Hello Rotarians of 5610. I hope your winter is going well, and you survived the cold and snow of January. We will see more cold and snow, but each day brings us closer to spring and a renewal of life around us.
Speaking of renewal, every day Rotary brings a renewal of hope and goodwill to our communities and to the world. Around the world, in virtually every country, culture, and dialect our Rotarian brothers and sisters are making a positive impact. Make no mistake your participation in Rotary, in attending your meetings and working on local and global projects play a pivotal role in our success. It is you, the individual Rotarian, and your community Rotary club that are the most important part of Rotary. Without you and your dedication to the mission of Rotary, our organization could not be the light of hope and goodwill to our world that it is.
On another note, it is our annual ROTARY FOUNDATION RAFFLE time! Now is your opportunity to support one of the world's greatest service organizations. To reach our $200,000 district foundation goal, we need everyone to participate. In a perfect world, everyone would sale or purchase ten $10 dollar raffle tickets (they come in books of ten). Remember the more we support our amazing Foundation, the more grant money we will have for projects in our communities, and support of global projects.
As to membership, if you remember I asked everyone to bring a guest this year to your Rotary meeting and introduce them to the club. And I hope your guest is a potential new Rotary member. We need around 200 new members before July 1st to reach our goal of 2,000 Rotarians in District 5610. I know we can significantly increase membership if we all engage in recruitment.
Finally, Rotary public image...in a perfect world, the people in your community see the Rotary image around your town. Be it a Rotary sign, a Rotary park, or a Rotary project, make sure the Rotary emblem is visible to all. And make sure you are doing a monthly press release in the newspaper or radio. Let your community know what you are doing.
In sincere appreciation for your Rotary participation,
Current buzz words in Rotary usually include “member retention” and “engagement.” According to RI statistics, concern about these two issues is valid. The reasons Rotarians drop their membership are varied, and some are difficult to address, however, for most, an orientation of the Rotary mission, followed by education can be invaluable. One program our District offers is the Rotary Leadership Institute. The title of this program is somewhat misleading, as it may infer that the program is only for those Rotarians who are headed for club or district leadership. Rather, the program takes Rotarians who are already leaders – that’s why you were invited to join Rotary – and direct that leadership through a grassroots program of education, developed by Rotarians, for Rotarians, to increase the knowledge and enthusiasm of Rotarians on all things Rotary.
Why not make this the year that you complete the newly condensed RLI course and build/rebuild your enthusiasm for the many rewards Rotary has to offer? If you missed the course in your area, it’s not too late to register for the course in a neighboring area. Or, gather up a group of fellow Rotarians in your area and request another course be scheduled.
Course schedules are offered, as follows: 1/26/18 – SDSU Innovation Center, Brookings, SD. Contacts: Dan Little and Chuck Lindemann
(see photo of attendees) 2/9/18 – Avera Prairie Center, 1000 E. 23rd St, Sioux Falls, SD. Contact person is Shelli Masek 2/24/18 – 1905 Plaza Blvd. (off Deadwood Ave.), Rapid City, SD. Contact person is Verl Scheibe 3/24/18 – Feeding South Dakota, 20562 Grace Av., Pierre, SD. Contact person is Larry Lyngstad TBD – Wagner, SD. Contact person is Kelsey Doom TBD – Southeast SD/Northwest IA. More information to follow. District Governor Steve Harrington has pledged District Funds to cover the cost for one member from each club to participate in the program. (see scholarship certificate attached.) Club presidents are asked to select one Rotarian from their club to attend the training. The cost for Rotarians to attend the program remains at $35 per individual, and clubs are requested to cover the charge. This fee covers course materials, meals and refreshments. If you are interested in providing a course in your area, contact your area’s Assistant Governor, or send me a message at: lglyngstad@mncomm.com. Larry Lyngstad, RLI Coordinator
REGISTRATION for PETS and CLUB SECRETARY TRAINING will begin very soon!
All Presidents-Elect are required to attend PETS. We ask all Presidents-Elect to bring your Club Secretary with you for valuable training.
Watch the District 5610 website for your opportunity to register for PETS, which is scheduled for the Highland Conference Center on Friday, April 13. For those arriving the prior evening, a reception will be and everyone is invited to attend.
A block of rooms have been reserved for Rotary at the Comfort Inn and Hampton Inn. Both hotels adjoin the Highland Conference Center.
Club Secretaries are the glue that hold Rotary clubs together! In an effort to keep club secretaries up to date, special sessions for club secretaries will be held during PETS – scheduled for Mitchell, SD on Friday, April 13. District 5610 Executive Assistant Nicole Rawden will moderate the training and will cover important topics such as ClubRunner, Rotary International Club Administration, Rotary Club Central and “Lead Your Club”, a manual for club secretaries with a month to month calendar. We encourage all club secretaries to hop in the car with their president elects and join your fellow club secretaries in Mitchell on April 13. There is no cost for attending and delicious food will be available.
Rotarians! You should check out the Denmark Rotary Friendship Exchange video produced by Tom Dempster now listed on our Rotary District 5610 new YouTube Channel. Access the YouTube Channel by clicking on the photo or the YouTube Icon. If you have a video you would like to share on the Rotary District 5610 YouTube Channel, please contact:
It's that time of year again when we think about the District 5610 Four Way Test Essay Contest. This is a great way to spread our Rotary ideals into our communities. The contest involves 6th graders and they are asked to write a 200 to 500 word essay on "How can I apply the Rotary 4 Way Test to my life?" You will be amazed and excited at the perspective 6th graders have on our 4 Way Test.
You need to find a 6th grade teacher or group of teachers who are willing to participate in this great project. I have found that it is usually easier to approach teachers rather than the administrators as they have so many other issues on their minds. Provide the teacher with the forms found on our District 5610 website, an application, the history and requirements of the contest. When the essays have been written the teachers can narrow down the group and submit their top ten or they can submit all of the essays that they collect to your club. You need judges to determine the top essays and your club can reward a 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize if you so choose.
Then by the deadline of March 15, 2018 you need to submit your winning essay to the district where it will be judged with all of the other club winners. The District 5610 winners will be announced at PETS in April of 2018. The first place winner will receive a $200 check, a certificate, a Four Way Test coin and the chance to read their essay at the District Conference in Vermillion. Second place receives a $100 check, a certificate and a Four Way Test coin while third place receives a $50 check, a certificate and a Four Way Test coin.
I am hoping that many, many of the District 5610 clubs will participate in this terrific project where we teach young people about what Rotary stands for. For questions, to submit your winning essay or more information contact Pat Sutliff sutliff@midco.net or 605-718-0559.
The 2017 raffle was a tremendous success and the goal is to continue to build on that success by making this year even better! Karl's Appliance has again agreed to offer the grand prize of a KARL’S HOME KITCHEN MAKEOVER! This is a Whirlpool 4-Piece Kitchen Appliance Package, with a value up to $7,500 at Karl’s Retail Price*.
Brad Preheim, of Centerville Rotary, is this year's Raffle Chair. He asks you to begin gathering ideas for prizes this year from both individual Rotarians and each Club. When you do, please call Brad at 605-677-9609 with the information.
Please note the following timeline of events: Deadline for prize list – January 15, 2018 Ticket Printing and distribution – early February 2018 Ticket sales – late February – early April 2018 Prize drawings - PETS conference April 12-14, 2018 Mitchell (need not be present to win).
Brad will be messaging club leaders over the next few weeks. Let's make our District goal of $200,000 happen!
Foundation giving totals through January 2018 is $74,426.
We are a little over 37% of our District Goal met. Remember the Foundation is one of the key aspects of our membership in Rotary. It is how we are impacting the world for Rotary.
The first Web-based District Grant Training session for 2018-19 was held on Jan. 25 with 16 people from 11 clubs in virtual attendance. The web-based training went well and saved many miles driving on winter roads for the participants. Also, keep your eye on the District YouTube channel. If everything works as planned, you will be able to watch the grant training session on YouTube soon! Watching it on YouTube won’t qualify your club, but it is a great way to get a refresher on the Rotary grant process.
As you should be aware, District Grant Training is required every year for any club submitting a grant request. From now on, District 5610 will be holding Grant Training by Web Conference. There will be no official grant training at PETS this year, so please have someone from your club plan on attending one of the remaining web conference training sessions if you plan on submitting a grant for the 2018-2019 Rotary Year.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The training should take less than 2 hours and you will need to be at a Mac or a PC (a smartphone or tablet should work but I recommend a computer) with an internet connection to view the slides. You can either use the microphone and speakers of the computer or dial in to a phone number for audio if your internet connection isn’t fast enough for good audio. If you have questions about the grant training or other questions about the grant process, please email Bruce Young at district5610grant@gmail.com or call him at (712) 541-9822.
Let's show our members and communities who and what Rotary is! The new People of Action public awareness campaign is rolling out! We want to prepare a visible image of Rotary to grow our membership.
Send me a photo and 2-3 lines of description, and I will prepare People of Action ads like you see in the District bulletin. These ads can then be placed in your local media, on your websites, Facebook pages, etc. See the download area for an information sheet on the campaign instructions. It is simple, it is effective, it is ACTION!
Telling our Rotary story helps the world to better understand who we are: people of action, driven by a desire to strengthen communities, mobilize problem solvers, and find solutions to the tough challenges affecting people around the world. Stories about fundraisers, contributions, or international service projects are important and an integral part of what we do, but they’re not necessarily People of Action stories. The People of Action campaign is designed to help better inform our local communities about Rotary and the work we do for the places we call home. To let the rest of the world know who we are, we must let our neighbors know first. How do you tell a great People of Action story? A People of Action story connects with people by showing the positive impact we have on our communities. The best way to do this is by incorporating certain elements effectively into your story, such as: * A clear focus on a Rotary project in your local community
* A description of how you or your club identified a challenge
* An explanation of how club members and others in your community found a solution to the problem
* A depiction of how your club saw that project through to completion, whether it’s in the works, complete, or ongoing
Use the People of Action materials in the Brand Center.
Water and Sanitation is one of the six areas of focus for Rotary International. Martin Limbird, one of our Zone leaders, is attending the symposium in Lebanon in February and sent a press release detailing the progress of an effort in Zone 27. See the attached file in downloads for more information.
ClubRunner 102-2060 Winston Park Drive, Oakville, ON, L6H 5R7
DISTRICT LEADERSHIP // www.Rotary5610.org // Mail: 5121 S. Barrington Dr., Sioux Falls, SD 57108
DG // STEVE HARRINGTON, LE MARS, IA // steveharringtonrotary@yahoo.com
IPDG // ED JACOBSON, PIERRE, SD // coach@pie.midco.net
DGE // DAVE LORENZ // David.Lorenz@usd.edu
EDITOR // LINDA PETERSON, RAPID CITY, SD // linda4rotary@me.com
TREASURER // STEVE SIKORSKI, SIOUX FALLS, SD // sikorski5121@gmail.com
ts are asked to select one Rotarian from their club to attend the training. The cost for Rotarians to attend the program remains at $35 per individual, and clubs are requested to cover the charge. This fee covers course materials, meals and refreshments. If you are interested in providing a course in your area, contact your area’s Assistant Governor, or send me a message at: 
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Foundation giving 
