Rotary District 6380 NewsletterAugust 2016

District Website: http://rotary6380.orgDistrict Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rotarydistrict6380/District Twitter: https://twitter.com/rotary6380District Support: 248-757-0513

Club visits have started!

Michael Angelo Caruso6380 District Governor

2016-2017

MARK YOUR CALENDAR8/16

Young Professional Leadership ForumOakland University

8/27District Staff Meeting, Blenheim

9/12Ann Arbor Rotary Centennial

Celebration9/28-10/2

The Legacy Zone, Zones 28-29Cleveland OH

10/23Rotary Centennial Celebration

Cleveland OH11/5

Foundation Gala, Troy!

20172/5

Assistant Governor TrainingAnn Arbor

2/7PETS Orientation West

Brighton2/9

PETS Orientation CentralTroy2/14

PETS Orientation EastChatham3/16-18

Great Lakes Rotary PETS Kalamazoo3/30-4/1

Peace Conference, Ann Arbor4/1

Million Dollar Dinner Ypsilanti4/8

District Assembly TroyAnn Arbor

5/4-7District Conference Grand Hotel

Mackinac Island6/10-14

RI International ConventionAtlanta GA

D6380 Governor Message# Submitted by District Governor, Michael Angelo Caruso

We all know that membership is the gas that runsthe engine of Rotary.

One leading indicator of a good membership campaign isa “visitor campaign.” After all, the more visitors youhave, the more members you’re likely to get—especiallyif your club offers a high-quality experience fromweek-to-week. August is Membership Month and atimely reminder for all clubs to put a plan in place thatbrings in fresh talent and new personalities.

D6380 Membership Chair, Rhonda Panczyk, reports that11 people have joined our ranks in the month of July,which is a fantastic start to the new Rotary year. Remember that membership has two keycomponents: attraction and retention. It’s great that we can bring in new members, but it’s evenbetter when we make sure that new members stay. Successful clubs make sure that membersreally enjoy themselves when the group meets every week. Please do everything you can tomake your meetings interesting, participatory, and fun.

Here are some tips:• Only invite great speakers; average speakers will make your meetings average• Have every Rotarian physically greet every guest • Don’t do things that make might visitors uncomfortable • Make sure visitors sit with Rotarians who are likely to maximize the guest’s experienceFor tips on making the most of new member installation ceremonies, visit our District 6380Facebook page at http://ow.ly/N74N302JpMg

Summer Staff Meeting August 27

All titled District Rotarians will meet to talk about plans for the 2016-17 Rotary year andhave a little fun on Aug. 27 in Blenheim, Ontario. This annual meeting is always a good opportunity for our D6380 leaders to talk about

upcoming events such as The Foundation Gala on Nov. 5, the Peace Conference the last weekendin March, the Million Dollar Dinner on April 1, and the District Conference May 4-7.

We also need to plan our trip to the Rotary International Convention June 10-14. We plan to takea bus or two down to Atlanta. Once you’ve attended an international convention, you’ll neverthink of Rotary the same way again.

District Secretary Tamra Ward is organizing the meeting and Assistant Governor, SparkyLeonard, has once again arranged for Victory Ford to sponsor.

District Governor Message continued on page 2

CLUB VISITS ARE UNDERWAY

This is the time of year for the district governor to doclub visits.

So many of our 52 clubs are incorporating our 2016-17District theme, “Go Public With Rotary,” and they’re getting allkinds of positive attention from visitors and prospectiveRotarians.

Livingston-Sunrise partnered with the Hartland Club to host apublic breakfast sponsored by Rotary. They had to find abigger venue than usual for the event, but 170 peopleattended including well over 100 guests. Congrats toPresidents Jim Watters (Livingston-Sunrise) and Dave Walker(Hartland) on the magnificent turnout.

The Ann Arbor North Club managed to arrange a governorinterview by local celebrity Lisa Barry and their great clubwas promoted on public radio. Way to go President ScottNelson! Here’s the interview here:http://tinyurl.com/hw6vd5b

Of course, the governor visit has always been about updatingclubs on district activity. This year, we’re also providingprofessional development content in a short program titled,“How to Engage Someone in 15 Seconds.”

If each of our clubs arrange for at least 20 guests for theirgovernor visit, over 1,000 people will be that much closer tobecoming Rotarians. Of course, club membership chairs willhave to follow up and make the new members official.

I encourage all clubs to take advantage of this opportunity toget media attention and to gain more visitors.

Remember, no one ever joins Rotary without first visiting aclub.

Enjoy the best of summer, everyone!

Michael Angelo Caruso248-224-9667

michaelcaruso6380@gmail.comProud Troy Michigan Rotarian

District 6380 Governor 2016-17

Use Your District Governor Effectively# By PDG Jim Gilmore, Livingston Sunrise Rotary Club

We have a unique opportunitythis year to take advantage ofthe vocation of our district

governor. Michael Angelo Caruso is aninternationally known and acclaimedmotivational speaker, sales trainer,and customer service trainer. As aresult, he is offering his services toclubs for talks that are geared towardprofessional development rather thanthe traditional district governorspeech updating the clubs on RotaryInternational goals and the current RIPresidents goals and ideas.

“Go Public” with Rotary can enhancemembership and recruit new memberswho find your club for the first time,and in a setting where they can valuefrom the encounter.

Don’t get me wrong, as a past districtgovernor, I think that all of our PDGsin the past have done an excellent jobin presenting their goals, aspirations,and dreams for Rotary in District 6380during their official DG visits. I hopethat the fact that I am a PDG wouldhelp to lend some credibility to clubsin trying this new approach for thisyear.

If it’s the job of the district governor tohelp with the clubs (and it is my belief that that’s the main role for the entiredistrict) then this is our opportunity totake advantage of that with thisparticular governor.

At Livingston Sunrise Rotary Club wehad the opportunity to be one of thefirst DG visits scheduled for2016–2017 on July 22. We decided topartner with the Hartland Rotary clubwhich is nearby in order to takeadvantage of the numbers and the twocommunities. We brought in theGreater Brighton Area Chamber ofCommerce and the Hartland AreaChamber of Commerce as cosponsorsfor the event. This was a win-winbecause they were able to offer theirmembers a good professionaldevelopment breakfast with real valueat no real dollar cost to them.

(Our main purpose for bringing thechambers in is the fact that the

chambers of commerce have theinfrastructure necessary to get theword out to a number of businesses aswell as be in a position to collectmoney in advance through theirpayment systems.)

As a result of this cooperative effort inthe course of five weeks of marketingwe were able to put nearly 170 of thearea’s business professionals in theroom. Of those 170 in the room, only55 were Rotary club members fromLivingston Sunrise Rotary, Hartland,Brighton, Howell, Fowlerville andWest Bloomfield.

District Governor Michael AngeloCaruso did not disappoint.

He held the crowd captivated for 45 to50 minutes and had we asked them ifthey wanted to continue on for anadditional half an hour, a largemajority would have said yes.Michael’s program was titled “How toEngage Someone in 15 Seconds.”However, during the question andanswer, he touched on customerservice, dealing with angry customers,proper body language, how to enterand leave a room as well as othercommunication techniques.

As a result of his visit, we are going tohave the opportunity to talk to nofewer than 20 or 25 new people whohave been exposed to Rotary. Inaddition, we are going to have theopportunity to sponsor futurebusiness development breakfastswhich will continue to increaseRotary’s standing and visibility in thecommunity.

Here is a step-by-step as to how wewent about it.

First, get your date set with Michaelfor his governor visit. His schedule isextremely busy and it just makes allkinds of sense to get that date. Youmight want to get one alternate datewhen he’s available just in case there’sa conflict with your chambers ofcommerce or with the venue that youintend to use.

Second, find a venue that will seat 30to 50 percent more than what youthink the most you can possibly attractto the meeting. We used CrystalGardens Banquet Center in Howell asthey had a number of different roomsand moveable walls and could havegone up to 300 to 350 if we neededthem to.

You always want to keep control of thesituation so I would recommend thatthe Rotary club sign the contract withthe venue, not the Chamber ofCommerce. Make sure that youunderstand what the fixed costs ofroom rental are as well as the cost of anice hot breakfast. Myrecommendation is don’t cheap outwith the continental breakfast to keepthe cost down. Most venues willaccommodate you for no more than$20 and that’s a very reasonable pricefor what you’re giving them when youinclude the breakfast and theprofessional speaker (which costs onlythe feeding of Michael and Rene’.)

Next, we would recommend that ifyour club is fewer than 30 membersthat you team up with a club that isadjacent to your area. The reason youwant to do this is that when you get tothe end and you have the Rotariansstand up you don’t want to have only12, 15 or 20 people in a room of 150standing up. You always want to makeyour club look larger and moresuccessful than maybe it actually is atthis particular time. Numbers equalbuzz and excitement. This worked wellfor us as the Hartland club is small andwe have 50 members.

Use your district governor ... continued next page

Use your district governor ~ by Jim Gilmore . . . continued from previous page

What this allowed us to do is: when we asked all theRotarians to stand up at the end of the meeting sothat the people could contact any of these people if

they were interested in talking about Rotary, that thenumbers looked pretty impressive.

Then have a one-to-one meeting with your Chamber ofCommerce executive or executives if you are going to usemore than one Chamber of Commerce. Explain to them byusing some of the marketing material that’s available fromRene’ at the district, how well known and well received yourspeaker is, and how they will get tremendous benefit fromcosponsoring this event with you, and the cost to them iszero.

Make sure that they understand that one of the reasons thatyou want to partner with them is because of theirinfrastructure for email marketing, email blasts and onlinepayment system. Unless they have a conflict with your date, Ican’t imagine why they would refuse. Use our success inLivingston County as evidence and they can contact PamMcConeghy at the Greater Brighton Chamber for a reference.

Now that you have all the groundwork set, it’s time to makesure that your marketing material is up to date and looksgood. René Pothetes will get you a nice Dropbox file thatincludes a lot of information including Michael’s introductionand some nice pdfs that can be adjusted to your situation.

One of the things that we did with the marketing material isthat we gave the two chambers of commerce top bill assponsors and then the Rotary clubs after that. What we foundis that really didn’t make any difference at the end of the daysince we were controlling the meeting anyway and so wecould expand on Rotary the way we wanted to.

Now, the meeting itself . . .

What we did was to not have it look so much like aRotary meeting but rather as a regular chamberprofessional development breakfast. I served as the

MC and when welcoming everyone I introduced the twoexecutives of the chambers of commerce as well as the twopresidents of the Rotary clubs. After that I went ahead andturned it over to our assistant governor who has anintroduction of Michael that is adjusted for these types ofmeetings

Once that was completed, the AG turned it over to Michaeland he had the program for 45 to 55 minutes includingquestions and answers. You’ll find that during his talk,Michael will mention Rotary several times and will tell peoplehow service is an important part of their professionaldevelopment.

Also, what we did at the end was Michael turned it back to theMC and by doing that we were able to give a last pitch forRotary. I had the Rotarians in the room stand up if anyonewas interested in talking about Rotary and make ourselvesavailable by letting them know when the clubs meet and howthey could get involved. I made sure to note the age andgender diversity among our Rotarians to help the appeal to allin attendance.

Again I’d like to reiterate that this is a one-year opportunitythat we have. As much as I like Barry and Jane, the upcomingdistrict governors, they don’t have the particular set of skillsthat Michael Angelo Caruso has. As a longtime “membershipguy” I have a definite opinion on this opportunity . . . anyclub who doesn’t take advantage of Michael’s particular skillsreally shouldn’t complain too much about lack of membershipwhen we come around to the spring and they’re looking attheir numbers. There, I said it out loud.

Membership is an ongoing process that cannot take a break,regardless of your perceived success. Just to give you an idea,our club is now 50 members. We downplayed membershipfor a little while back five years ago and as a result we wentvery quickly from 50 members down to 42. We found out thehard way, and just in time that membership has to be anongoing process and you can’t leave it alone for any length oftime.

I am always available for questions on this and othermembership issues. Email me at jggilmore4@gmail.com

The District Foundation# By Janet McPeek - District Foundation Committee Chair

Congratulations Rotarians of District 6380! The final numbers are in from Rotary year 2015/16, and we accomplished anincredible goal. The “Double Your Dollars Challenge” was reached!

Your incredible generosity in overall giving to the RotaryFoundation meant that a total of $340,176 in total givingsurpassed last year by almost $5,400! If you recall, last yearwas a banner year for our district, one of the highest in totalgiving. It included gifts from many outside donors in memoryof our much-loved Past District Governor George Hedgepeth.

This year you, along withthe generosity of the

$25,000 gift to theAnnual Fund for thematch from our verygenerous Rotarian

anonymous donor, gave to the Annual Fund, polio, theEndowment Fund and to support grants. However, you gave.Thank you! Together, it isn’t just that we reached a goal –and who doesn’t like to rise to a challenge? – it is that whatwe did will change so many things for so many people locallyand around the world.

Wherever you are when you read this, take a moment topause, to cheer, to think about all of the needs in the worldand the chaos around us. Know that your part of reachingthis goal will somehow make something better. Amazing!The power of Rotary and our Rotary Foundation.

Some other things to remember:Our Foundation Gala will be on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the TroyMarriott. The theme this year will be “100 Reasons toCelebrate.” Why? It is the Centennial Year of our RotaryFoundation. Come celebrate the Foundation’s 100th birthdayand 100 reasons that our District 6380 has done amazingthings as a result of our involvement with the Foundation.District Grants, Global Grants, Scholars. You will be theprogram. We will also be announcing the 2016 DistrictGrants and the Banner Recipients from this past Rotary year.More to come on the great celebration and how to beinvolved. Begin now looking at your history and how you canshare. Global Grants: We have eight active Global Grants, and are88 percent current on reporting. I know that we have someother Global Grants in the pipeline. Thank you all for yourhard work. The Foundation Gala is a great place to show offyour project and to learn about grants if you want to learnmore.

District Grants: Please be sure that all grant reports from2015/2016 are submitted to janetmcpeek@comcast.net andcopy donaldchisholm@comcast.net . We would like to closeout last year so that we can be timely in this year’ssubmission. More information about this year’s grants willbe coming via email.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime# Submitted by PDG Steve Youtz, District RYE Chair

How many times have you heard “I wish I had done thatwhen I was younger” or “if I could have a do-over, Iwould certainly do things differently.” I suspect these

comments have one thing in common, that being made bypeople who learned about something too late.

Today, there are kids who even at their age, are making thesesame statements; wishing an opportunity they see only in adream. It may be easier for some kids to see opportunitiesbut for others, financial hardships, family situations, orphysical problems that camouflage opportunities making itdifficult to recognize them. So is there anything we asRotarians can do to help? I continually speak to the valueassociated in interacting withkids, and in so doing understandthe value associated with theeffort. Many opportunities comeonly once in a lifetime and onenever knows when or wherethey come. So as Rotarians living“The Four-Way Test” and puttingservice above self, whatopportunities can we offer our future leaders, the kids? Howabout an opportunity through Youth Exchange?

We have just started a new Rotary year and once again wethink about what we might do with our time, money, or talent. I would suggest offering a kid, 15-18 years of age, anopportunity for a Youth Exchange Scholarship and see whathappens. Feelings unlike you have ever felt will surface asyou see the smiles, sparkle in their eyes, and a response ofgratitude. It’s what I call a great return on your time, moneyor talent!

August is a month of preparation for a three-monthmarathon with our school districts, worship centers andgathering points to identify kids who are looking for anopportunity that only you can present. The district YouthExchange leadership wants to team up with you to make theExchange Scholarship opportunity a reality as theapplication process starts the first of September. Trainingand tools are available to help you be successful inmarketing this scholarship that will be a life changingexperience for a kid who maybe someday, will be the reasonthere is peace throughout the world.

Join with the clubs who regularly present theseopportunities and experience what they feel every time theydo so. Contact a Youth Exchange advocate.

Submitted by PDGRenée Merchant,

Chairman, RLI GreatLakes Division andRLI International

Regional ChairmanZones 28-29

From the July 2016 issue of “Rotary Leader”

# Sent in by Dan Romanchik

Welcome to the club! – practical tips to keep newmembers connected

Sometimes, getting people to join your Rotary club is theeasy part. It’s keeping them, long after the glow of theinduction ceremony has worn off, that can provechallenging.

The Rotary Club of Evanston, Illinois, USA, has used severalstrategies that help new members feel connected.

“You have to get them involved, give them a responsibility,”says club president Wally Bobkiewicz. “Every new memberis asked to join at least one committee.”

Bobkiewicz also gives new members a club meetingassignment, such as acting as greeter or sergeant-at- arms,and makes certain they sign up for social events andservice projects.

“And it’s worked,” he says. Since December, the 98-year-oldclub has increased its membership 10 percent, to 48members. One of the newcomers is Cindy Beebe, a retiredfederal agent who now operates her own security business.

Within 24 hours of joining, Beebe had signed up for thegarden committee. She’d also received the New MemberWelcome Kit, along with a club roster and custom clubbrochure.

Beebe says she found the roster, which includes each clubmember’s name, photo, and business and affiliation, themost helpful. “I’m good at faces but not names,” she admits. Another strategy that Beebe and Bobkiewicz believe keepsmembers engaged is providing opportunities forsocializing.

“This group does fun things!” says Beebe. “It’s not justsitting at a luncheon and hearing someone speak. That’sgreat, and I love learning about new things, but they alsohave activities outside of the regular meetings, including arecent celebration at an Irish bar in town.”

Offer your ideas for engaging new members in theMembership Best Practices Discussion Grouphttp://tinyurl.com/zxlqd8t

Create a custom club brochurehttp://tinyurl.com/jzwtppv

ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE

Scott Nelson completed all three parts of Rotary Leadership Institute in Jackson recently. PDGs Gail Scott and Henry Dotsonserved as facilitators as well as PAG Phil Abraham. Also attending were Bob Specht and Janet Haas. RLI is the best Rotaryengagement tool we have. Clubs are encouraged to sponsor a club member for the $75 tuition. The next dates are: Friday,

Sept. 16 in Cadillac; Saturday, Oct. 8 in Farmington; Saturday, Feb. 11 in Shipshewana IN. For more information and to register:www.rligreatlakes.org

AUBURN HILLS ROTARY CLUB

The Auburn HillsRotary Clubmoved and our

membership isgrowing! The club nowmeets every Thursdayat noon for lunch atPARKSIDE TAVERN, 3315 Auburn Road, indowntown AuburnHills. All are welcometo come join and support us any time for some fun andfellowship. Also, it’s a great place for a make-up meeting! Membership Tip: Sometimes a new meeting time andlocation can make a world of difference in membership foryour club. I'm your District Membership Chairperson and I'dlove to help you grow your Club and GROW ROTARY! Let'stalk! ~~ Rhonda Panczyk, 586-295-4115,RPanczyk@gmail.com

ROTARY CLUB OF CHATHAM SUNRISE

A group fromthe RotaryClub of

Chatham Sunrisesold 50/50 ticketsat South Buxtonraceway on July 2and were able toraise a whopping$2,197 forupcoming projects!Thanks to South

Buxton Raceway for being a wonderful community partner.~~ Michele Cryan

UTICA SHELBY TOWNSHIP ROTARY CLUB

The Utica Shelby Township Rotary Club had two guest speakers, Craig and Nina Sims, who retired from theDetroit School District speak at our July 26 meeting. We

meet every Tuesday at noon at Steiny's Restaurant, 55161Shelby Road, Shelby Township. ~~ Paul Sarenius, President

ROTARY CLUB OF WEST BLOOMFIELD

The Rotary Club of West Bloomfield inducts six newmembers! On July 12 the club celebrated theirPresident's Night by holding a social gathering and

dinner at Pine Lake Country Club, to celebrate anotherwonderful Rotary year under the leadership of President Dr.Henry Maicki. During this event Assistant Governor PaulMcVey officially installed their officers and board membersfor the new Rotary year. District Membership ChairpersonRhonda Panczyk was there to officially induct and welcomenew members Joe Kassab, Dan Elliott, Steve Lepsetz, DianeSwimmer, Mark Einhaus and Nidhal Garmo. Welcome andcongratulations! ~~ Rhonda Panczyk

MOUNT CLEMENS &

UTICA SHELBY ROTARY

IN THE NEWS

http://tinyurl.com/j57vfeo

http://tinyurl.com/jxcyyb7

   

Summer Wine Tasting

Come Join Us!

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mount Clemens A sampling of wines selected by Cellar 59

PASTA BUFFET TO FOLLOW WINE TASTING

CASH BAR

Italian American Cultural Society

43843 Romeo Plank Road Clinton Township, MI

48038

Tickets

$40 per person

Please contact Sarah Lee for RSVP by Friday, August 5, 2016 586.322.8505 or ellenafamily@gmail.com

Wednesday, August 10, 2016 ⏐ 6-8:30 PM