District 5890 "Club Leadership Training" will be held April 16, 2016. This is a team leadership training for all 201-62017 Club Officers and members. Each officer will receive training on their specific officer duties as well as a "Rotary 101" class for new members. This is your chance to hear about all of the exciting things that will be happening in the Rotary world for the Rotary Year of 2016-2017.
Join District Governor-Elect Eric Liu as he unveils the 2016-17 Rotary theme and delivers the goals of R.I. President-elect John Germfor the upcoming Rotary Year.
Registration begins at 8:00 am, Continental Breakfast and Networking. Training begins at 8:30 am and should conclude around 1:00 pm.
$20.00 per person in advance, $25.00 at the door
Please send attached form and check for all registrations to:
Rotary Club of Memorial Spring Branch
ATTN: 2016 Club Leadership Training
PO Box 19413
Houston, Tx 77024
Make checks payable to: Rotary Club of Memorial Spring Branch
NOTE: We can no longer bill clubs.
Join the District 5890 Leadership Team and let us serve you with training!
- See more at: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50025/Event/club-leadership-training-for-2016-17#sthash.CMIT5t8o.dpuf
For the first time, proceedings are being followed on an app which you are able to enter and access. Please go to www.login.crowdcompass.com and register. We have daily updates by 7pm, including the proposals considered, the voting splits, and whether the legislation passed.
Enactment 16-07 amending the Bylaws of the RI Constitution removed the payment of admission fees. This Enactment passed with a 4 vote split (232 to 228). There has been quite a bit of discussion amongst the Delegates post-vote. Please note that Article 6, Section 1 of the Standard Club Bylaws will still allow a club to assess an admission fee, if approved by its Board.
The key piece of legislation passed on Monday is Enactment 16-21 changing the Standard Rotary Constitution Article 6 to allow Rotary clubs to meet 2 x month. Please note this enactment allows flexibility to clubs. If clubs prefer to have weekly meetings every week of the month, this is no problem.
11 April 2016 The Council on Legislation approved on Monday two key measures that would give clubs greater flexibility in their meetings and membership. Both were backed by the RI Board of Directors and passed overwhelmingly after lively debate. The first measure gives clubs greater leeway in when and how often they meet, how often they cancel meetings, and what constitutes a meeting, as long as they meet at least twice a month. The second measure grants clubs flexibility to experiment with membership models. Proponents argued that clubs need the enhanced freedom in order to determine what works best in their communities, noting that "one size does not fit all."
12 April 2016 Continuing yesterday's theme of flexibility, the Council on Legislation agreed on Tuesday to simplify the qualifications for membership in a Rotary club. The measure removes six membership criteria from the RI Constitution, replacing them with the simple requirement that a member be a person of good character who has a good reputation in their business or community and is willing to serve the community. Proponents argued that the change will give power back to clubs to "choose their own members without a checklist" and encourage membership growth. The Council also deferred until Thursday the consideration of proposals to create a new membership type, associate membership, and to allow Rotaractors to join a Rotary club, too.
13 April 2016 Citing a need to provide programs and services that allow Rotary clubs to flourish, the Council on Legislation approved three $4 increases in the annual per capita dues that clubs pay to Rotary International. RI Treasurer Per Høyen, speaking in favor of the request, said, "Hearing that 9 out of 10 Rotarians have asked Rotary to provide more services, the Board does not want to decrease the services to the clubs and districts. Now is the time to invest in our future and make it possible to move forward and achieve a strong future for Rotary." The increase sets the dues at $60 in 2017-18, $64 in 2018-19, and $68 in 2019-20.
Joint subscriptions to regional magazines - The council approved a measure allowing two Rotary members living at the same address to subscribe jointly to a regional magazine. That option already exists for The Rotarian.
This is shared from Nick Shrader, President of Katy Rotary:
There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.
"Why sir,", said the farmer, "Didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."
So it is with our lives...Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.
The last case of Wild Type 2 Polio was identified in India in 1999. Since then, all Type 2 cases have been vaccine induced. The switch to the Bivalent (without Type 2) will eliminate the chance of vaccine induced Type 2 cases in the future. Could 2016 be the year of the final Polio case?
Celebration - This past week we celebrated the 61st anniversary of the Salk Vaccine being declared safe and effective. The Salk Oral Polio Vaccine has led to a 99.9% reduction in Polio cases worldwide! We also celebrate Canada's announced $40 million donation to support Polio eradication in Pakistan to be paid over the next three years.
The Big Switch - April 17 marks the beginning of the largest and fastest globally coordinated rollout of a vaccine into routine immunization programs in history. Between 17 April and 1 May, 155 countries and territories around the world will stop using the trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV), which protects against all three strains of wild poliovirus, and replace it with bivalent OPV (bOPV), which protects against the remaining two wild polio strains, types 1 and 3. This effort will provide better protection for children against polio, particularly those most vulnerable to infection.
Quote of the day - "Rotarians have played a key role in bringing the world to the cusp of Polio eradication. Their efforts have not only ended Polio in 122 countries, but they've also created a roadmap for the world to tackle myriad other health priorities. This is something all Rotarians can be proud of accomplishing." - Michael McGovern, Chair - International PolioPlus Committee
The Final Two Endemic Countries:
Pakistan - One Polio case reported this week. Eight Polio cases reported in 2016 with 54 cases recorded in 2015 The most recent case, with the onset of paralysis on 03/22/16 was from the Bannu district, Khyber Paktunkhwa. No new Polio positive environmental samples reported this week. Sub-National Immunization Days are planned for April 18-21 using Bivalent OPV.
Afghanistan - No Polio case reported in Afghanistan this week. Two Polio cases reported in 2016 with 20 cases recorded in 2015. The most recent case was reported on 2/01/16 from the Kunar Province. No new Polio-positive environmental samples collected this week. Sub-National Immunization Days and are planned for April 19-22.
Post Endemic - Nigeria - No Polio cases reported in 2016 with 0 cases recorded in 2015. The most recent case was reported on 7/24/14.
Have you heard about "Tiny Houses"? Given the state of the current economy, a growing number of Americans with ordinary lives are choosing to scale down — way down. They call themselves the "tiny house" movement. Need to Know visited one of the movement's proponents, Dee Williams, at her small home in Olympia, Washington. This is not limited to the USA.
The tiny house movement is a reality more Australians are adopting as an alternative to decades of mortgage repayments. Having first attracted wide-scale media attention when used to accommodate victims of Hurricane Katrina after it devastated New Orleans in 2005, tiny houses have attracted little interest in Australia where homes are among the largest in the world.
But with more exposure in the face of ever-increasing home prices, the tide is beginning to turn. The causes of the movement are threefold: freedom from debt, minimal environmental impact, and the opportunity to live simply. Jay Shafer, the US designer credited with founding the movement, defines tiny houses as being under 9.3 square metres.
This You Tube was shared on July 31, 2010:
Derek "Deek" Diedricksen, on his west coast book tour for "Microshelters", stayed in a different tiny house on every single night of his speaking tour and filmed EACH and EVERY house he stayed in. This, the "Alberta Modern Tiny House" was built by a school teacher for $17,000 in the Portland, Oregon area on weekends and summers, and used (he estimates) 80% recycled building materials. This tiny house has a full kitchen, bathroom, loft, and a spacious and naturally lit mini-living room. This You Tube video was published on December 17, 2015.
In Luling, Texas, Tiny Texas Houses have been designed and built with 99% Pure Salvage. That means that everything from the doors, floors, windows, lumber, porch posts, glass, door hardware, interior walls and even the siding has been saved and re-used to create houses that we hope will last for a century or more. Our small homes built with salvaged vintage materials demonstrate that it is possible to reduce our carbon footprint, simplify our lives, and live in a healthy house that is energy efficient as well as beautiful. Each Tiny Texas House is a unique piece of House Art that will last for the rest of the owner’s lives and for generations to come.
If you are interested, it is possible to tour these tiny houses. The tour is run at 11:00 AM on Wednesdays and Saturdays. You will get to experience from outside and inside the Tiny Texas Houses! The cost is only $20 per person. In the guided tour you’ll learn why we salvage, what we salvage and how you can build a beautiful, strong, healthy home out of what was once someone’s trash. Location: 20501 IH-10, Luling, Texas, 78648. Exit 628 off of I-10. Tours last approximately 90 to 120 minutes. As most of our Tiny Houses are occupied, we do not accept passersby visitors, so as not to disturb the residents. This is why we do a Guided Tour once a week.
My goal is to show people what can be done with a concept I call Pure Salvage Building, thus what you see is 99% Pure Salvage. That means that everything from the doors, floors, windows, lumber, porch posts, glass, door hardware, and even the siding has been saved and re-used to create houses that we hope will last for a century or more.
I believe that there are presently enough building materials sitting on the ground to build much of the next generation of housing. All it takes to make it so is pure human energy, spirit, and the desire to build something that will last for several lifetimes.
Tiny Texas Houses have been designed and built with the best trees ever harvested, the best hardware ever made, and great salvaged materials to demonstrate that it is possible to reduce our carbon footprint, simplify our lives, and live in a healthy house that will be energy efficient as well as beautiful.
Each custom, hand-crafted Tiny Texas House is a unique piece of House Art that will last for the rest of their owner’s lives, and generations to come.
If you would like to experience an overnight in a "tiny house", it is now possible by booking one of the houses in Luling via Air B&B. For more information, call or se their website: Phone: (830)-875-2500 • info@puresalvageliving.com.
Galveston Island has SUN, FUN and sea galore, but that’s just for starters. Escape with your fellow Rotarians to the perfect year-round destination, a great resort, and an outstanding ROTARY District 5890 Conference at The San Luis Hotel, Spa and Conference Center, April 28-30, in Galveston. To register now, Click on REGISTER ON LINE
Our 2016 Conference Committee is busy putting together a fun and information-filled adventure for us all to enjoy. The festivities will begin with a Barbecue Dinner at the San Luis on Thursday night to welcome all of the Conference attendees. The Plenary Sessions will begin on Friday morning after breakfast, and will conclude shortly after lunch, giving everyone the rest of Friday evening to enjoy the sights of the island. The grand finale Governor’s Banquet will be held on Saturday evening at the majestic Galveston Island Convention Center, just a city block away, with transportation provided by buses from the San Luis Hotel. Thursday night’s dinner, Friday and Saturday’s breakfasts, Friday’s lunch, and the Governor’s Banquet are all included in the very reasonable registration fee on the Registration Form link.
For later evening fun and festivities on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the fourth floor of the San Luis hotel has been reserved exclusively for our Hospitality Rooms. There will be five suites, hosted by two Rotary clubs each, each with their own individual theme. You will definitely want to visit them all, and enjoy their food, beverages and hospitality.
Of course, no District Conference would be complete without golf and tennis tournaments. The golf tournament will be held at the beautiful Moody Gardens Golf Course on Thursday morning, April 28th, under the direction of PDG Lisa Faith Massey, a master of fun and frolic on the course. The tennis tournament will be held Friday or Saturday afternoon, and will be chaired by big-time tennis guy, Lindsey Kroll.
We'll have two great community service projects on Friday, April 29th, so click here to learn more. Click here for a Fact Sheet to share with your Rotary club.
Finally, we are required by Rotary International to have an adequate amount of up-to-date information about Rotary and our fantastic district and its clubs, which will be shared with all present at our Plenary Sessions on Friday and Saturday mornings.
The room block that we had reserved at the San Luis is now FULL, but there are still rooms available in our Conference Block at the nearby Hilton Galveston Island Resort and the Holiday Inn Resort on the Beach. Please use the links available, or call the numbers provided, in order to make your reservations at one of these hotels before they sell out as well. The advantage to these hotels is that the rates are $10.00 - $20.00/night less expensive.
So, prepare for another Island Adventure with several hundred of your closest friends – your fellow Rotarians. We look forward to seeing you in Galveston.
- See more at: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50025/Event/district-conference-in-galveston#sthash.c8klQXTL.dpuf
Galveston Island has SUN, FUN and sea galore, but that’s just for starters. Escape with your fellow Rotarians to the perfect year-round destination, a great resort, and an outstanding ROTARY District 5890 Conference at The San Luis Hotel, Spa and Conference Center, April 28-30, in Galveston. To register now, Click on REGISTER ON LINE
Our 2016 Conference Committee is busy putting together a fun and information-filled adventure for us all to enjoy. The festivities will begin with a Barbecue Dinner at the San Luis on Thursday night to welcome all of the Conference attendees. The Plenary Sessions will begin on Friday morning after breakfast, and will conclude shortly after lunch, giving everyone the rest of Friday evening to enjoy the sights of the island. The grand finale Governor’s Banquet will be held on Saturday evening at the majestic Galveston Island Convention Center, just a city block away, with transportation provided by buses from the San Luis Hotel. Thursday night’s dinner, Friday and Saturday’s breakfasts, Friday’s lunch, and the Governor’s Banquet are all included in the very reasonable registration fee on the Registration Form link.
For later evening fun and festivities on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the fourth floor of the San Luis hotel has been reserved exclusively for our Hospitality Rooms. There will be five suites, hosted by two Rotary clubs each, each with their own individual theme. You will definitely want to visit them all, and enjoy their food, beverages and hospitality.
Of course, no District Conference would be complete without golf and tennis tournaments. The golf tournament will be held at the beautiful Moody Gardens Golf Course on Thursday morning, April 28th, under the direction of PDG Lisa Faith Massey, a master of fun and frolic on the course. The tennis tournament will be held Friday or Saturday afternoon, and will be chaired by big-time tennis guy, Lindsey Kroll.
We'll have two great community service projects on Friday, April 29th, so click here to learn more. Click here for a Fact Sheet to share with your Rotary club.
Finally, we are required by Rotary International to have an adequate amount of up-to-date information about Rotary and our fantastic district and its clubs, which will be shared with all present at our Plenary Sessions on Friday and Saturday mornings.
The room block that we had reserved at the San Luis is now FULL, but there are still rooms available in our Conference Block at the nearby Hilton Galveston Island Resort and the Holiday Inn Resort on the Beach. Please use the links available, or call the numbers provided, in order to make your reservations at one of these hotels before they sell out as well. The advantage to these hotels is that the rates are $10.00 - $20.00/night less expensive.
So, prepare for another Island Adventure with several hundred of your closest friends – your fellow Rotarians. We look forward to seeing you in Galveston.
- See more at: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50025/Event/district-conference-in-galveston#sthash.c8klQXTL.dpuf
Willing to part with that gift card to a store you never frequent? Interested in donating Paul Harris Points or other Rotary items? Ready to put together a basket that will represent your company to thousands of Rotarians in the Houston area? Well we have the perfect opportunity for you! Rotary District 5890 members from all over the Gulf Coast region will be convening in Galveston for the District conference and we are looking for donations of gift cards, gift baskets, dinner cards, or other items that can be given as door prizes during the District 5890 Conference in Galveston. Please email President Linda Caruso if you have an item for our gift basket. Thank you!
This is a great way to get the name of your company out to others in the district, or just to donate a small item that would be memorable to others. If you are interested in donating, please contact Linda Caruso or Dree Miller and we will arrange to get the materials to the conference. Thank you for your support.
Rotary's Area of Focus: "Basic Education and Literacy"
Project: Educational Material for Parker Elementary School for International Studies in Galveston ISD:
Cost: From $2.27 to $42.24 (please order soon since delivery to the school is via UPS Ground)
Details: On the morning of Friday, April 29th, our Inbound Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) Students will visit the students at this elementary school as ambassadors for Rotary District 5890, and their home countries. On behalf of Rotary District 5890, our RYE Students will present education items we order to the teachers and students during their visit.
Here's how you and your Rotary club can help:
We've spoken to the school counselor, and she says that their teachers need educational materials for their classrooms.
She gave us the following links for specific items in the "Teachers Store" at Scholastic.Com.
Steps for placing an order: (It only took 5-minutes for me to set-up an account, order, and pay with my credit card.)
1. You and your Rotary club can order Reading Games, Educational Puzzles, and Math Games at the links below.
2. Since the items will be shipped directly to Parker Elementary, the counselor gave authorization to register as a educator at their school to order items.
3. To set-up your account, click one of highlighted links below.
Enter "Rotarian" in front of your first name so it appears on the shipping label and the school will know it's a donation from a D5890 Rotarian.
Example: "Rotarian Michael" or "Rotarian Mary", then continue with your last name as usual.
4. Enter your email address, and a password, then for "School Location" select "United States School".
Then State: "TX", City: "Galveston", and scroll down in the dropdown menu and select "Parker Elementary School, 6802 Jones Rd".
On the next page under "Administrator", select "Other Educator", and on the next page you can skip the questions by clicking continue.
5. Once you've registered, order several of your favorites using your personal credit card (the school won't have access to your credit card details):
Click here to for Reading Games. Click here for Educational Puzzles. Click here for Math Games.
6. Once you've placed the order, Scholastic.com will then ship the items you order directly to Parker Elementary.
The counselor will store the items until our RYE students arrive on April 29th.
7. Don't want to order from Scholastic.Com? Then you could purchase quality educational puzzles at your local Barnes & Noble, Half Price Books, etc.
However, you'll need to bring the items with you to the conference and drop them off at our Rotary 5890 District Conference Registration Desk (2nd floor) on:
Thursday, April 28th or before breakfast on Friday, April 29th.
8. The morning of Friday, April 29th, our Inbound Rotary Youth Exchange Students will officially present all items to Parker Elementary School.
Rotary's Area of Focus: - "Disease Treatment and Prevention"
Project: Community Blood Drive - Roll Up Your Sleeves and "Be A Gift To The World by Giving The Gift Of Life":
DG Nick asked our D5890 Rotary clubs to hold blood drives in our communities, and we're having one at the conference!
Blood donations made by your Rotarians at the conference will be credited to your Rotary club!
With: Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, Galveston
Where: At the San Luis Hotel in our District Conference Expo Room on the 2nd Floor
Date: Friday, April 29th
Time: 1 PM until 5:30 PM
The Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center staff will set-up their equipment inside our District Conference Expo Room on the 2nd floor of the San Luis Hotel.
The Plenary Sessions on Friday end for the day around 3 PM, so encourage your family members to donate between the 1 PM - 3 PM, then you can donate before 5:30 PM.
Walk-ins will be welcome, or you can reserve your time by clicking here.
"Frequently Asked Questions" about donating blood (medications, illnesses, travel, etc): http://www.giveblood.org/faq.aspx
For details, please click here for a story on the D5890 website, or copy and paste this link to your browser: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50025/Stories/two-great-community-service-projects-at-our-2016-district-conference-in-galveston
For a Project Fact Sheet about both projects, please click here or copy and paste this link to your browser: http://clubrunner.blob.core.windows.net/00000050025/en-ca/files/homepage/2016-district-conference-service-projects/D5890-Conference-Service-Projects.pdf
Please contact me with any questions at (713) 598-7129 (Cellular), or cjsb@suddenlink.net.
For the love of Rotary,
Charlie Buscemi
Deirdre Murray
James Alfaro
Tommie Buscemi
2016 District Conference Service Project Committee
Please save the date - June 25th. It will be our Installation for the 2016-2017 Incoming Board of Directors. We will have a luau party at PDG Ed Edward A Charlesworth's house. Dress code: Hawaiian style. Don't miss this event, specially if you are a board member or incoming board member. More details coming soon. Please let me know if you know anybody who plays the ukulele.
Mahalo!
Adriane Miller (Dree).
The 47th Annual Tomball Rotary Fish Fry will be on April 16th from 4 - 8 pm at the Tomball Depot (201 S. Elm Street in Tomball) and will feature Shay Domann and his Band. Great fish will be cooked and served by the Tomball Rotarians who proclaim to be "The Friendliest Club ON the Earth". Gold tickets are $100 for a drawing for a 1967 Mustang. A live and silent auction along with children's activities will raise money for service projects.
***REMEMBER - REPORT YOUR ATTENDANCE AT DISTRICT EVENTS AND FUNDRAISERS FOR ANY ROTARY CLUB. THIS SUBSTITUTES FOR YOUR OWN CLUB MEETING BUT YOU MAY READ THE NEWSLETTER AT YOUR CONVENIENCE ANYTIME.
The 47th Annual Tomball Rotary Fish Fry will feature Shay Domann and his band. Great fish will be served and the drawing for the 1967 Mustang will be held. We also have a beautiful ladies ring along with a wine tasting for 10 as part of the Gold Ticket raffle. We will have a live auction, silent auction and children's activities. All monies raised goes back into the community through scholarships, projects and support of other non-profit groups. Gold tickets are $100 which include a chance to win the Mustang, ring or wine tasting and 2 dinner tickets. Dinner tickets are also available and are $10. - See more at: http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50025/Event/47th-annual-fish-fry#sthash.dGkaN67i.dpuf
The 2016 Katy Wild West Brewfest will be held at the Katy Mills mall in Katy, TX – a suburb of Houston. This will be the fifth annual occurrence of this non-profit event, and the first held at Katy Mills mall. According to event organizer David Loesch, the reason for the move was simple: “We outgrew our old space; it simply could not handle our capacity anymore.”
All net proceeds of the event go to both local charities in the Houston-Katy area as well as other charities around the world. A few of the charities represented are: The Rainbow Room, Future Farmers of America, The Shaw Center, along with various disaster relief efforts and fine arts programs locally. The event is fully staffed by volunteers, which means that no one works the event to turn a profit, and 100 percent of the net gross goes back to the community. Not many events can say that. Over 6,300 people traveled from as far as the Netherlands to enjoy the raucous atmosphere and wide beer selection at the WWBF in 2015, and event organizers are hoping for an even better turnout this year.
April 23rd, at 4 PM (3 PM for VIP admission) the event opens to the public. For those that don’t want to make the drive to Katy Mills Mall, the “Texas Beer Bus” will pick up throughout the day at various locations around the event. While Uber or a designated driver is always an option, why not hop on a bus with fellow festgoers and perform an out-of-tune version of “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” before or after the event? Sounds like a blast to me.
The 2016 WWBF will feature over 150 breweries bringing over 500 (!) beers for your perusal. “With over 143,000 square feet of beer nirvana, every style you can imagine will be represented,” according to a WWBF press release. The VIP tent alone is over 10,000 square feet and will feature rare and one-off beers that will be made available for this event only.
Join us at Minute Maid Park for Rotary Night at the Astros on Sunday, May 22nd, 1:10pm. Inside Champion Pavilion, Rotarians and their guests will enjoy an exclusive reception with snacks, drinks, and cash bar. The great location overlooks the ballpark and provides a unique view of the Downtown Houston skyline.
CHEER ON DG NICK GIANNONE AS HE THROWS OUT THE FIRST PITCH!
Special Mezzanine seating is priced at $30 per person.
For more information, contact David.Frishman@DavidFrishmanLaw.com (281-391-2147). Christian Liebenow (713-259-8315) of the Astros organization, cliebenow@astros.com, indicates that tickets will be available for purchase online.
The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings:
Of the things we think, say or do
First, Is it the TRUTH?
Second, Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Third, Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
and Fourth, Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
