Governor's Message for June

A Year of Service as we Made Dreams Real

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Fellow, Rotarians,

As my year as your Governor draws to a close I want to thank you for your open sharing of your time and energy in making our communities and our world a better place to live and raise families. I especially want to commend you for everything you do to give those in need a hope and a future as we strive to ‘Make Dreams Real’ through our Rotary service. This message will thank you for your work in three specific areas of focus.

First, thanks to all of you who came to the District Conference and District Assembly in Corvallis. A special thanks to Biff Traber and Joy Ragsdale and their conference committee for a great Conference. Everyone who attended was encouraged by messages from guest speaker Past District Governor John T. Capps of North Carolina as he challenged us to go out and make a difference; from our President’s Representative, Conrad Von Bibra, as he recognized your projects as continuing the history of service through Rotary; from Past Rotary International President Richard D. King as he encouraged leadership with vision; and from KIRO News Anchor Penny LeGate as she spoke on Polio in India and the Final Mile we have to go to eradicate this disease. Those who attended recognize that it was time well spent – all of you should put May 21-23, 2010 on your calendar and plan now to attend the District Conference and Assembly in Eugene. Your calendar is clear so put those dates down now, in INK.

Second, thanks and congratulations to all the Award winners listed in this newsletter. Each of your clubs has done terrific service projects this year and is already planning projects for next year. Rotary International recognized thirty seven Rotary clubs and three Interact clubs with President D. K. Lee’s Presidential Citation – awesome job Rotarians. I’m very proud to be part of your District 5110. All of your clubs would qualify with your service projects but we all need to continue to reach out to those non-Rotarians in our communities who want to make a difference. Those who have the heart of a Rotarian but aren’t members yet. Both the new, upcoming community leaders as well as past club members who now have the time to actively participate in Rotary. Our capacity to serve is directly related to our active membership so each of us, as Rotarians, should reach out and invite someone to join us as we serve.

Third, recognition for Foundation giving will be given in October at The Rotary Foundation Seminar. Thanks for your giving to our Rotary Foundation, both to the Annual Giving Fund and Polio Eradication. Any contributions you have collected need to be sent to Rotary International immediately for processing to be in this year’s final results. This years annual giving directly impacts our District Designated Funds (those dollars available for District Simplified Grants, World Community Service matching, Group Study Exchange, Scholarships, and many other programs) for 2011-2012 so encourage giving during this last month. Then, start on July 1st with regular giving throughout next year.

As you prepare to recognize those in each of your clubs that has made a difference, make sure you put May 21-23, 2010 on your calendar, encourage each Rotarian to reach a potential new member, and give generously to our Rotary Foundation. These will ensure the continued health of Rotary in serving our communities and our world and keep the momentum up for 2009-2010.

Finally, my thanks to all of you for your kindness and hospitality to Marlee and me as we traveled the district this year. It shall be a year that we will both remember and cherish for the rest of our lives. You do ‘Make Dreams Real’ every day,

Mike Fischnaller

District Governor