District 6910 Governor Message - Oct/Nov 2017

Simply Grateful

I hope this letter finds you enjoying a Happy Thanksgiving weekend. I am one district 6910 Rotarian very appreciative of being a part of an awesome group of dedicated Rotarians. We are well on our way to not only “Making a Difference” in our individual communities but in our world this Rotary year. We are People of Action and it shows. 

Membership…It Drives Everything We Do!

Here you will find a detailed report of how each club is doing regarding membership through November 12, 2017. Now is an excellent time to perform a “member compare” on DACdb. We use both Rotary.org and DACdb database to complete the attached worksheet. Below are some of the highlights ….Through November 12, 2017 the top eight clubs for net member increase since July 1, 2017 are:

Rotary E-Club of the South 36%

Banks County 26%

Green Putnam County 20%

Columbia County West 18%

Gwinnett Sunrise 17%

Peachtree Corners 17%

Lake-Chatuge-Hiawassee 16%

Washington 15%

Disaster Relief and Recovery   

Our district 6910 is part of Rotary International Zone 34. Many of our members have friends, relatives and people we know in areas affected by the hurricanes. While the news media has moved on, the real effort of helping people continues. If you would like to help those in need and use a trusted supporter look no further than our own Rotary organization. Below are the Donor Advised Funds or Disaster Recovery Funds established to receive contributions. Each fund is managed by District leaders, who best know the needs of the affected areas.   

D7000 - Puerto Rico Recovery DAF #614 – Contacts: RIPE Barry Rassin [barry.rassin@rotary.org] and RIPD Robert Stuart [Rstuart@bhslaw.com] 

D7020 – Hurricane Irma Disaster Recovery Fund (managed by Rotary's DNA-RAG Rotary Action Group 501(c)3 #47-3860087 in cooperation with District 7020 Disaster Fund) – Contacts: Jacqueline Heyliger [jjheyliger7020@hotmail.com] and PDG Jeremy Hurst [jeremyhurst7020@gmail.com] 

D7030 – Disaster Recovery Fund (managed by Rotary's DNA-RAG Rotary Action Group 501(c)3 #47-3860087 in cooperation with District 7030 Disaster Fund) – Contacts: DG Waddy Sowma [dg1718sowma.waddy@gmail.com] and PDG David Edwards [pdgdavid7030@gmail.com]

Yours in Rotary,

David "Coop" Cooper

District Governor

Rotary Clubs Celebrate World Polio Day

Oconee Clubs Celebrate World Polio Day

Area Rotarians in Athens GA (Photo/Josh L. Jones-Athens Banner/Herald)

About 65 Rotarians from the Athens, Classic City and Oconee Rotary Clubs jointly celebrated World Polio Day in Athens.  We watched the Gates Foundation presentation and then marched through downtown with the banner and went to the rooftop of the Georgia Theater and hung the banner over the edge of the wall while we enjoyed appetizers and drinks.  While the emphasis was not as a fundraiser, we raised $190 for Polio.   When matched by the Gates Foundation, that’s $570 for Polio.

-Submitted by Gerry Taylor, Assistant Governor - The Classic City of Athens

Rotary Club of Hartwell Celebrates Polio Day

When polio vaccinations are administered, the pinky is painted purple to show the child has been vaccinated. The Rotary Club of Hartwell recently celebrated World Polio Day, painting members' pinky fingers purple for polio awareness.

Past District Governor Joe Whittemore, a polio survivor, proudly shows his purple pinky.

- Submitted by Peggy Vickery, Public Relations Chair - Rotary Club of Hartwell

 

Gwinnett Rotary Clubs Host Russian Doctors

My heart is full as I write about my experience hosting two Russian doctors – a neurologist and an oncologist - in my home for the past four days. Although we were not able to speak the same language, we were able to communicate through gestures and a handy app that instantly translated the written word. How did this experience come to pass?

In an effort to build bridges and friendships across the world, Rotary District 6910 hosted a team of nine Russian physicians and a translator who wished to learn about medicine in America – how medical students are taught and how patient care is delivered. After visiting Gainesville and Athens, team members, who represented multiple specialties including radiology, pediatrics, dermatology, neurology, oncology and others, were transported to the home of Rotarian Thomas Shepherd, president of Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville. Tom and his wife, Linda, prepared a southern feast fit for royalty. Gwinnett Rotarians who had volunteered to host the families in their homes, Al and Beverly Hombroek, Mike and Margie Alexander, Wayne and Beth Sikes, Beatty and Paula McCaleb and Barbara Myers, were also invited.

Thanks to the Hayes Automotive Group, a 15-passenger van was available to transport the Russian citizens around Gwinnett and even into Atlanta for sightseeing. Sunday featured tours of the CNN Center, the World of Coca-Cola and dinner at The Varsity. On Monday, the contingency visited Georgia Campus – Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM) where they learned about how medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, biomedical sciences and physical therapy are taught to the 1,100 student population.

The translator wasn’t necessary when the physicians toured the college’s Anatomy Lab which features several Mondopads, touchscreens for learning. In addition, the Simulation Center with high fidelity mannequins, a surgical suite, trauma bay and birthing area captured the interest of the physicians. The Russian doctors were familiar with the benefits of osteopathic manipulative medicine and paid rapt attention to a demonstration by Dr. Regina Fleming.

A stop at the Concussion Institute housed at Gwinnett Medical Center in Duluth was a highlight of the visit, along with information about rehabilitative services and bariatric surgery. The physicians indicated they would like to implement some of what they learned about the American delivery of health care in Russia.

Rotarians with Russian doctors at Gwinnett Medical Center

Dinner at Dominick’s in downtown Lawrenceville was a hit Monday evening and Tuesday morning featured more conversation via the handy cell phone app and breakfast with the universal connector of coffee. Group members admitted that their “impressions of the United States before arriving were misguided and that going forward, regardless of what they hear on the news, they’ll know firsthand that Americans, especially Rotarians and Georgians, are a warm and friendly people.”

The Gwinnett experience took the combined efforts of the Lawrenceville, South Gwinnett and Gwinnett Rotary clubs. A certificate from the group stated, “We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to you for your hospitality and great contribution to Russian-American relations…This is true dedication to world peace and mutual understanding. Thank you for your friendship which helps to bring our two great countries closer together.”

You never know what to expect when you say “yes” to new experiences, but most often the rewards are so much better than expected. Who knew? An invitation to St. Petersburg was issued and several Gwinnettians may go as the guests of our new Russian friends.

-Submitted by Barbara Myers, President-Elect, Rotary Club of South Gwinnett

Rotary District 6910 Names Governor for 2020-21

The Rotary District 6910 Nominating Committee has named a district governor candidate for 2020-21.  Rotary District 6910's District Governor Nominee Designate is Tina D. Fischlin. Tina has been a member of the Rotary Club of Greene & Putnam Counties, serving the Lake Oconee area since 2007, serving as President in 2011-12.  In 2015, she received Rotary International’s highest honor, the Service Above Self award. 

She is a South Georgia native attending Georgia Southern University and moved to Atlanta attending Georgia State University majoring in Accounting. After college, she worked in Atlanta in the public financial sector and ultimately made her way to a career in real estate. She was a top producing agent in the Atlanta area for many years and was recognized as one of the Top 10 agents in the DeKalb Board of Realtors in 1998.

In the early 1990’s.  She and her late husband, Hal, purchased land in the North Carolina mountains and planted their first Fraser fir Christmas trees. In, 1998 they delivered their first trees to the Atlanta area and Tina continues to operate the retail lots and provide fundraising opportunities for non-profits in the Southeast. The Davis-Hollcroft Family Forestry Scholarship has been established at the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry & Natural Resources supporting an undergraduate student majoring in Forestry.

She has served on numerous philanthropic and civic boards as member, committee chair and both locally and internationally. She currently serves as International Director on the Board of Alliance for Smiles providing free surgery to those who suffer from cleft anomalies in underserved parts of the world.  

Tina is District 6910’s International Service Chair, a Major Donor, Paul Harris Society member, a Benefactor, a Bequest Society member and a Will Watt Fellow.

She is married to Mike Fischlin, a former Major League baseball player who continues to live his passion as a sports agent with the Boras Corporation.  They are members of Lake Oconee Church and reside in Reynolds Lake Oconee with their dog Sophia Loren.

As per Rotary International by-laws, Article 14, clubs have fourteen days from today, to notify Governor David Cooper of challenging candidates as per Article 14 of Rotary International by-laws.

Tina D. Fischlin