Rotary Leadership:
Greetings 5610 Rotarians!
Yesterday, September 2, I completed my final visit at the Mitchell Rotary Club, before Penny and I head to Houston, Texas for the annual Zone 25B-29 Institute. I'm not quite at the end of my visits yet, but I can definitely see it, with only five clubs left to visit. I will definitely not miss being gone from my wife, family (our pups, Fancy and Gracie) and most certainly will not miss the long drives across District 5610. I will miss the face-to-face meetings with new Rotarians almost every day of the week, and being able to hopefully help and inspire Rotarians and their clubs to grow and to tell their communities and everyone they meet about our amazing organization! I'm so pleased to report that the message of Rotary is spreading, and all clubs across our District are eagerly taking on the challenge of growing our District and helping to grow Rotary International as well. Our 9% growth goal is something to start in the month of September, and to monitor throughout the course of the year, and with every club's participation, will certainly be something to celebrate at the end of our Rotary year! I hope that you will all join me in President Mehta's initiative and "Each one, bring one"! As the end of summer is fast approaching and as we enter into back-to-school time, be sure to remember and be grateful for our educators and wonderful school systems as we celebrate BASIC EDUCATION AND LITERACY MONTH with Rotarians around the world. Education and literacy are important for so many reasons that we often take for granted...security, upward mobility, health, and success. Not everyone in the world or even in our District is assured of access to education and literacy, and this month is an important reminder that we as Rotarians are charged with doing everything we can to help those around the world, and those in our midst who need help gaining access to education and becoming literate. After awarding District matching grants, we are left with an additional surplus of unused grant funds, and I'm happy to announce that there will be a second round of grants awarded! Watch for Grants Chairman Don Norton's announcement regarding grant application due dates, and if you haven't yet been trained in the grant application process, Don will offer his advice and assistance. We are now closing in on being only a month away from the District Conference in Deadwood, SD, October 14 - 16! We have several outstanding motivational and exciting speakers, as well as valuable and interesting breakout sessions with new information that will help you and your clubs in many ways! Please strongly consider attending, and encouraging other members from your club to attend! THANK YOU ALL for all you are doing to help our district grow in numbers, enthusiasm, and positive attitude! I look forward to seeing you all in Deadwood, and sharing stories, laughs and learning from each other to make our District better and stronger! Service above self...
Doug Lind 
District Governor 2021-2022
A second round of District 5610 matching grants will begin October 1, 2021, and run until November 12, 2021. About $30,000 in matching grant funds remain after the first round of grants was completed in August.
“This gives clubs plenty of time to survey their community needs and determine a project that will have meaningful impact on their community,” said Don Norton, District 5610 Grant Subcommittee Chair.
Clubs are reminded to complete the paper grant application in Word, then upload that document as a pdf before completing the grant application on the Matchinggrants.org website. Clubs must have a signed MOU uploaded as well. The grant subcommittee will meet shortly after November 12 to determine award recipients. All project funds requested must be matched by local clubs and/or partner organizations from their communities. The granted projects will need to be completed within 24 months.
Don will give a presentation at the District Conference in Deadwood on how to plan a grant and have a successful application. Attendance at this session will count as the required training necessary to be eligible for grant submission, so if a representative from your club was not able to attend one of the trainings presented via Zoom earlier this summer, plan to attend in person in Deadwood. There will be almost one month after that presentation before the grant deadline for this round.
For more information on this second round of district grants, please contact Don Norton at donnorton75@gmail.com.
Nominations are being accepted for the following District 5610 position:
District 5610 Governor Nominee (serves as District Governor 2024-25)
Those seeking this position must have served as a club president (per Rotary International bylaws)
Nominations or expressions of personal interest should be forwarded to Past District Governor Dan Little no later than October 18, 2021.
Should any Rotarian have any questions, please contact Dan Little.
Please consider this an exceptional opportunity.
Dan Little, Chair District 5610 Nominating Committee
World Polio Day is October 24, 2021Does your club have a plan to celebrate World Polio Day on October 24? What will you do to highlight this important day - a watch party, a speaker at your weekly meeting, or an informational booth in the community? Watch your email for ideas on how you and your club can help celebrate World Polio Day 2021 and resources that will help to make the celebration a reality.
As important as it is to plan your club's event, it is also important to try to promote the event among your club members and the local community. We want everyone to understand Rotary’s commitment to end polio and that we are so close to eradicating polio from our planet. Please plan something to help celebrate the day and share that with us.
Twenty Clubs from District 5610 that submit the best proposals and register for World Polio Day will each win 10 Foundation Raffle tickets (a $100 value), to share with their Club members.
To get more information and register go to www.endpolio.org/
The Foundation Raffle is held each spring at PETS this year in April in Mitchell SD. You DO NOT have to be present to win.
TAKE ACTION ERADICATE A DISEASE FOREVER"
Since Rotary first took on the elimination of polio 36 years ago we have saved 17 million people from a life of paralysis. We have decreased the number of children having endemic (wild) virus polio paralysis per year from 385,000 children to only 2 children this year. There was 1 case each in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. There is still a problem with the vaccine derived polio paralysis in many African countries where routine vaccines have not been given, (usually because of war). Our progress could certainly be delayed in Afghanistan. But this year the incidence of cases of vaccine derived polio paralysis has also been cut by two thirds. In addition we now have a new vaccine for derived polio paralysis that should continue to cut these cases drastically. Finally I see "light at the end of the tunnel" and I believe polio will soon be eradicated from the world forever.
I congratulate every member, Club and our wonderful District for donating almost a half million dollars to this effort and making eradication imminent. This year, District 5610 gave $55 per member to Polio Plus, a new high. You kept going when the going got awfully tough and failure seemed more than likely. I also thank Rotary International and our great partners; the UN, the US CDC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for doing an unbelievable job and not giving up years ago.
So I want every Rotarian and Club to broadcast it to everyone in the world that Rotary has set a new precedent in the history of the world. We will soon end polio and the millions of deaths and the millions of lives ruined with awful, life long unbelievable pain and suffering. We are going to "ERADICATE A DISEASE (POLIO) FOREVER.
THANKS TO EVERY ROTARIAN AND ROTORACTER IN OUR DISTRICT FOR WONDERFUL WORK.
Willis Sutliff, District District 5610 Polio Plus Chairperson
Click Here for additional resource materials: World Polio Day Event Planning
1. Make Membership a Top Priority.
2. Create a list of all the great things about your club.
3. Create and keep a list of potential members.
4. Be willing to change.
5. Look to young Rotarians for fresh ideas.
6. Talk about Rotary wherever you go.
7. Make a list of club-member’s responsibilities
8. Celebrate when you get a new member
9. Embrace diversity
10. Emphasize service
Bonus - Do something and have fun.
Fellow Rotarians,
After a two year of hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rotary Youth Exchange is poised for a comeback in Rotary Year 2022-2023. While that may still seem far away, there are several important deadlines for students in District 5610 looking to participate in a future exchange.
Outbound Students
District 5610 will being accepting club nominations of potential outbound students for the 2021-2022 Rotary Year starting September 1. Students must be 16 to 18 ½ at the time of departure (typically August 15 or thereabouts) and in good academic standing at their school. Clubs should interview students and make recommendations to the district by the middle of October, after which the district will interview students and select finalists. Students will then submit a complete application by December 1 to Central States Rotary Youth Exchange for placement.
Please be promoting this opportunity!
Students and clubs can visit https://www.csrye.org/
Inbound Students
District 5610 is committed to host at least three inbound students in 2022-2023. If your club is interested in hosting a student, please send me an email at Patrick.Morrison@usd.edu. I can provide information on responsibilities, expected club costs, and the like. For those of you who remember the headache of the past trainings and paper forms, you will be happy to know that our transition to Central States Rotary Youth Exchange multidistrict has made this process much easier – and digital. As a reminder, it is not a requirement to send a student to host a student, so all clubs are eligible to host.
Call for Volunteers
Lastly, we are looking for Rotarians interested in joining the 5610 RYE team. If you have any Rotarians interested in helping out, please let myself or Doug Lind know.
Sincerely,
Patrick Morrison | Chair, District 5610 | Rotary Youth Exchange
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” – Attributed to W.B. Yeats
Rotary Ukraine Project RI Grant# GG2001299
If you have ever wanted to experience firsthand an exciting Rotary International Grant project, then this may be the opportunity for you! Pending final approval, we are hoping to travel to Ismail, Ukraine the end of this October! We will join the Rotary clubs from Barlad, Romania and Bucharest, Romania in meeting our Ismail Rotary hosts in Ukraine. Then we will outfit local disabled individuals with a personalized wheelchair, up to 400 wheelchairs.
We will be working with eight hospitals in and around Ismail to deliver the wheelchairs. We plan on having two teams with staggered but overlapping travel dates. The first team will complete half the distribution, and finish with a few days of touring. The second team will join team one half way through the distributions, tour with the first group, and then finish the distributions before returning home. We will also interact socially with Rotarians from Romania and Ukraine, including some festive parties of celebration. Total commitment for either group is nine days.
We request volunteers to round out our teams. Specifically physical therapists, occupational therapists, nurses, record keepers, photographers, social networkers, and general laborers who can also handle some light tool adjustments. As part of this grant, training opportunities from us for in-country hospital staff in offered. So, those comfortable training are also welcome. Total cost including flights, lodging, food, and transportation will be less than $1,800/person.
If you are interested in joining our team, or need more information to make a decision, please contact by email Mark Siemonsma or Steve Sikorski. Depending on Covid travel restrictions, we hope the first team can depart around October 23, 2021. Should travel restrictions become a greater issue, we may have to push this trip to 2022. Please let us know if you remain interested if the trip is delayed.
As a footnote, a similar grant has been approved for a trip to the Philippines in March 2022. If you are interested in learning more about that project, please contact Mark Siemonsma.
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Second Round of District Grants
Oct 01, 2021 – Nov 12, 2021
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District Conference Deadwood SD
Cadillac Jack'sOct 14, 2021 – Oct 16, 2021
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Whiteclay Makerspace Grand Opening
Oct 17, 2021
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM -
Nominations for District Governor Deadline
Oct 18, 2021
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World Polio Day
Oct 24, 2021
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Canby 75th Anniversary Celebration
Time and Location TBAOct 27, 2021
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Rotary Youth Exchange Application Deadline
Dec 01, 2021
