Announcements/Business:

 

  • Free District 5450 seminars can be found for registration on the District website.

  • Ethics of the 4-Way Test: December 1, 7-8pm

    • Tolerance, Diversity and Cultural Understanding: Dec 3, 6:30-7:30

    • Membership Panel Discussion: Jan 5, 7-8pm

    • Peace is Possible, Jan 7, 6:30-7:30pm

    • Principled (win/win) Negotiation: Feb 4, 6:30-7:30pm

    • Unconscious Bias: Mar 5, 5-6pm

  • Update on 9 Health Fair: The Board of 9 Health has determined that they cannot support the Health Fair going forward into the un-foreseeable future. Our 9Health Fair in Bailey was the 2nd to last to be held. It provided valuable health information to a number of residents.

  • The Conifer Town Hall will be on-line tomorrow evening. Go to our Rotary and the community weblink.

  • We will be doing Salvation Army bell ringing at King Soopers and Saturdays at the Moore Lumber in Pine Junction. There is a sign up genius on our website.

Wes reports on the Foundation:

  • The committee selected 8 grantees. They will be recognized and receive their funds in January 19 and 26 (virtually). Wes will report on the organizations after he has sent a letter to the organizations.

  • The Mask-erade fund-raiser is going well. Leonor and Amanda are creating the masks. Please share the information with families and friends. We have already sold $500 of masks. The sewers are being very creative with fabrics, designs, and now can sell lanyards to help keep the masks handy around your neck . http://coniferfest.com/shop.  We have sent over 9800 masks, donated to the community.

  • Tom Becker of Castles and Kitchens will be creating a Valentine dinner as a fun-d –raiser. There will be a zoom meeting this evening for planning this event. Members will get the meeting link from Wes Paxton.

  • There will be a discussion of our virtual St-Pat’s party at the meeting tonight.

        The Christmas Tree cutting “non-social” social will be at Bambi Moss’s home. There will be a sign-up-genius for 2 hour increments, going 10am-4pm. There will be hot chocolate and             maybe a fire (depending on fire restrictions. ) There will be a donation bucket to raise money for the Foundation. Bring family and friends. Wear your festive gear!

 

Program: DG Bob Kemp

The District 5450 Update

Rotary presents everyone many ways to Serve.

Rotary is having to change, as has the world:

The pandemic has caught us off guard and we don’t really know where we are going. We are many more months into it than we had imagined at the beginning. At the end of February, there was a district President’s Elect training. At that time, no one imagined that the disease that was far away would soon be upon us. Bob left for a trip to Uganda the next week to observe the distribution of mobility devices from Rotary. The pandemic unfolded in the rest of the world during his three weeks away. The Ugandans became afraid of the visitors! He left on one of the last flights to the USA.

On his return home, he was quarantined for 2 weeks and Rotary shut down world-wide. There were many clubs shutting down, so how would Rotary survive if we couldn’t meet? Pivot! Zoom became the new means for keeping us together. There was a steep learning curve for all. Within weeks, Rotary Clubs were meeting on Zoom a sense of change and the ability for Rotary to be resilient.

Where now? We are still in transition. The challenges: how to increase membership? Our district lost members at a rate of 5% this year. There were drops in donations for polio+ and the general fund. How can we individually help? How can we stay relevant to the new generations and more diverse populations?

There are also opportunities: engaging virtually; invite speakers from around the world; members can participate remotely if they are far afield; membership can be more available because scheduling can be more flexible. We must evolve. Zoom is a temporary fix. Now we need to re-engage in our communities and the world. We have to engage safely in our projects going forward, including in our social gatherings.

What are the constants? Rotary: the core values, the 4-Way Test. We will adapt, but keep the Rotary spirit. We need to encourage participation. We need to attract new members through new venues.

*We need to re-commit to eradicate Polio. (Africa has been certified as Polio-Free)

*We need to offer members a way to serve in a meaningful way.

*Reach out to members who are missing

*Offer the rest of the community an opportunity to join Rotary; it may be easier with the virtual meetings

*What are the new issues we can help to improve: homelessness, food insecurity, loss of income, mental health issues. (Rotarians for Mental Health is a committee within the District).

*There are ideas for fund-raising available on the Zone website.

 

 

Guests: District Governor Bob Kemp