Wish you all a fabulous holiday season and a happy new year 2020!
Six months have rolled by our Rotary year 2019-20. Wasn’t that just a blink?!
I am delighted to inform you that our District has done very well. Our membership numbers have crossed the 4,000 mark, and our New Channels initiative is yielding us fantastic results. Watch out for some exciting new club charters in 2020!
Our Total Giving to The Rotary Foundation is over $2.4M. This is the highest ever achieved by our District and we still have six more months to go.
Every club in our District is innovating and adapting to emerging needs in the Silicon Valley. Practically, every club has grown in membership, impact and service projects. Yes, the keyword is creativity and there is a start-up type of excitement abuzz in our District.
At the same time, sustenance and respecting our Rotary traditions have not been forgotten. I met Harold Hyde, Past President of the Watsonville Rotary at their Polio Fundraiser. He is 96 years old, and joined this club in 1951 (do the Math...68 years ago!). He loves to attend the club regularly and is a pure dynamo for raising funds for The Rotary Foundation. But, wait…he told me his grandfather Rotarian Henry Alton Hyde was the charter member of this club in 1927. Such Rotarians abound in our District and continue to uphold the priceless values of our organization. At the other end of the spectrum is John Schinkel who recently joined the Mission San Jose Rotary. He is a dashing 25-year-old young professional and works for a non-profit in Fremont, Drivers for Survivors, that transports cancer patients to their hospital visits. He is super excited to join his father Jeff Schinkel who is in our District’s Connectors Committee. Generations of Rotary members engaged in service to humanity! And before I forget, let me place on record my deepest gratitude to Past President of San Jose Rotary David Down who joined Rotary in 1952 and brought me into Rotary in the year 2000. I love Rotary!
Our District monthly events have been attended by hundreds of members. New connections are made, fellowship and warmth have now become routine at our monthly events.
Please mark your calendars and attend these upcoming events:
- January 11 – Mid-year meeting
- February 1 – International Expo – We will invite the communities we are serving – Location: Silicon Andhra, Milpitas
- March 18 – Community – Celebrate our outreach and partnerships…(Please note change in date)
- April 18 – District Training Assembly…(Please note change in date)
- May 16 – District Conference – Casa Real Winery – Gorgeous Livermore Valley!
- June 6-10 – International Convention in Honolulu – Aloha!
- June 17 – A grand finale!
I am grateful to each one of you for your service above self, to make lasting change in our communities and the world.
Continuing our tradition of District service, myself, District Governor-Elect Gregg Giusiana, and District Governor Nominee Richard Flanders are looking to fill many opportunities to serve the District. Please drop in an email to Olivia Poe, District Administrator,
admin@rotarydistrict5170.org, to indicate your interest.
Let us continue the momentum of innovation and growth. This is our moment, let us usher in 2020 and the next decade with exemplary vigor and boundless passion.
Cheers in Rotary service,
Ramesh Hariharan
District Governor
