It’s November and the forth month of the Rotary year is history! October was another action packed month with 19 club visits, the second District Break-fast with Ted Lumpkin of the Tuskegee Airmen, the District Governor inter-views for 2015 - 2016 with D. J. Sun from the Korea-town Rotary Club being selected, the departure of our Group Study Ex-change team for a month in Japan and the Masquer-ade Ball Rotary Founda-tion Fund raiser at the Bonaventure.

November's theme is the Rotary Foundation and we set the stage for that with

the Masquerade Ball to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation. Every Rotar-ian Every Year has been the slogan for many years and it could not be more important. Virtually every club in the District has benefited from District Grants and/or Global Grants. They are all funded by the Rotary Foundation. Polio Plus our campaign to eradicate Polio from the world has been funded by Rotary through the Foundation. 50% of all the donations made by Rotarians to the Annual Fund in each Dis-trict are funneled back to the District where they originated to be utilized by

Governor Lew’s Message

J ULY 2012 The New Rotary District 5280 November 2012

Meet Sheri Polak 3

Rotary Foundation 4

Polio Update 5

Club News 6-7

Got Rotary Friends? 8

District Toolbox 8

Save the Date 8

INSIDE THIS ISSUE :

the clubs. Can you name another foundation that does that?

During club visits I have been talking about the three (3) year Annual Fund cycle, where funds donated in 2012/13 year fund projects in the 2015/16 Rotary year. The investment earnings pay the administrative costs so that 100% of donated funds

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Governor Lew’s Message

The 2012 Rotary Foundation’s Group Study Exchange (GSE) members from District 5280 have embarked on an adventure to District 2620 in Shizuoka and Yamanashi in Japan. The vocational exchange is for professionals between the ages of 25-40. The four GSE fellows and team leader, have been taking language and cultural classes as well as learning about Rotary’s history. The team departed on October 19th . They look forward to updating their adventures with you on the blog. The link to the blog is http://gsejapan2012.tumblr.com/

The 2012 District 5280 Group Study Exchange (GSE:) [From left to

right] Eddie Michino, Angela Kim, Team Leader Jewel Price, Alen An-

driassian, Kai Tramiel

To learn more about GSE click on http://www.rotary.org/en/

serviceandfellowship/makeconnections/groupstudyexchange/pages/

ridefault.aspx

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Foundation Celebration to be held at the Westin Bonaventure

Hotel on October 27th

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go to projects. In good investment years any investment earnings in excess of expenses are added to the projects and in poor investment years Rotary International's operational budget funds any short fall, so 100% of the donations go to our projects.

The Annual Fund's three-year cycle does have a weakness. If there are no donations this year, three years from now there will be no funds for projects. That is why the we say, "Every Rotarian Every Year."

The good that Rotary does locally and around the World, is funded by the Rotary Foundation. For all of us, who use

Rotary Foundation funds in projects, it is an obligation for us to continually raise funds for the Rotary Foundation. That

is why our focus each November is on fundraising for the Rotary Foundation! As you do your yearend tax planning,

please consider a gift to the Rotary Foundation.

Lew

Follow the Adventures of the District 5280

Global Study Exchange Team on their Blog!

T HE NEW ROTARY D ISTRICT 5280 PAGE 3

Hi My Fellow Rotarians. My name is Sheri Polak and I am a proud member of the Rotary Club of Woodland Hills. “The FUN club where everyone is a HERO” (According to our President Matt Schaaf)

I have been a Rotarian since July of 1989 and I am proud of my per-fect attendance.

Of course, this year as Aide to DG Lew Bertrand, I will have at-tended enough Rotary meetings to have make-ups for the next 10 years. (Some weeks we attend 6 – 7 meetings. And, by the way drive about 150 – 200 miles a week).

Having said all of the above what a hoot it is being in District 5280. I bring with me some 400 – 500 Rotarians from the San Fernando Valley. Together with those of you on the “Bay” side as DG Lew likes to say, we are making a difference and boy does it feel good.

A little bit about who I am.

In my past I have been Executive Secretary for the Woodland Hills Chamber of Commerce and then Chief Executive for 10 years. I also ran the District office for a member of Congress. (Fabulous job).

I have a degree from the Institute for Organizational Management and I am proud to say I obtained the Master PRLS (Professional Rotary Leadership) qualification.

Among the many recognitions that I am proud to have been given are the following: Three times club Rotarian of the year. District Rotarian of the year. “Bravo” award by the National Association of Women Business Owners. Selected by the Warner Center Rotary Club as one of the recipients of the “Women Who Lead” award, 2008. In 2010 I received one of the first Club Builder Awards given by Rotary International in recognition of the dedication and commitment demon-strated in achieving the goal of strengthening Rotary clubs. Yea! Me!

I have been Club President, Vice President 3 times, Club Service Chair, District Conference Chair, District Vocational Service Chair 3 times, District Club Service Chair, District Youth Services Chair twice, RYLA Co-Chair and District Awards Chair. I have been a member of the Future Planning Committee for District 5260. I have been on the Rose Float committee and am a Major Donor with 15 PHFs.

I have also had the privilege of being Aide to PDG Dick O’Linn, 1993 – 94, PDG Larry Jernigan, 2007 – 08, PDG Jay Saltzman, 2009 - 10 and now DG Lew Bertrand, 2012 - 13. What a lucky Gal I am.

I take my Rotary responsibilities very seriously. In 1989, at the age of 53 I became a widow. Dave Woods sponsored me into Rotary and that gave me a reason for living. I will forever be indebted to Dave, Rotary and the opportunities it pre-sents.

Meet Executive Aide Sheri Polak

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The District 5280 GSE members are shown at a wel-coming party by their hosts in a Japanese garden.

November is Foundation Month

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November is The Rotary Foundation (TRF) month and a good time to recommit ourselves to serving the communities around us.

“Service Above Self” is defined by the TRF programs and our Rotary Clubs’ humanitarian projects. Rotarians by their com-mitment to “service” are always looking for opportunities to make a difference. Our annual challenge is to raise enough money for your Clubs, District 5280, Global projects, and the programs of TRF.

As the 2012-15 Chairman of the District Rotary Foundation Committee (DRFC), I understand and take seriously, the vital importance of fundraising and stewardship of the District Designated Funds that finance the humanitarian projects and pro-grams of RI District 5280.

On this occasion, it is a pleasure to paraphrase some recent conversations with the fundraising team of 5280’s District Rotary Foundation Committee: PDG Doug Baker, Paul Harris Society (PHS) Chair 2012-15; DJ Sun, Annual Giving/Fundraising Chair 2012-15; and Shirley Giltzow, Polio Pus Chair.

PHS members are Rotarians who contribute $1,000 each year (the equivalent of about $20 a week) to the Rotary Foundation Annual Program Fund-Share. This type of commitment is critical to Rotary’s goals of Service, as these funds are for projects “down the street and across the seas.” Doug Baker said that because of this consistent atti-tude of giving, education, tutoring, healthcare, beautification, senior assistance and much more can be achieved all over the world. Wear your “2012-13 Paul Harris Society wings” with pride and show you are committed to our Ro-tary Foundation. Throughout the year, there will be Paul Harris Society members only, receptions, combining food, beverage, and fellowship as a way to say “thank you for caring.” Accomplishing much and having a good time doing it-is a good combination.

The Annual Program Fund (APF)-Share, aka Annual Giving (AG), is the primary source of funds for financial support to the many programs of The Rotary Foundation (TRF). DJ Sun, Annual Giving/Fundraising Chair 2012-15, said Club members’ continued contributions to TRF’s APF-Share are critically important. Half of the APF-Share (AG) money is spent each year on Rotary Foundation programs, such as District Grants, Global Grants, Group Study Exchange, and Ambassadorial Scholars, just to name a few. After three years, one half of every Club mem-ber’s donation to the APF-Share (AG) returns to District 5280 as District Designated Funds, and those dollars fund the many charitable projects aka “Service Above Self” that define a Rotarian. DJ asks that every RC member donate to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Program Fund this 2012-13 Rotary year. We want to celebrate 100% participa-tion at our May 2-5, 2013, District Conference.

Shirley Giltzow, District Polio Plus Chair, shared “In January 2012 Rotary announced that the Gates Foundation grant chal-lenge of $200 million has been exceeded and has reached $228 million, because of the generous giving of Rotarians of 5280 and around the world, “we’re just this close.” In February 2012 after a year of no new cases, India is designated as a polio-free country, an incredible accomplishment made possible through the generous financial support of Rotarians and the Gates Foundation working together. In May of this year, the World Health Assembly declared polio eradication to be a “programmatic emergency for global public health.” As Shirley so succinctly stated, “Together we can make a difference and END POLIO NOW.” In a couple of months I want to share the “Stewardship” side of the DRFC -- the allocating and managing of the District Designated Funds. The chairs of these critical committees are PDG Chuck Anderson, 2010-13 District Grant Chair; Doug Wilson, 2012-15 Global Grant Chair; and Robert Ryans, 2012-15 Scholar Chair.

Please call me (310/ 544-0400) or any one of the District Rotary Foundation Committee members with questions or to sched-

ule a Club program. Contact information is on the District’s website at www.rotary5280.org. “The sun has never set on a

Rotary project.” The idea of “Service Above Self” requires all of us to make a financial commitment.

David Moyers,

5280 - District Rotary

Foundation Chair 2012-15

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Anti-inoculation Alarmists Launch Email Campaign Against Rotary Polio Eradication

T HE NEW ROTARY D ISTRICT 5280

Over the past month, Rotary’s polio eradication efforts have come under attack via an email campaign in Hawaii, with the circulation of a pseudo-scientific report claiming confirmation that our eradi-cation campaign in India caused 47,500 cases of “vaccine-induced polio paralysis.” The alarmists’ report, which originates in India, also claims that Rotary, the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the mainstream media are all involved, along with Bill Gates, in a giant cover-up of this damaging information. DG Chet Dal Santo in District 5000 reports he is being contacted by a growing number of Rotarians each week who have become the targets of these dis-turbing emails. The fact is that the accusation is not true, and it is not based on any scientific evidence. The article wrongly links acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) with vaccine-associated polio paralysis (VAPP) and vaccine derived polioviruses (VDPVs). Acute Flaccid Paraly-sis is a syndrome encompassing many symptoms; it is not a disease. Rates of AFP vary in different regions of the world, but in any normal population, one AFP case per 100,000 children under the age of 15 can be expected. The reported increase of cases of FVP in India is believed to be due to the increased AFP surveillance capacity in India, rather than an actual increase in occur-rence. Increased AFP surveillance has helped us to detect more polio cases. And it has also helped us to verify the absence of polio, as all AFP cases detected are then virologically investigated to determine if polio caused the paralysis, or if it is due to a different cause. There are multiple potential causes for AFP symptoms, and polio is only one of many pathogens that cause these symptoms. The fact is that approximately 5,000 AFP cases per month are investigated in India, and none of them since January 2011 have been found to be due to polio. These attacks in India are nothing new; but the targeted emails to Rotarians within our Zone 26 is an expanded attempt to un-dermine critical support for our polio eradication efforts at a time when we need the whole-hearted backing of this effort by all of our members. For several years there has been a persistent lobby group in India that has been trying to discredit our polio eradication work, and to some extent, immunization in general. The claims in the articles are not based on any scientific infor-mation, and “they are essentially a very simplistic misinterpretation and misuse of data,” according to an expert in the field who was consulted. The claim that increased immunization activity has led to a mass increase in paralytic disease caused by the vaccine has no basis in fact. Vaccine Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis, which is a well-documented side effect of using Oral Poliovirus Vaccine, af-fects approximately one child per 1.5 to 2.5 million doses of vaccine. The VAPP rate documented in India is, in fact, a bit lower than that reported in other areas, such as the Americas. While it is important to acknowledge the risks involved in administering these vaccines, it is also important to underscore that these risks are very small, and that by far the greater risk to children remains the circulation of the wild poliovirus. Oral polio vaccine (OPV) is extremely safe and effective in protecting children against lifelong paralysis. Over the past ten years, more than 10 billion doses of OPV have been given to more than 2.5 billion children. As the result, more than 350,000 cases of wild polio-virus are prevented each and every year. However, once the wild poliovirus has been eradicated, the use of this vaccine will be stopped, since the public health benefits will no longer outweigh the small risks associated with its use. Reprinted from The Rotary Foundation – Zone 26 Connections

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All in the family… of Rotary

On October 18th the Rotary Club of Playa Venice Sun-rise installed Katy Kolodziejski as a new Rotarian. Katy is the mother of Playa Venice Rotarian Dan and grand-mother of Rotarian Kip, making three generations of the Kolodziejski family as Rotarians in the same club, at the same time. District Membership Chair Jerry Brown proudly acted as the installing officer.

(pictured left to right are Jerry Brown, Kip, Katy, Dan and Club Membership Director, Tony Ciancimino)

Glendale Moonlight Helps Local YMCA With Kitchen

Remodeling Project

PAGE 7 T HE NEW ROTARY D ISTRICT 5280

San Pedro Hold Another Successful Yard Sale Fund Raiser

Van Nuys Rotary was honored to be a part of the "LA Remembers" celebra-tion on September 11, 2012. As part of the citywide commemorative events of the 9/11 disaster, an early morning stop was held at Fire Station #88, home of the Urban Search and Rescue Team that mobilized to give aid in NYC at Ground Zero.

Van Nuys “Remembers”

Rotary International Fellowships, with an S, are separate but RI-approved groups of like-minded worldwide Rotarians, spouses, and Rotaractors who share a common interest, pro-fession, or hobby. Make friends all over the world by joining one or more! If you are al-ready a member of any of these Fellowships, or you would like more info, please e-mail D5280 Fellowships Chair Mel Powell at rotarymelpowell@aol.com.

Be Prepared…to check out he International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians. "The aim of IFSR is to develop a strong association internationally between Rotarians and asso-ciates who are, or have been, active members and/or supporters of the Scout Movement including national organizations that are members of the World Organization of Scout Movements (WOSM) or the World Association of Girl Guide and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS)." The Fellowship's website is www.ifsr-net.org/ .

The International Tennis Fellowship of Rotarians is a real racket! They have four ob-jectives: “To develop and promote worldwide friendship for Rotarians with a common interest in tennis; To bring together Rotarians from around the world for tournaments and fellowship; To serve the community and humanity, through tennis; To promote interna-tional understanding and peace.” Check them out and become a Service ace at www.itfr.org.

Wanna be a big wheel? Pedal over to the International Fellowship Cycling to Serve. Their objectives “ to develop and promote world-wide friendship through cycling both competitive and touristic; to serve the community locally, nationally and internationally through cycling activities; to promote international understanding and peace through cy-cling activities.” No training wheels needed at http://www.cycling2serve.org/.

Rotary: a world of fun, friends, and opportunities for service.

Save the Date

Nov. 14 Presidents Dinner

Jan. 8 District Breakfast

Feb. 4 Arts, Speech, Music Dance Application Deadline

Feb. 22 P.E.T.S.

Mar. 9 Arts, Speech, Music and Dance Contest

Mar. 23 Ethics Forum: Rota-ract Team Competition

Apr. 6 RYLA

District Toolbox

Rotary District 5280

Office 8939 So. Sepulveda Blvd. Ste.

210

Los Angeles Ca 90045

Phone: (310) 670 9792

Fax: (310) 670 9795

Rotary5280.0rg

Office@Rotary5280.org

Emily Blair-Charnelle,

District Office Administrator

A great majority of Clubs are using Clu-bRunner as their Internet vehicle, but are we using it to our best advantage? As part of their service ClubRunner periodi-cally offers free “on line training ses-sions” to help us improve our knowledge and skills. Why not make the most of our investment? As an example, the follow-ing topics will be covered in November:

11/2 Organization and management of committees

11/21 “My Event Runner”

11/27 Website design

GOT ROTARY FRIENDS?

(Toolbox continued)

11/29 Rotary International database integra-tion

When the price is right, why not take advan-

tage of an opportunity to make your website

“all that it can be?”

DG Lew Bertrand with Lt. Gov. Dean Reuter,

PDG Brad Robinson and RI President Sakuji

Tanaka