any messages like, “Help me purchase 4 apple gift cards at $500 each.” It’s a scam.

Paul Cardon, Governor Elect-Elect 

Opportunities in the District

Run your own international project or

help another club’s Global Grant.

There are several ways you can find a partner for your own club's international project. 

You could go to the “Feria de Proyectos” (Project Fair) in Colombia January 30-February 1, or to the Calgary Convention June 22-26, 2025. 

If you are going to travel internationally for a vacation, you can find Rotary clubs with Club Finder on Rotary.org and visit them while traveling. 

Another way is to contribute to the global grant of a Utah club, go with them to experience their project, and investigate other projects with clubs in that area. 

Please pledge dollars to one of the following Global Grants so they have enough dollar commitments to submit their application. The actual money is not due until some months later when the grant is accepted by Rotary. Please commit if you are not already contributing to a Global Grant. Remember, your contribution multiplies with matching - for instance, $1,000 does $3,800 of good, and $3,000 does $8,400 of good! 

Note that two of the five projects promoted in September have received enough commitments to submit their application to The Rotary Foundation. The three projects below still need your help. Thank you for your generosity! 

Agriculture development, Armenia $200,000+ Eryn Rogers eryn.rogers@gmail.com Spanish Fork Rotary Fruit Tree, Water Well, Phytoremediation, Uganda $90,000+ Drew Allen houndoc@aol.com  Millcreek Rotary Reconstructive Urology Program, Cambodia $95,000 Jane Kurtzman jane.kurtzman@hsc.utah.edu SL Rotary

I noted at District Conference that when Rotarians related their greatest experience in Rotary, it was most often when they were doing international service. You can have this awesome experience too!

Jerry Summerhays, District International Service Chair, SummerhaysGS@gmail.com

Fascinating & Compelling 

A History of Polio for Your Club Meeting

On World Polio Day 2024 my club was treated to a fascinating and compelling presentation on the history of polio by Dr. Robert Day.

Chockfull of images from the 50s and 60s, this skate through the past had me hanging onto every word. Yes, I remembered lining up for my taste of a sugar cube laced with the vaccine. Yes, I remembered that FDR suffered from polio. Yes, I anticipate the eradication of polio in my lifetime – the result of Rotary International's pledge to defeat the virus.

But Dr. Day’s presentation dove deeper than that. You’ll learn amazing details about the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines; about the “Cutter Incident,” a huge setback that inspired creation of the Food & Drug Administration; and the meaning of the Plus in PolioPlus.

Dr. Day received his medical degree at the University of Colorado and completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of Kansas. He is the founding physician of a clinic specializing in diabetes care at Utah Valley Hospital where he continued with Intermountain Healthcare until retirement; then began his research in the history of medicine.

Your club can have this captivating history of polio delivered to your members. Dr. Day has committed to presenting to every Utah club that asks - in person or on Zoom. Contact Dr. Day today at (801) 368-7609 or email robtwday@gmail.com to schedule your 27-minute History of Polio presentation.

Lola Beatlebrox, District Newsletter Editor

Park City Sunrise Rotary Club

Schedule your club's Piece of Peace today.

District Peace Chair Kris Swanson will provide your club with the most important tool you can use to begin building peace in your own life, your club, your community and beyond.

Your Piece of Peace presentation is an excellent preparation for anyone interested in the new Empowering Peacebuilders program Kris will teach in the spring. More information to come on this exciting program designed by the Rotary Action Group for Peace! 

Recruit candidates for Rotary Peace Fellowships

It's time to begin recruiting candidates interested in becoming Rotary Peace Fellows. Do you know a non-Rotarian whose work would benefit from advanced training in the area of peace and conflict resolution? Kris Swanson, Peace Chair, is available to answer questions and assist with the application process. 

Spread E-Club holiday cheer!

The Utah E-Club is joining with Lynn Creek Farms for our fundraiser that will make you and your loved ones’ home look and smell like Christmas.

Click here to order a fresh wreath or centerpiece for your own home, clients, co-workers, friends or family members. You pick the date for delivery along with a message. if desired.

The fundraiser supports our Magic Treehouse book project for third graders and Sub for Santa Single Moms project. Thanks for supporting the E-Club!

This Rotarian passes by every 90 minutes!

This holiday, don’t miss greetings from a Rotarian in space.

Samantha Cristoforetti, member of the Rotary Club of Koln am Rhein in Cologne Germany, is a resident of the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth every 90 minutes!

Read how she grew up loving Star Trek, was an exchange student in St. Paul, Minnesota., and went to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

An engineer, she competed against 8400+ people to earn her research position on the International Space Station. Read all about it in the December Rotary Magazine.

December 2024

Dec. 15 - Deadline for submission of Rotary Youth Exchange applications 

January 2025

January 8 - Deadline for RYLA Facilitator applications

February 2025

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

June 2025

June 9-12 RYLA

June 21-25 International Convention in Calgary, Canada

September 2025

Sept. 18-20, 2025    District Conference in St. George

Link to the District Calendar at utahrotary.org