Dear Rotarians and Guests,
 
This week, I want to share with you “Why I Am a Rotarian” written by Clifford Dochtermann (Rotary International President 1992-93)
 
“In a single word, Rotary means “opportunity.” Through Rotary membership, you can discover dozens of opportunities to enhance your life and enrich the lives of family and friends. There may be opportunities to establish close friendships with individuals around the world whom you would never have met, except through the magic of Rotary. There are opportunities to share with many others a common belief and philosophy of service, without any thought of personal return.
 
There are opportunities to work side-by-side with other community leaders whom we highly respect. There are opportunities to stretch your horizons by listening to interesting programs and enjoying the good times at the weekly meetings. There are opportunities to represent your profession and demonstrate how high ethical standards are a vital part of your day-to-day occupation.
 
There are opportunities to travel into virtually every land and find an open door and a cordial welcome to a totally new world of Rotary fellowship. There are opportunities to make your small part in the world really count through the achievements of the great and noble activities of Rotary’s programs of service. There are opportunities to touch the lives of thousands of people whom you will never know, except through the rewarding glow of satisfaction which comes from knowing that somewhere, someone needed your help, and you took the time to do something. There are opportunities to join in the search for world peace and goodwill through the dynamic work of The Rotary Foundation.
 
And finally, all of these opportunities add up to one conclusion: Rotary helps you become a better person and makes the quality of your own life just a little richer and more meaningful. What a wonderful experience it is to have all of these opportunities knocking at your door just because you are a Rotarian.”
 
Would be possible for you to share few words about “Why I am a Rotarian” on our club Facebook page? Thank you in advance for your contribution!
 
Yours in Light Up Rotary,
President Sofka

*Our next BOD and General meeting will be held on May 16, 2015 from 11:00AM till noon (CT) in the Rio Ranch Restaurant (9999 Westheimer Houston, TX 77042

 

*Installation of 2015-2016 Officers on June 20^th, 2015

 

 

Between now and May 15, 2015, Rotary E-Club of Houston is accepting submissions for t-shirt designs for our E-Club. Show off your creativity and enter the E-Club T-Shirt Contest and your design could be chosen as the official Rotary E-Club of Houston, TX T-Shirt.
One free T-shirt will the new design will be provided to the current members of the Rotary E-Club of Houston, TX on June 20, 2015 during the Installation of 2015-2016 Officers, if they will provide their T- shirt size to President Sofka by May 16th, 2015.
T-Shirt Design Contest Guidelines
1st Place – This design will be featured as the official Rotary E-Club of Houston, TX t-shirt.
2nd Place – This design will receive recognition item
3rd place - This design will receive recognition item
Deadline: May 15th, 2015
Winner will be chosen and announced on May 16th, 2015.
Here are the rules:
1. Design will appear on the front and/or back of the shirt or only on the front of the shirt, in color and may not to exceed 11” wide, 12” high.
2. The design must include a reference to Rotary E-Club of Houston, TX as well as the T-shirt style and color.
3. Your design must be wholly original. By submitting a design you are guaranteeing that you hold rights to everything in it and that it does not contain any copyright material.
4. It’s best if you create your design in Photoshop or Illustrator or another professional design program. Submit entries as medium resolution JPEG or pdf files. Please be prepared to submit the original Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop file in the case your artwork is chosen. Design must be easy to reproduce by silkscreen. We reserve the right to make adjustments to the winning design.
5. Entries must be received by May 15th, 2015 and sent to President Sofka.
6. All entry emails should have the subject line “T-shirt Design Contest”.
7. Include your name, and telephone number.
8. Entries become the property of Rotary E-Club of Houston, TX.
We will be announcing the winner on May 16, 2015. By submitting you are agreeing to all contest rules.

"Philosopher diva" Nora York is an adventurous singer-songwriter with a drive to explore the human condition.

 

The Rotary Blog is called Rotary Voices - Stories of Service from around the world.  All you need to do is enter your email address to follow this blog and then you will receive notifications of new postings by email.  Join the 2,617 folks already engaged with this method of sharing our Rotary stories.  The stories are archived and include the following topics:

  TOPICS
Aiding disaster recovery
Building community
Developing leaders
Empowering youth
Eradicating polio
Fighting disease
Growing local economies
Promoting peace
Providing clean water
Saving mothers and children
Supporting education
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If you want to share an article, it can easily be with Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Linkedin, Google, Tumbir, email, etc.

 

Something new to explore our common interests as Rotarians with social media and to experience more feel good moments as you take pride in your membership of such a generous and committed service organization.

Africa - It has been over 9 months since the last Polio case was reported in Somalia,  over 9 months for Nigeria, and over 10 months for Cameroon.  If Nigeria can go 12 months with quality surveillance detecting no Wild Polio Virus, they will join the countries which have stopped Polio transmission.  And if after an additional two years, no Wild Polio Virus has been detected, Nigeria could be certified as Polio - Free!    
Pakistan - No new Polio cases were reported in Pakistan this past week.  A new environmental sample from Multan, Punjab (collected on April 8) tested positive for the Wild Polio Type 1 Virus.
 
The Final Three Endemic Countries:
 
Pakistan - 22 Polio cases reported in 2015 with 306 cases recorded in 2014  The most recent case was reported on 03/29/15 in the Khyber, FATA.    
Afghanistan - One Polio case reported in 2015 with 28 cases recorded in 2014. The most recent case was reported on 01/21/14 from the Hilmand Province.   
Nigeria - Zero Polio cases reported in 2015 with 6 cases recorded in 2014.  The most recent case was reported on 7/24/14.  Sub-National Immunization Days were completed on March 14-18 using trivalent vaccine.

 

Emergency immunizations are being planned including  Measles, Mumps, and Rubella immunizations in Nepal following the devastating earthquakes there.  The drive to eradicate Polio has always been about more than Polio as the Polio staff at the country level spend an average of 50% of their time working on broader public health efforts.  Read more here:  http://www.polioeradication.org/mediaroom/newsstories/Polio-Staff-Support-Nepal-Earthquake-Response/tabid/526/news/1232/Default.aspx?popUp=true  

May 16th join in the fun, fellowship, and personal reward of being a part this great fundraiser to be held at the North Shore Rotary Pavilion located at 14560 Wallisville Road, Houston, 77049.  Food service begins at 11:00 am and the live auction starts at 12:30 pm.  There will also be a terrific Silent Auction.  This is always a highly successful event and a model event of successful fundraising.  You can even order your food "To Go"!