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District 6740 Rotary News

Rakesh Sachdeva, District Governor

June 2009 - Volume 1 Number 10

Farewell Message from DG Sachdeva

Dear Rotarian,

As we enter the last few days of this Rotary year and I fully realize that my year as district governor is coming to an end, I become a little melancholy. However, I can tell you that the kindnesses that were extended to me as I visited your clubs will never be forgotten as well as the many new Rotary friends I have made along the way.

We live in such a changing world now. There are so many opportunities for us to make a difference in the lives of others who are struggling just to exist with dignity. My travels throughout the district this past year have only strengthened my belief in the ultimate goodness of mankind, especially Rotarians. Whatever I have asked of each club, each Rotarian, I know that a wholehearted attempt, most often with success, was made to accomplish the task. For this, I am very grateful and most proud.

Seema and I want to thank all of you for helping make our vision of what Rotary can do an actuality. We tried, with much determination, to make our year in Rotary one of value, one that made a significant difference both at home and abroad. We are most proud of our affiliation with RI and of all of you who continue to do the right thing, by "Making Dreams Real".

So, we bid you a fond farewell, and, of course, the best of luck to our dear friend and fellow Rotarian, your next district governor, Dennis McEvoy. We look forward to continuing our work with Rotary and DG McEvoy in one of the best districts in the world - 6740!

Yours in Rotary,

DG Rakesh Sachdeva

The 2009-9010 Rotary Theme Logo

Please note that this

official RI logo

should not be used

until July 1, 2009.

Ambassadorial Scholarship Opportunity

District Governor Elect Dennis McEvoy and the Rotary District 6740 College of Governors announce that this year Rotary District 6740 will offer an Ambassadorial Scholarship to be awarded for study abroad during the academic year of 2010-11.

This process starts with the receipt of applications from qualified scholar candidates by 01 July 2009. The completed application, including the fully completed sponsoring Rotary Club's endorsement page, should be sent to C. Dale Elifrits, PDG, 19 Brandywine Court, Highland Heights, Kentucky 41076.

Applicant interviews will be scheduled during August and September in order to select the award recipient and notify The Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship program office by 15 October 2009. The approved scholar's travel will then occur during 2010-11 as dictated by the academic year plan of the institution where the scholar will study.

Applicants must have permanent residence in District 6740 and be endorsed and sponsored by a Rotary Club in District 6740. An applicant may currently be attending college outside of the District as long as the person's permanent address is within the District.

This is an award of US$23,000 for either a twelve month period or a twenty-four month period of study at an institution of higher education with which The Rotary Foundation has or will establish a program for Ambassadorial Scholar study and is located in a foreign country. The scholar is not assured of receiving a degree via this program. The scholar is expected to be an ambassador from District 6740 to the Rotary Clubs in the area of the chosen college or university and to the area's communities. This may include being an ambassador to the Rotary International District in which the college or university is located. Additionally, the scholar is expected to participate in District 6740 programming after the study abroad in order to complete the cultural exchange back from the foreign locale to this District.

For further information, visit these sites on the Rotary International World Wide Web site, www.rotary.org:

The Rotary Foundation Educational Programs Information for Rotary Clubs, Club Officers, and Rotarians:

http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/EducationalPrograms/AmbassadorialScholarships/
ages/ridefault.aspx

Ambassadorial Scholar Program Guide for Rotarians and Applicants:

http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/012en.pdf

This site provides a wide range of information about the Ambassadorial Scholarship.

Ambassadorial Scholar Program Applications form download for applicants including Club President's endorsement page:

http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/139en.pdf

This site contains what the scholar applicant needs for completion of the application.

Notes to Sponsoring Rotary Clubs: Please note that the sponsoring Rotary Club is fully expected to identify a Rotarian who will serve as the scholar's "Sponsor/Counselor" before the club endorsement form is completed. Sponsoring Rotary clubs should screen applicants with respect to their backgrounds and their academic records regarding the applicant's expectations for admission to their target colleges or universities while studying abroad. If the applicant anticipates entering the college or university at the graduate level, this generally requires at least a 3.000 (4.000 scale) grade point average for all previous college-level credit.

Also, please note the date of 01 July 2009 as the last day for submitting the completed application. The completion of the application is largely the responsibility of the applicant. However, assistance by the sponsor/counselor is encouraged.

The work of the District selection committee is facilitated by receipt of the entire packet in one mailing from the sponsoring club representative or the applicant, except for the official college transcripts. These must either be sent directly to PDG Elifrits from the respective college or university Registrar's office(s) or included in a sealed official university or college Registrar's Office envelope(s) with the application materials.

Should any person have questions please contact C. Dale Elifrits at home/eveining telephone 859.441.9997.

Berea Rotary Celebrates 50th Anniversary!

The Berea Rotary Club would like to invite all of its sister clubs in District 6740 to celebrate their 50th year milestone on September 4 at 6 pm in Fellowship Hall of the Berea Baptist Church at 310 Chestnut St. Entertainment for the evening is the fabulous nationally-recognized "Penny Loafers" who will provide musical entertainment and comedy. The price is $20 per person which includes a deluxe catered meal.

June is Rotary Fellowships Month

"Fellowship is wonderful; it illuminates life's pathway, spreads good cheer, and is worth high price." - Paul Harris

Conference Clips

Here are a few more images from our District Conference in Pikeville. We hope that those of you in attendance have fond memories of "The Party in Pikeville", and those of you who were unable to attend will get a sense of the fun and fellowship that pervaded the event.

The planning committee included (l-r) Chair Jerry Kanney,Christi Adams, Betty Francisco, Pam Howard, Paula Halm, DG Rakesh Sachdeva, Gerrie Clark, Janice King, John Adams, Cindi Legg, Gerri Kinder, James Glass, Seema Sachdeva, Rita Pratt, David McKenzie, Jeanne Clark, Josephine Richardson, and Wes Stedtefeld. Not pictured Steve St. John, Charity Sowards, and Mike Vance.

Entertainment included the Carriere Family (right) and bluegrass band Five Miles From Nowhere (below) who had a bit of help with "In the Pines" from the "windy" foursome of PDG Tom Ashford, RI Rep Bill Bradfield, DG Sachdeva, and DGE Dennis McEvoy.

fivemiles

Gagan Singh (right), one of the GSE Team Members, was responsible for one of the most memorable moments, as he performed a traditional Indian dance from Punjab, inciting some on stage to join him.

The infamous "CSC" trio of Jeanne Clark, Seema Sachdeva, and Gerrie Clark (left) was recognized several times during the conference for their hard work on and support of the conference.

Rotarians Jerry Johnson and Thelma Vinson (below), both administrators from Pikeville Medical Center, accepted special thanks on behalf of the hospital for being the platinum sponsor of the conference.

DG Sachdeva and Seema (above left) formally recognized and thanked 2007-08 PDG Tom Ashford and his wife Polky for their spirit of dedication to the district. While dispensing door prizes, fun-loving Rotarian Jack McAllister (above right) added a note of laughter to the conference with his witty comments.

Pikeville Rotary President Pam Howard (left) accepts the Governor's Citation for her club's No. 1 ranking in raising money for PolioPlus. DG Rakesh, Seema, and PolioPlus Co-chair James Glass, all members of the Pikeville club, join in the special moment.

Paintsville Rotary President Wes Stedtefeld (right) proudly displays his club's honors as having the largest increase in membership this year, a whopping 27%.

AG John Adams and his wife Christie (left)accept the All Paul Harris Fellows Club award on behalf of Somerset/Pulaski ClubPresident Michael Noftsger.

DG Sachdeva (right) wrapped up a successful district

conference by challenging Rotarians to continue to

grow their clubs and be strong advocates for the vision of Rotary International.

PLEASE NOTE THAT MORE PICTURES FROM THE CONFERENCE MAY BE VIEWED ON THE DISTRICT WEBSITE.

Prestonsburg Rotarian on RAM Team to India

Gan Maddiwar, a Prestonsburg Rotarian, completed his third RAM surgical expedition to India in February. For a week, Gan and his wife Surekha, along with volunteer doctors Vinayak and Anuradha Kulkarni of Cincinnati, Krishna and and Sandhya Deshpande of Cleveland, Harish Pariani of Houston and Mohini Genhani of Washington DC, set up RAM services at Coal-India Hospital Marghareta Assam in Arunachal Pradesh where they attended the tribal poor in four eastern-most rural districts. They saw 78 patients for surgical evaluations and performed 38 specific surgeries. The camp was co-sponsored by Vivekanand Kendra, Kanyakumari.

Georgetown Rotary Club News

On May 5, Rotarian Cherie Thomson introduced Cary Williams and Wanda Chiles, volunteers from "Friends with Flowers" as guest speakers. Cary read about a retired florist who gathered used flowers from weddings, funerals and such and gave them to Hospice patients. Cary decided to do something similar for Scott County so she started the project in May of 2007 with two volunteers. She now has 30 volunteers and delivers 55 to 60 vases of flowers a week. Her group has delivered over 3500 arrangements since the beginning of the program.

The First Christian Church provides "Friends with Flowers" with space and a cold room for storage. Every Friday or Saturday, the group takes donated flowers and arranges them in 55-60 small vases with tags, ready for distribution. They then travel to Hospice patients, most of whom are at homes but some are in nursing homes or pediatrics. They try to visit with each patient and caregiver for a few minutes. Then they pick up the old flower vases and provde new ones with fresh arrangements.

A brief business meeting was chaired by Eric Ward. The club voted to try to give $3400 ($100 per member) to the Rotary Foundation. The money will be raised from profits from the basketball tournament this fall. In addition $2,000 was budgeted toward scholarships and $2,000 to the PolioPlus challenge grant.

Cary Williams and Wanda Chiles CaryWilliams

(right) from "Friends with Flowers".

The five members of the GSE team from Rotary District 3070 visited Georgetown from May 12 to 15. They came to Georgetown after visiting Lexington, PIkeville, Whitesburg, Somerset, Maysville and Covington.

The team attended the Georgetown Rotary Club on May 12 and the Cynthiana Rotary on May 14 where they talked about the Indian views on everything from the caste system to how elderly Americans can stay productive for so long. India does not have a "disabilities act" and few faciilities have been modified to accommodate the handicapoped or aged citizens. Most Indian marriages are still arranged by the families, and the people like it that way. In addition, the divorce rate in India is considerably lower than in the US. Other reflections on our culture included the observation that Americans are punctual, while even important meetings in India usually begin late. The team members expressed little fear of the situations in Pakistan and China.

Keith and Leslie Flanders, Bruce and Midge Gordon, and Frank and Barbara Mason were the host families in Georgetown. All the host families greatly enjoyed their Indian guests.

Special thanks to Tony Zembrodt of the Covington Rotary and Dinesh Mistry for their help in organizing and hosting the GSE team members.

GSE Team Members include

Gagan Singh, Sanju Dua, Mridula Singh, Team Leader Prem Thakur, and Surender Soni.

Green Day - June 5

Climate change is the focus of this year's World Environment Day, established by the UN General Assembly in 1972. What can your club do to draw attention to the issue?

GSE team visits Maysville

Jackie Sue Wright, Maysville Rotarian and member of the 2009 GSE team to India, submitted these photos of the GSE team as it visited that beautiful river town.

GSE Team Leader Prem Thakur pins Maysville Rotary President David Lawrence.

(left) Rotarian John Penrose treats the GSE team to a Mexican

feast at Mi Camino Real.

(below) The GSE team gets its last look at Maysville on the day of their departure.

Rotary Leadership Institute Date Set

The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a series of fast-paced, interactive, one-day courses offered to refine a Rotarian's leadership skills and increase their base of knowledge in Rotary.

Courses are fun, topical, interactive and geared toward busy business and professional Rotarians who want to be more effective leaders in their vocations and their clubs. It is recommended that clubs nominate two Rotarians each year to begin RLI and support prior attendees' continuation of Parts II and III.

Rotary clubs need a constant influx of new leadership as club officers, board and committee leaders change every year. It is difficult at the club level to learn enough about the exciting world of Rotary with its 1.4 million members in 166 countries. Furthermore, leadership skills in a voluntary organization are often different from business leadership skills. It is important that club leaders have every opportunity for education because the success or failure of our clubs depends in large part on the quality of their leaders. This is an outstanding opportunity for each club to improve the Rotary knowledge of its key people, who will also be exposed to new ideas of leadership. Just the interaction with other Rotarians makes the courses worthwhile.

The next RLI will take place on Saturday, August 22, 2009 in Lexington at the Ramada Inn on US 27/US68 North (Paris Pike) near the intersection of I75/I64. For more informatioin contact Jack McAllister at mrjackmac@insightbb.com.

Dear Rotarians,

This year, we have worked diligently to forward, via our district newsletter, club information and newsworthy items from Rotary International for your consideration and enjoyment.
It has been a pleasure to hear from so many of you and to learn of the continued good work in which you and your clubs are involved.

Starting the third week of June, please send your artlcles and pictures for the July newsletter to Sue Chesnut at sue.chesnut@columbialife.com

Yours in the spirit of Rotary,

Jeanne W. Clark

2008-09 Newsletter Editor

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