World Polio Day-Gwinnett Rotarians Hold Polio Talk

The Rotary Clubs serving Gwinnett County, comprised of more than 300 Rotarians in nine clubs, will mark World Polio Day on Wednesday, October 24, with a community-wide polio discussion. The public is invited to hear the latest news concerning polio from Dr. Abhijeet Anand, a medical epidemiologist who focuses on polio at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. In addition, Past District 6910 Governor Bill Strickland will tell a personal story about polio immunizations in India.

Past District Governor Bill Strickland administers polio vaccine drops during a National Immunization Day (NID) in India.

The event will take place from 4:30 to 6 pm on October 24 in the Education Center at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce building, 6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, Georgia 30097. Hosting the community-wide polio discussion are the Rotary Club of Buford/North Gwinnett, the Rotary Club of Duluth, the Rotary Club of Gwinnett, the Rotary Club of Gwinnett Mosaic, the Rotary Club of Gwinnett Sunrise, the Rotary Club of Gwinnett Tomorrow, the Rotary Club of Lawrenceville, the Rotary Club of Peachtree Corners and the Rotary Club of Sugarloaf.

World Polio Day was established by Rotary International more than a decade ago to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. The first polio vaccine was available in the United States in 1955. Use of this inactivated poliovirus vaccine and subsequent widespread use of the oral poliovirus, developed by Albert Sabin, led to the establishment of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) in 1988. As of 2013, GPEI had reduced polio worldwide by 99 percent.

GPEI is spearheaded by the World Health Organization, Rotary International, the CDC and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).  It includes the support of governments and other private sector donors.

Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease. The virus spreads from person to person and can invade an infected person’s brain and spinal cord, causing paralysis. According to the World Health Organization, there is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines. Polio vaccine, for as little as sixty cents each, given multiple times, almost always protects a child for life. The strategy to eradicate polio is based on preventing infection by immunizing every child until transmission stops and the world is polio-free.

Since 1979, Rotarians have helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. The disease remains endemic in three countries -- Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan -- although other countries remain at risk for imported cases.
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.

To register for the event, visit this link - https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409044eabab22a1fe3-world.

For more information, Contact Barbara Myersnbarbaracmyers@gmail.com or 770-309-0613

Submitted by Barbara Myers - President, Rotary Club of Sugar Loaf

District 6910 Governor Message-March 2018

It’s March and the temperature is rising!

I thought I could coast a little at this point in the Rotary year. Boy was I wrong! The pace has quickened with new member inductions, club’s planting trees, district training events, club’s having anniversaries, new Paul Harris Fellows, new multiple Paul Harris fellows, New 100% Paul Harris Fellow clubs and new major donors. Thank you for the invitations. I am having a blast creating more wonderful memories with the clubs in District 6910.  

The Rotary Club of Dahlonega celebrating their 35th Anniversary

The Rotary Club of Washington, led by Terry Boswell (center), is the leader in new member growth.

What in the wide wide world of sports is going on???

The Rotary Club of Washington, led by Terry Boswell (pictured above) has taken over the net new member percentage lead. Terry, now serving back to back years as Club President, has figured out membership drives everything we do!  As of March 23, 2018 our district now boasts an increase of 169 net new members. I challenge all clubs to keep your foot on the accelerator. Our goal is a 10% increase in net new members and we have until June 30, 2018 to get there. 

The TOP TEN clubs with the highest % of membership growth as of February 22 are:

Washington led by Terry Boswell 36.84%

Rotary E-Club of the South led by Ron Kersey 31.58%

Thomson led by Jason Smith 23.81%

Woodstock led by Robert Tidwell 23.53%

Lanier-Forsyth led by Logan Butler 22.06% 

Greene-Putnam led by Bob Massey 20.45%

Banks County led by Jeffery Lewallen 20.0%

Lake Chatuge-Hiawassee led by Jane Hindsman 20.0%

Martinez-Evans led by Rob Ashe 19.51

Summerville-Trion led by Susan Locklear 19.05%

Below is what your club has recorded in DACdb. Do a member compare so that the number count is the same on the Rotary.org database. Please clean your roster up NOW. Do not wait until after conference or the end of June to delete members that are no longer members.  Leaving members on a roster just to make your individual club look good until June 30 does not serve any purpose except to distort final reports that come out in August. We call this the “Scott Yochum Effect” which is using smoke and mirrors in an effort to appear better looking than what one actually is. Yeah, I am seeing if anyone is actually reading this monthly newsletter at Scott’s expense. 

Sorry Cheryl, I meant to put the tree in the hole.

Pictured L to R is Loganville Mayor, Congressman Jody Hice, DG Coop and Loganville Rotarian Steve Arnold

Stand up and be counted.

Many of our clubs are planting trees and I am finding out they are planting more than the number of members in each club. Gwinnett County, Elberton, Loganville, Franklin County and Rockdale County all have planted more trees than members. Make sure you let RI President Ian Riseley know you did your part. Being counted requires some entries in Rotary.org. Visit Rotary.org and share your tree project on Rotary Showcase.

Come to District Assembly and receive a check.

Refund checks for the International convention will be distributed at District Assembly, April 14, 2018. Your club President and Assistant Governor have the spreadsheet with the amount your club will be receiving.  I am sure each club will give a considerable amount of thought regarding the best use of the money being returned. That decision belongs to each club and its individual leadership. That being said, the District 6910 is asking your club to consider the following options below. 

Donate a percentage of the refund to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund and/or Polio Plus Fund. This donation is in addition to donations previously made or previously planned. 

Clubs that are willing to support a onetime donation will be recognized at our District Conference in Charleston. Below are percentage categories that will determine the level of recognition that will be awarded individual District 6910 Clubs.

25% Bronze Contributing Club

50% Silver Contributing Club

75% Gold Contributing Club

100% Platinum Contributing Club

Keep in mind that one half of the Annual Fund will return to District 6910 in three years and the Polio Plus Fund donation will be matched 2 for 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is your Club’s decision but I recommend supporting both funds.  

I am in awe of the District 6910 Rotarians giving spirt. Thank you for your trust in our District and for supporting the Rotary International Convention last year.

Mark and Beth DiGiovanni are registered.  Are you?

I’m so excited I can’t count them all…

Actually I did and registrations for conference, including those attending the Saturday evening dinner, have exceeded 400!!! Seriously, if you have not registered for the conference then you remain unregistered until you actually register. (Profound isn’t it?) Come on, you know you are going to attend, why wait until two weeks prior to register? What can you possibly do, with your clothes on, that could be more fun than going to Charleston with your Rotary friends??? Anyone that sponsors a new member between January 1 and May 3 gets the Yorktown event refunded at district conference! Bring those new members with you! We plan on making a big deal out of all new members and new member sponsors and have the time of our life in the process!

Yours in Rotary,

David "Coop" Cooper

District 6910 Governor

Gwinnett County Rotarians Bowl to End Polio

Rotary members in Duluth, Georgia gathered together  to reach out, raise awareness, funds and support to end polio – a vaccine preventable disease that still threatens children in parts of the world today.   

Since Rotary and its partners launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative nearly 30 years ago, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to 26 confirmed as of Sept. 19, 2016.  To sustain this progress, and protect all children from polio, experts say $1.5 billion is urgently needed. Without full funding and political commitment, this paralyzing disease could return to previously polio-free countries, putting children everywhere at risk.  

The Gwinnett Mosaic Rotary Club along with 5 other Rotary and Interact Clubs joined together in service and fellowship at the “Bowlio for Polio” fundraising event to help End Polio Now! 

Rotary has contributed more than $1.6 billion to ending polio since 1985. The “Bowlio for Polio” event raised $4,000 which is matched with a contribution from the Gates Foundation to total $12,000. 

Submitted by Jennifer Hibbard - Rotary Club of Gwinnett County, Club Secretary

District 6910 Governor Message - February 2017

The month of February has just flown by, and I share with you my message for February on this last day of February in just the nick of time to call it my February message. One of the things I've enjoyed most in this journey as your District Governor is seeing all the good that our clubs are doing right here in District 6910. I have several issues of this 'Rotations' newsletter queued up within the next few weeks that will let you see firsthand how our District 6910 Rotarians have been changing lives, serving humanity. I hope you'll consider subscribing, by email, to this newsletter so that you won't miss a single story.

As you know, our Centennial celebration of The Rotary Foundation peaks in Atlanta this June when we welcome the world to Atlanta. Please take advantage of how easy it is to get to Atlanta and enjoy all this International Convention has to offer. My life was forever changed when I walked into the first Rotary International Convention I ever attended in 2011, in New Orleans, hearing Bill Gates speak to thousands of Rotarians from all over the world as to how we were 'this close' to ending polio. It let me see that I really was part of an organization that could change the world. It's not too late to get registered. I hope you will today.

Speaking of polio, the world saw 74 cases of the wild polio virus in 2015. In 2016, there were 37. To date this year in 2017, we have seen three. We could have very well seen the last case of polio. What a celebration that will be when we have rid the world of this dreaded disease. Thank you for your continued support of The Rotary Foundation, and in particular to our PolioPlus fund, where our contributions are still matched by the Gates Foundation 2 to 1. Our district has seen record giving to the PolioPlus fund of The Rotary Foundation in this 2016-17 year. I thank you for your continued generous giving to The Rotary Foundation.

One of the goals that the three Georgia governors set prior to taking office was to work to see that each of Georgia's three district's clubs achieved 100% Paul Harris Fellow Clubs in entirety. If you are not yet a Paul Harris Fellow, and you are interested in becoming one, please contact me directly and I can help. A Rotarian achieves 'Paul Harris Fellow' by donating $1000 outright to The Rotary Foundation or by receiving recognition points from another Rotarian to total 1000, combining the dollars actually given and recognition points. Our goal is to welcome the world to Atlanta, Georgia with a 100% Paul Harris Fellow state. To date, 43 of our 73 clubs have achieved 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club with several others very close. Congratulations to these clubs on this outstanding achievement!

With 122 days remaining in my term as district governor, there is still so much to do. We will celebrate our clubs' achievements at District Assembly on Saturday, May 13. Also, we will do the ceremonial change of governors that day, inducting District Governor Elect David "Coop" Cooper. I hope to see you there, if not sooner.

Yours in Rotary,

Kim Waters
District Governor
770.540.3788

District 6910 Governor Message - Jan 2017

Greetings from India where David and I just participated in India's January National Immunization Day (NID). Our two coupled Rotary Zones 33 and 34 were represented by about 40 Rotarians and partners. 

Having been polio free for just over six years, India remains diligent in the execution and planning of these NIDs and in making sure those who cross its borders from endemic countries are immunized. We wore vests, hats and pins that exclaimed , "Keep India Polio Free" and "A Dream Come True." We were honored to have the opportunity to administer those precious drops of polio vaccine to children in polio camps (booths in villages supervised by a public health worker) and then on what they referred to as "mop up day" (Monday following the official NID) walking in poor areas, going door to door administering drops to children without a purple pinky. Children who receive the drops have the left small pinky painted purple. David has chronicled a blog post of the trip, visit the blog site for more on the trip: RotaryZones33-34PolioWarriors. 

These children, presumably brothers, arrived in the back of a rickshaw for their immunizations.

When David said at one point, "It is a trip like this that makes you a Rotarian." I understood. If you get the opportunity to take part in an NID, I hope you'll consider it. The trip's crescendo may have been in hearing news from home that our Arch Klumph Society gift, received recently on World Polio Day, was designated as a PolioPlus gift, meaning the $250,000 gift becomes $750,000 with the Gates match. 

With polio remaining endemic in only three countries and continued support from Rotarians like those in our own District 6910, I'm confident we shall see an end to this disease for which there is no cure, in the near future.  

Area Rotary clubs sponsored each booth or 'camp' where a public health worker oversees the administration of drops. We were greeted with these garlands when arriving at this one.

We recently lost Marla Panyik, a beloved Rotarian who always wore a beautiful smile. In honor of Marla, a retired educator and wife of Past District Governor Rich Panyik, The Rotary Club of Loganville is establishing a scholarship in Marla Panyik's name at Gwinnett Tech.The club is a 501(c)3 organization. Checks can be made to the Rotary Club of Loganville, designated for Marla Panyik Scholarship Fund, and mailed to P.O Box 2267, Loganville GA 30052. The club has started the fund with over $6,000 in the fund from club members.

We are expecting record numbers of Rotarians from around the world  in June when we celebrate 100 years of The Rotary Foundation. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time. Register here to attend. You'll get an opportunity to take part in the largest birthday party ever and volunteer with your club or individually. There will be informative breakout sessions and inspiring general sessions led by world class speakers. 

We are well on our way to achieving 100% Paul Harris Fellow Clubs. I just received update from Past District Governor/District Foundation Chair that we now have have 40 clubs certified 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club with several others very close.  Look for the complete list in my next monthly message. Thank you for all you have done in achieving this goal. 

Our District 6910 has shown banner membership growth this year, the top growing district in our Zone 34. I want to thank Pepper Pettit and Scott Yochum for their outstanding leadership as District Membership Chairs. Oconee County leads the district in membership growth as of now with 29% growth since the beginning of this Rotary year. Congratulations, Rotary Club of Oconee County! Have you sponsored a new Rotarian yet this year? The invitation to Rotary is a gift, and I hope you'll extend at least one this Rotary year.

Finally, I have never known of a time when we were in such need of peace. Our district will be recognized as a Peace Building District beginning this year. My identified successors have agreed to continue this designation. A Peace Building District helps fund a Peace Fellow annually. Your club can be a Peace Building Club by promoting Peace-Building and understand In your community. For more information, visit and join the Rotarian Action Group for Peace. 

Peace be with you,

Kim Waters

District Governor

770.540.3788

Rotary District 6910 Governor Message - Oct 2016

What are you and your club doing to celebrate World Polio Day?  Rotary International and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will be joining together for the 4th Annual World Polio Day event on Monday, 24 October. More than 50,000 viewers around the world will join together in viewing the live stream event. We will be joined by celebrities and experts to share our progress on the road to polio eradication. If you haven't yet made a plan, consider joining up together in a club member's home to watch the live streaming event at endpolio.org. Share the live-stream and educate your social media network about the campaign to #endpolio.

Spearheading the most successful global health partnership in history with the launch of PolioPlus in 1985, we have nearly eradicated polio, one of the world's most feared diseases, from the face of the earth. Polio remains endemic in only three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. For up-to-date statistics on polio, updated weekly, visit PolioEradication.org. Committed to supporting PolioPlus, our Rotary District 6910 recently made a contribution of $38,450 from our Rotary Foundation District Designated Fund to PolioPlus. Based on funding requirements to continue this campaign of eradicating polio through 2019, a funding gap of $1.24 billion exists. Therefore, it is vital we continue to support this campaign. Many clubs have fundraisers specifically designated for PolioPlus. Not only does this raise needed funds, it raises awareness of our PolioPlus fund and lets our communities know that we as Rotarians are a vital part of the EndPolio campaign.

Rotary Club of Gwinnett Mosaic is a 25 member club committed to EndPolio.
Their bowling fundraiser "Bowlio" raised a total of $14,511 for Polio Plus.  

We have not seen a case of polio in India since 2011, yet the government still holds National Immunization Days (NID) twice a year as it is still important, especially in high risk areas, that children continue to receive immunizations. The goal is that each child under five receive two drops of oral vaccine. The scale of this is extraordinary with more than 172 million children vaccinators who visit more than 209 million homes in every city, town and village across the country. Since becoming involved in Rotary, I have always wanted to be involved in NID. In February, David and I will have the opportunity to visit India as part of a team of Rotarians participating in this NID. If you are interested in going as a part of this team, please email me, to let me know. The tentative departure date is 29 Jan 2017 returning 8 Feb 2017.

I would like to express a heartfelt thank you to all the District 6910 Rotarians who so generously support our Rotary Foundation. The good work we do in our communities and around the world is only limited by the amount we give to The Rotary Foundation, which allows us to 'do good in the world.'

In celebration of our Rotary Foundation's Centennial, more and more clubs in Rotary District 6910 are achieving 100% Paul Harris Fellow Clubs. If your club is not there yet and you'd like ideas on how to accomplish this outstanding achievement, please contact our Rotary District Foundation Chair, Bill St. Clair. I would like to thank Bill St. Clair, our District Rotary Foundation Chair for helping clubs all around the district achieve this, the donors and the clubs who have achieved 100% Paul Harris Fellow Club. Thank you for your support of our Rotary Foundation. Congratulations to these clubs:

We will celebrate 100 years of The Rotary Foundation in Atlanta at The Rotary International Convention, kicking it off with a Million Dollar Dinner on 9 June. I hope to see you there. Contact Rich Panyik for more information on the Million Dollar Dinner (you don't have to give a million dollars to be invited, but we'd love it if you did). Volunteer opportunities are now open at the convention website. I hope you'll get registered for the convention and also as a volunteer as we hope to show a record number of Rotarians what southern hospitality is all about.

Polio eradication is our #1 external goal. With membership our #1 internal goal, here's an membership update:  We are the number one district in Georgia year to date in membership growth with 23 new members as of 30 September. But this means we are behind if we are to accomplish our goal of at least net 200 member growth by 30 June. I hope you'll be thinking about who you can bring into Rotary this year. Thank you for all you do to keep our organization relevant and a vital part of our communities and the world, Rotary Serving Humanity.

Kim Waters

Rotary District 6910 Governor

770.540.3788

LAKE CHATUGE-HIAWASSEE ROTARY CLUB AWARDS ROTARIAN OF THE YEAR

Outgoing President Gerry Gutenstein presents Jim Brownlee with the “Rotarian of the Year” Award for his outstanding involvement, dedication, and success at guiding the Club to 100% participation in its PolioPlus Foundation Program.

The Lake Chatuge-Hiawassee Rotary Club meets every Tuesday at noon at the Brasstown Valley Resort and Spa in Young Harris.

Please see our Facebook page for more information.

Outgoing President Gerry Gutenstein and Jim Brownlee