March 2013

July 21012 Volume 1, Issue

1CContinued from page 3

From the District Governor

2012–2013 6880 District

Leadership Team

Jim Golson District Gov. Bob Callahan District Gov. Elect Linda Mong District Gov. Nomi-nee Tom Mann iPDG Jan McDonald Assistant Gov. Coor-dinator Bob Mills District Treasurer Alan Wallace District Secretary Richard Bollinger District Rotary Foundation Chair Carol Franks New Generations Coordinator Eric Lewis DCO District Comm Officer Robert Greer Future Vision Coordinator Have news? Send it to khugs67@gmail.com

Rotary Roundup District 6880

March is Literacy Month for Rotarians around the world.

Literacy has a high priority in Rotary. In fact, one of Rotary’s

Six Areas of Focus is Basic Education and Literacy. One reason

for this high level of focus can be seen in the reading habits

average Americans. An article in the March issue of The

Rotarian states that the average American reads four books a

year and finds this more than sufficient. Hopefully, Rotarians exceed this in-

terest in books and in all aspects of literacy.

Here in our district I am proud of the support our clubs provide for literacy.

Here are just a few examples of district 6880 Rotary club projects related to

improving literacy. The Andalusia Rotary Club supports the Covington Coun-

ty Imagination Library. The Auburn Rotary Club has its Babies Love Books

program. The Chilton County Rotary Club provides math textbooks for the 9th

grade algebra class. The Fairhope Sunset Rotary Club sponsors the Hook ‘Em

and Keep ‘Em Reading Program. The Foley Rotary Club sponsors the READ

Reading Education Assistance Dogs program. The Mobile Rotary Club has its

Teen Mentoring and Book Project. These are just a few of the many literacy

related projects. I commend each of these clubs and encourage all of our clubs

to develop literacy projects.

We are active at the district level as well. For several years we have had a dis-

trict-wide program to provide dictionaries to all public school third graders in

our district. Through this program Rotarians in each club have delivered over

23,000 dictionaries annually to these students. Our program has been funded

in recent years by a grant from the Malone Family Foundation and I am

pleased to announce that the Malone Family Foundation has agreed to sponsor

our program again for the 2013-14 school year. This is a wonderful program

and I extend my thanks to all Rotarians who have personally taken part in this

program and especially to the Malone Family Foundation for their continued

support of our program. More detailed information on this program can be

found in a separate article in this issue of our newsletter.

The author of the article on literacy in The Rotarian states, “Book lovers feel

that writers are speaking directly to them across the pages, perhaps even min-

istering to them, healing them.” Hopefully, through the work of Rotarians in

our clubs locally and around the world, we can help readers gain knowledge

and comfort from reading as well.

The Time Is Now!Hotel Reservations

at the Rotary Rate areAvailable Only Until

April 2, 2013Register now for the District 688O Conference for all Rotarians and their families.

Share the news with all your Rotarian friends and family.Every club should send representatives.

Programs will be provided for Rotarians, as well as for spouses/partners and for children.

Conference Registration

To register go to http://events.rotary6880.orgCost: Rotarians $225, Spouses/Partners $200,Children $50.00 (3 to 16 years old)Pay online by credit card or at check-in by checkReservations must be made by April 29, 2013.

Reservation at Grand National Marriott (special rate until April 2, 2013)For reservations click on the following line:Book Standard King or Double Queen at Auburn Marriott Opelika Hotel & Conference Center at GrandNational for $129 per night or call 1-334-741-9292 for the Rotary Rate

AUBURN MARRIOTT OPELIKA HOTEL & CONFERENCE CENTER AT GRAND NATIONAL• Check-in: Thursday, May 02, or Friday, 03, or Saturday, 04, 2013• Check-out: Sun May 05, 2013Standard King or Double Queen $129 per night.

More information on programs and activities are provided later in thisnewsletter.

Celebrate the Family of Rotaryas we Seek Peace through Service

District 688O ConferenceMay 3-5, 2013

District 6880 has completed another successful Rotary Dictionary Project during the 2012 – 2013 school year. Congratulations to every Rotarian that participated. Your efforts are truly appreciated. Although a number of Rotary Clubs were conducting a dictionary project in their areas, District 6880 leaders approached The Malone Family Foundation to financially support a District wide dictionary project initiative after Past District Governor Bob Rudder “planted the seed”. The dictionary grant was written through the Dothan Rotary Club and sought a five year commitment from the foundation. The grant was initially ap-proved for two years and then approved annually for a total of five years. The five year grants totaled some $215,000.00 providing 110,000+ dictionaries to every public school third grade student in the 34 county area of District 6880, where there are 34 county and 20 city public school systems. The Rotary Clubs in each of the District 6880 counties have an established network of members who are committed to distributing the dictionaries. The Rotary District 6880 leadership has been responsible for the overall success of the project with the Dothan Rotary Club is serving as the host club for the grant project. In this five year project, Rotarians have delivered the dictionaries to each school each year and personally handed the dictionaries to each child. During this time with the stu-dents, a short program about the importance of education and the Rotary four way test was shared with the students. Hundreds of Rotarians, traveling hundreds of miles, planned, ordered, packed, shipped and personally delivered over 110,000 dictionaries to 3rd graders in the public school system. Research indicates that third grade is the appropriate time for beginning use of a dic-tionary. Also data shows that most third graders in Alabama do not have personal dic-tionaries. Without access to a dictionary, assignments both inside and outside the classroom may be limited. Rotarian Rick Pate chaired the District 6880 Dictionary Project for the 2012-13 school year and did an outstanding job. Rotarian Bruce McNeal provided overall coordination of the dictionary project for the district and maintained our relationship with the Malone Family Foundation. We are pleased to announce that the Malone Family Foundation has approved our sub-mitted grant for the 2013-14 school year Dictionary Project in the amount of $43,475.00. With the testimonials of Rotarians, teachers and students, we know full well that this project is very special. Thank you Malone Family Foundation and thank you Rotarians for a job well done!

Another Successful Dictionary Project Completed

Could something as simple as widely practiced Daily Lit-ter Walk help reduce government deficits and improve life around the world? What would the impact be if the dots were connected and examined? Let's consider. What if each day you and millions of your friends worldwide took a brisk walk and picked up litter along the way? When you return home you and millions around the world would feel better in mind, spirit and body. With regular walks your health would improve and you need less healthcare. That would save billions. Your community and the larger world would have cleaner land, water, healthier and more beautiful for all creatures to enjoy without government expense. Win, win, win! Healthcare savings: Daily walks improve your physical health and the health of all those take part. While you might leave home in a less than cheerful mood I've never returned home de-pressed. The walking releases positive natural chemicals in the body which make you mentally hap-pier too. That means mental health would be improved for millions of citizens. Being outside to wave and chat with your neighbors, to marvel at creation and enjoy the little gifts of life would improve the spirit of all concerned. Therefore, the simple act of walking would that mean fewer people would be using the healthcare system, they would need fewer drugs and their quality of life and sense of com-munity would improve? That alone saves billions of dollars? Environmental savings: If millions of people pick-up the Daily Litter each day wouldn't the en-vironment be greatly improved? If you want clean water wouldn't it be easiest to start with clean land? Pick it up each day before it hits the water system and wouldn't you get both? How much is spent on cleaning land and water after it's out of control with a year's worth of litter? Wouldn't cleaner land and cleaner water mean less harm to wildlife too? How much is spent on all phases of environmental and wildlife programs around the world? Wouldn't millions of people cleaning each day save billions of dollars here too? Property values: If you're familiar with the "Broken Window Principle" you can also understand where littered communities are worth less than clean beautiful ones. If you and millions of others show pride in your community by picking up the Daily Litter aren't you helping yourself and your com-munity financially too? What can you do? Start walking. What else can you do? Encourage as many others as possi-ble to join the effort. What do you need? A few small plastic bags and a gardening glove. How far should you walk? We walk five miles, five days a week over three different routes. You pick. How of-ten should you take the walk? Daily. Start walking and feel better fast.

A Daily Walk. . . With Robin Roberts

Club News

Point Clear Rotarian David Cameron, back row, center, greets

Fairhope High School seniors Alex Townsley, standing, left,

President of the Key Club and co-captain of the swin team, and

Allie Greisinger, a member of Interact, along with pat-on-the-

back teacher recipient, Katy Denton, seated left, theater teacher

and volleyball coach, and faculty representative, Elaine Thomas.

The group was recognized at a recent meeting of the Point Clear

Rotary Club held at the Grand Hotel.

Point Clear Rotary

Former U.S. Rep. Jack Edwards, R-Al, of Fairhope, left, was guest speaker at the March 7, meeting of the Point Clear Rotary Club. He was the guest of Emmett (Rip) Cox, judge for the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Point Clear Rotary Club meets each Thursday morning at the Grand Hotel. For more information, go to www.pointclearrotary.org.

Robertsdale Club

From left to right: Keith Cooper, Jonathan Lynn the

newest member of Robertsdale Rotary Club, and Linda

Buck.

From left to right: Kenny King, Rosinton Runners, Instructors and Linda Buck.

The Robertsdale Rotary Club welcomed a new mem-ber , Jonathon Lynn, at their last meeting. The Rob-ertsdale Club also enjoyed a program presented by the Rosinton Runners. The running club is sponsor-ing a 5K run, the Armadillo Dash, on March 9th. The instructors also thanked the Rotary Club for making a donation to their club.

Club News (continued)

Local author Chad Gibbs visited with the Auburn Rotary Club about his recent book, Love Thy Rival. A follow up to his first book, God and Football: Faith and Fanaticism in the SEC, Love Thy Rival ex-plores the most intense rivalry games in sports and observes the darker side of fan culture – from the cross-country culture war of Lakers vs. Celtics to the cross-state hate-fest of Alabama vs. Au-burn. The book ponders the problems rivalry games present to the Christian fan when called by Jesus to love thy enemy, but feeling compelled by the sport to hate thy rival. Learn more about Gibbs, who is pictured with Club President Martee Moseley, atwww.chadgibbs.com. More information about the Auburn Rotary Club is also online, at www.auburnrotaryclub.com

Auburn Club

The Auburn Rotary Club recently inducted as its newest mem-

ber, Dr. Vini Nathan, dean of Auburn University's College of

Architecture, Design and Construction. More than 1.2 million

business, professional and community leaders -- including

retirees -- in 34,000 clubs worldwide are members of Rotary.

Rotarians volunteer their time and talents to serve communi-

ties locally and around the world through fulfilling Rotary's

motto of "service above self."

The Auburn Rotary Club recently hosted Allison Weather-

bee (center), who in addition to sharing about Camp

ASCCA as its director of community relations, shared her

personal story as a Camp ASCCA camper and someone

born without arms or legs. Now a public speaker, artist

and author, Weatherbee serves an inspiration to others

with various physical challenges, and works with others at

Camp ASCCA to provide therapeutic recreation opportuni-

ties for children and adults with both physical and intellec-

tual disabilities. She also thanked club members and Ro-

tarians throughout the region for their special affinity for

and support of the camp over the years. Pictured with

Weatherbee is Club President Martee Moseley (right) and

program host Bill Neville (left). Learn more about the camp

at www.campascca.org. Auburn Club continued

Club News (continued)

Recently retired WSFA-TV 12 anchor

Bob Howell (center) spoke to the Au-

burn Rotary Club about his more than

32 years working at WSFA and a career

that dated back to radio while still in

high school. Howell regaled the club

with many of the “stories behind the

stories” stemming from his various

news assignments, which included 22

years anchoring the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.

newscasts and serving as WSFA’s man-

aging news editor. He also reported

news from major cities around the

country and had several foreign assign-

ments covering stories in England,

France, Germany, and Kuwait. Howell

is pictured with Club President-Elect

Jim McLaughlin (left) and program host

Herb White (right).

Continued from Auburn Club, page 3

Prattville Mayor, Bill Gillespie, speaks to the Prattville Rotary Club.

Prattville Mayor Bill Gillespie spoke to the Prattville Rotary Club recently. Mayor Gillespie, who has been mayor since stepping in when past Mayor Jim Byard was selected for Governor Bent-ley's cabinet, was elected last summer for a full term. Mayor Gillespie spoke about plans for his term, which center around economic development and im-proving the city's Leisure Services de-partments. Sequestration was also a timely topic, as Mayor Gillespie shares concerns with other leaders in the tri-county area about Maxwell AFB per-sonnel be furloughed or losing jobs be-cause of the budget situation

Prattville Club

Club News (continued) Mobile Sunrise Club

The University of South Alabama has received a $125,000 gift from the Rotary Club of Mobile-

Sunrise to provide scholarships for incoming students and patient and family resources for the Mitchell Can-

cer Institute (MCI).

“The Mobile-Sunrise Club has conducted local service and fundraising projects for the past 25

years,” said Club President Edward Dismukes. “This year we decided to further support our local communi-

ty through gifts to USA that provide area students the opportunity for a college education and hope for heal-

ing for current and future cancer patients. We chose USA because of the positive and broad educational and

health benefits the institution provides our local community.”

A portion of the gift, $50,000, will fund the Rotary Club of Mobile-Sunrise Scholarship Endowment

Fund which qualifies for a USA scholarship match, making it a $100,000 scholarship. The funds off the en-

dowment will be used to award scholarships to incoming freshmen.

In order to be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Have a GPA of 3.0 or higher and ACT score of 24 or above

Reside within one of the counties within the Rotary International District 6880 which include: Autauga,

Baldwin, Barbour, Bullock, Butler, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Coffee, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw,

Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Escambia, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo,

Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Russell, Sumter, Washington, and Wilcox Counties

Demonstrate community service

Must have participated in at least one of the following Rotary sponsored programs: A member of Rotary In-

teract Club and/or a participant in the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) program

Children of Rotarians, including those of members of the Rotary Club of Mobile-Sunrise, may apply

for and receive the scholarship if they meet the eligibility requirements.

The remaining $75,000 gift will establish a patient and family resource center for the Mitchell Can-

cer Institute. Funds will be used to provide resources to patients and families such as educational DVDs,

CDs and books to help them cope with a cancer diagnosis. The resource center is located in the main lobby

of MCI, in front of the Window of Hope.

“The goal of the Rotary Club of Mobile-Sunrise is to support public service programs which em-

brace one or more of the tenants of the Rotary Four-Way Test. The creation of these two important endow-

ment funds is grounded in one of these tenants, ‘is it beneficial for all concerned’. These programs are truly

beneficial to all concerned and will be of great value to students and those battling cancer forever” said Dr.

Joseph Busta, Jr., vice president of development and alumni relations at USA and a Rotary Club member.

Rotary is an international service organization that brings together business and professional leaders

in order to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build

goodwill and peace at home and abroad. As one of 34,000 Rotary Clubs in over 200 countries, the Rotary

Club of Mobile-Sunrise focuses its time, energy and efforts on service projects including basic education.

Club News (continued) Demopolis Club The Demopolis Rotary Club honored Rotarian Diane Brooker with

the Rotarian of the Year award at their Spouse’s Night dinner on

February 28, 2013. Diane is an active member of the Demopolis

Rotary Club. She serves on the Board as the Service Project

Chairman and has coordinated the clubs efforts to earn a District

Simplified grant to support local projects. She spearheaded Rota-

ry’s partnership with Renew Our City, a city wide cleanup effort.

She was the Co-Chairman for the Chamber of Commerce’s annu-

al Christmas on the River event and is very active with the Girl

Scouts. Pictured is Club President Rob Fleming and recipient Di-

ane Brooker.

Dear Spin, Does Rotary designate certain months for certain activities? YES! The annual Rotary calendar has several months that are designated to emphasize major programs of Rotary Interna-

tional and act as a base of emphasis for the clubs each month.

January is Rotary Awareness Month. This is a time to expand knowledge of Rotary and its

activities among our membership and throughout the community.

February is designated as World Understanding Month. This month was chosen because

it includes the birthday of Rotary International, February 23. During the month, Rotary clubs are urged to present programs, which promote international understanding and goodwill, as well as launch World Community Service projects in other parts of the world.

World Rotaract Week is the week in which March 13 falls. It's a time when Rotary clubs

and districts highlight Rotaract by joining in projects with their Rotaract clubs.

April is set aside as Rotary's Magazine Month. Throughout the month, clubs arrange pro-

grams and activities, which promote the reading and use of THE ROTARIAN magazine and the official regional magazines of Rotary.

August is Membership and Extension Month, a time to focus on Rotary's continuing need

for growth, to seek new members and form new clubs.

September is Youth Activities Month. Rotary clubs of the world give special emphasis to

the many Rotary-sponsored programs, which serve children and young people. During this month many clubs give increased attention to youth exchange activities.

October is Vocational Service Month. During this period, clubs highlight the importance of

the business and professional life of each Rotarian. Special activities promote the voca-tional avenue of service.

November is Rotary Foundation Month. The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to ena-

ble Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improve-ment of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

Dear Spin, I’ve heard about the Rotary meeting at the Marriott in Opelika. Can you give me some more information about it?

So glad you ask. 6880 District Conference is May 3rd to 5th for all 6880 Rotarians and their families. Special events are planned for fun, fellowship and time to learn more about Ro-tary. Pages are included in this newsletter about the conference or you can find it on www.rotary6880.org. Reservations for the Marriott in Opelika can be made at until April 2 to get the special Rotary Rate.

Dear Spin

Wild Poliovirus

Weekly Update

World Health Organization

Week Ending 13 March 2013

New wild polio cases reported in the past week for 2013: 1 Total number of cases in 2012: 223 Total number of wild cases in 2013: 10

General Polio Headlines – Week Ending 13 March

2013

”In the Democratic Republic of Congo, all samples fro 2012 AFP cases have now been fully cleared, and confirm that the country has not reported a WPV case in over one year . . . The country is no longer considered to be affected by re-established WPV transmission . . .”

Endemic Country Headlines—Week Ending 13 March 2013

Afghanistan

No new cases The total number of WPV cases for 2013 remains 1.

Nigeria

One new case. This brings the total number of WPV cases for 2013 to 4.”

Pakistan

No new cases. Total cases for 2013 is 5.

Members Members Chg From Meetings Average ATT %

6/30/12 Current Last Mo. Held Attend% RankAndalusia 62 59 -3 -3 4 59.74 32Atmore 40 36 -4 0 4 50.00 42Auburn 114 105 -9 2 3 67.56 20Bay Minette 36 35 -1 0 4 79.00 10Brewton 64 62 -2 0 3 63.66 28Brundidge 27 23 -4 0 4 89.00 1Chilton County 14 16 2 0 4 56.67 38Daphne/Spanish Fort 28 25 -3 -3 3 65.32 25Demopolis 48 51 3 0 4 78.92 11Dothan 179 183 4 1 2 66.00 23Dothan-Houston County 136 130 -6 1 4 69.39 17Elba 17 20 3 0 3 70.00 16Enterprise 80 74 -6 -1 4 75.45 14Enterprise Sunrise 13 11 -2 0 4 85.00 5Eufaula 42 42 0 0 4 50.50 41Evergreen 16 15 -1 -1 4 87.00 2Fairhope 78 81 3 1 4 81.41 8Fairhope Sunset 32 30 -2 0 4 73.33 15Foley 56 55 -1 0 4 62.56 29Geneva 31 28 -3 -1 4 79.31 9Greene County 15 12 -3 0 4 66.66 22Greenville 43 40 -3 1 4 43.75 45Gulf Shores-Orange Beach 20 19 -1 0 4 82.00 7Jackson 25 25 0 0 5 84.00 6Lee County Sunrise 33 32 -1 -1 4 66.66 21Linden 11 12 1 0 0 42.00 47Luverne 29 27 -2 -2 3 86.41 3Mobile 264 278 14 -1 3 42.76 46Mobile West 37 37 0 0 4 56.76 37Mobile-Sunrise 96 86 -10 -1 3 48.02 44Monroeville 0 0 () 0 n/a 0 0.00 48Montgomery 125 128 3 -3 3 58.56 35Montgomery Capital 37 41 4 -1 4 58.53 36Montgomery Sunrise 37 37 0 0 4 77.70 13North Mobile 20 21 1 0 4 59.00 34Opelika 51 48 -3 -1 4 65.98 24Opp 21 22 1 0 4 68.00 18Ozark 64 67 3 4 4 64.55 26Phenix City 46 42 -4 1 3 78.40 12Point Clear 96 88 -8 -1 4 64.00 27Prattville 46 42 -4 0 4 54.00 40Prattville-Millbrook Sunrise 26 24 -2 -2 3 62.50 30Robertsdale 54 54 0 0 4 59.72 33Selma 44 46 2 1 4 60.12 31Tallassee 27 30 3 1 4 48.33 43Troy 86 79 -7 -1 4 55.00 39Tuskegee 17 17 0 n/a 0 0.00 49Wetumpka 27 21 -6 0 4 67.85 19York-Livingston 11 11 0 0 4 86.36 4Totals, Net Gain, AvgAttendance:47 of 49 clubs reporting  

66.33%

Membership & Attendance for February 2013Clubs in District 6880

ClubYTD-Chg

2521 2467 -54 -10 3.68