June 2022 Newsletter (Jun 30, 2022)

My wife Florence, my twin Brennyn and Ryson, and I bid our farewell to all Rotarians in this great Rotary District 5170. We thank this District for blessing us with the opportunity to lead this Rotary Year 2021-2022. Although it was challenging to lead the District during the Pandemic, our sixty-two clubs in the District have done a fantastic job in Membership Growth, contributing to The Rotary Foundation and the District’s Wheelchair Project, improving their Public Image, serving their local communities and global communities.

The highlights of our year are as follow:

MEMBERSHIP: In the Pandemic year, the clubs in our District have added 163 members as of last month, which put us Number 1 in our Rotary Zone 26. We are now bracing for anticipated losses as the clubs are reviewing their membership roster for the new Rotary Year. Nonetheless, thirty-eight out of sixty-two clubs have maintained net positive growth or zero net loss.
ROTARY FOUNDATION: Our District has had a banner year in fundraising for the Rotary Foundation this year. For the first time in the history of the District, we have raised more than $1 million for the Annual Funds Program to The Rotary Foundation ($1,169,042 as of June 29, 2022). As a result, our Per Capita contribution to the Annual Funds has exceeded $300 ($300.29 as of June 29, 2022), which is the first time we reached $300 in the history of our District. We also have 2,328 Rotarians (as of June 29, 2022) in our District donating to the Annual Funds this year and 414 Paul Harris Society members. We have sixty-eight new Major Donors (total contribution exceeds $10,000 outright or over time) and fifteen new Bequest Society (Rotarians leaving at least $10,000 for the Rotary Foundation in their estate planning). All sixty-two clubs in our District and all 62 Club Presidents contributed to the Rotary Foundation. Because of our contribution to the Annual Fund, we have 132 International Global Grant Projects that are approved, funded, or pending all over the world and at least 104 Community Service Projects by way of District Grants. Our District has also given $336,818 to the Polio Plus Fund, which translates to more than $1 million matched 2 to 1 by the Gates Foundation. Overall, our total contribution to The Rotary Foundation this Rotary Year is $2,789,857 as of June 29, 2022. At our District Conference, Past District 5230 Governor Joe Grebmeier also donated $500,000 to the Richard D. King Endowed Funds for Rotary Peace Centers. We rank Number 4 in Total Giving to the Rotary Foundation and Number 15 in Annual Fund Per Capita out of 535 districts worldwide. We believe we have set a new milestone in our District for contribution to The Rotary Foundation and will continue to improve it forward.
PUBLIC IMAGE: Our District has spent $12,500 to help 13 Rotary Clubs establish and/or improve their Public Image. We assisted these clubs on a one-on-one basis. As a result, the clubs became more visible in their community. In turn, they grew in membership, increased their fundraising, and became more vibrant clubs. We have also promoted women in our District by staging the inaugural Women in Rotary event and hosting a Presidential Dinner for our President-Elect Jennifer Jones, the first woman Rotary International President.
WHEELCHAIR PROJECT: Our Club Presidents selected wheelchair collection as our District Project this year. The original goal was to collect one container of wheelchairs (280 wheelchairs), raise $42,000 ($150 per wheelchair), and deliver them to Mexico. The response from the clubs in the District has been so overwhelming that we have raised a total of $224,769, enough for more than five containers of wheelchairs. Every one of our 62 Rotary Clubs in our District contributed to this District Project.
DISTRICT CONFERENCE: We had our District Conference in Blackhawk Museum/San Ramon Marriott Hotel as our last District event this Rotary Year. With over seven hundred people registered and attended the District Conference, having amazing Rotary speakers, Rotary education by way of forums, displays of clubs’ accomplishments at the House of Friendship, musical performances throughout the weekend, and in-person fun and fellowship as Rotarians came out of the darkness of Pandemic, it was a successful conference.

The Clubs set difficult goals as they started the new Rotary Year on July 1, 2021, and have more than exceeded their goals. We continue to be one of the best Districts in the Rotary World. We lead the Rotary World with our accomplishments this year and we should stand tall and be proud of our achievements this year. Mother Teresa once said, “I can do what you cannot do. You cannot do what I can do. Together, we can do great things!” We did great things in 2021-2022. My family and I are truly fortunate to have the opportunity to lead Rotary District 5170 as your District Governor. We thank you.