As the years have flown by it has been my pleasure to serve as your District Newsletter Editor. This will be the last newsletter with my creative fingerprint on them.
I'm sure Melissa McCormick, District Public Image Chair, will have an even better Editor lined up for July 1. Thank you to everyone for your stories and words of
kindness throughout this time. Keep doing what you do best - Service Above Self! I will continue to be on the District Public Image Committee should you need a presenter, guidance, Clubrunner help, or just a once over on the Public Image of your club. Keep showing your community and the District all your wonderful works of service.
Rock Falls City Council and Mayor Kleckler proclaimed June 5th as Rock Falls Rotary Day in honor of the 85th Anniversary of the Rock Falls Rotary Club. Receiving the proclamation from left to right in front row: Mayor Rod Kleckler, Gail Wright, President of Rock Falls Rotary, Betty Clementz, Back row: Jeff Gray, Bob Sondgeroth, and Mike Albert.
Rock Falls Rotary will celebrate its 85th Anniversary on June 5th. Member Keith Zoeller presented to the club and to Coloma Park District a prairie restoration project as the anniversary project. at Rotary Park on Minkel Street Rock Falls Rotarians came out to assist with hand sowing of seed around the border and corners of the restoration area while Keith used planter to sow the majority. Rotary Park has become a recipient of many projects of the Rock Falls Rotary and everything in the park including the land originally was a donation from the Rock Falls Rotary Club. Congratulations, Rock Falls Rotary, on achieving 85 years of service to our community and world!
Three photos - one of Keith Zoeller, prairie restoration chair showing seed planted at Rotary Park on Minkel Street in Rock Falls as project for 85th anniversary of RF Rotary on June 5.
Second photo : Keith loading the planter with prairie seed at Rotary Park on Minkel Street for Rock Falls Rotary 85th Anniversary.
Third photo shows Rock Falls Rotarians who assisted in planting the prairie at Rotary Park on Minkel Street:
Front row (left to right:) Darla Ewing, Karen Voss, Cheryl Faber, Betty Clementz, President Gail Wright, Mark Young;
Back row: Jeff Gray, Bob Sondgeroth, Keith Zoeller, Prairie Project Chair
DGE David Bills joined the Quad Cities Illinois Rotary Club for its quarterly clean-up of Millennium Park on the East Moline/Moline border. The Club has been cleaning up the park for almost 20 years - rain or shine. DGE Bills was invited to attend the clean-up so that Club members could thank David for the many ways he has helped the Quad Cities Illinois Rotary Club over the last several years. The Club is aware that the Environment is a special interest of DGE Bills.
As we wrap up another Rotary year, I would like to devote this month’s article to honoring those in our district who have achieved the milestone of Major Donor status in their ongoing giving to The Rotary Foundation.
To achieve the designation of Major Donor, an individual has to have contributed $10,000 cumulatively to The Rotary Foundation. This recognition must be through personal contributions and not through recognition points. There are also levels of Major Donor as follows:
Level 1 - $10,000 to $24,999
Level 2 - $25,000 to $49,999
Level 3 - $50,000 to $99,999
Level 4 - $100,000 to $249,999
This year I had the privilege of honoring a few individuals in our district who achieved one of these milestones. These are:
For the first time in many years, District 6420 is the lead International District on a Global Grant Project. Working with the Rotary Club of San Juan, Puerto Rico (the host club), we have recently received approval from the Rotary Foundation for a $199,500 project to eradicate mosquitoes from the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico. Funding for this project includes $75,000 in District Designated Funds (DDF) from District 6420 which was matched by the Rotary Foundation. Please remember that the District builds up DDF (which can be used to support not only Global Grants, but also District Grants, Peace Scholars, and Vocational Training Teams) based on your annual contributions to the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund.
The Aedas aegypti mosquitoes spread several tropical diseases including dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. A community assessment conducted in preparation for this Global Grant identified multiple breeding sites throughout the island of Culebra including tires, abandoned/defective septic tanks, and abandoned boats from Hurricane Marie, plus smaller containers such as buckets, trash cans, flower pots, and kitchen utensils. Residents of Culebra are also known to store water because of irregular water service. While community clean-up campaigns occur every year or so, the municipal emergency management district in Culebra does not have a vector control program, no mosquito surveillance is conducted, and no ongoing community education about Aedes aegypti takes place. With this Global Grant, the Puerto Rico Vector Control Unit will be supported to provide training and education for community members, mosquito surveillance, reduction of mosquito breeding sites, and targeted application of larvicide with the hope of eliminating Aedas aegypti mosquitoes from Culebra within two years. With the project’s success, it is possible this project could serve as a model for mosquito eradication in other tropical islands.
If you are interested in learning more about this exciting new Global Grant, please contact DGN Laura Kann (at 678-315-2406 or LKK1@comcast.net). The San Juan Rotary Club has offered to host District 6420 Rotarians who wish to visit the project and see mosquito eradication in action.
The 2021-2022 District Grant Applications have been submitted. We are pleased to report that 36 applications from 39 of the 44 clubs in District 6420 were received and approved – more participation in District Grants than anyone can remember in a very long time. Collectively, these District Grants will have a $101,858.80 on our collective communities – very impressive! The projects address a wide variety of needs including hunger, literacy, technology, violence, job training and life skills, health, safety, and the environment. Congratulations to all the participating clubs! We look forward to hearing about project implementation and the positive impact you are making in your community.
If your club is one of the few that did not participate, please feel free to reach out to DGN Laura Kann (at 678-315-2406 or LKK1@comcast.net) who would be glad to talk with you about getting involved in this exciting Rotary project.
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