District 5100 Governor, Diane Noriega, was our featured on-line-via-Zoom guest today.
WELCOME, D.G. Noriega!
Primary text contributed by Paula R., photos by Auggie G., & Zoom access by Mike C.
THANKS, TEAM!
Rotary Club of Newberg Zoom Meeting
Wednesday, May 06, 2020
Call to Order
President Corey Zielsdorf welcomed Rotarians and Friends of Rotary to the Zoom meeting at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 06, 2020.
Rotarians and Friends of Rotary
Zoom meeting participants: Mike, Laura, Paula, Rachel, Corey, Kim, Paul, Brandy, Shannon K., Dan, Shannon B., Judy, Julie, Gene, Connie, Kathie, Joe, Walter, Michelle, Lynn, Om, Stan, Auggie, Curt.
Rotary Guests
Diane Noriega, Rotary District 5100 Governor (2019-2020)
Josephine (Jo) Crenshaw, Rotary District 5100 Governor-Elect (2020-2021)
Jim Boyle, Rotary District 5100 Governor (2021-2022)
Flag Salute
Corey led participants in the Flag Salute.
Announcements
Rota-Dent
Julie Want will attend a virtual Rota-Dent meeting Friday morning. If you have input or questions regarding Rota-Dent—contact Julie before Friday, May 8th.
Venmo Account
Auggie will contact Terry to determine whether we can establish a Venmo account to donate funds to the Duck etc. during Zoom meetings.
Rotary Moments
Rachel met a young woman who worked at Krohn’s Appliance and who was selected as a Rotary Exchange Student sponsored by the Rotary Club of Newberg.
Connie’s 91-year-old grandmother in Granada Hills, California shared that Connie’s grandfather was President of the Rotary Club of Granada Hills for a number of years. Connie’s grandmother shared that her most amazing memories centered around participation in Rotary activities.
Laura is seeking funds for our Peace Global Grant with $5,000 remaining to be raised. A Rotarian who traveled to Nepal several years ago to complete a Rotary project assessment for Laura successfully obtained the remaining $5,000 for our club’s Peace Global Grant!
Kathie shared news of First Federal Savings and Loan grants to non-profit. A gentleman in Yamhill Carlton voluntarily funded five non-profits at $3,000 each for a total of $15,000.
……..and…local lunches provided…..thanks, Matt Stephens, Country Financial !
Auggie obtained polyurethane fabric and gave the material to Judy. The Newberg The Mask Force sewists then made additional masks (rating higher than P95) for health care workers.
Judy To date, the Newberg Mask Force sewists completed 3,208 face masks for area health care professionals. Special thanks to Will Worthey, Newberg Library Director, and library staff for their amazing work preparing mask kits and for receiving completed masks.
What’s New?
Joe—The Newberg School District’s served 36,520 meals in the month of April. The district successfully launched a weekend meal program for needy families.
This week, May 4-8, 2020 is National Teacher Appreciation Week. Please join in thanking our teachers for their extraordinary efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Corey’s wife is a kindergarten teacher in Sherwood. Corey is proud of her and her work with kindergarten children while working from home.
Judy The Newberg High School Interact Club is keen to get their community garden project underway. Students are currently gathering materials for the project.
Paul This is “swarm season for honeybees”. One of Paul’s hives swarmed — a big cloud of bees went up into the air. Watch for the bee swarm in downtown Newberg!
May 13, 2020 Rotary Club of Newberg Program
Shannon Buckmaster will discuss the impact of COVID 19 on businesses within the Newberg-Dundee communities. Shannon will share state guidelines for re-opening businesses.
Rotary District 5100 Governor, Diane Cordero de Noriega
Diane thanked the Rotary Club of Newbers for providing the opportunity to have a conversation in this virtual new world for Rotary.
RI Updates
Rotary’s International Convention will be held virtually June 20 through June 26th. There is no charge for Rotarians to participate. Keynote speakers, plenary sessions and some break-out sessions will be conducted virtually.
Rotary International will distribute $25,000 in additional funds to District 5100 for COVID 19-related projects. Funds will be distributed regionally via Assistant Governors.
Governor Noriega began her presentation by showing one of four puzzle pieces.
Governor Noriega asked: What Makes You Proud of Being a Rotarian?
- Corey asked Rotary Club Board members to call six Rotarians and Friends of Rotary to check on their health and well-being.
- Todd Engle, Past President of our Rotary Club and Executive Director of Friendsview, is keeping Friendsview residents safe from coronavirus.
- Peacebuilding activities initiated by Peace Committee Chair Mike Caruso.
- Rotary mural project led by Geoff Gilmore.
- The Rotary Club of Newberg exceeded our fundraising goal for The Rotary Foundation by 104%. Our Polio Plus goal is $2,500 with $2,372 collected to date.
- Our Rotary Club Foundation Board does a remarkable job helping and supporting students.
Governor Noriega noted the diversity of the work of the Rotary Club of Newberg.
People of Action
The most important thing Governor Noriega learned about Rotary occurred when Diane lived in Sacramento. Diane was charged with organizing a community collaborative that supported K-12 at risk youth in the Sacramento community.
Diane approached the downtown Sacramento Rotary Club for help. She saw a room of 300 men who sang patriotic songs and contributed “happy” and “sad” dollars. Initially Diane asked herself: Who are these guys and why in the world am I here?
Diane explained that she was there to share about at-risk youth and specifically how Rotary might assist in getting these students to graduate.
The result of Diane’s visit: Approximately 100 businessmen offered to serve as mentors to at-risk youth. Besides mentoring, Rotary volunteers offered students paid internships—not copies and coffee but actually learning on the job. Rotary promised college scholarships. Diane decided: “these are people of action!” The initiative became one of the most successful collaboratives ever. Diane exclaimed:
“Rotary got me that day! And ever since!”
“That’s what makes Rotary really important to me-we don’t sit around – we do it.” Generally, when Diane visits local Rotary clubs, she presents an award to a Rotarian. Today, Diane declared that the Rotary Club of Newberg are “People of Action.”
Rotary Brand
Emphasize the importance of sharing our Rotary brand with our local community. Diane asked, “How do people know who you are and what you do in your community?” When people know who we are—they are more likely to engage with us.
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Social Media—Facebook Page. Weekly Club Newsletter on our website.
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We display a Rotary banner displayed at community functions e.g., Tunes on Tuesday, Rotary Pancake Breakfast etc.
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Rotarians recently purchased “Rotarian at Work” t-shirts and Rotary polo shirts.
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Fifty Rotary Peace Poles are displayed throughout the community.
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A Rotary Banner, prepared by Laura Tilrico, was displayed during our annual dental trip in Guatemala.
The Rotary Foundation
Diane said, “the most remarkable part of who we are is we donate to The Rotary Foundation. It’s the only non-profit Diane donates to that gives 50% return on investment. Rotarian donations are pooled and invested. Three years later funds are available for clubs and grants. Supporting the Foundation ensures that what Rotary does continues in perpetuity.
Polio Plus, Rotary’s world-wide initiative, was instrumental in reducing 355,000 annual cases of Polio to 3,000 cases and currently at approximately 100 cases in two countries. To combat Polio, Rotary established a system and infrastructure to deliver vaccinations. These systems are in place and will allows us to vaccinate for other childhood diseases. The current infrastructure could also be used to assist with vaccinations for COVID-19.
Membership
Membership is the last piece of the puzzle. It’s not about the numbers—it’s about finding those people—those Friends of Rotary in their heart who have not yet joined Rotary. These individuals donate their time and resources in local communities. It’s not the meetings that attracts new members, it’s service and bonds of friendship.
My Rotary Family
After Diane Cordero de Noriega’s husband urged her to run for governor of District 5100, she agreed under one condition. “I can only do this,” she said, “if you’re going to be with me every step of the way.”
Noriega is now the governor of the district. Unfortunately, Diane’s husband Carlos died of an aggressive form of cancer three months before Diane became governor-elect in the summer of 2018.
The devastating experience left Diane with an even deeper appreciation of and connection to her fellow Rotarians. “My Rotary family was there for me every step of the way,” she says. “My Rotary friend who’s a retired nurse stayed with me so I could sleep at night. My Rotary friend who’s an oncology social worker was here to counsel me. My club came and helped with yardwork. We all know how it feels when you go out and do something good for others. But I had the privilege of being on the receiving end.”
As governor-elect, Noriega kept busy by visiting clubs, planning budgets, establishing committees, and holding trainings. “I never planned to do it by myself, but here I am,” she says. “But I’m not by myself. I’ve got my Rotary family.”
Thank YOU,
District Governor Noriega,
for joining us today and sharing YOUR thoughts on ROTARY!!
Guided by Rotary’s Four-Way Test…go “CONNECT THE WORLD”!
And…thanks again to Mike for providing a Zoom account that allows us to meet like this! And, again, to Paula R. for the meeting notes, and Auggie for the photos…all of which allow Yours Truly to assemble a Newsletter! It really is a TEAM EFFORT!
Respectfully submitted, Rick Kaufman, Newsletter Editor….and…with a few additional “wisdom” tid-bits…..
