District 7020 Blog

Haiti Club Assembly and Task Force meeting

2008-03-30T05:22:00.006-05:00

We had a successful trip to Haiti on Thursday arriving late afternoon. We went immediately to TortugAir to secure our tickets to Jeremie which had been reserved by PDG Amos. They were well oversold and after some time we were able to get the actual tickets in hand. From there on to the hotel Montana to meet with DG Nathan from 6910 who had been talking to the Canadian Consulate and the USAID people about the Sustainable Water Master plan Resolution that the Water Summit had passed.

Great progress was made on that. They are all very interested in Rotaries role and have confidence that we can bring a level of support and continuity to it that will integrate well with the International Governmental initiatives currently in place and or being discussed. The question is, How big a bite is this for Rotary, and is it a Zone 33 - 34 project, or International or local Task Force. My gut tells me today it is some of each.

We met with the US ambassador Friday morning before leaving for the Club Assembly in Jeremie and she reinforced the comments made at the previous two meetings. She again pledged the support we would be asking for. Given the limited clarity on the direction and magnitude of this it is not clear what help we need just yet other than advice and information.

Thursday night we met with Marlene and her team Brad and Earl for a quite dinner. We discuss the Matching Grant that they had proposed for Cap Haitien and how to proceed.

Mid afternoon Thursday we flew to Jeremie and met up with a great team of Rotarians led by ADG Robert, his wife Rotarian Rosa and President Gaiten and many local Rotarians. See the great welcome banner.

We went up to our Hotel, set high on a hill with a great view of the ocean. We enjoyed a nice local meal and some fellowship before e going to a private bar located about 20 minutes away. There we just enjoyed an evening of local talent and fun. The band that was due to play from port Au Prince did not arrive so everyone improvised by singing, telling stories, jokes (clean) and reciting poetry. Carla said it best as some of the most talented people we have ever seen, and all of them rotarians did their thing. She said "Do you see what happens when you don't have television" Her comments were a very real check on what we have in parts of the worls and what we don't, and the difference t makes in the society we live in. Haiti despite the shortcomings in development etc has the basics of true social art and culture that most countries and societies today could not find if they had to.

This is a shower facility built by the Rotary Club of Jeremie. They realy get good use of it and love it.
We had a club Assembly which was held at the Mormon church on Saturday. A great program and well attended. the Le Cayes and Aquin team left Les Cayes by car at 3:00 AM in the morning and arrived around 10:00 AM after a very rough trip because it rained and a flat tire. Do Rotarians in your clubs and communities have that commitment.

I had a number of things to accomplish. We had D7150 down trying to complete a Matching Grant. Marlene had put together a MG which they came to have signed. What they learned was that what they wanted to do and what the community wanted were two very different things. because Marlene and her team made the trip down to Haiti, saw the situation and met with the Club and Task force, she was able to modify her Matching Grant to meet the needs of a community and to do a Matching Grant with a Club in cap Haitien where the Club and its leadership had a total buy in with it. great job Marlene and thank you for doing it the right way.

Off to Haiti agian!

2008-03-27T13:02:00.000-05:00

Good day all,
Carla and I are off to a Assembly in Jeremie Haiti. We will be in Port Au prince tonight and off to Jeremie Friday to Sunday and then home.

While in Haiti we are reviewing MANY Task Force items as it is the end of the matching grants period so everyone is coming out of the woodwork to make the deadline of March 1st. Their lack of planning is now our emergency, funny how that works. Just as a side note, they may deal with 5 to 10 MG's per District per year. We currently have 84 on the books and many in the wings.

We are meeting with District 7150 to discuss a number of projects that they are contemplating as well.

We have a meeting set up with USAID and the US ambassador to discuss furthering the resolution from the Water Summit on the Master plan for Sustainable Water Supply for Haiti. Doesn't sound like to much slack time to me!!!

We have had a busy week at home, completing our Bathroom construction which was quite a challenge and a litany of Rotary meetings, related mostly to the Conference in May but also some on the GSE teams and some on projects in Nassau.

I am just getting in the ADG Club Reports and the Award applications from the Clubs and the District is doing exceptionally well. I will share all this information at the District Conference along with a continuous slide show of pictures taken throughout the District during our visits. That's about 1000 pictures and not all of them flattering as you can imagine.

They just called the flight so I will continue this later.

Dick

From then till now!!

2008-03-16T07:13:00.005-05:00

Sunday, March 16, 2008

We’ve neglected the poor blog for the last few weeks. Let’s go back to where we left off.

Our Daytona trip. Every year for the past 7 we’ve spent Speed Week in Daytona Beach topping off with the Daytona 500 NASCAR Race. This year we left Nassau on February 13 with all our race gear and themed shirts, radios etc. Dick had a 2 hour Webinar sitting in a parking lot in Orlando with the Zone Committee. Carla got to go shopping! We arrived at the Night Swan in New Smyrna where we’ve been staying for 7 years; it’s become a home away from home. (our daughter Lissa got married there)

Thursday we spent at the track watching two races. Our daughter Lissa called to say “Gus” the pug had to be hospitalized for eating 26 Guineppes (I hope the spelling is right). Happy Valentines Day.

Friday we skipped the track and did some antiquing. Lots of great things to see, none to buy. We watched two movies and completely relaxed. I don’t think the cell phone even rang once.

Saturday we’re off to the track for the Nationwide Race. About five laps into the race, Lissa called to say “Gus” the pug had to be flown to Fort Lauderdale for surgery. One of the seeds was stuck and he was in distress. Needless to say we left the race, checked out of our great little hotel, gave away our Sunday Daytona 500 tickets and drove to Fort Lauderdale to meet Lissa’s plane and get Gus to the vet.
Gus
After many xrays and round the clock observation for 48 hours he was released without having to have surgery. However, we did have to find a “Dog Friendly” hotel where we could stay for 2 days to make sure everything was ok. In case you need one, the Sheraton Hotel at Griffin Road and I-95 in Fort Lauderdale is wonderful.

Gus and Meghen's Dog Pato enjoying the pool

Thank goodness a month has gone by and my temper has calmed so we won’t go into the awful treatment we received on American Airlines due to their ignorance. If they didn’t have a monopoly in our district I would never fly them again!

Due to American we missed our conference meeting and got home extremely late on the 20th only to find that our bathroom expansion that was supposed to have been finished was nowhere near being finished. The problems only got worse once we got home. Ending with the contractor being fired. The new contractors haven’t stopped laughing at the mess yet. The tub didn’t fit into the enclosure, the pipes were at an angle, the drain wasn’t in the proper place, the wiring didn’t go where it needed. Is this our pay back for trying to do construction during our very busy year?

Rotary wise: the conference is coming along nicely. Lots of activity at the meetings and lots of excitement. Don’t forget to register, time is running out.

The District Leadership Conference was held in Fort Lauderdale the end of February with DGE Rupert Ross at the helm. It’s always great to have everyone together, great fellowship and lots of sharing of ideas. Dick has asked to be the Haiti Liaison for the Haiti Task Force and Carla has been asked to be the Chair for Community Service Projects in the year 2008-09 for DGE Rupert. Rupert shared next year’s theme “Make Dreams Real” and shared RIPE D.K. Lee’s vision. Lots of side meetings were held, Conference Chairman Frank McGwier come over to meet with DG Phil Lustig (D-6930) and his Conference Chairman Chris concerning the joint conference. The Caribbean Partnership group (previously called Think Caribbean) met and discussed the booth in LA and the upcoming conference in July. And of course lots of fellowship.

GSE team development is taking form in all three areas. GSE selection has created a lot of awareness of Rotary in the areas where teams are being formed.
Carla ,DGNN Dianna, and PHF Jan
We are currently in St. Thomas for the Paul Harris dinner which was held last night. What a great function. Each club and the Inner Wheel recognized their honorees, some greatly surprised, others truly honoured. Here is an interesting piece of information. ADG Don Chandler is the only ADG with all 6 of his clubs under guidance of Women Presidents and also the ADG with all of his Clubs being Paul Harris Society Members. Great work!

Of course we would be remiss to not mention the great hospitality we have again been shown. PE Deepak and Gita hosted us to a fantastic Indian meal which must have taken Gita and the family days to create. What a wonderful time. Thank you again!

PE Deepaks wife Gita and their dog Prince

Club Leaders at the PHF function!

With my hand out!

ON REACH Radio

We were on Rotaries Radio Program REACH yesterday to share some thoughts on Rotary and to promote the GSE team. USVI north is working hard on the team selection and I have been assured by ADG Don that he will have a team by the end of this week. This trip we’ve had time to enjoy St. Thomas and more hospitality today at DGNN Diana and Roger White’s home. AG Don and Susan have been great looking after us like royalty-he even had gas in his car!

Enjoying the PHF dinner!

RID Barry Rassin and RIDE Eric Adamson have restructured what used to be the Think Caribbean Initiative, and it is now the Caribbean Partnerships. The structure has been slightly altered with the following appointments. I am very excited about this appointment and the opportunity it gives our District.

Structure:
Zone 34 Coordinator for The Caribbean Partnership
George Banning, PDG (04-05) 6890
Zone 33 Coordinator for The Caribbean Partnership
Byron Brill, PDG (07-08) 7570
Caribbean Coordinator for The Caribbean Partnership (Including the Haiti Task Force)
Richard McCombe, PDG (07-08) 7020

Chair for Club Partnerships J.V. Vlass, PDG (06-07) 6910
Chair for Disaster Relief including Satellite Phones Ruben Alfaras, PDG (06-07) 6890
Disaster Relief and Planning Jack Martin PDG (06-07) 6990
Chair for Communication & Follow Up David Edwards, PDG (04-05) 7030
Chair for Website Mike Thacker, PDG (03-04) 7710
Chair for Other Programs and Development Nathan Carmack, PDG (07-08) 6910 Including Development in Haiti
Member for Other Programs and Development Don Thomas, DGN (09-10) 6960
Catch The Wave Workshop Doug Palonder PDG (06-07) 6950
Advisory Committee Barry Rassin PRID (06-08)
Eric Adamson RID (08-10)
Milt Jones, PRID (06)

We’ll be on our way back to Nassau tonight with an overnight in Miami, and home tomorrow. We’ll keep you updated a little more regularly going forward.

DG Dick

A long read, but great information!!

2008-02-29T04:03:00.000-05:00

Its been a very busy couple of weeks. Carla and I actually got caught up on some of our Work Work but mostly we spent the last few weeks getting done the many things that fell behind while we traveled the District.
I put in about 12 Rotary meetings in the period, dealing with things like District Conference, GSE teams, Zone Institutes, Club awards, Conference hotel issues, District Budget etc. The District is going well and I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished. There are still a lot of loose ends such as District Dues for some Clubs, Membership and Foundation goal achievements etc, but we are getting there.
I had to prepare a report for the Rotary International Presidents Rep Arthur Harrington who will be attending our District Conference on behalf of the RI President. The document was very enlightening, because rather than looking at each different aspect of our District on its own, it summarized it. When looked at in its entirety, we are amazing. Simply Amazing.
There is a lot here, but I would recommend you take the time to look at it. It will give you a real overview of our District and make you very proud to be a member of the District 7020 Rotary world.

INFORMATION FOR PRESIDENT’S REPRESENTATIVE TO CONFERENCE OF

District 7020 Made up of the following countries:
Anguilla
The Bahamas
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Haiti
Jamaica
St. Barthelemy
Sint Maarten
St. Martin
Turks & Caicos
US Virgin Islands

The following is based on most recent information available:
Number of clubs in this district as of 30 June: 68
New clubs admitted since 1 July: 1
Number of Rotarians in this district: 2333
Gain (loss) in members since 30 June: gain + 43
We anticipate another 20 to 30 before the Conference
Names of RI Committee members or general officers in district:
RID Barry Rassin

Name, spouse’s name and club of incoming district governor:
Rupert Ross Jr.
He is a member of the St. Croix West Club
Spouse’s name is Cheryl
They reside in St. Croix US VI

Name, spouses’ name and club of district governor-nominee:
Errol Alberga
He is a member of the St. Andrew North Rotary Club located in Kingston Jamaica
Spouse’s name is Leonie

YOUTH EXCHANGE
Number exchanged by this district last year:
Sent abroad__0__ Received from abroad_____0______
Planned ___0___

Our District is working diligently on the Rotary Youth Exchange Program Certification, however it is a difficult challenge as we are made up of many countries and subsequently many different regulatory standards. We have a District Committee Chair assigned to this project.

INTERACT
There are 62 Interact clubs in this district, 59 are active

ROTARACT
There are 31 Rotaract clubs in this district

WORLD COMMUNITY SERVICE
I think our Think Caribbean Twinning program best illustrates the International initiatives here. Many are with mainland clubs connected with our Zones 33 and 34, but many involve much more than that. Beyond those, our Involvement with the TRF and the number of Open Active and In Process matching Grants best define our efforts here. See below:

Rotary Club of Southeast Nassau is currently working on a Matching Grant project to supply a solar oven to a hospital in Haiti. We are partnering with The Rotary Club of The Villages near Orlando and The Rotary Club of Pignon in Haiti. We have another project on the drawing board to supply drinking straws to school children in Haiti. But we have not identified a specific club for this yet. With are working with ADG Caleb on this one.
Rotary Club of St. John; We are still working on the grant proposal for the well in the Maasaii Community in Kenya. We are partnering with Steve Stiffler, Leesburg Noon Club, PO Box 49188, Leesburg, FL 34749. Steve has enlisted the help of the other 2 clubs in Leesburg to be included in the Grant Proposal for the well. I have also asked Steve to help with a Telemedicine Proposal which will link the Myra Keating Smith Community Health Clinic on St. John with the Cleveland Clinic in Fort Lauderdale. This would allow the doctors on St. John to communicate with specialists in FL to help diagnose patients in real time.
Our club is twinned with St. Thomas Sunrise. My Friendship Exchange Director and I went to St. Thomas in April. Financially helped them on a project in Haiti. They helped us out on a project here in Tampa. Their club members have been up here and attended our club meeting. We have stayed in Rotarian homes on St. Thomas. I have sent out an email to the membership, seeking their support in attending your club's Art Festival in January. I will let you know what the response is like, as members may be taking up the offer of free housing for the two days.
Rotary Central, Grand Cayman and Venice-Nokomis Rotary Club 6960 On another note, our club has been searching for a World Community Service project that falls within the theme of Water/Sanitation. After months of searching, one such project was located last week. PP Fred Speirs is heading up this project and will be contacting you to see if your club would be interested to work with us on this project. PP Fred will give you more details. I also understand that our President Sandy has contact you about the literacy programme. Let me know if you require anything else from us. I hope we will get some participation for the Art Festival. I believe it will be a good project for our club to be involved with. I advised the members that the best way to get to Nokomis is to fly to Tampa, then it will be an hour's drive to Nokomis. I hope I was right! Oh, I tried calling you and a nice lady answered the phone and told me it's about an hours drive from the Tampa airport.

New Providence Greeting from D7720, northeast North Carolina and Kitty Hawk, the place of the first flight by the Wright Brothers a year before Rotary was born. Good to see you in Myrtle Beach. Congratulations on your Rotary success in 7020 this year. I admire your ability to lead Rotary in many countries and situations. We are still interested in working with a twin club in your district and look forward to hearing from you soon. Bill Rogister PDG 7720

The Rotary Club of Portmore is partnering with The Rotary Club of Florham Park (New Jersey). The Florham Park Club will be sending us School supplies which we will distribute to three (3) High Schools in the Portmore Community.
Shirley President

The Rotary Club of Providenciales partnered with the one and only Rotary eClub (they are the first 'e club' sanctioned by RI - Here's their web site: http://www.recswusa.org/ ). Several of their members came down to TCI and we had a twinning ceremony with them. They brought dictionaries that we jointly donated to local schools, and they also assisted with a kids eye testing program we conducted. We hope to expand our twinning efforts with them in the coming year.

St. Andrew North is partnering with West Orlando Club towards funding our major project which is: the donation of one dialysis machine at the Kingston Public Hospital.
Discussions are in the works on the following International Service projects:
1. Partnering with the Rotary Clubs of Regina (Saskatchewan) and Machakos (Kenya) Clubs. Building of the 2nd of 2 water weirs in Kenya
2. Partnering with the Rotary Club of Petion-Ville, Supplying over 3000 school children with books and school supplies in 15 municipal schools in the area. Part of this project is to also set-up cyber cafés at the schools. There are 20 computers available from Canada. 10 of the computer have been shipped to Haiti. It is the hope of Rotary Sunrise to help in the acquisition of the remaining 10. I am waiting to hear from President Raphael.
3. Partnering with the Rotary Club of St. Andrew North, Supplying stretcher beds to Kingston Public Hospital for the trauma area. They will also serve as surgical beds. The project has been agreed at Committee level and just has to receive the blessing of the Board of Sunrise. The project is being funded through a matching grant and Rotary Sunrise is the International partner.

The Rotary Club of Christiana partners with the Rotary Club of Menominee, WI District 6220 for the past 27 years in the dental project.

For Downtown Kingston, we have 3 collaborative efforts:
1) East Queen Street Trade Training Centre refurbishment and equipment.
Subject of a matching grant with one of our twinned clubs, Marco Island
(Florida) and due for completion in January 2008.
2) Downtown Dash: A 5K road race scheduled for January 13, 2008 with contribution and support of our neighboring club of East Kingston & Port Royal.
3) Carols by Candlelight: a fund raiser with toys donated for needy children. Planning and logistical support provided by our other twinned club, Barbados. Scheduled for December 2008.

Abaco
Rotary Club of Windermere
Matching Grant granted totaling US$24,998 to assist Every Child Counts with the purchase of furniture and equipment for the school. This is an ongoing project that has been ongoing for the past 5 years. Every Child Counts (ECC) is a non-profit school which educates children with various physical and educational disabilities from all strata of the Abaco community. They have no financial support and rely on kind donations from the community to continue their program
Rotary Club of Winter Garden
Matching Grant granted totaling US$30,548 to assist with the installation of a playground for the children attending the Treasure Cay Primary School. This is our first project with Winter Garden who along with Windermere are from the Orlando, Florida area. We will assist Winter Garden with the installation of the playground in January 2008

Nassau Sunrise
RC of Fort Myers-Nassau Sunrise- assistance in March 2008 with our annual Reading Fair held on COB grounds,- distribution of dictionaries to schools in the Bahamas
RC of Gwinnett County, - funding of a Bahamas Humane Society education DVD project with Nassau Sunrise

RC Spanish Town -
We have twinned with RC Reston, Virginia, Club# 5828 and District# 7610.
I have visited them in October, and we have a matching grant application for a Water & Sanitation project signed by both clubs, and now delivered to DGC Dennis Chong. We expect to hear from him soon, as to how soon funds could be made available for this project. Reston is planning a trip to Jamaica to help finish the project, and this is scheduled for Feb. 2008

The particular project description is -
To provide a consistent water supply, through the provision of water tanks and accessories to hold water in case of outages, for three (3) schools involved in 'pre-school' activities (ie. ages 4-6 years). Location will be in the parish of St. Catherine, Jamaica. Project will also provide training in personal hygiene and 'hand-washing' skills for these children, as it is found that the kids don't develop good washing habits due to unavailability of a consistent and reliable water supply.
Overall project Cost is US$11,500. With contributions to come from both clubs, both districts and TRF.

International: Rotary Club of Charlotte Amalie
Host: Rotary Club of Navsari Round Town, Dist 3060, India, Description: This project is for avoidable Blindness. There are several patients who have developed matured cataracts and if not operated in time will become blind. Rotary Club of Navsari with the help of Rotary Eye Institute will organize a series of eye camps to identify 400 patients needing surgery. The patients will be transported to the hospital in Navsari. They will be operated on and given protective glasses and post operative medicines before returning to their homes. They will also be given free food. Patients will live a normal life after the operation.

The Rotary Club of St. Croix - Mid-Isle has partnered with the Rotary Club of Osprey, FL (District 6960) to provide air conditioning and some other improvements to the Boys and Girls Club of Christiansted, St. Croix. We have applied for a matching grant for this project. In addition, our club and the Rotary Club of St. Croix - Harborside, work collectively to provide Saturday morning breakfasts at the Lighthouse Mission in Christiansted. Our Rotaract club also joins in this project, covering the 5th Saturday as necessary.
Rotary Club of Road Town. We have partnered with The Rotary Club of Canton, Georgia and our joint project is to complete a resource center for the H.L Stoutt Community College. We have already applied for a grant from the foundation. Dr. David Murray spent one semester with us teaching at our Community College. He is a member of our twin club.

East Nassau & The East Roswell Club is in Roswell Georgia, district 6900. The size of the club numbers around 35 members. Our contact has been with their International Chair Mr. Lee Hollingsworth. Club web site is: http://www.roswelleastrotary.org/ We first made contact in 2006 thru the Think Caribbean website. We are presently working on a Grant to help Project Read, an adult literacy schooling program. Project Read needs books, teachers and an upgrading of their facilities. East Roswell is planning on a Trip to Nassau at the end February to help with the Project Read upgrade and to have fellowship with East Nassau. A disaster plan that includes East Roswell is being developed.

Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Central and Twin Club: Venice-Nokomis Florida Rotary Club The Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Central has a Literacy Program which has been in operation for many years. This program train members of our business community, who in turn conducts one on one sessions with members of the community that are illiterate. Thru this program many residence of the community have learned to read. The reading materials are special ordered from an institution oversees and dictionaries are also purchased for re-distribution to the students. This Rotary Year the Venice-Nokomis Florida Rotary Club will assist by donating dictionaries to the program.
The Venice-Nokomis Florida Rotary Club will be having their annual Art Festival on January 19, 2008. The Rotary Arts Festival displays the wares of approximately 180 artists and attracts thousands of visitors to the two day event held every January at the airport festival grounds. This year, they have invited our club to attend and participate. As such, some members of the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Central will be attending the Arts Festival and will be put work by our friends. Both clubs are very excited to finally commence life long friendships and fellowship while performing good will on behalf of Rotary.

As Chairman for the TUTORING PROJECT I try to give you some information Since more than 7 years, the Rotary Club of Les Cayes and 2 other Club from ERIE/PENSYVANIA has been involved in a project just to help Students from Two schools to improve their capacity in FRENCH and MATHS and at the end of the primary cycle the Students will be able to pass with success the State exam.
L'ECOLE NORMALE" is a school that prepares and trainnes People to become Teachers. In coordination with the Principal of this school, Rotary Club of Les Cayes uses them as Tutors for helping students at the primary level to reach the goal of the project. They are working under the supervision of Monitors (2 / School). Each Tutor has 4 or 5 Students to help during 1 hour and 30 minutes 4 days a week.
The project supports the Tutors by helping them with the fees and scholarship and something has been given to each Monitor as a Gift per Month. It's a kind of promotion for developing Voluntarism with the Students - Teachers. Rotary Club of Les Cayes has to suprvise the project, prepare the attendance and performance reports, prepare the financial and written reports at the end of each school year. Other responsibility for Rotary Club of Les Cayes is to prepare the proposal including budget at the beginning of each school year.
The Clubs from ERIE and PENSYLVANIA are the Official Sponsors regarding financial part of this project. Between 10 and 12 Thousands US Dollars have been collected each year by those Clubs for supporting the project. Since 4 years we have been got 100% of success at the State Exam at the primary level with the Students.

St. Thomas completed the provision of an automotive technical school with the help of their twin club in Georgia. The also had a friendship exchange with the same club where members got to know one another and became familiar with each others needs and membership.

This says it all!!!!
Club Initiative 1 - Rotary Clubs of Kingston and White Bear Lake, Minneapolis
After nearly twenty years of association through many joint projects, Club Twinning was formalized on Wednesday September 26, 2007 at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of White Bear Lake, Minneapolis, Minnesota. In attendance were Director Effiom Whyte (International Service), PP Andre Hylton (Club Twinning Chair) and Rtn. Scarlette Gillings (World Community Service Chair). The 2-day visit was a mutually beneficial one. Four (4) White Bear Lake Rotarians led by International Service Director Fred Treiber paid us a reciprocal 3-day visit November 28 to December 1, 2007. The programme of events included visits to two joint projects (A Computer Lab and a Medical/Dental Clinic), our Club’s 2007/2008 Major Project, and our weekly meeting, at which Twinning formalities were repeated. White Bear Rotarians will accompany their Interactors to Jamaica during Spring Break 2008 to execute joint community projects with Interactors sponsored by Rotary Club of Kingston.

Club Initiative 2 – Rotary Clubs of Kingston and Frankston North, Australia
The International Service Committee of the Rotary Club of Frankston North in Australia and through its PP Eric Neill requested our Club to participate in its International Project: Overseas Clubs – Toast and Information. Project Aim: “To make contact with four overseas Clubs, provide information on our Club, information on Frankston and Australia and obtain information from the overseas Club on their Club and Area and Country. The information would be discussed at our Club and the overseas Club on a similar date including joint Toast, exchange photos and Banners etc. This initiative could possibly lead to a friendship exchange.” We have accepted the invitation and have mutually agreed to stage this project on February 28, 2008 during Rotary’s World Understanding Month.
Club Initiative 3 – Assistance to Rotary Club of St. Marteen’s “I Can Foundation Home”
The request for assistance from the Rotary Club of St. Maarten with respect to the fire which razed the “I Can Foundation Home” was treated with urgency. Our original goal to raise USD 2000.00 and a promised matching contribution by Digicel Group’s CEO, through PP General Bob Neish, was bettered 5-fold. USD 10,000.00 (JAD 690,000.000) was presented to President Don on Thursday August 30, 2007 by Mrs. Stacie Mitchell-Fraser, Digicel Foundation’s Deputy Chair. Rtn Scarlette Gillings in turn presented Mrs. Mitchell-Fraser with a Rotary Plaque as a token of appreciation. These funds together with proceeds from our first Special Raffle were wired to St. Maarten North September 14, 2007 and receipt was confirmed with grateful thanks.
Club Initiative 4 – Second visit by Naples North Rotarians
Members of Naples North Club commenced a 4-day visit on October 18, 2007. Before attending our luncheon meeting, they were accompanied by Director Effiom, PP Andre, and Rtn Heron on a visit to the Dunrobin Basic and Primary Schools. Basic School Principal Jackson, the teachers and students were grateful recipients of educational supplies presented by President PJ and his 6-member team. Naples North was a generous contributor to this 2005/05 Major Project. The twinning Club Rotarians spent the rest of their time on a community service project in the parish of Portland.

Rotary Club of Spanish Town In the recent request by District Governor Richard, in partnering with a club for an end of year project, the Rotary Club of May Pen is considering your club in partnering with us. There is a project here in May Pen that we are considering as a required necessity; this is The Rock All-Age School. They are in dire need of infrastructures for toilet facilities for the students which at present are in a deplorable condition. We know that the health of these children is very important and we think that we should help in the best way we can. I await your response in partnering with us for this project. Thanks for your consideration.

Information for RC St. Thomas –
Twinned with RC Thomson, Georgia. Inward MG completed for High School, value $32,500 involved RC St. Thomas, RC Thomson and RC Dalton.
District 6910 DG Nathan Carmack, PDG jv Vlass and PP Ben Howell of RC Thomson visited St.Thomas in October, 2007 for RC St. Thomas 50th anniversary and visited the recipient school.
Outward MG, value $24,600, with RC Lira, Uganda, District 9200 for land mine victims. PE Roger White of RC St. Thomas visited Uganda in September, 2007 to see project. Also visited orphanage supported by a MG sponsored by RC St. Croix and subsequently gave presentation to RC St. Croix with pictures and information on their project.
Discussion with RC San Juan for joint literacy project in Gonaives, Haiti.
Discussion and preparation for joint project to be financed by an inward MG with a projected value of $42,000 involving all 10 clubs in USVI and RC Daytona Beach, Florida to supply school planners to all public schools in USVI for academic year 2008/9.
Discussion and preparation for outward MG application with value of $62,000 with RC Frederiksberg, Denmark, District 1470 and RC Lira, Uganda, District 6900, for rehabilitation of displaced persons in Northern Uganda.
Initial discussion with RC Frederiksberg, Denmark, District 1470 for inward MG, value not yet known, to assist with upgrades to historical sites in St. Thomas. International Director, Wein Demitros of RC St. Thomas will be visiting Denmark in January, 2008 and plans to discuss this project with Danish Rotarians.
USVI/BVI Friendship Day, October 2007 involved all clubs in both United States Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands.

Liguanea Plains
· We are having talks with Sunset Rotary of Tallahassee with regards to twinning. A delegation from that club is scheduled to visit us in February 2008.
· Matching Grant MG0659430, which was awarded to help provide computers and related equipment and furnishings; educational and medical supplies for the Education Centre and Clinic at the Church of St. Theresa in Kingston, Jamaica. International Partner: Rotary Club of Mission Bay in San Diego.

The Rotary Club of West Nassau is preparing a matching Grant with the Rotary Club of Boca Raton. The Grant is to provide the Childrens ward of Princees Margaret Hospital ten (10) Spirometer. Spirometers are used to detect, follow, and manage patients with Asthma, and lung disorders. The unit price of each Spirometer is $2,000.00 We have a meeting schedule with the Minister of Health in early January, but all our ducks are lined up for this project.

THE ROTARY FOUNDATION
Scholarships
Two candidates took up their scholarships in October 2007.
They are as follows:-
· Kaysi-Ann Spence- Entrepreneurship- University of Liverpool, England (DDF Scholarship)
· Adenike Stephenson-Social Policy and Planning for Developing Countries-London School of Economics, England (DDF Scholarship). She declined this scholarship because she received a more favourable offer and so the scholarship came over to this year.
· Mary-Anne Njeri Kamau-Geographies of Health, HIV Positive Women-Incomes- University of Western Ontario, Canada (Low Income Funded Scholarship)
There are two scholars selected this year to start their courses in October 2008. They are as follows:
· Luciana Marie Ramsay-International Law-University of Connecticut, USA (DDF Scholarship)
· Robyn Lynes-Family Law-Chicago-Kent College of Law, USA (DDF Scholarship)
There was a University Grant Teacher inbound last year to Tortola, British Virgin Islands. We had very little contact with him.

Group Study Exchange
This Rotary year we have 3 Group Study Exchange teams from D-6950 North Western Florida, D-6960 South Western Florida , and D-5490, Arizona. The reason we are doing three is that due to our Geographical diversity, and the tradition of the GSE team emanating from the sitting DG’s country or area, many of the countries and Rotarians within the District do not have the opportunity to experience the GSE Program. We decided to take this opportunity to make it a regional experience so all countries will have a GSE visit this year regardless of the DG’s location.
We intend to have 3 outbound teams and two inbound teams at the District Conference. The travel puzzle is currently being worked.

PolioPlus
Our District has phenomenal support for the Polio program. Our contributions to date have been. This year we funded an additional $5,000, plus sent a team to an NID in India. They are sharing the experience with all the local clubs and I am asking them to do so at the District Conference as well. I will have an article in the local newspapers about the teams experience as well.

Humanitarian Grants
Health, Hunger and Humanity
Describe the 3-H project(s) in which this district or club(s) were involved.

Individual Grants
We had one team apply for and get approval for the Volunteer Service Grant. The team was going to Uganda and had scheduled to visit 11 clubs or organizations to understand how they could be involved in the efforts to help land mine victims by providing prosthetic limbs. Due to a glitch in the RITS booking system, they ran into a problem with travel plans and subsequently lost the grant. They went anyway and did the project. I can provide you with pictures if you wish.

District Simplified Grants
We applied for the full 20% District Simplified Grant allowable and have dispersed about half of it so far. This year we invited clubs to apply for it on a matching basis up to approximately $1,000. The purpose was to get the weaker clubs to get involved and to understand the process. The invitations were issued by myself and were sent out for the most part after my travels, where I had a chance to understand the needs and abilities of the clubs.

Matching Grants
We are really exceptional in this area. We currently have 83 Open or In Process Matching Grants at work within the District. The total value of the project funding is approximately $3.300,000. TRF portion is $1,430,000, $850,000 in DDF, and $1,050,000 in cash committed.
Approximately half of them in Water related, and half of them in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
Our District has established the Haiti Task Force as the conduit for all Foundation related projects into Haiti. We have established a Haiti Task Force whose role is to review the initiatives intended for Haiti with TRF involvement and to help designate the appropriate Club or Clubs and to ensure TRF compliance before moving forward. The team is aware of the size and capacity of the Clubs and the challenges faced by them. They also appreciate the responsibility that the clubs have when they sign on as a partner in a Matching Grant. The group does not replace the Club to Club connection, just ensures that we start off within TRF compliance, ie local community needs survey, local club involvement and club committee etc.. The Chair is Guy Theodore, and the committee consists of PDG’s and ADg’s.

Contributions to The Rotary Foundation
a) Target for this year is $199,000 up from last year by 5%+
Our top club Grand Cayman Central contributed over $454.03 per Capita last year followed by Nassau Sunrise at $432.26 and St. Croix mid isle at $398.78
All time giving $3,909,035

Paul Harris Fellows
There are 2256 Paul Harris Fellows in this district.
Benefactors
There are a total of 108 Foundation Benefactors in this district.
Bequest Society
There are a total of 14 Bequest Society members in this district.
Major Donors
There are a total of 20 Major Donors in this district

SPECIAL PROGRAMS
The projects done in this District are exceptionally unique. Because of the diversity of geographical, economical, social, cultural etc, club in each country does projects within the theme and emphasis and focus areas. The projects are community based therefore reflect the uniqueness of the geographical, economical, social, cultural of the respective club.
Projects such as literacy can range from the development of an occupation Skills Training Lab for at risk young men and women to providing a note book and a pencil for an empty class room.
Projects that are related to water can range from providing a life straw that purifies the water that you drink through it to putting in a RO system and storage tank to provide water in case of Hurricane and other emergencies.
Projects related to Health and Hunger range from providing 225,000 meals to the poor in Haiti through a Think Caribbean Twinning program to working with a group to feeding the Homeless in the USVI of which there are more than we have in the Bahamas or most other places.
Family of Rotary Ranged from home visits to shut in Rotarians to keep their membership and attendance alive to helping with the work in a community service project built around family driven community service projects.
Youth has been our primary focus. In some instances we provide hair clips for little orphan girls and soccer balls to the orphan boys. We also sent teams of young people to new York to spend a week to visit the United nations and to give them the understanding of the bigger perspective of the world.
Public Image has been undertaken with a passion. We have, again through the Think Caribbean Initiative organized to provide signage for clubs in Haiti where the club does not have the money, resources, or ability to have a Rotary sign made never mind installed. Districts in our Zone have sponsored signs which say Rotary Meets Here with the Rotary Logo and the name of the Club and the sponsoring Club/ District listed on the sign. We also applied for the Public Image Grant but did not achieve it.

Carla and I are off to the Leadership Traing in Ft. Lauderdale this morning and will update you further when we return.

New Blog out tomorrow!!!!

2008-02-23T18:19:00.001-05:00

Not much travel but lots of good stuff. See you tomorrow.
DG Dick

I'm Back !!!!

2008-02-10T18:27:00.000-05:00

Back again!
I thought a little update would be interesting. On Monday January 28th I met with Leslie Frazer who is Chairing the On Site Administration for the District Conference in May. We are working out the AV Equipment details for the Training rooms and Sergeants needs. I followed that up with a meeting that evening with Walter Christen, our District Treasurer to get the District Financial affairs up to date.

Tuesday followed with an Esso meeting (Actual work, what’s that about?) and then a GSE Team meeting that evening. We are moving on with the three teams, but the logistics of travel and timing is very difficult. Chair Murray Forde is doing a great job with his local and district committee and team.

Wednesday was a dentist day and my regular club meeting. It was great to be back with my club for a change. I’m still collecting the make ups though.

Wednesday evening we went to a Humane Society fund raiser. It was a trivia quiz game. A lot of fun, but I don’t know much trivia. They raised around $6,000 that evening.

Thursday morning we went to the Nassau Sunrise Club for two very special events. Firstly I presented PP and now ADG Felix Stubbs with a Foundation banner for achieving the special status of 2nd highest per capita contributions for a Club with $ 432.26 per capita, Grand Cayman Central took 1st place with $454.03 per Capita, St. Croix Mid Isle in 3rd with $398.78 per capita. If you see any of those clubs give them the accolades they deserve!

The second was a very rewarding moment for Carla and I. Our Daughter Ellissa, known as Lissa was inducted as a Rotarian into that great Club. As you can well imagine we are VERY VERY proud. She will be a great Rotarian. She is currently doing a lot of work with animal rescue and with the Humane Society.

That evening we went to a Club Fellowship event at Rotarian Ednol Smiths house. Ednol is ill and shut in but graciously hosts a fellowship event monthly at his home and many club members show up. True Family of Rotary stuff.

Saturday RID Barry Rassin and I met with a group of outstanding local Rotarians who will be helping us with the Zone Institute at Atlantis in October. We went over what local Rotarians would have to do and how they could support the Executive Committee. As usual they have given us all the support we need.

Over the weekend we planned to re-floor one of our Spas. It was quite an undertaking. We had or last customers in the Spa at 5:30 PM and once they left we moved everything, retiled the 3000sq.ft and were back up and operating by 7:00 AM Tuesday morning. What a great job done by Alvin our contractor. What a difference in the place!

Sunday we got a few hours in the boat at Rose Island. The water was cold but the beach and relaxation was outstanding.

Over the past week we had our regular club meeting and the speaker did not show. I was asked to speak, so I did and shared some of the challenges of the District. Wednesday evening we had a District Conference meeting, which went well. We are making some progress now and as time runs out we must continue to do so.

The balance of the week and weekend were spent trying to catch up on emails and home chores. I spent some time at the Humane Society today on a clean up effort. There is a lot of work that needs to be done there, but it is going to start with a good clean up.

We have a couple of days to get our businesses together next week and then we are off to New Smyrna and the Daytona 500. That’s our annual week vacation trip. We stay at a quaint B&B and just enjoy the tranquility. I’ll try to update you from there.

Back in Nassau

2008-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to assure you all that we are back safe in Nassau after a wonderful trip to Turks and Caicos. We arrived back Wednesday afternoon and at 6:00 PM we were at our District Conference Committee meeting. That went well but there is still a lot to do and time has run out. We are having some challenges with the joint portion of the Conference with 6930 because our Conference Culture as well as our combination of the PETS and Assembly a make for very different ideas.
Carla speaking on Ethics and the 4 way test. I am bias, but she was super!PP Bill Thompson
After a lengthy meeting we adjourned and Carla and I went home. My task was to deal with the 6930 issue ASAP. Needless to say by 2:00 AM I was tossing and turning trying to figure out the way to go. I got up and put it in a letter to DG Phil Lustig, cleared a couple of emails and went back to bed for an hour around 5:00 AM.

Yesterday morning was back to work first thing to deal with issues missed in my absence. Our youngest had some very bad news yesterday about her dog Niya. She appears to have lung cancer so Carla spend a while with Meghen supporting and helping decide the way forward. She is a very bright girl and had made some decisions which we fully agreed with.

At 11:00 AM I met with Atlantis, Conference Chair Frank and Leslie Fraser who is looking after the AV at Atlantis. We did a room walk through and a venue walk through. When all that was done, Frank and I met with Glenroy (Atlantis) to nail down the menus and the room allocations. By1:30 I was back at work for a few hours.

Carla was invited to speak at a joint Toastmaster Rotary function on Ethics, so I dashed home early, had dinner with her and we went tom the function for 8:00 PM. She did a great job as did the other 4 speakers and by 10:45 we were on our way home.

No make ups necessary this week!!! I have a Rotary Sunrise walk at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning, then I have been asked to stop by East Nassaus project Read as they have some out of town trainers in. After that a quick meeting with Chair Frank at his office for 11:00 AM and then home to get caught up on e-mails.

I’ll check in next week with anything new.

Turks and Caicos trip

2008-01-22T17:36:00.000-05:00

January 20th started out to be a beautiful day although the weather man had warned against an approaching front. Sure enough the heavens opened and the wind started. It turned cold, very rainy and very windy for the rest of the day into the night. This fortunately gave us time to catch up on things at home such as repairing the broken water line, then laundry and repacking to go to T/C on Monday. We had dinner with our friends Andy and Katy who were down in Nassau for the rained out Michael Jordan Celebrity Tournament at MESA Grill which is a Bobby Flay restaurant. Great stuff!

Monday was still quite windy but no rain. The flight (a 19 seater) was on time and quite full. It was bad weather from the start but about an hour into it it got exciting. I have a set of BOSS sound reducing earphones and other than the music I can here very little and was Bopping and Jiving to my music with my eyes closed. All of a sudden I felt well sharpened nails digging into my arm. When I opened my eyes and took off the earphones, everyone was screaming, praying and holding on for dear life. Quite a sight. Fortunately it didn’t last too long and within 30 minutes we were safely on the ground in Provo.

Walter picked us up and after seeing some of their projects delivered us to the hotel where we had a couple of hours to go to the beach. True to form, being a good Bahamian, the water was way too cold for Carla, but the sun and daiquiri were just perfect.

We had the Provo Club meeting last night, and once again we have another outstanding Club. They are doing many great projects and are going from strength to strength. For those of you that may have some doubts about the e-club and its purpose listen to this.

Roundabout

Bus shelter

The Provedenciales Club has done a dictionary project with an e-club. Members of the e-club came down and delivered the books which the Provo Club subsequently distributed. If that is not enough the have arranged with a local Rotarian, Government and a local Individual for the donation of a 3 acre plus piece of land on the water where they are going to do a three part development park projects. They are twinned with their e-club and applying for a matching Grant to do so. The club is based in southwestern USA, but members are from many places and the President is from Japan. For those slow to move to technology or e-anything, the time is coming! They even had a virtual board meeting because most members were out of town and they did it on line.
President Walter and Carla on site of the project.

This is a thought on the type of water feature.

They have developed a magnificent Potential Member Information Booklet which I hope they bring copies of to PETS. It’s a great model for us all.

Some additional projects are eye glass projects for young children at school, Bus stops, Neutering animals, Round about developments, beach park and rest areas, playground for the Inquiring Minds Elementary School and many others.

Park on the beach.

We had a great dinner with them and were home to rest for Grand Turk today. We left for Grand Turk this morning where President Marc picked us up. This club is in a community of 1800 people and the industry is very limited. They are struggling with membership. We had a great tour of the small Island and saw a couple of the projects.

We then met with the board and the club and discussed the future and some of the primary concerns going forward. Obviously membership is a big one, defined identifiable projects and Public Image. I have set up a plan of activities that will address those areas as well as will try to twin them to see if that help will secure the footing of the club. If anyone wants to help a struggling club, let me know and I will hook you up.

We flew back to Provedenciales this afternoon and are now getting ready to go to dinner with the Provo Club

ADG Bengt, past ADG Micky and PP Rotarian Stanford Charlton from the Bahamas who had moved back to Caicos and was inducted tonight.Evening guests enjoying the events.

# 68

Thank you Rotarians in District 7020. Through our 68 visits we have truly begun to understand the diversity of our countries and cultures as well as the diversity of the needs of our people. Every Club has responded in it's own special way to make life a little better for someone, in some way.

Your sharing and hospitality has made the visits the most rewarding time in our life and a special thank you is due to all of you for it.

Keep up the great work, I'll keep on blogging, although it will be tough to keep it as interesting as it has been. We'll be together again in Nassau for the conference in May.

Not much more to say than Thank You!

DG Dick

Great time in Cayman "The last 2 days"

2008-01-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

January 19, 2008

We left with Rosie to do a reading program at a special school (Leading Edge High School). The Sunrise Club mentors and reads to the students there on a weekly basis. I was assigned a young girl to read with when I got there and we went to a desk and began the exercise. I was shocked that someone 11 years old has such a challenge reading. She could with great effort say the word, many of them with help, but by the time we reached the end of the sentence the message or meaning must have been lost. I would repeat the sentence most times so she could follow the story. The message here is that its much worse than many of us realize and we really need to focus on Literacy if there is to be any learning at all.

From there we went to the Great House where we began our tour of projects. Our first stop was at T. E. McField Youth and Community Center where the meals are prepared for the Meals On Wheels program. 70 meals a day 5 days a week year round. A very large undertaking but done very well. Rotarian Stephanie was with ADG Sophia escorting us and she does one run a week so she really did an exceptional job helping us understand what went on. We also saw that there all of Grand Cayman is not as pristine as you may see from the main roads.

We then went to Georgetown Primary where the Grand Cayman has help furbish some of the classrooms. I have never seen such a well maintained and set school. This is a public primary school, and they rank best in results in the Cayman public system. Amazingly they are on par with the results in the private system.

We then went on to Bonaventure Boys home where they take care of young men that the courts have sent there. They try to keep them until they can be integrated safely back into society. Rotary has supported the place and program for a long time. There is a need for a workshop which the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman will be helping with.

We visited the park that the Rotary Central Club completed during the District Conference. It is well used and now sits opposite the town square one done by the government. It is used more because it has shade and the town square has not a single shrub!

We went to The Pines which is a seniors home which was badly damaged during the Hurricane. Sue showed us around and we saw the industrial washer and dryer that Rotary had been able to arrange for them. A senior gentleman called me over when no one else was around and asked me to help him stand up. As I was doing so the entire staff came running over saying “He Can’t stand up” so I let him back down. Using some very historical expletives he told the care givers in no uncertain terms what he thought about them interrupting the exercise, but they did know best. Interestingly while having dinner that evening with the Governor, he shared that he had had exactly the same experience with the same gentleman.

We had the opportunity to meet with the Governor of the Cayman Islands his Excellency Stuart Jack. A very informed and interesting person who is an honorary Rotarian. It was a great visit and we got to enjoy dinner with himself and PDG Bobby after the wine tasting at Sophia’s at a new restaurant in PDG Bobby’s new Governors Square. That is an amazing place and PDG Bobby has made it state of the art and hurricane proof. He has also generously built in a 28 person board room that would marvel Donald Trump, and he has done it to make it available to community service organizations so they have a place to have board and committee meetings.

Michael, The MC and organizer of the event. Great job Michael!

The Sunrise club organized a wine tasting at Sophia’s house Friday evening. It was a great success and about 150 Rotarians’ came including his Excellency the Governor.

Sophia, Thank you for doing so much for us during our visit and capping it off with this magnificent evening at your house!!

His Excellency Governor Stuart Jack at Spohia and Pauls home. Thanks for the experience and having us in your beautiful home.
Sophias message. " Nobody leaves until the wine is gone!!"

The beginning of a roudy croud begun by PDG Bobby!

On Saturday we had Club Forum followed by training session for new Rotarians. It was very well attended and went very well. After lunch we did some training for current and incoming Board members. Again, well attended and very interactive. We had good representation from both Rotaract clubs there and their contribution was exceptional.

Special Thanks to Michael Levitt, Rosie Jamison, Sophia Harris, Cathy Chestnut and all others that made it go so well. This is the type of thing we need to continue to do across the District as often as we can. I want to make special mention of Cathy Chestnut and her outstanding facilitator skills. Cathy keep it up, complete RLI and help us at District level.

Cathy and Cayman Brac President during the training.

We are off to Turks and Caicos tomorrow and return Wednesday. We have two clubs to visit there on two Islands, Providenciales and Grand Turk.

We’ll be in touch soon

The rest of the afternoon

2008-01-18T06:43:00.000-05:00

We had a great lunch with the Grand Cayman club and then met with their board. We had the chance to induct a new member (Gayle) at the luncheon. Thank you to President Sharon for a great lunch and meeting. If you want to know how to get Golf Tournament sponsors, you may want to ask her. She did something very interesting!

We met with the Cayman Central Board, another amazing club. Last year they were the leaders in the District with per capita contributions, $454.03 WOW !!!!! Sandy and her team have put together another amazing year. Some of their members are off today to put the Twining Program at the fore front with a visit to their twin club to assist with and art show in Northern Florida near Tampa. Good luck and great work.

Last night we had a great dinner hosted by PDG Bobby Bodden at his magnificent place on 7 mile beach. We had a great diner prepared on the BBQ by Bobby. I stood by and assisted in the wine drinking.

Thank you Bobby, Tessa and Sophia for a wonderful night. Bobbys son, a new Rotarian and PDG Richard Harris were there as well. Special guest as well was Paul Harris in real life. Ask me about that some time!

This is PDG Bobbys smoker. He cooked the most exquisite Beef over a 6 hour period. Sooo flavourful and sooo tender. Check the District Cook book for this. I think he may be sharing it with us.

Off to site visits and a reading program this morning.

Happy New Year and off to Cayman

2008-01-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

After 4 weeks at home over Christmas and New Years it’s time to get back to Rotary travel. We arrived in Grand Cayman Tuesday night on the BA flight. What a civilized way to travel. Only an hour from Nassau, no nightmares with US Customs and Immigration.

AG Sophia met us at the airport and got us safely to the hotel for some down time before we start our club visits.

On Wednesday we had an early 6:50 AM, start for Cayman Brac which is about 45 minutes away by plane. There we met with President John for an island tour, including the library, schools, some amazing views, playgrounds and other things.

Below is a picture of the Libray they built and a picture of some kids using it. They have plans to extend it as it needs more space.

Along with AG Sophia, we met over lunch with the board and members of the Rotary Club of Cayman Brac. A small but dynamic club. They are doing Rotaries work in a way that can make us all proud! Promises of the best recipes in the Cayman Islands for our cookbook were given.

Brac Board meeting
Brac lunch and it was good!
After our very short visit we returned to Grand Cayman to meet with the Board of the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Sunrise. A large and very dynamic club with lots of projects and fellowship underway. If I was to have to stand in front of the World of Rotary and share Rotary, I would only have to read the highlights from their report. Great stuff Sunrise!

Dinner followed at Rotarian Jeff’s home hosted by the Sunrise Club. Chef Michael out did himself with his BBQ skills. Excellent food, wine and fellowship. Thank you.
Andre inducted into Rotaract this morning!
6:45 pick up this morning to go to meet with the dynamic Rotaract Club of Grand Cayman. Incredibly energized and dynamic group of people that are doing many local projects and involved internationally as well. They did a training session on Club Runner and even this old dog learned something. Thanks Rotaract of Grand Cayman.

President Victor running the meeting from his agenda on his blackberry. You see whay Rotaract helps keep us in the real world!

In an hour we are off to the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman, then a Board meeting then the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Central, We have a reception this evening at PDG Bobbys and tomorrow we are doing project visits etc. Staurday is Training all day for new members and boards.

No slackness in this country!!

Check in later.

DG Dick

Petion-Ville Childrens Party

2007-12-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

Check out the amazing pitures on this site of true Rotarians from the Petion-Ville Rotary Club in Port au prince. They are making a difference in childrens lives in a big way.
Great work Raphael
DG Dick

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=qpg458l.1cwjie59&x=0&y=-mml00k

Haiti Water Summit and Nassau Club visits in December

2007-12-21T09:43:00.000-05:00

What a great event. It began with the usual Airport welcome by Nessim and team. VIP treatment all the way. A DG could get used to that. We arrived earlier than Wilf so we went on to the Hotel and checked in. I then went back to the airport to meet him with Nessim as Carla and DG Nathan of 6910 waited patiently for our arrival.

Once Wilf and John Germ had checked in we moved on to a very nice restaurant for dinner where Wilf, John Guy myself and the rest of the Task Force discussed the Task Force issues and the challenges we are having with Matching Grants.

The meeting was very productive and the Task Force Paper was accepted as the way to move forward with the projects. Their advice and guidance was critical to doing it right the first time.

Guy and Wilf discussing the opportunities.

Day 2 brought the Summit opening and some exciting racing through the streets in armored cars with a police escorts. Not your usual Summit I am sure, but it’s the way the great team of the Petion-Ville Club did it with the guidance of Chairman Claude, President Raphael and ADG Nessim.

Carinne keeping us all in order

The Canadian Ambassador has assigned his armored car and security detail to President Wilf and John Germ The balance of us were included in the convoy in cars behind.

The morning started with a breakfast with the Canadian Ambassador at his residence. It was a very interesting breakfast as the Canadian Government is deeply involved in the future development in Haiti and it was good to have their perspective and to see where we could find synergies through Rotary.

We then went to the official opening of the Summit where Wilf and I made some opening remarks. Shortly after that we were transported to a Hospital where we each had the opportunity to vaccinate a child for Polio. It was the event of a life time for me. On our return Carla found out what had happened and was not very happy that she had missed the chance. I guess I need to make it up to her somehow.

We visited another hospital (FAHSI) in the afternoon where the Petion-Ville Club had donated through connections with the US army the ICU equipment for the hospital. A major contribution to that hospital. All the equipment was refurbished and like new.
After Lunch we went to President Prevals residence and met with him. We discussed Rotaries role in the country and committed to facilitate a long term Water Resource Sustainability Master Plan. We were able to adopt a resolution to that effect at the end of the Summit signed by Petion-Ville,, President Wif and myself.

That evening there was a Presidential Gala at a very pristine property in the hills. A good time was had by all and we wrapped up by just after 11:00 PM to be ready for the next day of the Summit.

The Summit program was great on Saturday and was intermingled with Task Force meetings and networking opportunities. After the closing the Task Force met again to complete its list of action Items and we Then met with the Board and leadership of Pure Water for the World. We discussed at length the way forward with their project and came to what I believe is a fair and reasonable agreement on how we should move forward.

Interestingly, there were so many details that needed to be agreed on that we all understood that there would be no way to specify each of them in writing and that for efficiency sake we would accept that the agreement was one reached based on the principles of the 4 Way Test and all parties would act accordingly. I think this speaks to the strength of Rotary and its principles.

A great job done by the organizing committee and great commitment bu Guy Theodore and the Task Force to process all the tasks in the short time we had. Thank You

After that marathon meeting we went to dinner at the Hotel with a number of MG participants and then off to the airport first thing in the morning. Back home to Nassau by late Sunday.

This week we met with the New Providence Board and then joined the Club for dinner. The highlight was to present a PHF to Sophie, President Michael Fowlers wife. For those of you that do not know President Michael was hit by a car while leaving a Rotary meeting earlier in his year and passed away as a result. Our prayers and thoughts are with the family and the club has gone the extra mile to keep her involved and have a 2 year scholarship for their daughter.

Wednesday night we met with the Board of the Nassau Sunrise Club and then joined them for breakfast the next morning. It was a Christmas themed breakfast which included Christmas carols and bad jokes. It was a lot of fun.

62 clubs completed, 2 in Turks and Caicos and 4 in Cayman to go and they will be done in January. I’ll try to do one more update before the holiday. If I miss I,

Have a Very Merry Christmas
DG Dick and Carla

Haiti Water Summit & Polio Vaccination

2007-12-18T14:38:00.000-05:00

It does not get any more real than this!!!!

Thank you for the great Summit. We had a great turn out for a great event. As part of the visit we had the opportunity to do some very special things. The one that will mark a special time in my life was when I was able to vaccinate a baby in the Hospital in Port Au Prince Haiti.

President Wilf and a Haiti Summit group meet with the President Preval of Haiti

I'm Back !!!! and Sint Maarten, St. Marten Anguilla and St. Barths

2007-12-12T13:33:00.001-05:00

Where did November go? After we returned from Jamaica we had a week at home before going to Homestead/Miami for the final race of the NASCAR season. Our two favorite drivers, Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson were in 1st and 2nd place coming into the final race. We attended the wedding of our friends Katy and Andy on Saturday night and were then joined by our daughter Lissa and her husband Timmy for the race on Sunday. Jimmy won, Jeff came second.

Then it was home for meetings with the Nassau clubs and also with the Abaco club. We even got to attend our own club’s Christmas Party which was a real treat.

Note the name of the plane, the same as our company.

Off to Sint. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Barts and Anguilla. Another whirlwind trip. AG Louis had everything organized for a welcome cocktail party, ferry trips to St. Barts and Anguilla. It was only the week before that I found out that I needed a visa to visit St. Barts and Anguilla.
We laid a wreath for President Odile. A very sad momment.

These usually take about a month, but with Rotary’s pull and some awfully sweet talking by an “unnamed president” I was able to get the visa and make the boat. However, they did have to put the gangway back down to let me on. Louis’s wife Amanda made the made dash down the hill thru the traffic on foot to make the boat. It was well worth it as St. Barts was wonderful and so was Anguilla.

Saint. Martin Sunrise meeting place Breakfast with the Heineken!!

President Meredith and the Banner

Puggy on the way to Anguilla

Anguilla delegation with us at Port
Sandy Ground, looks very much like Eluthera in the Bahamas
Quality Testing and a quick surface shine while I was at it!

We had a wonderful dinner on Wednesday night with the PDG’s, Club Presidents and guests. It was a real treat to have everyone together in an intimate setting. 60 visits done, 8 to go. I can’t believe our year is half over.

Pierre and team giving us our Guavaberry Gift made by PAG Stephen Thompson

Our meeting with Sarah Wescot-Williams, Commissioner St. Maarten

Rotaractor Ronnie Wever on right who looked after us as in a most proffessional way, Thank You Ronnie

Low cost housing project common area where they planted trees, and put in picnic tables etc.

Sint Maarten Mid Isle playground for the school. We learned from those students why we need to be sure we make things strong. They are ROUGH!!!!!

Mid Isle project above and board below
Saint-Martin Nord, President Anike

Speak French properly, kiss twice eye contact ontoasting and a great bunch

Thanks for the Visa help!!!

Anike gives a "never say no award" to the Rotarian that never says no.

The Hospital project

As usual our flight home was eventful. We had to leave early on Friday so we could make a meeting with RID Barry, DGE Rupert, PDG Alister and RLID Diana to discuss the District leadership training. However, good old American Airlines had it their way. We finally arrived in Florida, not even Miami, 4 hours late. Needless to say, We missed the meeting.

We stayed in Miami for the weekend so I could attend the Governors’ Council Meeting on Saturday and I could do some last minute Christmas shopping. Lissa joined us once again for two days. Unfortunately Lissa and Carla spent all day Saturday in South Miami Hospital having tests done for dizziness and nausea she had been experiencing since Wednesday. All’s fine-it is vertigo, but it was a waste of a day’s shopping. Carla and Lissa tried to cram it all into Sunday as I came home to take care of the dogs and unpack.

Carla got back home on Monday night and we are off to Haiti on tomorrow, TS Olga permitting. I will try to keep the Blog more current as we move forward because there should be a little more time. Of the 68 clubs in the District we have visited with 60 with 2 more schedule for Nassau next week and then Cayman and Turks and Caicos in January.

Meghen is now working with the Americas Cup Challenge boats and is sailing to West Palm tomorrow taking the boats over for Drydocking. Not a good choice given the weather but there are no options.

We are busy now planning the District Conference in May and the Zone Institute in October, both at Atlantis. I am the facilities and Arrangements Chair for the Zone Institute.

Tis the Season

2007-11-26T09:06:00.000-05:00

Check this out.

DG Dick

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9602497795

Jamaica Central finished

2007-11-10T15:41:00.000-05:00

November 9, 2007

Jamaica Central

Ricks in Negril

On Tuesday Morning, the Sav La Mar team of Christine and Mark, picked us up at 7:00 AM and we headed for Black River where we joined ADG Patrick Adizua and the Black River Board for a late morning breakfast meeting. It was a very nice drive to the south and central portion of Jamaica. The club there was very interesting. The economy of the region has declined over the last decade and there is little encouragement that it will change, but the club continues to do great things for the community, such as a scholarship for a needy student, and supply tarps for homes damaged in Hurricane Dean. The Interact Club President sat in on our meeting and we visited the school afterwards where they are doing some work on the Computer Lab and some other things.

After a short stop at the Black River Riverside Dock where we could watch the crocodiles and some touristic activity we left for the next club.
Hospital Kitchen project.
We then went on to Santa Cruz where we met with the Board at a very nice restaurant and enjoyed a great meeting and late lunch. President Rupert has a great team and a strong and involved board. This club provides meals for all 40 students at the School of Hope every day for the entire school year as well as supporting their involvement in the Special Olympics. The club is also putting a fantastic Clock Tower in the center of town. I have included a picture of it below.

After a few project visits we drove to Mandeville where we checked into the Mandeville Hotel. Patrick had arranged for us to have the honeymoon suite. It was very nice, and very big, however Patrick failed to give us any time to use it. Shortly after arrival we went to Patrick’s house to enjoy a welcome reception. Great fun and fellowship! The Rotaract team was there and looked like they were going to be there for the night by the time we left!

Rain has been a BIG problem for months!

Wednesday morning we went to the interior, to May Pen and met with the May Pen Rotary Club. President Robbie and his team made sure we had a local breakfast which we enjoyed thoroughly. We began to get a sense of Jamaican time by this point, but more awaited. After a great Breakfast/Lunch we went to look at a couple of projects. The club has received 25 Shelter Boxes to be used in the Portland Cottage and Rocky Point areas to help those that lost their homes in the floods from Dean and Noel. They have also set up a couple to house the Basic School until such time as they get a roof back on the classroom area. They are also doing a Literacy project in a well known troubled area, Canaan Heights and Hazard Drive.

We went to visit PDG Garfield Thomas at his home in Mandeville. Garfield and Judith were very hospitable as usual and we enjoyed the time with them. Garfield is recovering slowly but is glad to have the Family of Rotary come by to see him. If you are in the Mandeville area be sure to ask ADG Patrick to arrange for a short visit to say Hello.

We then went on to Christiana located in the interior where we met with President Eric and his board members. We began by taking an excursion through the hills to visit a couple of schools and a Hydroponic / Greenhouse farm in very rainy conditions. Thanks Nassau Clubs for the Eddie Bauer jackets!

The Lower School project (Mount Olivette I think) truly caused tears to well up in my eyes. The school originally had 200 students from grade 1 through 6 all learning in a one room area. The Club together with a group of Community service minded spring breakers undertook to divide the rooms so each grade would have their own room with an additional craft room and library / resource area. What a Difference!!!!!

After that we went by a Basic school where they have provided a water storage tank to ensure that there is always water available when the children are there because the supply system is intermittent. We were now into lesson # 2 on Jamaican time.

We went back to Rotarian Vernie’s home where we had a board meeting. We were to be travelling to the Little Ochi Seafood Restaurant to meet up with the incoming ADG Lindy Rose and some folks but by the time we finished the meeting, night had fallen, the restaurant was an hour away through the hilly and rainy country roads so we joined the Christiana Club for dinner. It was a great dinner, and we had very enjoyable fellowship.

Early Thursday morning we went to Bloomfield Great House where we met with the Mandeville Rotary Club. This is a very strong Club and has been able to sustain many large projects. This is ADG Patrick’s Club as well. We had a great breakfast meeting in a very beautiful place!
After the meeting we went to tour the Baron Hall Coffee Factory where we had an extensive tour and a sample of some great coffee. We were able to get a quick pre tour of the Sacred Heart Catholic Craft Fair that afternoon. What an amazing presentation of fantastic local art. The set up alone was work the visit.

That night we had a joint Club Assembly where we had the chance to recognize a Paul Harris Fellow, and two local Rotarians that had contributed to Rotary over the years. The event was well attended by the two Rotary Clubs and they gave Carla and I a great framed certificate with a picture of the members.

We were given a great basket of locally manufactured products from the region. It was a good thing we had a spare duffle bag because they were very generous.

We had a 6:00 AM departure the next morning to Montego Bay with our very dedicated ADH Patrick. We witnessed one frightening event on the way when the car ahead of us hit a young boy. Fortunately our ADG Dr. Patrick Adizua was there and with his help it worked out as the young man was transported to the hospital. We went on to Montego bay, collected the gift from ADG Haresh’s Clubs, a beautiful original painting and off to the airport and Air Jamaica back to Nassau. There is a Reggae Concert tonight in Nassau and all the stars were on the flight with us yesterday. Unfortunately I am not that exposed to who they are as I listen to country, but I tried to be cool and be impressed. It was great to be home but we will really miss the incredible hospitality of the Jamaican Rotarians.

We have a wedding of our good friends Andy and Katy this weekend and the final NASCAR Race at Homestead, then back to Rotary business. Its the final 2 races and Jeff Gorden is 30 points behind Jimmy Johnson for the Championship which ends afetr the next 2 races.

For those of you that don't follow the races which is most, Jeff has won the Championship 4 times and is going for his 5th. Jimmy Johnson is a guy he hired and he ownes the car and is on the same team. BIG PREASSURE !!!!!! for me anyway. I’ll keep you posted.
DG Dick

We're BACK !!!!!!

2007-11-06T05:37:00.000-05:00

Where have we been???

Ater returning to Nassau I had to attend the funeral of our Rotary Club of New Providence Michael Fowler. This was a very emotional day and one that brings home the point that life is fragile and the schedule we live on is not ours to choose. Our condolences go out to his family. We will miss you Michael!

The week back was an opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with our respective businesses and deal with the issues that have come up in our absence. Carla had a product representative in town for the make-up line from the Spas (Jane Iredale), so Carla was bust on the days with that and we entertained her (Debbie) in the evenings.

On Saturday I made a quick trip to Miami, if you can call travelling quick anymore. I met with Nathan Carmack of District 6910 to discuss some ideas on a Disaster relief Plan for our District and how we thought it might be structured and the steps necessary to move it forward.

I was joined then by Haiti Task Force Chair, Guy Theodore and we discussed the open items the Task force was dealing with and our plan for moving forward with the larger Country Wide Projects that involved TRF that were pending. After reviewing all of them we went on to the Projects Serving Haiti session hosted by District 6990 and held at the U of M Allens Hall.
This was a great event where approximately 27 groups presented what they did or planned to do in Haiti and put forward what they wanted to help them achieve their goals. We were able to clarify the standing criteria for Matching Grant projects in Haiti and to introduce the Haiti Task Force. This went well and should make some of our efforts going forward much easier as everybody understands what is happening.

Sunday was a quiet day at home watching a little NASCAR. What a treat!!!! Home for a short while doing nothing!

Noel out our front door!

Then it was time to prepare for T.S. Noel. The Nassau Airport was closed on Tuesday and didn’t reopen until Friday. Meaning that our flight to Montego Bay Thursday was cancelled. We missed a joint club meeting, three board meetings and a service project. But, did arrive on Friday, only 26 hours late. Thank goodness the storm didn’t treat the Bahamas as badly as Haiti. We had one death and a lot of flooding in the Southern Bahamas, before Noel became a Hurricane. Unfortunately, Haiti didn’t make out as well with over 40 dead at last count and a lot of flooding. Our Daughter Meghenin the storm

Carla’s businesses were closed for two days because of water and storm warnings, however the On The Run was open and having a great day, offering all those who braved the water and wind hot food, cold beverages and gas.

Upon arriving in Montego Bay we attended the RLI Discussion Leader dinner, hosted by Haresh and his wife; a great time was had by all.

Saturday was the start of two fantastic days of RLI, three level 1, one level 2, one level 3 and a bunch of discussion leaders all having fun. We ended up Saturday with a fantastic Foundation Fundraising Dinner at the Montego Bay Yacht Club hosted by the Rotary Club of Montego Bay.
Sunday was the graduation of the level 3 RLI group and also 8 new Discussion Leaders. The weather held up for the boat cruise in the harbor. We stayed in and did the Blog and the reports and will pack and get ready to leave tomorrow for the rest of our Club visits. This is a picture of Clara from the Falmouth Club getting a pin after her club meeting.We met with the Montego Bay and Montego Bay East Clubs as well during the RLI before after and breaks to make up for the Board meeting times we missed due to the cancelled Thursday flight.
Here is the schedule:
5-Nov
Mon
9.00am
Depart for RC of Lucea for BOD meeting at 10.00am

1.00pm
Arrive into Sav-La-Mar for BOD Meeting (Lunch BOD Meeting)

4.00pm
Arrive into Negril for BOD Meeting

6.30pm
Joint Social of Lucea, Sav-La-Mar, & Negril Clubs in Negril

8.00pm
Return to Montego Bay

6-Nov
Tue
9.00am
Depart for Black River to Hand over DG to AG Patrick

JAMAICA CENTRAL CLUBS

6-Nov
9.00am
BREAKFAST MEETING WITH THE BLACK RIVER RC

2.30pm
MEETING WITH SANTA CRUZ RC AND LUNCH

7.00pm
COCKTAIL RECEPTION AT ADG PATRICK

7-Nov
10.00am
MEETING WITH THE MAY PEN RC

3.00pm
MEETING WITH THE CHRISTIANA RC

7.00pm
EVENING AT THE LITTLE OCHI SEAFOOD RESTAURANT

8-Nov

8.00am
BREAKFAST MEETING WITH THE MANDEVILLE RC

8.00PM
JOINT CLUB RECEPTION AT THE MANDEVILLE HOTEL/PRESENTATIONS
9-Nov

DG DICK AND FIRST LADY CARLA DEPART FOR MONTEGO-BAY

We’ll check in the next time we get a chance.

St. Croix Day and back to St. Thomas

2007-10-20T17:09:00.000-05:00

Pictures won't load just now so I will add them later!

Just a short update with a few pictures. We are in St. Thomas on the way home but had a great visit to st. Croix. Super job done by all the Presidents and especially the ADG and DGE Rupert. We also had the great opportunity to have lunch with Rita Powell. What a wonderful Lady and she is coming to the conference on Nassau next year.

The day was to the Lighthouse Mission at 8:00 AM to feed the homeless. After that we met with the Rotaract Board and had a great time discussing the great things they are doing.

A short press conference and back to the hotel to check out. From there to lunch with DGE Ruperta and Rita. Off to the airport with a stop on the way for homemade Crusian Ice Cream "Dietary version " with David and to the airport.

St. Croix Day 2

2007-10-20T05:06:00.000-05:00

We had another full day beginning with Breakfast with the Rotary Mid Isle Club at Gertrude's Another very dynamic clubs with a strong board doing a lot of great things.

When we finished the meeting we went on to visit one of their projects, the Boys and Girls Club where they have helped clean up, repair and paint the facility. They are now in the process of Air Conditioning it and purchasing computers for the Computer lab and looking for books for the library.

From the site visit we went west to have our board meeting and lunch with the Rotary Club of St. Croix West. We made one sampling stop on the way. Guess where?

Samples Ohh Yah !!!!!

We had those meetings in their Community Center. It is a very purpose built facility where they hold BINGO at least twice a week. It is a very consistent and strong funding program for the club.

After the meeting with DGE Rupert as navigator in a circumnavigated route we visited two of the clubs major projects.

The Boys and Girls Club of Fredricksted and the My Brothers Table.

At the Boys and Girls Club they have completed a the computer lab and study area and were looking at redoing the kitchen area and some other work.

At My Brothers table the Club is going to install a Deck in the back of the property where they can serve the meals in a less congested outdoor area when required. As you can see from the picture they have been working with the group for some time and have supplied things such as cooking equipent and fridges etc.

Last night was a meeting with the boards of all 4 Interact Clubs prior to the final joint Assembly. We gave out a Paul Harris Society recognition, a Benefactor Recognition and inducted 3 new members. I won both cash raffles. The first was $120, which I offered to the foundation and asked for the group to match which they did plus. the second I returned to the pot for a redraw and the next winner, a gentleman we just inducted gave $100 of his back as his 1st step towards being a sustaining member. It was a great night. The St. Croix Team did an outstanding job for our visit and a special thanks goes to ADG David Beck for his organization and the Presidents for their support. thank you for the magnificent gift. See one of the Interact Clubs and Ralphs Rotaract Club below.

St. Thomas and to St. Croix

2007-10-18T17:04:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update for everyone. We got up Wednesday morning and Don took us off to meet the St. Thomas II board and a visit to the Lockhart Elementary school where we donated Dictionaries. Great Board meeting and a strong club.

What an amazing expression of gratitude by the students. They looked up Sharing and we touched on Rotary shares a bit. They also looked up the Bahamas.

We went to the St. Anns retreat Seniors center where they had made up a welcome jingle which they sang to us. From 3rd graders to the seniors and Rotary doesn’t miss a beat. A picture of a real and very special Thank You from the wonderful administrator of the facility.

We had a joint lunch at the Marriott that was well attended and a lot of fun. The Sergeant raised a small fortune with the Happy Moments. I had the pleasure to pin the Spouse of the Governor of The USVI. She became an honorary Rotarian with the St. Thomas II club. the clubs also donated $1,750 towards the recovery effort in Haiti. Thank You St. Thomas and St. John

Don dashed us off to the airport and off to St. Croix. We had a great flight over in a small plane and were greeted by the St. Croix contingent once we all found the same gate. DGN Rupert was there as well.

We were taken to our hotel, the Buccaneer and unpacked and enjoyed a few minutes relaxation. We joined the presidents for a Welcome Dinner which was very good.

Today we began by meeting with the Rotary Club of St. Croix Harbor side. Awesome small club doing great things.

Carla got a few minutes downtown Christiansted to look around. It is very quiet there and business looks slow. It is the off season here.

We went to the Catholic Charities center where in honor of World Food day the Rotary club of St. Croix was feeding the homeless. I got to serve the people as they came in. There were quite a few of them. A humbling experience.

We met with the Rotary Club of St. Croix board for lunch followed by a visit to the Lt. Governors house to meet with him. He is a very friendly and entertaining gentleman. After a tour of the building by President Sonia ADG David brought us back to the Hotel to get ready for the Karaoke tonight., I need some good luck on this.

The leadership of the District may be at risk. Seen here is the District Governor Elect in his home town wearing what I assume is the normal attire!!!!

Seen here is the current District Governor after one day in St. Croix and a reasonably generouse portion of Cruzan Rum!

This was us singing YMCA to raise some funds for the Foundation. I understand we probably could have rasied more if we had asked them to pay us NOT to sing.

A great night of Karaoke

St. Thomas and St. John Club and project visits

2007-10-17T05:45:00.000-05:00

Here is a web site from ADG Don with more pictures!

http://picasaweb.google.com/rotaryvi

We had a Bruncheon as I mentioned on Sunday. A great event attended equally by Rotarians and Interactors. Barry told the story about how he joined Rotary, and it was inspiring to all. In his presentation he shared examples about how Rotary gets things done and the benefit it can be to an individual. I was then asked to say a few words. I thought the fewer the better given Barry’s fantastic presentation

I thought it would be appropriate to speak to the Interact members and did that. My message was that we should leave the world a little better than we found it. Although success was clearly the priority of all the young people it was natural was we get older to begin to try to think about our legacy and in so doing it was more about how significant we had been in the world moreso than how successful. I used a concept I learned at Zone that states that a few will remember what you have earned in your life but many will remember what you have given.

We spent a couple of hours thereafter having a few beers at Coral World and enjoying Rotary Fellowship.

Sunday evening we had dinner at Diana and Rogers place. It was a great night of fellowship. PDG JV and his wife Susan, were still in town along with Barry so they were there along with ADG Don and Susan who took us there and P Jannette. Thanks Roger and Diana!

Monday morning at 6:30 AM ADG Don picked us up to go to our meeting in St. John. We arrived there for a 7:30 Board meeting. President Joan and team met us and after a very enjoyable and interesting meeting we were off to the site visit. We went to VEIRS, and environmental research facility and had a tour of the site and saw the Solar Panel power supply provided by the Rotary club.

The trip was exciting! We got to see the beauty of St. John and experience the narrow and VERY hilly roads coupled with a small mechanical issue or two with the vehicle. We had to get out and walk for a short stretch. It was a very enjoyable and memorable trip. We did get to the beach as well. We were running a little late for the return Water Taxi, so Joan drove us to a piece of property beside the Hotel and we walked along the beach to the Water taxi which saved us time. Don considers that our Beach Recreation for the trip!

Back in St. Thomas we went to work in a serious way. We met with the Charlotte Amalie board over lunch and then went on to visit a few projects. PDG Mulo was at the Board meeting. That was very nice.

The first project was the Schulterbrand Home, which is a home for the senior mentally handicapped. The Club helps feed them on weekends and provides visits and special event parties etc.

The second visit was to the main Hospital. The Rotary Clubs of St. Thomas and St. Thomas II along with the Inner Wheel have projects there. The inner wheel does the gift shop where all profits go to the hospital pediatric ward. St. Thomas did a the healing garden and it was beautiful. The Rotary Club of St. Thomas II fitted out the Lobby in the cancer wing. It was beautifully done.

We followed that up with a dinner reception at the Crystal Palace B&B, hosted by Ronnie who is a member of the St. John Club. A great night was had by all. The food was provided by a Rotarian from St. John as well.

We began Tuesday with a 7:15 AM Board meeting with the Rotary Club of St. Thomas Sunrise. A very informed and fun group.

We left the board meeting to visit the family Resource Center where we stocked some new Sunrise Rotary supplier shelves with donated books. The Club is also installing a deck in the back area. The Resource Center deals with women and children abuse counseling and placement. They also provide work at the Safe House. We followed that with a visit to their Montessori School Interact opportunity where we spoke to a potential new Interact group. Very informed, responsible and community minded young people, which in part is a function of the Montessori learning system.

We visited the Nana Baby Home Orphanage. Truly a moving experience meeting the young ones that live there and hearing how and why they are there. What a very special and important project being made possible by the St. Thomas Club.
Carla and Scarlett
We had lunch board meeting with the Rotary Club of St. Thomas at the Grand Cru in the new Port development. After the meeting we went off to the Charlotte Amalier High School where the club has just completed a matching grant to supply the Mechanical Shop with much needed diagnostic tools for the mechanical trade course. The club also fitted out the resource center, which we got to observe on action.

The Rotary Club of St. Thomas East has done some renovation work at the Arboretum, where they planted trees and did some landscaping. The Principle was unable to do the planned visit as there had been a shooting by a student off property at that very time and she was very busy dealing with that. Real Life set in very quickly.

We met with the St. Thomas East board at the Mahogany Run Golf Club. We had a good meeting and after finishing there we rushed off to meet with the Rotaract Club at Rotarian Solomons home. We met with them for an hour and a bit and then returned to the hotel for around 7:30 PM. Don had offered dinner at the Golden Arches, but we declined to get organized for our trip to St. Croix today.

Tortolla Projects and St. Thomas 50th

2007-10-14T07:52:00.000-05:00

I just spent from 7:15 AM to 8:35 doing the blog, and was downloading my last picture when the power and router went out so here I go again.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tortola Site visits and off to St Thomas for anniversary

We started the day with a meeting with the Interact Club of Road town. They were a very intelligent group committed to make strides forward. It is an interesting make up of members. They come from a number of different schools and are currently having a membership drive at a few more. They seem very resourceful and I am confident they will have a great year. Their president is Suzette Richardson.

After the Interact meeting I went on the Live Radio show Reach from St. Thomas. I called in on ADG Vances cell phone. I hope all the minutes don’t come through at once. Something tells me that since he heads up cable and Wireless he should be OK.

We joined together in a bus with a cooler and a few bits of nourishment and went to visit the Rotary Projects.

1st stop was to present the Infant Ventilator at the hospital funded by the Rotary club of Tortola and partners. That went well as was capped off by the Doctor that uses it most telling us how it saves lives and how without it many more lives would be lost. A great presentation.

We went to the airport to see two Rotary Signs. One is placed outside and visible to all, and the other is an electronic one inside at customs that shows multiple adds to those that wait to clear customs.

Johnathan and I at the Airport

We went to the Mangrove walk project where Rotarians are completing a elevated walkway through the mangroves for students to use as they learn about the flora and fauna in that environment. A very different and exciting project.

We then traveled across the Island and saw signage of Rotary at work at schools etc and ended up at the centennial viewing station done by the Road Town Club.

After a casual lunch we were off to the Ferry for St. Thomas and the 50th Anniversary celebration. A special thanks to ADG Vance, the Club Presidents, and Monica for the planning. Tortola was a great visit, THANK YOU TORTOLA !!!!!

The rest of these go to the Seargents, there is some fund raising potential in these shots

Janette and her team did a great job. It was very well attended including many out of towners. There were some recognitions and a short presentation by RID Barry and a lot of dancing and good times. A very good Silent Auction as well.

Today we have a joint bruncheon, that a luncheon done at a brunch! A small gathering tonight and on the Club Visit Trail tomorrow, Don has really loaded up the schedule!

Zone Saturday, Sunday and Nassau to St. Thomas

2007-10-12T19:01:00.000-05:00

Zone

A great morning of Plenary session Topics including our own Ambassador Missouri Sherman Peter, Membership, The Ladies did a fashion show. Everybody else went off in the afternoon to Golf or participate in Tours or Shopping.

Carla and I and RID Barry Rassin had three meetings back to back. The first meeting was the Haiti Task Force Discussion with the Rotary Foundation representative, Darwin Sampedro, Barry Rassin, Errol Alberga, Nathan Carmack, Barry Rassin, Rupert Ross, Richard Grant, Amos Durosier. We reviewed the discussion paper and have made some modifications which I will put out to the Team as soon as I get caught up.

Meeting 2 was a meeting of District 7020 and 7030 to discuss future synergies such as Leadership Training and PETS. It was very interesting and led to some exploratory ideas which will be discussed by PDG’s and the DGN going forward.

Meeting 3 was a meeting of the Think Caribbean Initiative. We discussed many of the elements such as the Meeting in July, Disaster Relief, The Satellite phones and other things.

From there we went to the room and got dressed up for the Directors banquet. It was a great night, no speeches and great entertainment.

Sunday morning we had an interfaith service and a wrap up of the Zone Institute which ended at 11:00 AM. At 12:00 noon we were with the Zone Executive Committee and did a wrap up of that, cleaning up loose ends and followed that with a “What went well” and What went not so well” session to give ourselves a a bit of a critique.

After that meeting we had a meeting of the 2008 Zone Executive committee and began to plan the 2008 Zone. After a general session of that we adjourned and went to the supply room to select the equipment that needed to be shipped to Nassau for the 2008 Zone.

We followed this with a quiet dinner with Barry and Ester where we just ate quietly and rested, We went back to the hotel for about 9:30 to pack and ready to leave the next day

4:30 AM Sunday morning we were up and out of the hotel to go back to Nassau. The flight was for 8:00 AM and we arrived at the airport at 5:45AM. Good thing, they flight was going to be very late and cause us to miss our connector in Atlanta so they put us on the 6:30 AM. We made it and although we were delayed 2 hours departing Atlanta for Fog, we got home safe late Monday afternoon. Stopped ib at work to catch up and went home and crashed.

Tuesday was a back at work day and at 11:00 AM together with ADG Felix, I met with the Nassau Club Board at Luccianos. Great meeting with a club doing a lot of great things. I counted about 15 major projects in the works. After the meeting we went on to the Assembly which was lightly attended and included a couple of Rotarians from my club. One of them talked most of the way through my presentation. I am not sure if that is a reflection of what I was saying or a reflection of the lack to politeness. I will leave that to that individual to deicide. Everybody else was attentive as far as I could see.

Wednesday was a back to work day with my Rotary Club meeting at 12:30 PM followed by a trip to Atlantis to review the room allocation for the Zone with convention services. The original blocking was VERY short and the entire list had to be redone.

Over to Carla!

Thursday and we’re on the move again! As usual we had to fight the traffic to the airport for our flight to Miami to connect to St. Thomas. Barry met us in the airport and traveled with us to USVI. Dick sat next to a Rotarian from Barbados/South of France who seemed to know almost everyone we did in the islands, including the Bahamas. They talked the whole way with the possibilities of future projects flying!!

We were met at the St. Thomas airport by a whole contingent led by AG Don. Rum punches, balloons, gift bags and rushed out the door to catch the ferry to Tortola which we made by the skin of our teeth. What a beautiful trip over. We sat on the top deck and took in the sights, sun and breeze. After being in a hotel at Zone for week it was a real treat.

ADG Don passing his garbage over to a fellow Rotarian so he would have enough room in his vehicle for the bags. Rotarians are VERY considerate!

Carla waiting at St. Thomas Port for the boat over to Tortola

The Adventurer took us across from St. Thomas to Tortola. Below is the sun setting as we arrive

Here is the shortened version of the welcome committee P. Roy, P. Mary, ADG Vance

We were met at the dock in Tortola by another huge group led by AG Vance with flowers, gift bags and rushed out to change and get to the Governor’s home for a reception in 25 minutes. The Governor hosted us and the two local clubs to a reception and then we went to dinner at the Sugar Mill which was fantastic. Dick was dressed to the hilt with bow tie, chain of office, green jacket etc: everyone else was in short sleeves. Miscommunication somewhere along the line. Got back to the hotel around midnight, crashed for a few hours and were ready for day 2.

At the Governors reception for us

Ajit and Carla at dinner. Ajit is one of the most informed people I have ever had the pleasure to meet. Not a Rotarian but more Rotarian at heart than most. He supports everything we do!

At the Sugar Mill for dinner

Bomba Shack, The place to go

Board of the Rotary Club of Road Town and the Rotaract Club sponsored by the Tortola club. What an amazing group!!!

Visit with the Governor at his office.

We met with Premier O'Neal and talked about Rotary. he is a Rotarian with the Tortola Club.

Assembly of Rotary Club of Road Town and Tortolla.

Friday we met with a great, dynamic Rotaract group. Definitely future Rotarians! Second stop was the board meeting of the Road Town club, then on to the Governor’s for the official visit-tie, chain of office etc. Lunch was a joint meeting of the two clubs, Road Town and Tortola where the Tortola club presented $90,000.00 in checks to various groups from Tortola. Then off to the Premier’s for an official visit-tie, chain of office etc. Very interesting point there. Since the Tortola Club was formed EVERY First Minister or now called Premier has been an active member of the Rotary Club of Tortola. A huge boost to Public Image here. Last stop was the board meeting of the Tortola Club. What dynamic Rotarians we have in Tortola, there’s just too many projects to list. We’ve asked both boards to advise Karen of their activities.
Recieving Babnner from Monica of Tortola Rotary Club!

Back to out hotel. We were going to do dinner with President’s Roy and Mary, but were late from the Board meeting and very far behind on meeting notes and Blog entries so we took the night off to do that. Tomorrow we start with Interact at 8:00 AM followed by project visits for both Clubs, a call in to the St. Thomas Radio Show and off by Ferry to St. Thomas at 2:00 PM. We have the St. Thomas 50th tomorrow night. I am not putting very many pictures in this one because it takes to much time to load them.

Have a great Day

Back in Nassau

2007-10-09T08:52:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone.

We are back in Nassau after a long day of travel yesterday. (Fog at Atlanta Airport), and doing laundry and getting ready to leave early Thursday AM for the US VI and BVI. We will be there for 12 days. I will give you some detail of the last couple of days and some pictures tonight when I get home.

I am off to the Nassasu Club Board Visit and then the Club Luncheon today so I am a little short on time.

Zone Friday and Class Dinner

2007-10-05T20:54:00.000-05:00

Classmates Bill Woulfin of D-6900 and Tim and Barb Schuler of 6950.

Arnaldo from Puerto Rico, D-7000 singing and Mary of D-7770

Tim Mannix singing for us.

Classmates PC Wu of 6940 and Judi, Carla, Sharon and Denny Kurir and somebody standing.

Classmate Jim Pierce and wife Suki.

Gary Israel singing for change, check out his belt!!!!

Carla and I with Rotary International President Elect DK Lee.

Another great day at Zone. I did a presentation at the Foundation / Think Caribbean Session this morning. What I wanted to achieve was to provide a perspective of what it was REALLY like in Haiti and how we needed the amazing amount of Humanitarian Aid, but how it needed to be achieved within the parameters of the TRF. That means using the Task Force as it was intended. I was followed by Dr. Greene who works with the Christen Haitian American Partnership (CHAP), who followed up with a confirmation of the message. Great comments after the session.

xaxqus

We had a Think Caribbean Meeting today to discuss how that is moving forward and arrange a meeting tomorrow to discuss it.

I met with our District foundation Chair to discuss the issue of Matching Grants, District Simplified Grants, and the Haiti Task Force. We have a meeting tomorrow at 2:00 PM to go over the Task Force with RI, TRF and others including Barry Rassin and if they can make it, Jose Antonio Salazar-Cruz, a Foundation trustee, and John Smarge. We are reviewing the paper that I presented on the Haiti Task Force and hoping to adopt it and to have buy in at TRF level.

We finished the evening with a class dinner. I included a few pictures which best describe the evening.

DG Dick

DG Traning at Zone

2007-10-04T20:35:00.000-05:00

Me getting the chance to place the Bahamian Flag for the Zone opening!!!!

"Nothing like a Dame" skit done by our class Zone 33 & 34 DG's 2007-2008, posted on U-TUBE

RID Barry in his Junkanoo stuff. You will notice it moves with the rythem. He can see forward!

The WHOLE room got in a Conga Line. It was unbelievable. It went on for at least half an hour!

Its not all hard work.

Here are the topics we covered today among current DG's and very well seasoned PDG's. Great to compare notes and ideas that are working, and some that are not.

Whats happening in the World of Rotary by PRID Ken Morgan?

Whats working in my District and whats not by classmates?

The Rotary Foundation.

Council on Legislation by Tom Payne

Our Leadership Luncheon

Practice of DG and DG partner presentation

Membership

I was called out to practice the Bahamian Flag presentation for tonight

What it takes to have a great District Conference.

Awards and Citations

Carla spent the day with my classmates spouses and discussion leaders and shared what our District was like and shared some of the info and pictures on the Blog. They are begining to undersatnd the diversity of our District and how great Rotary is in it!

From that we went to a reception, at which Carla and I were hosting. What an honour to do so with all the PDG's Dg's DGE' and DGN's from out Zone.

We then had a great night of FUN and Rotary Fellowship.

Presentation of Flags

Presentation of DG's and Spouses

We did out skit from the Institute. I think it is still on U-Tube

and then a Junkanoo Rush by a Junkanoo Group sponsored by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. What an amazing event. EVERYBODY was up dancing etc!!!!

See you tomorrow.

DG Dick

Zone Institute Dinner Wednesday

2007-10-03T21:49:00.000-05:00

A few of my classmates, DG Jim Norton and his wife Candy front left, behind is Barb and DG Tim Schuler, and Past RI Director Barry, Carla, me and PRID's wife.

DGE Rupert and wife Cheryl

DGN Errol and Leonie and my classmate Dick Hyer and Marsha.

RI Director Barry Rassin and Esther, our hosts

I would like to tell you we were hard at work all day, but that was not the case. We had the chance to meet old friends and share Rotary as President Wilf has asked. This evening we had the opportunity to be involved in an Executive Committee Reception with RID Barry and many other PRID's as well as Foundation Trustees and Rotarians from every level in every District. What makes me most proud is every ones interest in District 7020. We are well known and respected in the Rotary World. Thank you 7020 Rotarians.

We had a Reception of DGn's, spouses, DGe's and Spouses and Dg's and Spouses along with all PDG's present and their spouses. What a great collection of Rotarian's. I included a couple of pictures of that. Carla and I truly enjoyed the friendship of our classmates who have made our Rotary year such a wonderful experience.

After dinner, our class practiced out Rotary International Assembly SKIT which was pictured on U-Tube and apparently still is. Our Zones, 33 and 34 put on a Skit "Aint Nothing Like Dame". It was a hit and we were asked to do it again tomorrow night. After we do it I will let you know how it went.

great Day, Great Evening and now time for a rest. We meet with the Executive Committee again tomorrow at 7:00 AM.

Good Night

DG Dick

We are at Zone

2007-10-03T07:49:00.000-05:00

From our room balcony!

For those of you that travel a lot I am sure you understand that its not what it used to be. Our flight from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach was to depart at 12:15 PM on Monday. After many announcements and comments about a small maintenance item being repaired we were told we could board the plane at 2:40 PM. We got on board and waited for a while before heading out towards the runway. Part way there they stopped and seemed to just run the engines. This was followed by an announcement that we would be going back to the gate because the small maintenance item was still a maintenance item.

The pilot had a sense of humor saying that he would be better to fix it on the ground than to try to fix it in the air. They disembarked us and we waited in silence. the then told us they would get a back up plane and we would soon be off. They did not say where the plane would come from and from the time it took it may well have been one of the ones stored in the Arizona Desert. Any way at 6:30 we began reboarding and were on our way.

Myrtle Beach is a great place, reminds me a little of New Smyrna or Daytona Beach. We are checked in and did a little shopping yesterday for stuff more available in America, such as travel size shaving creams etc.

We attended our first Executive Board meeting of the Zone Planning Committee at 7:00 AM this morning to begin to get a feel for what goes on. Next year I am the Facilities and Arrangements Chair for the Zone in Nassau Bahamas. It looks like they have set the bar very high, but Carla and I are very excited.

Today the District Governor Elects begin their training, joined by District Governor Nominees this evening at a reception. Tomorrow there are 3 separate sessions, one for the DG's, one for the DGE's and One for the DGN's. Each of these are accompanied by a session for the spouses.

I'll keep you posted on what happens and send some pictures that I get today.

DG Dick and Carla

On our way to the Zone Institute

2007-10-01T12:31:00.000-05:00

Carla and DGE Beverley Hunt from District D-6890 at the Atlanta Airport

We are on our way to Myrtle Beach for the Rotary Zone Institute. We are currently sitting in Atlanta waiting for a plane that has mechanical problems. We are waiting for some news as we have been delayed for 2 hours already.

The Southeast Rotary Club had a great Golf Tournament yesterday. I played poorly, but my friend Johnny saved the day and kept us looking respectable. There was no need to wait around for the awards ceremony, so went home and packed for this trip.

We'll keep you posted as we go through the week.

Dick

Back home at Southeat Nassau for a special day

2007-09-27T14:16:00.000-05:00

We had a very special day at our Rotary Club (Southeast Nassau) yesterday. We celebrated the Past Presidents of our Club and Women in Rotary. The Past Presidents were all asked to come and to join in the program in one way or the other. We also invited Past Presidents who were no longer in Rotary and it was great to have them. The three of them there were: Larry Roberts, Greg Lee, and Earl Bethell. Because we were celebrating Women in Rotary at the same time Rowina Bethell, the first Rotarian in Nassau sponsored by DG Dick was present and made a presentation on her experience in Rotary and the 1st Woman President in Nassau Carla McCombe ran the meeting. What a great time we had!

Pictured all the Past presidents!

ADG Felix, President Tim, PP Carla, DG Dick, and Rowina cut the celebratory cake.

DG Dick, Rowina, P Tim and PP Carla.

As you all know President Wilf mandated that all District Governors should lead by example and sponsor a new Rotarian. I took the opportunity to induct my 1st new Rotarian for the year, Danny Lowe.
The Blue wrist band is given to our incoming President David Moncur. There was no picture but Carla pinned me with the new Sponsors Pin.

Our Rotarian Michael Levitt attends Peace Forum

2007-09-25T07:55:00.000-05:00

We are back in The Bahamas for a couple of days getting ready for the Zone Institute next week. Busy clearing up e-mails and getting the task list completed from the Haiti & Jamaica club visits.

Our club is doing a Past Presidents Day tomorrow with all the Past presidents running the Club. PP Carla has been asked to run the meeting as we are recognizing Women in Rotary and she was the first Women President. I have to make a presentation on the same as the speaker.

My great opportunity is to bring in a new Rotarian. One that I have sponsored. I guess Carla will pin me.

This is a great note from Michael who recently attended one of the Peace Forums. He truly puts a perspective on the role Rotary plays in the world. Pictured with RID Barry Rassin.

Here is his synopsis

"As part of his presidential year, RI President Wilf Wilkinson, has convened three Peace Forums to promote the 4th Object of Rotary: “The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service”.

It was my privilege to be a delegate at the 2nd Forum held in Istanbul, Turkey on 1 September 2007, titled “How can Rotary contribute to Peace in the Middle East?” The first Forum was held two days earlier in Sofia, Bulgaria to address the problems in the Balkans, while the 3rd Forum was scheduled for 20 September in Nairobi, Kenya to address ways of getting aid to Africa in a more timely way. I felt proud that when the delegates were welcomed, the first two countries mentioned were Bahamas and the Cayman Islands – both from District 7020! RI Director Barry Rassin, a Past District Governor of 7020 was one of the Speakers.

The day started with a very powerful video presentation: “Middle East throughout History”. After the Welcome, Moment of Silence and National Anthems, surprisingly for Rotary, the proceedings took a political slant, when we were addressed by the Former President of Turkey; then the Former Prime Minister of Jordan followed by the Former Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey. Unfortunately, the Former President of Israel had to withdraw at the last moment because of security concerns.

Afternoon Plenary Sessions were addressed by RI Senior Leaders (past and present Directors); Rotary Peace Fellows; the President of the European School of Economics and then PDG’s from Turkey, Israel, Greece, Jordan and Egypt. It was incredible to see Rotarians from this very conflicted area, many of whom might have faced each other on battlefields; break bread together, enjoy Fellowship and mix like old friends – the essence of Rotary!

The most moving and defining moment of the day was when the last speaker, PDG Mohamed Delawar of Egypt ended his talk by saying: “Let us stop talking and rather say ‘Salaam Shalom’ and get on with it”. Amid cheers, tears and a standing ovation, DGE Yael Lazarus of Israel responded by offering to bring a delegation from Israel, to meet with delegations from Egypt and Jordan; anywhere, anytime – this meeting will happen within the next 6 months in either Turkey, Italy or the UK! Furthermore, plans are underway to start 1 month High School camps, in one of the 3 countries mentioned, for students from Egypt, Israel, Jordan and possibly Palestine to live and learn together."

Air Jamaica and waiting

2007-09-24T11:08:00.000-05:00

Good day all,

We are at the Kingston Airport waiting the flight. ADG Ken got us here just after 6:30 AM this morning. After a time at the counter we were informed that the flight to Montego bay and on to Nassau was cancelled and they would be looking at creating another flight sometime later. With their assistance we got to the VIP Lounge and here we wait.

We were told a while ago that there was going to be a direct flight Kingston to Nassau departing at 1:00 PM. We are now waiting on that. We will keep you posted.

A special note to the Rotarians of Jamaica. You are truly doing Rotaries work on the ground and involved hand to hand with the most needy in the community. You can be very proud of this as it is the true essence of Service Above Self.

I am also very impressed that in most instances the Clubs are working on projects funded by Government Social Service Organization and NGO's. In many cases they provide the funding only if Rotary is the oversight group on the spending. Clearly the Public Image is very Strong on Ethics and Integrity. Be very proud of that.

Thank you for the great Interclub Assembly of the 22 clubs in Jamaica. In most instances the leadership of every club was there. Lead by example at its best.

Please support the RLI in November in Montego Bay. This is our time to shine and we must have the representation to show our commitment to the program. Please be sure all clubs are represented.

Thanks again for the great time and the effort everyone put in to making us so welcome and comfortable.

DG Dick

Ocho Rios jamaica and Interclub Assembly

2007-09-23T20:46:00.000-05:00

We drove to Ocho Rios on Saturday morning and met with the Ocho Rios Board. A great little club with a big attitude. They will do great this year. They did an amazing job of hosting the joint Assembly and organizing a great function at the Watson's and lunch on Sunday.

This is Ruth and I shaking a leg as they say. Ruth was polite and patient and put up with my attempts. Thanks Ruth

Sav La Mar and New Kingston Presidents with DGN Errol enjoying the evening.

Our hosts Earl and Yvonne Watson held the function at their home. What a beautiful place and what a great job with the decorating, food etc. Thank you for a great night!

Puggy at the Hotel

Spanish Town Center. Amazing architecture and beauty.

The oldest bridge in Jamaica between Kingston and Ocho Rios.

The pool at the hotel,

The beach at the hotel

The front beach at the Golden Seas Hotel.

Fog over the valley from the road between Kingston and Ocho Rios

The "Flat Bridge" Made like this so when the river is up the water can run over it without damaging it.

Errol wearing Barry's Conference shirt 1992 I think?

Entering Fern Gully, and old river bed that is now a part of the road to Ocho Rios.

The night function 1

Night function 2

Night function 3

Naomi, Carla and Ken at the dinner

Another dinner picture

Paul and dinner guests

Thanking the Hosts Earl and Yvonne Watson with a Bahamian Calendar

Clarence, and the Rotaract team at dinner

Carla and Ken.

Leaving Ocho Rios the town center

Joint Assembly and then the Ocho Rios lunch. Pinning the President with a sponsor pin, and awarding Pixley for his great efforts with this club.

Exchanging banner and the pinning
Leaving Ocho Rios at the town square

Jerk PorkKen sharing a moment with the luncheon

Jerk stations on the side of the road!

We got back to Kingston around 7:30 Sunday night and are on our way back home tomorrow. I can not say enough about the great clubs in eastern Jamaica and we look forward to the RLI in November and our visits to the western clubs.

Jamaica Day # 4 & projects

2007-09-21T22:04:00.000-05:00

DG Party Great night !!!!

Rotaract Kingston

Rotaract New Kingston, Do I have it right?

Carla and Robert. Robert, Thanks for a great night. Beautiful Home!!!

Board Meeting New Kingston President Gladstone and Team

Rae Town Fence that blew down during Dean. Great Rotary project!

Rae Town area designated as Community area Restaurant. Presidents Robin showing us.

Rae Town Fishing Village before Rotary Club of Downtown Kingston

Rae Town Fishing Village after Rotary Club of Downtown Kingston

Kingston harbour with work to to for Rotary Club

New providence Primary, The beginning of a new computer lab

New Providence Primary Rotary Signage

New providence Primary with the Souls that matter most!!!!! and the Principle

Goodwin Park Kitchen

Goodwin Park and President Sezvin

Goodwin Park outside

Denham Home for the aged

When the rubber hits the road the Rotary Clubs in Kingston Jamaica are there and on the ground. Great projects today and many thankful people that Rotarians are there to help.

Jamaica Boards Govenor General and social day # 3

2007-09-21T06:30:00.000-05:00

Another exciting day in Kingston. We met with two boards, Kingston and Portmore. Their projects once again are fantastic. Kingston is off next week to meet with one of their Twin Clubs for a friendship exchange.

We were able to see first hand the Dunrobin School at which the Kinston Club has repaired a sports field, completed a Kindergarden, and overseen a Community Center in a very low income area among other projects. We were entertained by 5 year olds with a poem. They are all so cute!!!

Kingston Board and lunch at the Kinston Club

Portmore board and Rotary sign at the Dunrobin School project

Dunrobin sports field

The preschool at Dunrobin

The community centre at Dunrobin

Good signage

The pre school

One of the students and Andre Hilton who was project manager

Visiting the Governor General and pinning him with the Bahamian District pin

What a beautiful room at Government House

More Government House ADG Ken, Carla and Aide

Ah, the party begins. We were treated to a wonderful evening of fellowship at DGN Errol's home. Above is Andre, Paul Brown and AG Ken

More party

...more party

Rotoractors, watch for them in Nassau in May, and Patrick Adizua

Carla & Andre

The future, the present and the past. DGN Errol, DG Dick and PDG Mike

Jamaica Boards and Assy. Day 2

2007-09-20T05:23:00.000-05:00

We met with the three boards early on in the Day, 2 before lunch and one after. here we are meeting with the Saint Andrew North Board and President Joscelyn Jolly.

President Joscelyn exchanging a Club Banner with me.This is our Board Meeting with the Downtown Kingston Club and President Robin Levy.
In the afternoon we me with the Liguanea Plains Club Board pictured here.

Ruth Palmer brought a new Rotarian for our Assembly, and we were able to officially induct her and I was able to pin Ruth with President Wilf's sponsor pin.

We had a joint Assembly Dinner at the Hotel last night. It was hosted by Downtown Kingston, Kingston East and Port Royal, St. Andrew North, and Portmore. It was a lovely affair MC'ed by President Robin Levy with each of the Club Presidents doing their bit to support.

We inducted 2 new members at the event so it was very rewarding for all.
There are 3 potential new Rotarians sitting at this table soon to be brought into the Clubs
We also recognized our newest Paul Harris Fellow, Peter Muir

The Sargent of the evening was great. Here is is giving away the evenings raffle.

Here is my wonderful Wife Carla and DGN Errol enjoying the evening.

We have 2 board meetings today, and official visit with the Governor General, and project site visits so we are staring early with a 7:30 AM Board meeting. I am looking forward to the site visits as without exception every club has had 7-10 great projects for the year. The projects range from Hospital Equipment upgrades to Health vans, to schooling for the poor, working with the police, mentoring programs, water supply projects etc. An amazing assortment or really worthwhile projects. Doing a great job for the community and doing a great job with Rotaries Public Image

Day Synopsis of Jamaica day 1

2007-09-19T07:09:00.000-05:00

After two very hectic days at home doing laundry, seeing kids and dealing with all the problems that were waiting for us at work, we're back on a plane. This time its Air Jamaica. What a great airline! No delays, lovely people and complimentary champagne in coach-is American Airlines listening. We even got our luggage. This travel is a breeze especially since my cast is only half the size.

AG Ken was at the airport waiting for us and took us to the Hilton Hotel. A number of Rotarians including AG Clarence met us for a drink and then we were off to an early night so Dick could get caught up on the hundreds of emails.

Our schedule is hectic for the next week, but not unreasonable. We've met with three boards and had a joint club meeting where as usual we were treated like Royalty. Again, the Jamaican social life kicks in after the meeting. A bunch of us meet at the bar to enjoy the live music. Can't be too late as tomorrow we start at 8:00 a.m. More to follow.......

Jamaica East Vist Log

2007-09-19T05:19:00.000-05:00

Spanish Town Board.
The trip to Jamaica was very good and uneventful. Air Jamaica, Nassau Montego Bay. Changed planes and onto Kingston. The airport was not crowded and we were though and into the care of ADG Kenneth Wilson in no time. We had a quite 1st night with ADG Kenneth, ADG Clarence and a few others that included a couple of Red Stripe.

St. Andrew Board

The next day began with a board meeting at 8:00 Am with St. Andrew and another at 10:00 AM with Spanish Town. A lunch break and then a 2 hour meeting with the board of Kingston East and Port Royal.

We, I am not sure how it happened but I edited the picture of the Kingston East & Port Royal Board and have stored it somewhere that even Bill gates won't be able to figure out. I apologise President Stannard. This club is struggling with membership and has done a very courageous thing. They did a satisfaction survey of the club membership and found a number of things that were the cause. they subsequently have made the necessary changes to improve the club and address the concern areas and are looking for a net growth this year of + 5. Great Job!

We had a joint Assembly last night which included the Rotary Clubs of, Spanish Town, St. Andrew, new Kingston and Liguanea Plains. It was a well attended and fun event. The Jamaican fellowship and sense of humor was very obvious.

Carla on the Family of Rotary and the Cookbook . She received a number of recipes one the spot and has also been given some advertising commitments. Please keep in mind we need the advertising commitments, approximately $250.00 per club to fund the cookbook so the recipes can be free and the project can raise the projected $15,000 for the Foundation, and $15,000 for the District Conference.

Speaking passionately about Membership

In our District of the 67 clubs, 41 have had a decrease in membership over the last 4 years. It is imperative that every member make an effort to find a new quality Rotarian. The goals from the clubs this year indicate that we will be successful in stopping the decline. Great job to all. See the example of Michael Terrelonge who sponsored in his first of 2

Sponsor Pin for Michael Terrelonge

Hotel Lobby Signage

President of Liguanea Plains receiving last years Presidential Citation

PP Spanish Town receiving Presidential Citation

PP St. Andrew receiving Presidential Citation

Spanish Town New Member sponsored by President Michael Terrelonge

Errol Morrison PHF Award

The Clubs we met with so far are generally focused on youth, Ethics education and health issues. many great projects. Some of the clubs are working with their Twinning Clubs on some projects and finding great success and support.

The clubs thanking me with a certificate and Carla was given some AMAZING Jamaican Cookbooks. If we ever get home we will have fun with that.

Have a great day all. Hopefully will be able to add todays activities to the Blog tomorrow.

Our trip to Haiti for Club and Board Visits

2007-09-16T10:01:00.000-05:00

View from the Montana Hotel overlooking Port Au Prince

Delmas Airport
Petion-ville
Mirebalais
Port Au Prince

Tuesday 4th, we met with the 4 boards from the above clubs today. Approximately 1 ½ Hours per club with a short lunch break. It was very interesting to hear of the projects in the Port Au Prince area. Literacy, Youth, Health and Environment seem to top the list.

You may note that we got the room until tomorrow as well. We are using the internet!

I was totally shocked to learn that in just the 4 clubs there are 26 Matching Grants involved. Approximately ½ of them are with just token involvement of the local clubs. No previous involvement in surveying the community needs, and no designated local Rotarian Committee or membership responsible for the project. This has to stop to protect our District and our access to matching Grants in the future. Under the Matching Grant Criteria there is the following:

For Matching Grants $5,000 to $25,000, partner Rotary Clubs and Districts are required to:
· Maintain Communication and dialogue for the life of the project
· Establish a committee of at least three Rotarians
· Jointly asses community needs, plan the project, and provide a paragraph outlying participation
· Visit the project site on an as needed basis. The International partner may participate by sharing information via correspondence or by visiting the project site.

In the short term we have asked ALL clubs to ensure that all interested parties looking to participate in the matching Grant program within Haiti, pass the Grant Application through the Haiti Task Force for consultation.

We had a great dinner event with the Petion-ville club this evening and were once again treated royally.

Wednesday 5th we leave for Cap Hatien at 8:00 AM. 6:00 AM pick up at the hotel. We are being met there by ADG Caleb Lucien where we have the following itinerary:
Airport in Cap Haitien at 8:30 A.M., staying at the Hotel Mont Joli that night. The meetings will take place there.
11 A.M. Meeting with the President of Cap Haitien club for 2 hours, because he had not attended PETS.

2 PM Board Meeting with Cap Haitien club

5 PM Club Assembly

Thursday 6th Cap Hatien to Pignon. We will be traveling by car leaving at 8 A.M.. The trip was supposed to take approximately 3 hours. It is a 29.8 Mile drive and it took us 4 ½ hours not counting the 1 hour we were stuck to the running boards in the mud.
Arrival Pignon at 1:30 PM. We had an amazing lunch at Caleb’s and met Debbie his wife and two daughters Karisa and Lydia. They also had two American missionaries, Lindsey and Cara.
2:30 PM- Board Meeting with Pignon club at guys Hospital

4 PM-Club Assembly with Pignon Club held at the Guys Hospital again. We spent the night at Guys Hospital Dormitory. It was wonderful!

Friday 7th Pignon to Hinche. We had a tour of Guy’s Hospital and the services. Amazing teleconference and video operating room etc. No wonder the people from Cap Haitien, Hinche and surrounding areas come to this private hospital.

We then toured the Mango Farm and saw the Goat program and then drove the 16.6 miles to Hinche, which took 2 + hours. Guy and two members of the Pignon club are traveling with us in their car.

Amazing little Hotel, L’Ermatige de Pandiassou. Nobody there including staff but finally found somebody to rustle up some lunch. Plain sandwichs each on thin bread and water and a tough coffee for those that braved it. Then waited for the scheduled Board Meeting with the Hinche Club. It was scheduled for 2:30 PM and started after 3:00 PM. In the mean time we met with a DGN from the states about matching grants. He was interested in grants with Hinche and Jeremie. As it turned out the DGN did not meet with any Rotarian from either club. They intend to do the project with an NGO and use the name of a local club to leverage the funds in the TRF. We cut short because the Assy was scheduled for 4:00 PM. They left to get ready and said they would be running late so they would call us when we should head over.

At about 5:30 we headed that way and under way called to see if they were ready. They said no and we drove around town in the dark and pouring rain for the next 1.5 hours until we could get them to let us arrive. It started at 7:00 PM and was fun and interesting and ended with a meal.

Saturday 8th Hinche via PAP and then to Jeremy. We will leave Hinche at 9 A.M. by plane. We'll land in Port au Prince by 9:30 A.M. Together with Caleb, we will catch the flight to Jeremie at 10:30 A.M. We'll meet Robert in Jeremie for his planned meetings.

We flew from Hinche to PAP by a MAF Charter. Missionary Aviation Fellowship. Great flight from a grass strip with people, goats, cows, pigs horses and markets on either side. The plane did a fly over coming in and the strip cleared. Two guys with vests go into the middle of the runway and keep a lookout. They weigh your bags and people and have a weight capacity. Carla wasn’t too impressed to have to get on a scale, and vowed never to eat again.

Once in Port Au Prince, we dropped a bag of gifts and laundry to Nessim and checked into Caribintair for the flight to Jeremie. The plane was an hour late leaving, but the flight was nice and we were welcomed graciously by ADG Robert Leget and his wife Rosa along with approximately 10 other club members from Jeremie, Les Cayes and Aquin. The president and secretary of the Jacmel club were on our flight as well.

On the trip into town and the hotel we stopped at a public shower project and a Rotary House project (13) that they have done. Great ideas. From there we went and checked into the hotel. Very quaint, no power, no AC and no services of any kind. We showered and went of to the board meetings.

We met with the boards at a joint meeting. We covered the basics and then had a lively discussion about matching Grants and projects. We are being taken down the garden path on matching grants!

After the board meetings we returned to the hotel for 1.5 hours where we changed and suffered through the heat of no AC and no power. The converter provides some light and a fan but the fan is over the bed which is covered by a mosquito net so very little, if any, air get through.
The Assembly dinner was great. It was set outdoors at Rotarian Royneld Bordeaux’s home. He is the founding President of the Jeremie club. Beautiful setting in the garden. Unfortunately, early into the event it started to rain so we all moved inside, carried tables and chairs, and went on with the program. Nice and cozy but quite hot. We inducted 4 new members, gave the Jacmel club its Presidential Citation from last year and gave out the Sponsor Pins.

After some lively entertainment we came back to the hotel. The road up to it is all but impassable and steep, but we made it, only to find the front gates to the hotel locked. Robert tried to open the lock but to no avail. After about 15 minutes of honking and flashing lights we woke someone up and got in. We then found that the converter batteries were dead so we had no power of any sort.

Sunday we left on a charter from Jeremie to Les Cayes with the Les Cayes and Aquin members. The airline had called and asked that we make it an hour earlier, however they still arrived at the scheduled time of 10:00 a.m.

The clubs had a banner and a beautiful bouquet of flowers for us at the airport. Robert and Rosa’s son met us and then left for work. We then toured Espoa Boys’ Camp that the Les Cayes club is involved with. Amazing project. We checked into the Cayness Hotel. Again no power, but there was water so we showered and met Caleb for lunch, then dressed to go to the Aquin meeting where they would receive their charter. As usual, everything was fantastic. We inducted two new members and gave their sponsors their pins. The roads to Aquin are very good. We then returned to Robert and Rosa’s home for a social with Caleb, Yves Martial, who had flown in for the Charter, and a few members of the Les Cayes club. Rosa’s orchids and garden are fabulous.

Monday 10th we left Les Cayes to Port de Paix through PAP. Yves was on another airline and got diverted through Jeremie so he was late getting to PAP. We were on a 10:30 flight which was cancelled and were then scheduled on the 11:55. We went to the Vista Hotel to have coffee and some email. The Vista is where the Delmas Airport Club meets. We met with Herve, a very well spoken committed Rotarian who has been involved in numerous Matching Grant programs. He was also the Haitian ambassador to Canada at one point.

We flew from PAP over St. Marc and Gonaives into Port De Paix. Gravel landing strip by the sea with winds. It was an interesting approach and landing.

We were met with flowers and a welcome committee of Rotarians and a band. Very welcoming event. From there we went to Yves home for Lunch where his wife had made quite a spread. There were many more people there than space at the table but everybody found a corner to sit in and enjoyed a great meal and wonderful fellowship.

After lunch we went to the hotel to check in and change. The usual, no power but we did out best. Water also an issue as you can see from Carla’s shower challenges.
We were supposed to meet the Mayor at 4:00 pm. They changed that to 4:30 because we were running late. Yves picked us up at 4:45. Had a nice meeting with the Mayor who offered us the keys to the city. From there we went to the Board meeting and waited for about half an hour for some of the board to show. We ended up starting without them.

A torrential rain started during the meeting and we had to move due to roof leaks. We were also able to see first hand what happens with the mountain run off in the rain due to the unplanned deforestation and clearing. We had to change locations in the restaurant a couple of times due to leaks and flooding, but we did finish the meeting. In the tough sections the Pastor was the interpreter. There was a movie theatre in the building so we were able to show the Conference DVD on the big screen.

In the same building a few floors down we had the dinner. It was very nice and attended by about 15 plus a Rotaract and Interact.

Tuesday 11th We were scheduled to fly from Port de Paix at 7:00 a.m., but due to the rain and mud from the night before, the plane did not arrive. We were picked up around 7:15 by the PdeP president to go to there airport. On the way we got a flat tire so Yves had to be called to come and get us. We arrived at the airport and then waited. No one would tell us when the flight was due to arrive. Yves’ wife brought us a wonderful breakfast which we ate in the restaurant of the airport. Still waiting!! At about 9:45 the plane finally arrived and at 10:00 we were on our way to PAP where we would rent a car and drive to St. Michele. Caleb was there waiting and had the car ready. We got underway about 11:15 for our 5 hour drive.

We stopped in St. Marc to pick up the PP, Jude, and then continued our drive. The road so far hasn’t been that bad and we made the trip in just less than 2 hours. Then the excitement started. We learned that the reason our flight had been delayed was that there had been a plane crash. A Caribintair flight from CAP to PAP had crashed; thank goodness no one was hurt. Then we had a close call with a motor cycle that turned into us as we were overtaking him. We were in a four wheel skid, sideways down the highway. Not our idea of a Sunday drive.

We passed thru Gonieve and saw the devastation the flooding had caused. They are building a new bridge that is about 20 feet off the plain that will allow access to the city when the planes flood. The goats and donkeys think it’s a great place to stay in the shade.
Gonieve no longer has a Rotary club, however we were trying to make contact with the “acting” president of the the “club”, however he refused to see us. We continued our trip to St. Michel, which is about another 2 hours.

The roads get continuously worse. We are now on roads like the ones from CAP to Pignon. We cross the same river 10 times. At the 10th crossing, the St. Michel Club is there to meet us with banners etc. We follow them in a convoy up the hill to the mayor’s house where we are staying. Just as we go to turn into that road we witness an accident. Two Rotarians rushing to meet us loose control of their car and hit a tree head on. Everyone rushes to help the two unconscious men. They are moved into the back of a pick up and taken to the nursing station. It is then decided that they need to be moved to Pignon to Guy and our 4 wheel drive is loaded with the most serious of the two and heads off over the terrible roads for the 3 hour drive. Our vehicle made it there and back but the other got stuck and did not return until, the evening of the following day.

I’m glad to report that both men are doing well. One was released two days later and the 2nd was still at the hospital when we left PAP.

Due to the trauma, it was decided to tone down the reception. We showered and changed, had a bite to eat and then headed off to the reception, where we were met by a band, club members and community members. About ½ of the club had accompanied the injured men to Pignon. It wasn’t too late a night and we had a great night’s sleep with the sounds of the animals in the back ground. We were awakened around 4:30 when the donkeys decided it was time for breakfast.

The board meeting was held under a mango tree. What a great setting. Then breakfast and back into our car/make shift ambulance for our drive to Varettes and St. Marc.
Wednesday 12th, St. Michel to Varettes. Back over the river 10 times and a stop at Varettes at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital for lunch and a board meeting. Very impressive hospital, however they are scaling down their involvement due to funding.

Wednesday 12th, Varettes to St. Marc. We went directly to the hotel “Moulin Sur Mer”, which at one time must have been a real jewel. Beautiful beach, museum, animals, mini golf etc. It is used for weekend retreats and get a ways. We showered and then met the board by the beach for the board meeting, which had to end early due to mosquitoes. We then drove into town, about 35 minutes, for the club meeting. Again, banners and treated like royalty. Back to the hotel by 10 to be awakened at 11:15 by three men, one armed, looking for a woman who stole a car! Carla didn’t do it!! Dark nobody else at the hotel and armed people knocking at your door in the middle of the night is a great stress test for the heart.

Cap Haitien Club Visit

2007-09-06T06:10:00.000-05:00

We flew into Cap Haitien yesterday morning and were met by ADG Caleb Lucien and Pres. Bob. We then did a brief tour of Cap Haitien and onto our Hotel, the Mont Joli. The ride here was life changing. The level of poverty and lack of basic life opportunities is staggering. Terrible road and streets, little or no power, no garbage collection, no sidewalks, complete over crowding and slum type dwelling etc. The Amazing thing is that the people are wonderful, friendly and welcoming.

I met with the President Bob (Harry Mercier Lewis) first, for about 2 hours and did a mini PETS with him as he had not been able to make the Cayman PETS or the Mini one I did here in July. The language barrier was a little tough but because of my French Slides (Thanks Venetia, Rotary Club of Nassau Sunrise) and Caleb’s translation we were able to get through it and I am confident that President Bob is on the same page as RI and the District with respect to Goals and vision.

We met with the board yesterday afternoon at the hotel, and here is a synopsis of the club.

They Chartered a Rotaract Club, or at least submitted the data and the money and have never received the charter. Apparently that was 2005 and they have since lost interest. When I get back I will check on this for them. In any case they are going to revitalize the group this year so hopefully we will have an additional Rotaract Club from Cap Haitien

They have set a target of Plus Net 6 for membership. Very ambitious but they did Net Plus 8 last year so I am confidant they are within a realistic Goal. Their commitment to the Foundation is Every Rotarian will Give Something. EREY at its best! If you can appreciate the level of poverty, the Foundation is lucky to have a commitment like that from a place like this. ($300)

The Cap Haitien Club has agreed to do a joint project with the Rotary Club of Southeast Nassau and its Twinning partner club in providing a Solar Oven.

The Club will also prepare a project description and submit to me for a Rotary Sign for Cap Haitien as you leave the airport. It would be great to have it done as soon as possible so I will make every effort to find a funding partner.

They have a matching Grant started with someone unknown Club in New Hampshire to put a well to supply water for the Justinien Hospital. It has not been registered with RI yet but I will follow up and see if we can not get it to move ahead. Some other projects the club does are;
Feeding homeless children (75) kids

They pay the salaries of 2 teachers in one of the schools

They plan an Environmental Cleanup as well

No pictures because the internet is very slow.

Last night we enjoyed the Presidential Changeover. What a great event, Ver encouraging and motivating words of support and encouragement by the immideate past President and an inspired and excited speach from the new Predident. they had interludes of Musicians, Dancers, and Singers.

Some Pot Au Prince meeting pictures

2007-09-05T04:45:00.000-05:00

Petion-Ville dinner

View from hotel over city

Have agreat Day everybody!

Port Au Prince meetings

2007-09-04T22:26:00.000-05:00

Club Meetings in Haiti

Delmas Airport
Petion-ville
Mirebalais
Port Au Prince

We met with the 4 boards from the above clubs today. Approximately 1 ½ Hours per club with a short lunch break. It was very interesting to here of the projects in the Port Au Prince area. Literacy, Youth, Health and Environment seem to top the list.

You may note that we got the room until tomorrow as well. We are using the internet!

I was totally shocked to learn that in just the se 4 clubs there are 26 Matching Grants involved. Approximately ½ of them are with just token involvement of the local clubs. No previous involvement in surveying the community needs, and no designated local Rotarian Committee or membership responsible for the project. This has to stop to protect our District and our access to matching Grants in the future. Under the Matching Grant Criteria there is the following:

For Matching Grants $5,000 to $25,000, partner Rotary Clubs and Districts are required to:
· Maintain Communication and dialogue for the life of the project
· Establish a committee of at least three Rotarians
· Jointly asses community needs, plan the project, and provide a paragraph outlying participation
· Visit the project site on an as needed basis. The International partner may participate by sharing information via correspondence or by visiting the project site.

In the short term we have asked ALL clubs to ensure that all interested parties looking to participate in the matching Grant program within Haiti, pass the Grant Application through the Haiti Task Force for consultation.

We had a great dinner event with the Petion-ville club this evening and were once again treated royally.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Cap Hatien at 8:00 AM. 6:00 AM pick up at the hotel. We are being met there by ADG Caleb Lucien where we have the following itinerary:
Airport in Cap Haitien at 8:30 A.M., staying at the Hotel Mont Joli that night. The meetings will take place there.

11 A.M. Meeting with the President of Cap Haitien club for 2 hours, because he had not attended PETS.
2 PM Board Meeting with Cap Haitien club
5 PM Club Assembly
Thursday 6th To Pignon
Cap Hatien to Pignon. We will be traveling by car leaving at 8 A.M.. The trip will take approximately 3 hours.

Arrival Pignon at 11 A.M.
12 noon-Lunch at Lucien home
1 PM- Board Meeting with Pignon club
4 PM-Club Assembly with Pignon Club

Friday 7th To Hinche
Leave Pignon at 9 AM by car.
Arrival Hinche at 11 A.M.
12:30 Board meeting
4 PM Club Assembly
Staying at Hermitage Hotel

Saturday 8th To PAP and then to Jeremy. We will leave Hinche at 9 A.M. by plane. We'll land in Port au Prince by 9:30 A.M. Together with Guy Theodore, we will catch the flight to Jeremie at 10:30 A.M. from Port au Prince. We'll meet Robert in Jeremie for his planned meetings.
8 & 9th Jeremy, Aquin

Monday 10th to Port De Paix

Tuesday 11 to St. Marc

Wednesday 12 St. Marc and Varettes

Thursday 13 Back to PAP and meeting with Delmas Airport

Nassau, Home sweet home!

Haiti Club Visits Leg # 1 pictures

2007-09-04T07:34:00.000-05:00

President Gabriel Eugene of the Port Au Prince Club

port Au Prince meeting

Gift from the club. A beautiful painting

Second try

Haiti Club Visits Leg # 1

2007-09-04T07:17:00.000-05:00

Good morning all!

Well, no real change in our travel luck. We left Nassau at 8:00AM Monday to Miami and then off to Haiti, Port Au Prince from there. We arrived pretty much on time, but all three bags did not arrive. My thinking went to how I would smell after two weeks in what became my favorite clothes. Its not like I can find clothes my size here.

We had a great lunch at a very quaint Belgian place with ADG Nessim and then off to the Hotel Montana. Unfortunately they did not have reservations for us and we were only able to give us a room for 1 night! Another challenge! I anxiously await the outcome of this today. Sleeping in a Park in Port Au prince is not high on my “Wish I could do list”. I guess Carla’s cast may come in handy as a personal protection device! By the way she is making out alright traveling with it, although it bothers her on hills and rough terrain which describe the streets and roads here quite well.

We met with the Rotary Club of Port Au Prince last night. It was a very quiet and nice event and they treated us like royalty. The club is the first in Haiti, 1962 with 23 members and meets at the El Rancho Hotel. The membership target for this year is 28 so a Net plus 5. Great job on their part.

Traveling from the Montana to the El rancho was a special event. There were approximately 200 UN armed Troops surrounding the hotel and it seemed half as many vehicles, Hummers, Jeeps and other war type stuff. Apparently there was a meeting of foreign ministers going on. If they had saved the manpower and fuel from last nights visit, they probably could have supplied Power to half of the city, but I guess first things first.

Interestingly the main Capital City has no power a lot of the time and all big businesses, Hotels, banks, supermarkets have generators that they run more often than not. They also import water by the tanker. You can imagine the cost of doing business. I guess that explains why the hotel room at the Montana is $198.00 US per night and Atlantis is going to be around $160.00 for our District Conference.

We are meeting with the club boards today and have a meeting this evening with the Petionville Club.

I have included a couple of pictures from last night. Internet access will be very limited over the next 2 weeks so updates will be sporadic. I will do my best to keep you up to speed.

Sorry, I am having a problem sending the pictures. I will try later.

Quick update

2007-09-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

Haiti
We are packed and ready to go. I have all the individual club detail and reports organized and a stack of general information for each President. I am looking forward to the meetings. Haiti is a very special place in that the needs are very evident and at times painfully obviouse, however the challenge of effectivley getting the help there and projects done that need doing is sometimes overwhelming. We have great team of ADG's there, Caleb, Robert, Nessim, and Yves and a stong Haiti Task Force Chair, Guy. With their support, Haiti and the most needy there will get the humanitarian aid they need because Rotary Shares!

Great news!!!!
RCCL has agreed to help us get the Hurricane Relief AID in to Jamaica. We met with them earlier this year and discussed a number of things, Humanitarian Aid was one. With Industry partners like RCCL and our contact, Mike Ronan at oyr side, our Distict and the communities within will benefit.

Happy Anniversary
Carla and I celebrated our 33rd yesterday. I am a very lucky guy. We have been fortunate to have the true love we do and such a great and blessed life.

Some notes from Kitty in Anguilla about membership, Thanks Kitty.

Weekly Elixir – Rotary Club of Anguilla
…for the week of September 3, 2007

Share your motivation and enthusiasm
Nothing could be more important to prospective members than the level of energy they feel during a club visit.
Prospective members need to see and feel your enthusiasm as well as your pride for your membership in Rotary. When club members are friendly, inviting, and inclusive, a potential Rotarian receives the most important message: You are welcome here and will have the opportunity to participate in something important.

Recruitment Strategies for Rotary

August was Membership and Extension Month, but we can keep membership top of mind all year by implementing one of the following ideas each month:

Place a promotional ad or insert in your local chamber of commerce directory.

Create business cards printed with your name, the Rotary logo, and the phrase "Be My Guest," along with the day, time, and location of your club's meetings. The cards serve as an invitation to attend a club meeting at the club's expense.

Develop a spreadsheet or database of program alumni (e.g., Rotaract, Interact, Youth Exchange, Group Study Exchange) so that these individuals can be invited to become Rotarians once they are qualified.

Invite program alumni as guests to your meetings, and propose any qualified alumni for membership.

Ask members to consider recruiting their spouses to the club, and offer that spouse an incentive, such as no club dues for a full year.

Send a welcome letter to the owners of new businesses in your community.

Hold a luncheon for community leaders. Each club member is responsible for inviting a set number of prospective members who are community leaders, and club members donate a set amount for the cost of the meal and invitations. Show the six-minute video This Is Rotary (449-EN), and bring in a dynamic Rotary leader as a speaker.

Scan local business journals and newspapers for the names of influential business people and community leaders.

Invite a prospective member or members to participate in a club activity or project that demonstrates the meaningful work of your Rotary club.

Ask members to wear pins or T-shirts with the slogan "Ask Me About Rotary" to generate conversation about membership in Rotary.

Create a prospective member leaflet or brochure called "What's in It for Me?" that lists recent speakers at your club meetings, area companies that are represented in the club membership, and current local service projects.

Obtain space in a prominent shop window to display information about the club's activities in the community.

Collect business cards from individuals who attend a meeting as a guest or speaker, and send a follow-up note or postcard thanking each visitor and inviting them back. Buy a supply of Rotary Notecards (980-MU) or the RI Theme Postcard (910-07MU) to use for this purpose.

Wear the Rotary logo on your clothes during service projects.

Make it a point of honor to propose a new member. But be sure that the member is educated about Rotary before joining. That is very important!

Recognize the proposer in the club bulletin or at the weekly meeting.

RI President Wilf Wilkinson is encouraging all Rotarians to help strengthen Rotary's membership by bringing at least one new member into Rotary.

Be in touch soon.
DG Dick

2007-08-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

President Wilf receiving the District 7020 Magic of Rotary District Conference shirt in Ft. Lauderdale

On Friday and Saturday of last weekend, 430 Rotarians form Zones 33 and 34 joined President Wilf Wilkinson for his Presidential Membership Seminar in Ft. Lauderdale. The program was outstanding and everybody in attendance indicated that the time and effort to attend was well worth the while.

The major points were simple. Due to the statistical data and trends it is clear that Membership Development is one of the most important elements facing the future of Rotary, Our Zones are up 187 new clubs but membership is down 4600 members. District 7020, although marginally up in members over the last 4 years; 99 members over 2003, this was achieved by the chartering of 9 new clubs in the period. 35 of our 68 clubs have less members today than they did in 2003, so we have a challenge ahead of us as well.

Although the issues of recruitment and retention were addressed from a number of angles, the basic message as I understood them were; Membership Development is up to every single Rotarian and in as much every Rotarian is expected to make the effort necessary to recruit new members. The acronym “MGM” Member Get Member rang loudly. Another acronym “AAA” also got its share of attention, Ask, Ask, Ask !!!!

The Haiti Task Force met again with Charles Adams about the water project in Haiti. Fortunately I was able to have the company of DGN Errol, DGE Rupert, ADG Alastair, RID Barry, Roger White, St. Thomas, Nathan Carmack DG 6910 as well as the Task Force Members to hear what had to be said.

Although the plans that Pure Water for the World have for Haiti are beneficial to Haiti, our involvement and the use of Rotary Foundation Funding we believe requires that we have a master plan for the roll out of their program. RID Barry has gone back to RI to get their advice and assistance on that and the Task force Team was going to process the two existing projects and grant applications.

After a hard days work!

A number of us went to dinner after the Presidents Membership Seminar. Pictured below is one of the two tables.

Its not all work and no play.

Carla and I went to visit our very best friends Johnny and Linda Sands who are temporarily staying in Charlottesville Virginia. We were able to spend a couple of great days with them. Here we are at Barboursville Winery at the foot of the Shenandoah National Park. We also got to take in a Rotary Meeting on Tuesday Night. The timing was great, my classmate DG Travis White D7610 was doing his official visit, so I was able to present DG Travis and President Doug McGowan with a District 7020 Pin. Doug was very helpful in setting up Johnny and Linda’s stay in Charlottesville.

Carla and I are on our way back to Nassau, currently sitting in the Charlotte North Carolina Airport. We will be back in Nassau until Monday a.m. at which time we will depart for our Haiti visits.

We’ll keep you posted from there.

DG Dick

The Last week!

2007-08-21T15:32:00.000-05:00

New Providence Club inducts first two women!

The Rotary Club of New Providence broke its 19 year tradition of being an all male club by inducting three new members, two of which were the first women into the Club. This took place August 14th 2007. As quoted by President Michael Fowler, “everything comes in due time and we are thrilled to have these ladies and Mr. Fernander join our Rotary Family”.
The Rotary Club intends to grow its membership by a net of plus 4 by year end. I am confident that with the addition of new younger members and the diversity, the identity of the club will attract a lot more as it is the only evening club in Nassau and the traffic during the day is making attendance very challenging.

Haiti and Pure Water for the World

There are a number of initiatives to bring water to many countries through the use of the Rotary Foundation. Our District in particular is of great interest because the need for clean water is so obvious in Haiti. As a result we have formed the Haiti Task Force headed by PADG Guy Theadore and made up of the ADG’s from Haiti, Nessim Izmery, Caleb Lucien, Robert Leger, and Yves Martial who’s function is to vet the projects to see that they are what the communities a need and to be sure that the designated Rotary Club is aware of the project and able to cope with it. We have reviewed a number of programs to date.

One of the projects that we will be meeting about in Ft. Lauderdale is a project with Pure Water for the World. A synopsis of it is as follows: The most effective point of water supply and or treatment is the point closest to the point of consumption. Pure Water For the World provide an inexpensive bio-sand filter which makes the water approximately 98% pure and safe to drink. It can be installed at or very near the point of consumption, ie in homes.

The program calls for making this available in mass quantities to eliminate the problem in entire communities. The feeling is, clean water, equals better health, less hunger which then equals more time for school and better concentration so a better education and therefore a more productive and independent self sustaining life.

The idea is to do this at a level which far outreaches the ability of Clubs to do this Club to Club. The idea is to make it a District / Zone or Zone / RI initiative. I will keep you advised of the developments, but it does have the potential to be a worlwide program started in 7020.

The Bahamas Commissioner of Police becomes a Multiple Paul Harris Fellow

The clubs of Nassau Bahamas and Abaco got together to present the Commissioner of Police a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. This honor was bestowed on him at the new Police Headquarters Conference Center last week. RID Barry Rassin and I had the privilege of presenting the Award and Pin.
A quote from ADG Felix Stubbs who Chaired the event.
“I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for your outstanding support of the PHF presentation to Commissioner of Police Paul Farquharson. By every measure, the event was a success and hopefully the media and press will help us raise our visibility in the community. Last night's event, however, was only a ceremony. Now the real work begins and we must be ready to step up to the plate to assist the Police by helping to make our community a better place to live. I know we can go because we are Rotarians and as RID Barry said " nothing is impossible for us Rotarians".

Training moves to the Forefront in Cayman

Here is a note I got from Michael S. Levitt, Secretary of the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Sunrise:

“On behalf of President Rosie , I am pleased to inform you that at our Board meeting last week, we approved a Training Budget for 2007-8 of $16,000 made up as follows:
For our Rotaract Club : 2 Training days - $3,000 (We already conducted the 1st Training Day two weeks ago). For our Club: One Club Forum/Training Day (see below - note 1) - $2,000 (set for 8 September) RLI training (see below - note 2) - $5,000 PETS (see below - note 3) - $6,000 Notes:
We have also scheduled a Leadership Dinner for September, which will be partly funded by the Club.
We will sponsor any 10 members' attendance to RLI up to 50% of their total expenses with a cap of CI$500 each. So far, we have already had 6 members take up this offer: PE Woody will be attending in Weston; with Vice Chairman Winston, Directors Hazel, Maree & Deborah and Rotarian Raquel coming to Montego Bay. Rosie and I have decided to cover our own expenses: I will be doing Discussion Leader in Weston, but will also be attending in Montego Bay for the Fellowship, while Rosie will be in Montego Bay for Part 3. It is certainly our intention to get our offer to the members fully subscribed and if it is over-subscribed, we will go back to the Board for more Budget.
The expenses of the incoming President, Secretary and Treasurer to attend PETS in Bahamas will be covered by the Club.

Hurricane Dean
As you all know Hurricane Dean moved through our district causing havoc and some damage yesterday. I wanted to share the Magic of Rotary with you so you can appreciate the Family and friends that we have in Rotary, On August 18th a Conference Call was set up between all the District Governors in the Zones 33 and 34. That covers the area from West Virginia in the north to Surinam on the northern coast of South America to the South.
The conference call was to unite and to ready the group of District Governors to provide the assistance needed should Hurricane Dean hit the countries and territories in our District 7020 or to the south of us in District 7030. This was done. In a 1 hour phone call we had a Zone 33 & 34 wide Disaster Relief Team in place and a fund in place to provide the help we needed.
We have conference twice since then and I now await input from the Assistant Governors in the affected areas to let me know what is needed so we can begin the relief effort. We do not face challenges on our own Rotarians we are not alone and clearly our Rotary Friends in Zones 33 and 34 are caring and committed to helping us. I will update you as soon as there are further developments with respect to what the needs are and what assistance has been provided.

District Conference gets support from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

District Conference Chair Frank McGwier and I met with the Deputy Prime Minister to develop a plan to ensure a simplified process for Rotarians needing Visas for the May 2008 Conference in Nassau. The Minister who is a Rotarian in the East Nassau Club was very helpful and offered his full support for the event.

August 11th update

2007-08-11T14:35:00.000-05:00

Rotarian friends. It has been a couple of weeks since I added to the Blog, so I thought I would share with you a few of the things that have happen since then. Firstly, it has been great to see the response from 7020 to our President Membership Seminar August 25th in Ft. Lauderdale. We have 52 registered from 7020. The only district with more attendees is the host District (6990) of south Florida. I look forward to being with you there.

Here is a quote from RI President Wilf Wilkinson taken from The Rotary Club of St. Thomas II “The Tattler” thank you St. Thomas II!

"The current recruitment practices of clubs can't continue," Wilkinson said. "What needs to happen is for every Rotarian in every club to bring in one qualified new member every year."
Inviting new club members is one way Rotarians can live up to this year's theme of Rotary Shares, said Wilkinson at the conference. The conference is one of a series of seven events to be held in July and August in Canada and the United States. In July the conferences were held in Philadelphia; Nashville; and South Bend, Indiana. In August, the conferences will be held in Denver; Vancouver, B.C.; San Jose, California; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. If those events prove successful, similar ones may be organized in other parts of the world.

The two-day conferences include plenary sessions, panel discussions, and workshops on topics such as generational differences, demographic changes, potential new members, and the challenges of service organizations.

Wilkinson cited RI research showing that only 18 percent of Rotarians in a given club ever bring in a new member. But inviting qualified, active members is "the single most important thing that you can do for your club and community," he said. To survive and continue to meet communities' increasing needs, Wilkinson stressed, "Rotary needs to grow."

The goal of the presidential conferences was for Rotarians to come away with plans for finding and keeping club members. Wilkinson noted, however, that there's no one-size-fits-all solution for Rotary clubs.

"Rotary Shares," he said, "and each one of us must take it upon ourselves individually to share the gift of Rotary membership with one new person - this year, and every year to come."

Some thoughts published in the Rotary Club of East Nassau eAxis
Find your competitive spirit

There's nothing like a little friendly competition to motivate people. In 1995-96, clubs in District 6580 (Indiana, USA) used football as an inspiration to increase membership. The clubs divided their members into teams of 10, and each team was charged with nominating potential members. Teams received one point for nominating a candidate and six points if the candidate was inducted. Just like in the National Football League, teams with the most points advanced through a playoff cycle until one was named champion. The district ended the year with a net gain of nearly 150 new club members.

Nassau’s New Providence Club
The New Providence Rotary Club is inducting its first female on Monday evening and we are very excited about it. The club leadership has worked aggressively since the beginning of their Rotary year on membership and I am confidant that the results will be easily seen at award time.
Presidents remember that your club must have a net gain of one AND the president must personally sponsor someone into the club. An example of leadership by example!

My Family
On the family side things have been a little hectic of late. Carla broke two toes and a bone in her foot early last week when she slipped in water at the base of the steps going to our office in the house. With the schedule we keep and the things we need to do, it would appear that the timing could not be worse. Carla being the amazing person she is, is back at it with cast and all. As a matter of fact she is at work this afternoon while I am writing this.

Our children are fine, Ellissa our 30 year old daughter runs our Day Spa at Caves and oversees the other2 in our absence. Pictured below

Meghen our youngest (28) is working in the Exumas at the Normans Cay Beach Club. She is back for a few days so we are enjoying it. When she goes back on Monday, it may be 2 months before we see her again due to our travel schedule Here is a look at an Exuma sand bar off the back of the boat.

Great things are happening on the Training Front, we have an RLI set for November 3rd and 4th in Montego Bay Jamaica. Please check the RLI web site to register. http://www.rlitraining.org/ A special Thank You to Diana for taking training to new heights in the District. Go to http://www.clubrunner.ca/Data/7020/NewsBulletin/1046/2007Summer.pdf to see the Training Tattle. Good ideas and information

I was very proud to see the response to the tragedy in Sint Maarten when the “I Can Foundation” Orphanage burned down which housed 22 children. Many clubs have helped or offered to. Thank you!

The District Conference in May 2008 is coming along very well. We are hoping to have approximately 1000 Rotarians for the joint conference portion. Please sign up early. You can register on line at a link from the District site http://www.7020.org/

From Kitty Bucsko published in the Rotary Club of Anguilla’s weekly “Rotary Rap”
One of the colourful traditions of many Rotary clubs is the exchange of small banners, flags or pennants. Rotarians traveling to distant locations often take banners to exchange at “make-up” meetings as a token of friendship. Many clubs use the decorative banners they have received for attractive displays at club meetings and district events.

The Rotary International board recognized the growing popularity of the banner exchange back in 1959 and suggested that those clubs which participate in such exchanges give careful thought to the design of their banners in order they be distinctive and expressive of the community and country of which the club is a part. It is recommended that banners include pictures, slogans or designs which portray the territorial area of the club.

Please share your club bulletins with other clubs and send copies to Karen Biker, our Public Image chair so whe can add your news to the monthly District bulletin. Her e-mail is karenbiker@tcrealty.com

We have had a number of recipes come in for the Cook Book, but not nearly enough. Please focus on that project to make it a success.

Here is a brief look at our travel schedule for the next few months. I will be updating while on the road to keep you abreast of what we are doing and seeing that may be of interest.
Florida August 24th to 26th
Virginia August 26th 29th
Home August 30th, September 2nd
Haiti September 3rd,to September 14th
Home September 15th to 17th
Jamaica September 19th to 26th
Home September 27th to 30th
Zone Institute North Myrtle Beach October 1st to 7th
Home October 8th to 10th
US/B VI October 11th to 21st
Home October 22nd to 31st

I'm going to miss this!

Give a man a fish,

Feed him for a day.

Teach a man to Fish

Feed him for a lifetime.

Have a great day.
DG Dick

Haiti PETS Trip

2007-07-23T09:08:00.001-05:00

What an interesting country and what great challenges and opportunities Rotary has.
Population 8.3 Million
Life Expectancy 53 years
Literacy Rate 52.9%
Infant Mortality 71.65 deaths/1,000 live births
Highest Infant Mortality rate in the world,
Highest Maternal Mortality rate in the world.
More than 2/3rds of the Labour Force do not have formal jobs
80% of the population lives below the poverty line and 54% in abject poverty.
We began with the usual travel challenges. Our flight from Miami to Port Au Prince was originally delayed for mechanical reasons. After sitting on board the plane for a half hour a man who had shown signs of mental illness while we were waiting on the flight at the gate flipped out. Clearly an anxiety attack of some kind. The police were called on to the plane and 5 of them after 1 hour were able to restrain him and take him off after climbing over seats and dragging him out to the isle. All the while, we were all on the plane and in true fashion a group of passengers had formed around the excitement and in the local “Caribbean Way” verbally and emotionally were getting involved. Needless to say the option of getting off and trying again later was being considered. We arrived in Haiti 2 hours late.
We were met by ADG’ Nessim Izmery in the customs area. Rotary has the respect to still be able to do this in the Caribbean. We went through the gauntlet of waiting locals who wanted to carry our bags and get some sort of contribution. We arrived at the Hotel Montana and were greeted by ADG Robert Leger, PDG Amos Derosier, Haitian Ambassador to the Bahamas Joseph, and PP of the Petion-Ville Club Claude Surena
Once Carla and I settled in we met the group in the lobby area to discuss PETS of the next day and briefly the plans for the meeting Sunday morning of the Haiti Task Force and the Water Symposium. ADG Caleb Lucien joined us for that meeting. From there we had dinner with Caleb and retired for the night.
PETS was held at Dr Guy Theadore’s medical facility. There were approximately 50 expected, but the final count was 13 Presidents, The same number of Secretaries, and a balance of 9 people who were Treasurers or other for a total of 35.
I did a theme and opening session in English using French slides and Caleb interpreted for me. It was great and we were OUI !, OUI !, OUI ! (Yes, Yes, Yes) through the whole thing.
The balance of the sessions were done in separate sessions, Presidents in one, Secretaries and Treasurers in another with a joint lunch and a joint closing. Super job done by the ADG’s. Clearly they are all very capable of Leading and Training their teams.
For the record, the ADG’s areas are as follows:
Nessim Izmery Central Haiti
Caleb Lucien North East
Robert Leger South
Yves Martial North West
A special Thank You again to the Haiti team of ADG’s for putting this on, Guy Theodore for hosting the event, Diana for helping set this up and to all who attended.
On Saturday night we attended a joint meeting of the clubs in Nessim’s area where they were doing the changeover. A wonderful event at a wonderful venue. They asked me to day a few words and since mostly everybody spoke French I said just a few. A Grook from Peit Hein says “If no thought your mind doth visit, make your speech not too explicit” I had the privilege of bestowing a Paul Harris on one of the hard working Rotarian ladies from the Rotary Club of Petion-Ville.
The next morning we had a breakfast at the picturesque Hotel restaurant and then went on to meet with the Haiti Task Force (4 ADG’s and Chaired by Guy Theodore) Charles Adams, Advisor to the Pure Water for the World, and Roman Cipus, the Haiti manager for the Pure Water for the World, and Dr. Claude Surena, the Chair of the Water Symposium to be held in Haiti in December 14th and 15th 2007.
The meeting achieved 2 great things. It was agreed among all present that any further advancement of any program involving Rotarians in Haiti would be channeled through the Task Force and their input and involvement would be integral to the planning of the projects. The Pure Water for the World project is one that demands thinking beyond the project by club thinking. The intension is to roll out the Pure Water program in the same way the Polio Eradication Program rolled out. In Haiti the specific resources are the Faith Based constituencies. Pure Water has done a study of the demand by each of those sectors. It was agreed by all that the plan forward was for Pure Water for the World to provide the Task Force and myself with a copy of the document which clearly defines the scope of the project, the resources they expect to be involved, the research data and the execution plan. We as a District should be very excited about this project for many reasons. Updates will follow.
We then went to lunch at the Petion-Ville Club with ADG Nessim. IT was a wonderful experience at a great private club. Off to the Airport. American Airlines, flight delayed 2 hours, arrived at the hotel 11:30 PM in Ft. Lauderdale.
The following are pictures from Haiti. A typical bus, a group picture of PETS, over-crowding in the hills of P. A. P., a typical street, vendors that sell everything and anything and the White House.

We're in Haiti

2007-07-22T08:28:00.000-05:00

We're here! Haiti is an extremely intense country. They never slow down. There are people on the streets selling their wares early in the morning until late into the night, even thru the Tropical Wave that we brought with us. The art work and crafts are everywhere. Beautiful furniture being made on the side of the street. Amazing. The hospitality and enthusiasm of the Rotary exceeds the intensity of the country. PETS was great!! A huge thank you to Haiti Task Force and Water Chair Guy and the AGs for all the work in organizing PETS, the translation, chauffeuring etc. We greatly appreciate it. Last year 6 out of 16 clubs in Haiti contributed to the Rotary Foundation, the Presidents, Secretaries and Treasurers have given their personal commitment that every single club in Haiti will contribute something to the Foundation this year. Yes! Yes! Yes! Oui! Oui! Oui! We meet with Charles Adams of Pure Water today along with the Haiti Task Force (the group that coordinates inbound joint projects to Haiti) and then off to fight with American Airlines. That's a whole other story, but I'm not sure there are enough *&^(*&% on the keyboard for it. More of Hait with pictures to follow. Blog at you soon. Carla

The year has started!

2007-07-13T02:28:00.000-05:00

The Rotary year has started for me with a communication challenge. The mail server at Coralwave Bahamas has had serious problems over the last 6 weeks, culminating in a total collapse over the last two weeks. I have lost many e-mails or they have bounced back or remain in cyber space. The problem seems to have been rectified in the last two or three days and I am now in catch up mode, currently 169 e-mails to clear. I should get most of them cleared over the next few days.
I am away on business next week, Monday to Thursday, back in Nassau Thursday night and off to Haiti for PETS on Friday the 20th. I am looking forward to the visit there. I will appraise you of the travel as soon as I return.
Beginning now, I will post weekly the Rotary activities that may be of interest to some for the fun of it and also to keep some kind of a historical journal of the year.
I will e-mail the blog site to all District Rotarian's today which should prove helpful as a tool to communicate.
Yours in Rotary
DG Dick

2007-07-02T15:59:00.000-05:00

This is the 52 Chevy. We called it Blus but given what happened the other night we may change it to

"Moody Blues"

Show Time

2007-07-02T15:28:00.000-05:00

Rotarians of District 7020, the new Rotary year has started. I hope that all Rotarians and their Clubs have an enjoyable and successful year. I enjoyed the joint changeover meetings of the Rotary Clubs of Nassau, Nassau Sunrise and New Providence on Friday night as a prelude to the Southeast Changeover Saturday night. All went well and were memorable events. I had hoped to attend our RID Barry Rassins birthdat Saturday night after our club changeover, however my 1952 Chevy Truck broke down on the way, so I spent the special momment where I actually became the District Governor sitting in a tow truck on a ride home. Things happen.

I plan to provide a regular cronicle of my days as District Governor and hope it will prove interesting and enjoyable for those that choose to look at it.

Lets have a great year and in the process make the lives of many a little better.

DG Dick

Off to Sat Lake City

2007-06-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

Carla and I are off to Canada for a short visit with the family and then on to Salt Lake City. we look forward to seeing all the 7020 Rotarians while we are there. Travel safe and see you soon.
Dick

Third try

2007-05-24T10:10:00.000-05:00

I am meeting with Conference Chair Frank today to discuss the rooming requirements for our 2008 PETS, Assy., and Conference.
This is a test

Trial # 2

2007-05-23T17:36:00.000-05:00

It took me 20 minutes to find my own blog. I guess I will figure it out.

Dick

Welcome to my blog

2007-05-23T14:32:00.000-05:00

I have decided to try a blog as a means of casual information exchange during my year as DG. Carla and I will try to diarise our travels and experiences as we go through the year to share with Rotarians in the District.