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24% Drop in Participation
No One Should Have to Pay to Play The Haverhill Sports Foundation aims to unite members of the community and local businesses in order to eliminate user fees for all Haverhill athletes, promote health and wellness through participation in sports, and to provide a sustainable model for doing the same in other communities. Colleen Sullivan will speak to us Thursday about how user fees have impacted participation in Haverhill sports program. You may learn more about the Haverhill Sports Foundation from their web site. March 25, 2008  Well, I survived PETS (Presidents-Elect Training Seminar). It was inspiring to see over 400 club presidents-to-be, all gathered in one large hall up in Nashua. One of the amazing things for me is realizing that this gathering represented just 400+ of over 32,000 clubs worldwide. We received inspiring messages from all manner of District Governors, Past District Governors, Ambassadorial Scholars, Rotary International Directors, a past Trustee of the Rotary International Foundation, a past President of Rotary International of Britain and Ireland, and others. We took part in lots of great training on how to lead a local club. One of the best things was that often the excellent trainers seemed to be those that listened well and elicited from among us spirited sharing of best practices on goal and agenda setting, membership recruitment & retention, service projects, the Rotary International Foundation, and many other topics. We also met with Tom Elliott, our District Governor-elect, and his incoming team of Assistant Governors and other helpers. The refreshing news is that he sees his and the District's role as truly supporting clubs in their local initiatives and not imposing lots of District-driven initiatives. Among other efforts, he and his team are working on a new public relations effort designed to assist all the clubs in the district. An important upcoming opportunity to build our capacity for the next Rotary year that begins July 1 is the District Assembly on Thursday, March 27th in Burlington, MA at the Marriott from 4-8 pm. All of our incoming Board of Directors are invited and there are also lots of great Rotary learning opportunities for brand new club members as well as veterans. The Assembly will offer fundraising ideas, leadership skills training, and practical public relations and public image ideas for the club. It's an excellent way for our newer club members to learn more about Rotary and to connect with Rotarians from throughout the Boston-north area encompassed by our district. Our club pays the $60 cost unless you want to donate it, and it includes dinner. If you are interested, please let me know as soon as possible by calling me on my cellphone at 978-994-2214. The deadline was last Thursday but we can still get you in we'd like as much club participation as possible! Another upcoming opportunity is the "Interact Rally" scheduled for Sunday, April 6th at the Woburn Boys and Girls Club from 3-9 pm. If you are intrigued by the high school level of Rotary, this will be a great way to learn about it and watch and listen to youth and adults from all over District 7930 who are involved in or thinking about getting involved in Interact, Rotary Youth Exchange and Leadership Awards, Group Study Exchange, Rotaract (college-level Interact), Ambassadorial Scholarships and other youth and young adult oriented Rotary programming. This event is free and includes a pizza party and use of the indoor swimming pool at the Boys and Girls Club. For more info you may download their flyer. Over the coming year, I hope you will join Rotary International President 2008-9 D.K. Lee to "Make Dreams Real." Auction ItemsThis is our most important fund raiser of the year and everyone's support is needed. We are requesting that you deliver auction items by May 2nd. Download a PDF copy of the auction form or you may pick one up at Thursday's meeting.   Haverhill Rotary Youth Exchange Student Luca Scaccabarozzi visited our club last week thanking everyone who has made it possible for him to attend Haverhill High School this year. His English is improving, he's made lots of friends and found great success as a member of the Haverhill High School wrestling team. Proposed New MemberJim Rogers - Owner of Clean Machine Car Wash located in Ward Hill District News Keep up with what's happening in Rotary District 7930. Community Meals May 5th As Rotarians we try to make every event we support the best it can be. Planning is an important part of having a successful evening serving community meals. We need people to bring desserts, help serve and help clean up. Please contact Bernie Clohisy and let him know if you plan to help. Thank you Speakers  Rotarian Joan Hull spoke to us about the Merrimack Valley Hospice House last week. The 8.5 million dollar project will assist patients during their final days. 20-30% of hospice patients must leave their homes for special care. The hospitals and nursing homes are not always the best choice for these patients. The hospice house will provide fourteen patients at a time, an opportunity for comfortable family visits and specialized care. You may find additional information about this project, including how to donate to this not for profit project, at their web site. March 27 - Coleen Sullivan, the Haverhill Sports Foundation |
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