Dear District Leaders:

September is New Generation Month. What an opportunity for us to spotlight our many programs for our younger generations. We along with Rotarians around the world will focus our efforts on supporting Youth and the programs we offer them. The promotion and selection of high school students to receive Rotary Youth Leadership Awards should take place soon. This is an amazing leadership development opportunity you are providing to several young people in your community.

What are some ways you can include youth in your Rotary club? Invite young people from your High Schools to a club meeting. Has your club considered starting an Interact club? I’m also looking for a Rotarian interested in supporting at the District level the activities of clubs who have or want to start an Interact programs. This should be a really fun position to have. The Greenwood –White River club is having good success as it kicks off a new Interact program.

As you continue to expand your membership remember the prospects that fall in the New Generations of X and Y. Remember the new generations can make a difference in our lives and likewise we can make a real difference in the lives of many young people. This is a month for action on many fronts. Youth programs are a springboard to Rotary.

If you have not let Pam Blasdel, RYLA Chair, know of your commitment to be involved in RYLA please do so ASAP!  Our current count is lower than in previous years.

~ CLUB RECOGNITION: Although our District Conference is still eight months away it’s not too late for clubs to begin planning your displays which should highlight your club activities and projects. Recognition will be given for those judged outstanding. We will include websites, brochures, newsletters and your marketing/PR and newspaper recognition.

~ MEMBERSHIP MOMENT: Rotary club members are part of a diverse group of professional leaders working to address various community and international needs. Through community service and other means, Rotary club members help promote peace and understanding throughout the world. Our members are our most important asset. They are the force that allows Rotary to carry out its many humanitarian efforts and achieve its mission.

All clubs face unique challenges in their membership development efforts. However, increasing membership by even a few members pays big dividends: more hands for service, more money for projects, more friends for fellowship, and more people willing and able to take on leadership positions.

Imagine if your club were to lose 10 percent of its members. How would that affect your service programs? What projects might not get finished? Which ones might never have been started? Now consider what your club could accomplish with 10 percent or five percent or even two percent more members.

Give someone a gift…
Introduce them to Rotary

~ REMINDER: Have You Registered for the Membership/Foundation Seminar?
RI Director Tom Branum will be our kick-off speaker. Let’s pack the room and let RI know how important membership and our foundation are in our District! Why not fill your car since it is coming anyhow?

~ How the District monthly newsletter came to be named THE SIGN:  I wrote to PDG Peggy Peter who sent back the following note. The year that I was district governor, Merrill (Peggy’s husband) and I thought that title up because we were here in the south of the district. …..it stands for Southern Indiana Governor’s Newsletter. Peggy goes on to say that I was honored that the title stuck. By now you should have received the first issue of THE SIGN which will come out monthly. The deadline to submit material and pictures is the 20th of each month. Distribution is planned for the 28th of each month.

~ Columbus Sunrise Fund Raiser: Rotary in the Vineyard – Turning Wine into Water is a fundraiser to benefit their international water projects. The event will take place on Sunday, October 14th from 4 – 6:00 p.m. at Simmons winery in Columbus, IN. For $20 per person attendees will sample various wines, hors d’oeuvres, and desserts. For more information contact Lacretia Ulery at <mailto:Lacretia.ulery@irwinmanagement.com>Lacretia.ulery@irwinmanagement.com. If you would like to promote an event your club is hosting please let me know several weeks before the date.

~ Columbus Sunrise is on a fundraising roll. They have just finished a Friday/Saturday garage sale which generated over $9,500. Contact Lyn Morgan <mailto:hfgrants@sbcglobal.net>hfgrants@sbcglobal.net for more information.

~ Rotary International Announcement: RI Director Tom Branum informs us that the nominating committee has selected John Kenny of Scotland as the 2009-2010 President-nominee.

~ FOUNDATION MOMENT: In 1988 over 380,000 children in at least 125 countries were being permanently paralyzed by polio every year. In 1999 the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) had reduced annual polio cases by 99% and proven the feasibility of eradication. In 2003 limited cutbacks in eradication activities led to a huge resurgence of polio. Two northern Nigeria states that were heavily infected with polio unexpectedly suspended the oral polio vaccine (OPV) stating it might be “contaminated”. This led to a national epidemic. Today 4 countries still have indigenous polio virus. The WHO states that by July 2007, the GPEI will have a negative cash flow, which if not addressed will require an immediate reduction in planned polio eradication activities in the remaining infected countries.
To read more of the report from The World Health Organization (WHO) go to <http://www.polioeradication.org/casecount.asp>www.polioeradication.org/casecount.asp. Please make POLIOPLUS PARTNERS checks payable to The Rotary Foundation and indicate on the check that it is for POLIOPLUS PARTNERS. Mail them to The Rotary foundation 14280 Collections Center Drive Chicago, IL 60693. Thank you for your support of POLIOPLUS PARTNERS.

~ DATES TO REMEMBER:
September 10 – RYLA Commitments to Pam Blasdel
 September 10 – Attendance Report due
September 16 – Rotary International Cookout for Youth Exchange Students,
 Ambassadorial Scholars, GSE team members & all alumni – Bloomington Riddle
 Point at Lake Lemon Shelter. Contact Kim Gray (<mailto:kimgray@indiana.edu>kimgray@indiana.edu)
September 19–23 Governor-Elect & Governor Nominee Training Seminar –
Springfield, Mo.
September 21-22 – All Rotarians invited to hear RI President-Elect D.K. Lee and RI
Foundation Chair Bob Scott speak in Springfield, MO
  September 29 – Membership & Foundation Seminar–Comfort Inn–Bedford
(Please attend)
October 1- GSE Team Member Applications due to Chair Dan DeBard
 (<mailto:D.DeBard@verizon.net>D.DeBard@verizon.net)
October 10 – Attendance Report due
October 12 – RYLA Student applications due to RYLA Chair Pam Blasdel
(<mailto:pblasdel@hsonline.net>pblasdel@hsonline.net)
November 2-4 – RYLA Weekend at Bradford Woods
November 10-11 – Selection of the GSE Team to Brazil
~ FUTURE DATES TO REMEMBER:
March 7-8 – President elects Training Seminar (PES) REQUIRED ATTENDANCE
April 25-27 Joint Indiana/Ohio district Conference at Belterra Resort & Casino near
 VeVay, IN (Make Plans Now to Attend)
May 17 – District Assembly for club leaders & future leaders – Columbus (Do your
club a favor by attending and bringing your board and committee chairs.)
June 14 – 18 – Rotary International Convention in Los Angeles (This is the premier
Rotary meeting)

~ OFFICIAL VISIT SCHEDULE & General Travels
September 11 – Bloomfield
September 16 - Rotary International Cookout at Riddle Point on Lake lemon – BloomingtonSeptember 16 – Ambassadorial Scholarship committee interviews and selects Ambassadorial Scholar for 2008-09
September 18 – 24 - Zone 29/30 Institute and Training
September 25 – Jeffersonville
September 27 – Warrick County
October 1 – Columbus
October 2 – Sullivan
October 9 – Evansville
October 16 – Martinsville
October 23 – North Vernon
October 27 – ADG Quarterly Leadership Meeting
October 30 – Corydon
November 2-4 – RYLA at Bradford Woods
November 10 -11 – Selection of the GSE Team to Brazil

Remember my first priority is to assist your club to better serve your community, to increase your membership by bringing more civic minded persons of high ethics into our Rotary clubs and to show then how Rotary Shares locally and around the globe. ~~~ Governor Judy