Rotary Club of West U
Rotary Year 2009 - 2010
The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands
Our Leadership Team for 2009 - 2010
President - Ronnie Hallenberger
President-Elect - John Collier
Vice President - Don Raskin
Corresponding Secretary - Linda Holter
Recording Secretary - Cecile Schutter
Treasurer - George Adams
Sergeant-At-Arms - Randy Bullard
Past President (ex officio) - Dee Ullrich
I. Membership
“Membership Minutes”
Believing that the Club will view as important and support what is discussed and demonstrated to be important, I made a commitment to make membership a part of every meeting.
At most meetings John Collier, Dee Ullrich or I have discussed a topic related to membership. Topics have included such things as the importance of inviting guests to our weekly meetings and other events, members giving vocational talks, and having formal ceremonies for the induction of new members into our Club and presentation of their Blue Badges.
A. Membership Recruitment, Development and Retention
New Member Orientation andInduction
After a prospective member has attended three meetings and submitted a completed membership application to our Club Secretary we schedule a new member orientation meeting with the new member. The orientation is given by a member of our Club Membership Committee. The purpose of the orientation meeting is to give the new member an overview of the workings of our Club and Rotary International, discuss opportunities the new member will have at both levels, and review the monetary and time requirements involved in becoming an active member of the Rotary Club of West U.
After the orientation an induction ceremony is scheduled for the new Rotarian. We make this a special time for the new Rotarian by inviting their family and having their sponsor an mentor present their Rotary pin and Red Badge. Our goal is to show the new member how important they are to our Club.
Red Badge Program
Careful and thoughtful recruitment of mentors has been found to be vital to the successful integration and development of a new member. Our mentors must actively guide, counsel and befriend our new members, and encourage and support rapid fulfillment of the Red Badge Program. Fortunately, serving as a mentor to a new member is viewed as a high honor in our Club, so we do not have difficulty recruiting outstanding mentors.
To complete the Red Badge Program new members must serve as a greeter at three meetings, attend a Board meeting, make up at another Club, visit the place of business of a West U Rotarian, and introduce themselves to our Club with a short vocational talk.
Member Retention
John Collier and Max Hickerson lead our efforts on member retention. We pass to John and Max the name of any member who has missed three consecutive meetings. John or Max then personally calls the member to visit with them to find out why they have missed three meetings, let them know they are missed by other members of the Club, and see if they are perhaps going through some difficulty or in need of some support. The goal is to reach out to members who have missed three consecutive meetings in an effort to make sure they know they are important to the Club and that there are people in the Club who care about them and are there for them should they be going through a difficult situation that is causing them to miss meetings.
John also calls members of our Club on a random basis to visit with them about how they think the Club is doing and connect with them on a personal level to let them know we appreciate and care about them.
Membership Growth
On July 1, 2009 we had 97 active members. Today we have 106 active members. We have inducted 13 new members this Rotary year and lost 4. This represents a net membership growth rate of 9 members or 9.28%.
B. Fellowship and Club Celebrations
Fellowship Committee
One of our Club goals this year was to have fun and encourage fellowship among our members. We formed a fellowship committee to accomplish this goal. Under the leadership of Honey Leveen, our fellowship committee has definitely delivered this year.
Our first event was our Candelari’s Fellowship Night on August 22, 2009. The event was extremely well attended. We had over forty in attendance, including members, spouses, and children.
On October 30, 2009 Marilyn Griffin hosted our Halloween Costume Party in her home. We had 25 Rotarians attend this event - all in costume! Everyone had a great time.
Fabulous Foursomes
Our Fabulous Foursome program randomly organizesClub members into groups of four for informal social activities. One of the four is designated as the leader of the foursome and is responsible for organizing the foursome to meet - for breakfast, lunch or dinner at a restaurant or in one of the member’s homes. The program has been well-received and has proved to be an effective way of helping members get to know each other which can be a challenge for a large Club.
Club Celebrations
In addition to extending our Club’s tradition of service, exceptional fund raising, and strong active participation, one of my goals as Club President was to be known for having fun celebrations.
On June 4 we held our Club Assembly. We catered a fajita dinner as an additional enticement to boost attendance so that more members would learn about what our Club had planned for the year. The assembly was well-attended with aboutforty members participating, and we were honored to have our Assistant Governor Craig Wooten, Lieutenant Governor Judy Harwell and Area Membership Chair Ole Donaho attend the event.
We continued our great start with our Club Leadership Installation Dinner on June 11, 2009. The event was held at the Braeburn Country Club and was well-attended by over 80 Rotarians and guests. The night was filled with good food and good fellowship - an exciting lead in to our new Rotary Year. We were pleased to have Past District Governor Suzi Howe do the installation and were pleased that Bill was in attendance as well. Other specials guests included District Governor Elect Sunny Sharma and Rashmi, AG Craig Wooten and Gayle, and LG Judy Harwell.
In December 2009 we held our annual Christmas Party. This was a party! We held the party at the Hotel ZaZa. The venue was perfect. We had over 100 in attendance, including District Governor Ed Charlesworth and Robin, PDG Suzie Howe and Bill, DGE Sunny Sharma and Rashmi, our AGCraig Wooten, and our LG Judy Harwell. Our vocational awards committee awarded our Vocational Excellence Awards at this event. Jerry Gips received the Rotarian Vocational Excellence Award for his work leading our water committee.
In February of this year we held our annual Super Bowl party at the home of Don Raskin. This is a potluck event that is always well-attended, and this year was no exception. We had a full house and then some, and a great time was had by all. We were honored to have DG Ed Charlesworth, DGE Sunny Sharma and Rashmi, and LG Judy Harwell join us at the party.
II. Internal Communications
“Rotary this Week”
Every Tuesday I send a personal message via email to the whole Club letting everyone know what is happening in the coming week and near future with our Club and the District. The weekly message is short and to the point, so it is quick and easy to read. It is a great way to keep members informed on what is going on in our Club. Members now send me information for inclusion in the Tuesday message.
Weekly Bulletin
All members also receive a weekly electronic bulletin containing Club, District and Rotary International information.
West U Rotary Web Site
Our web site is updated daily with information about our Club and the District.
Breakfast with the President
On the first Saturday of the month I am at Skeeter’s (the restaurant where our weekly meetings are held) from 7:30am to 9:00am for breakfast. Members are invited to stop in and join me for breakfast. We talk about Rotary, our Club, or whatever the group wants to discuss. These breakfasts are a great avenue for less formal communication about Rotary and are also a good opportunity for fellowship among our members.
III. District Activities
District Involvement
The following Club members are involved at the District level:
John Collier - Invocation & Protocol
Cecile Schutter - Service Chair
Dee Ullrich - Friendship Exchange
Terry Ziegler - Polio Plus Chair
As President I have played an active role in the District by attending District Membership and District Conference meetings on a regular basis.
District Conference
We are encouraging Club members to attend this year’s District Conference by paying half of the registration fee for first time conference attendees. We also plan to pair up first time attendees with our Club’s conference veterans to help the first time attendees feel more at ease and get the most out of the conference. We hope to have over twenty West U Rotarians attend this year’s District Conference.
PETS
This year we sent our President Elect, Vice President (President nominee) and myself (as an incoming first-time Assistant Governor) to PETS.
International Conference
Five of our Club members - John Collier, Dee Ullrich, Barbara Veres, Terry Ziegler, and myself - will be attending the International Conference in Montreal in June.
IV. Vocational Service
ESL Classes at the YMCA Outreach Center on the Oaks on Bissonnet
The Oaks on Bissonnet is a low income level apartment complex where most of the residents are immigrants. We have three West U Rotarians - Carol Gradziel, John Gomez, and Carmen Flores - teaching evening ESL classes twice weekly to the adults in the apartment community.
Club Mid
Club Mid is an after school program for middle school kids attending Pershing Middle School. The program is administered by the YMCA at Pershing and is open Monday through Friday after school so that the kids have a place to go that is a safe and enriching environment. Programming ranges from homework help, to physical fitness, to sessions to talk to someone about things that might be difficult to talk about with parents, and the Rotary SAW Program. West U Rotary has contributed $10,000 to the Weekley YMCA this year for the Club Mid program.
SAW Program
West U Rotary administered the SAW Program at the Club Mid at Lanier Middle School during the Fall 2009 semester and is administering the program at Pershing Middle School this Spring semester. The twelve West U Rotarians participating in the SAW program include Brandy Perryman (chair), George Adams, Randy Bullard, John Collier, Bob Geary, Carol Gradziel, Ronnie Hallenberger, Robin Lowe, Roy Lund, Rick Shanks, Barbara Veres, and Jason Whitley.
Women’s Home
We provide assistance in a mock job interview program where residents of the home participate in mock interviews with Rotary volunteers so that they can practice for the real thing and get feedback from the volunteer conducting the interview. Ken Walker and Dick Cancelmo lead this program.
We also provide assistance to help train residents of the Women’s Home to work in the Women’s Home Cottage Thrift Shop. Eight West U Rotarians - Leslie Caufmann, Nano Cox, Carol Gradziel, AJ Karian, Carol Lester, Mary Nelson, Don Raskin and Sharon Williams - and a friend of Rotary (Liz Ramos from the Weekley YMCA) volunteer at the thrift shop and work the floor selling the clothes as an example to the residents of the home to help them learn customer service and retail job skills. We have a West U Rotarian volunteering at least once a week at the Cottage Thrift Shop.
V. Community Service
Challenger League
The Challenger League is a division of West U Little League and is for mentally or physically challenged ball players. The program includes “buddies” able young people who are paired up with a player to help the player on the field. It has become a great tradition of West U Rotary to help support the Challenger League. We run the snack bar inside the Rotary Field House every Sunday during the Little League season so that families of the Challenger players can enjoy watching their kids play baseball. Manning the snack bar takes eight Rotarians per game and sixteen Rotarians for the final game festivities which include a season end barbecue dinner and party. Randy Bullard, Dick Cancelmo, Terry Ziegler and many other Rotarians and family members participate in this program.
Interact
The YES College Preparatory School is our Interact school. We provide a scholarship for one student each year so that they can attend YES Prep. Our Club also sent four YES Prep students to Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) this year.
Blood Drive
Bob Geary organized a blood drive in December 2009 and has another drive scheduled in May of this year.
Senior Services
Stan McCandless leads our senior services committee. The committee assists seniors in the West U community with projects they are unable to take care of themselves such as tree trimming, repairing fences or minor home repairs.
Bagel Run to Star of Hope
Five days a week a West U Rotarian goes to the Hot Bagel Shop at the end of the day to collect the bagels that were not sold and deliver them to Star of Hope for the residents to enjoy. This community service activity is new to our Club this year. Our bagel run team includes Chuck Guffey, Max Hickerson, Johnny Miller, Barbara Veres, and Sharon Williams.
VI. International Service
Water Committee
Through the efforts of Jerry Gips, John Collier and 15-20 other members West U Rotary is active in many water projects throughout the world. We are currently involved in projects in the following locations: Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Uganda.
Youth Exchange
This year our Club is sponsoring Juliette Pazaire from France on a long term youth exchange. Juliette is attending Episcopal High School and participates in many Club activities.
Book Sorting
On the first Thursday of each month West U Rotarians gather in the evening at Michael Larsson’s warehouse to sort books for shipment to Africa as part of the Books for the World Project. We typically have about twenty Rotarians participate each month, and we sort books for and build, on average, about six to ten pallets each month.
GSE
Lisa Bunse is working hard to help our Club prepare to host the GSE team from India when they come to the U.S. in April. She is putting together an itinerary of interesting vocational visits, exciting sight-seeing activities, and fun fellowship.
VII. Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus
To date this year we have contributed $28,557 to the Annual Fund which is 107% of our goal and $294.40 per member. Our members have contributed $8,428 to Polio Plus, andour Club and Club Foundation will be giving approximately $8,000 more before this Rotary year ends. These additional funds to be contributed will be raised from the public through our fundraising activities. Our Club has also contributed $10,500 to other restricted TRF funds for matching grants.
We currently have 73 Paul Harris Fellows, 6 major donors, 24 Paul Harris Society members, 12 Bequest Society members, and 45 Polio Plus Society members. We have given 2 new and 28 continuing Paul Harris Fellow recognitions this year.
VIII. Fundraising Activities
Flag Program
Four times a year we put out 1,500 American flags through the City of West U. We sell flag subscriptions for $50 a year. The proceeds from flag subscriptions go to the West U Rotary Foundation. The flag program is led by Kerry Bloom and Ray Schutter.
July 4th Barbecue
Our Club sells barbecue sandwiches at Colonial Park in West U every July 4th. This is an annual event for our Club that is as much about fellowship as it is about raising money. It also provides us a great opportunity to create awareness of Rotary in the local community and market the Club.
Annual Golf Tournament
Our annual golf tournament - organized by Bob Geary and Geoff Lanceley - will be held on April 19 at Riverbend Country Club. Proceeds from the golf tournament will be split equally between the Weekley YMCA and the West U Rotary Foundation.
Holiday Fruit Sale
Our annual holiday fruit sale is organized by Terry Ziegler, Vanessa Hauser, and Greg Faldyn. The 2009 sale brought in $21,500. We sold:
220 crates of oranges
251 crates of grapefruits
92 fruit baskets
199 Texas baskets
214 orders of pecans
119 small jars of Rudy’s BBQ sauce
66 large jars of Rudy’s BBQ sauce
IX. Conclusion
Each week when I go to our Club meetings I am amazed by the good that our Club is doing in our community and around the world. I stand in awe of the caliber of person each of our members is and am inspired by their commitment to Rotary’s values and mission. Serving as the Club President this past year has been both an honor and a privilege. I am confident that with Clubs like the Rotary Club of West U the future of Rotary couldn’t be in better hands.
Ronnie Hallenberger
Rotary Club of West U
President 2009-2010