ROTARY DISTRICT 6540

YOUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2008 ISSUE III

DISTRICT GOVERNOR JOHN BALVICH

Look for more news items.

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Message from Governor John Balvich,

I am so proud of the Rotary members of District 6540. On the evening of

October 10 approximately 235 Rotarians enjoyed a great celebration of Service

Above Self and we raised nearly $60,000 for the Foundation to Make Dreams

Real for the less fortunate. Rotarians bid on water tanks for Mexico and two

more tanks will be installed. Past International President Karl Wilhelm

Stenhammar inspired and enlightened us with the progress in the fight to

eradicate polio and the bringing of peace in Cyprus. No government had been

successful at bringing the parties peacefully together . Now thru Rotary clubs

this has been accomplished. He capped the list of success stories with the needs

and goals of the future and encouraged us to continue our efforts. We joyously

shared in the generosity of Past District Governor David Wilson, Rotary Club of

Kendallville recognition as a Major Donor and Verne Seehausen, Rotary Club of

Schererville was recognized as a Major Benefactor.

It is impossible to begin to list Rotarians to thank for the success of the evening.

So many clubs and Rotarians who were unable to share in the fun and

fellowship of evening shared their time, talents and contributions. I thank each

and every one of you so very much. My wish for you is the joy of pride and

appreciation I feel as we continue every day to improve the lives of the less

fortunate and for the generosity of donors who make it possible to do so.

Paul Harris wrote in My Road to Rotary “Perhaps dreaming is not so bad if one

dreams good dreams and makes them come true.” Best wishes as we continue

to “Make Dreams Real”.

Northwest Indiana Trade

Council honors Rotary

District 6540 for

International Service. Details

page 5

WOW!

WHAT

A

NIGHT!

Celebrate 100th Rotary

Convention in Birmingham,

England, June, 2009. There

are more canals than in

Venice, Italy

Are they ready for trick or

treat in pink moustaches?

Answer on page 7

Please enjoy the photos of our fellow Rotarians celebrating ROTARY. Photos by District Alumni Chair, Kurt Blumenthal.

Past International President Karl Wilhelm

Stenhammer, Gov. John Balvich and Arlene

Gov. John, RIPP Karl Wilhelm Stenhammar and

DGE Floyd Lancia

PDG’s Fred Bettner, Terry McKay, Karl Wilhelm

and Barb Mort, District Administrative Asst.

PDG David Wilson, Kendallville Rotarian and

spouse Camille are recognized as Major Donor.

PDG Terry McKay awards Paul Harris Citizenship

Spirit Award to Irv Polk, Elkhart Morning Rotarian

RotRotarian

Verne Seehausen, Schererville Rotarian is

recognized for Major Benefactor Gift

Governor John Balvich proudly recognized 2007-2008 club contributions, RIPP Karl Wilhelm Stenhammar congratulated

and awarded certificates to (25) clubs for $100 or more per capita, (12) clubs for over $150 per capita and (10) clubs

for total of $10,000 or more. (19) new Paul Harris were recognized. (6) PHF+1, (4) PHF+2, (5) PHF +4, (1) PHF+5,

(1)PHF +6, (1) PHF+7. The Paul Harris Society objective is to recognize those who annually contribute $1000 or more to

the Annual Programs or Humanitarian Grant programs that sustain and advance The Rotary Foundation’s

humanitarian, educational and cultural programs. (22) new members were inducted into the Paul Harris Society.

NOVEMBER IS FOUNDATION MONTH

Attention Club Officers, Foundation Club Chairs, EREY Area Coordinators, District Leaders,

I invite all of you to attend the Foundation Seminar to be held at Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth on Saturday,

November 8th.

Once again, we have invited outside experts into our District, along with those within our District, who have vast

experience and knowledge. Your part is to have your Club represented. Last year we had a good turnout as we did a

joint Membership/Foundation Seminar. This year we will provide a Foundation Seminar solely. Let’s have a good

turnout for our guests, both traveling from out of state.

Below is a motivating and inspiring agenda. There will also be updates provided for upcoming changes, including a

segment on Foundation Points. Please plan to attend. Reservations may be provided to the office by calling 866-926-

1789 or emailing barb@rotary6540.org. Our goal is a minimum of at least one Rotarian from each club.

Rotary Foundation Seminar District 6540 Saturday, November 8, 2008

-Swan Lake Resort-Forum A & B (2nd Floor)Above Hotel Lobby 9:00 – 12:00 (Local Time)

Featuring:

Anita Rieder: Annual Giving Officer, The Rotary Foundation

Gail Scott: Lead Trainer for Great Lakes Rotary President Elect Training for six years and currently

Chair Major Gifts Advisor Zone 28

8:30 – 9:00 Refreshments

9:00 Missy Houghtaling – District Simplified Grant Update

9:10 Anita Rieder: The Rotary Foundation

10:10 Gail Scott – The three prong challenge of giving to the Annual Fund, Polio, and the Permanent Fund.

Break – 10:35 – 10:45

10:45 PDG Peggy Soderberg – Rotary Alumni

11:00 PDG David Wilson - Matching Grants: Advice on “how to do” by Rotarians who have completed a

Matching Grant

11:30 Ranjan Kini: Ambassadorial Scholarships

11:40 Doug Risser: Group Study Exchange

11:50 Dan Ryan: Foundation Points – “How to use” and changes that will take effect July 1, 2009.

12:00 Adjourn

D

MEMBERSHIP

by PDG Fred Bettner, District Membership Chair

DISTRICT 6540 NEW MEMBER CLUB INCENTIVE PROGRAM

SEPTEMBER 1, 2008 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2009

A cash award given will be based on the club that achieves the greatest percentage increase in new members. The

results will be tallied by the Membership Committee at the end of three calendar periods: December 31, 2008, March

31, 2009 and June 30, 2009. At the end of each period the club that achieves the greatest percentage increase in new

members at will receive a $500 check that will be presented by the District Governor or his representative at a club

luncheon. The Membership Committee will be the final judge of all awards.

A special year-end cash award for the club that has the greatest percentage increase for the nine months of the

promotion period will be given by the District Governor at a designated date and time. The amount of the award will be

announced by District Governor John Balvich.

We hope all the clubs will have fun with this promotion. We want them to be creative and have fun with the program.

We hope this will stimulate the clubs to create their own internal promotions; the more fun they have with this the

better. Your Membership Committee is looking for fun and energy to be created while we are growing our District

membership this year.

For questions or comments, please e-mail me at fredbettner@comcast.net. My cell phone number is 574-315-3751.

Please be advised that monthly progress reports will be printed in the District Governor Newsletter. See below.

"IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME!"

$500

WIN!

WIN!

$500

Attn Club Presidents and Secretaries: Clubrunner has updated their membership programs. Those clubs with

Clubrunner may now forward membership changes to RI from their website. You will only need to enter your

information on your website, it automatically updates the district site and on a monthly basis you may forward to RI.

Gov. John and Membership Chair Fred request those clubs not using Clubrunner to please maintain their data on the

district site and begin reporting membership on the website. Current club data was downloaded from RI by Clubrunner

If you have not logged in, your login is your email address. If you have a problem with login, please contact

barb@rotary6540. The data below has a lot of inaccurate information. Many totals are based on membership paid at

time of dues payments in July. Please help us get the numbers up to date and be able to award the first $500 in January

Albion 34 Angola 45 Anthony Wayne 104 Auburn 45 Berne 35

Bluffton 36 Boswell 14 Butler 13 Chesterton/Porter 48 Churubusco, 28

Columbia City 52 Concord 35 Crown Point 68 Decatur 35 Delphi 38

Demotte/Kankakee 51 Elkhart 187 Elkhart Morning 26 Fort Wayne 204 Fowler 16

Garrett 18 Gary 38 Goshen 112 Griffith 30 Hammond 51

Highland 12 Huntington 55 Kendallville 39 Kentland 25 LaGrange 20

LaPorte 37 Ligonier 20 Logansport 80 Merrillville 52 Michigan City 68

Mishawaka 21 Monticello 51 Munster 39 Nappanee 30 N Manchester 34

Otterbein 14 Peru 46 Plymouth 62 Portage 24 Rensselaer 61

Rochester 35 Roseland 26 Schererville 23 South Bend 249 South Gateway 22

Sunrise Edison Lakes 23 Syracuse/Wawasee 21 Valparaiso 164 Wabash 58 Warsaw 96

JIM HARTUNG INTERNATIONAL SERVICE AWARD PRESENTED TO

ROTARY DISTRICT 6540

The Northwest Indiana Trade Council awarded the Jim Hartung

International Service award to Rotary District 6540 at their annual

meeting held at Sand Creek Country Club on October 1. Governor

John Balvich proudly accepted the recognition personally awarded

by Jim Hartung. The council was celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Mr. Hartung was Port of Indiana Administrator and instrumental in

the founding years of the Council. Sandra Becker, a member of the

council and Portage Rotarian, nominated Rotary for International

Service Award.

Mr. Hartung stated, “The achievement of world peace through

global commerce certainly being no more naïve than thinking that

our world political or religious leaders will achieve same. Since the

beginning of recorded history, mankind has struggled with this

elusive concept of peace. But I remember the wisdom of that

wonderful African proverb about how does one eat an elephant?

That’s right…one bite at a time. “

He continued, “So, Let us achieve world peace one bite at a time.

Start with ourselves individually, and when we achieve peace

within…Let’s begin working to achieve peace with our

families…then our workplace…our neighborhood, our

community…and continue on and just sneak up on world peace.

With that concept at the front of my mind, I could not be more

flattered to have my name associated with this year’s award

recipient… The Rotary Clubs.

Rotary is the embodiment of the idea.

Rotary is the world’s first service club organization.

There are over 1.2 Million members, 33,000 clubs in over 200

countries.

I am a Rotarian and have attended Rotary meetings in Cairo,

Casablanca, Shanghai, Singapore, London and Amsterdam.” He

concluded with the Rotary motto “Service Above Self” and

recitation of the Four-Way Test. He concluded, “There may be

those who would declare that the goal of achieving world peace is

tantamount to “Building a Castle in the Air.” But allow me to use

yet another metaphor by quoting Henry David Thoreau. “Don’t

stop building your castles in the air; that is where they belong. Now

build foundations underneath them. That should be the

commitment of each of us.”

7

DGE Floyd Lancia Looking Ahead! By DGE Floyd Lancia

As the 2009-2010 Rotary year approaches, let’s look at what is in store for those assuming a leadership role.

Committees are meeting, strategies are being planned, venues are being booked and schedules are being developed--all in

an attempt to make the transition to the new Rotary year as smooth and successful as possible.

Let’s begin with some basics—PETS (President Elect Training Seminar) is in Kalamazoo on March 19-21, 2009. Club PEs

(Presidents Elect) are required to attend and the registration has been paid through a district assessment by each club. PEs

are encouraged to bring their partners (spouses or significant other). Additionally PNs (Presidents Nominee) are also

encouraged to attend with their partners.

Now that we have the basics out of the way—let’s look at what goes on at PETS.

Presidents Elect will have the opportunity to interact with other PEs and learn essentials about growing and strengthening

clubs. The opportunity of learning more about the various programs offered through Rotary International, Rotary

Foundation and the sharing of ideas are among a few of what PEs will find helpful during the presidency.

As for the partners—there will be a chance to see and understand the role of partner and how to be involved during the

coming year. Partners will become involved in contributing to the clubs successes in a supportive role and have the

opportunity to be part of the rewarding activities in the world of Rotary and more importantly at the club level.

Presidents Nominee can get a jumpstart on the 2010-2011 Rotary year by laying the groundwork for success. Learning

planning strategies and how to help build the club leadership team, and gathering ideas that will become part of that

special year will be among a few of the offerings for the PN. All of these opportunities will pay dividends as the year of

president becomes a reality.

Dates to remember are—March 19-21, 2009 PETS in Kalamazoo. Hotel reservations can be made beginning January1,

through the website www.greatlakesrotarypets.org. PrePETS (an evening session to gather preliminary data before PETS)

will be held in four convenient locations: Feb 10, in Monticello; Feb 12, Fort Wayne; Feb 17, Merrillville; Feb 19, South

Bend. Exact times and venues will be announced at a later date.

“The volunteerism exemplified by Rotary International is an engine for renewal and change in every society. And it is the

same volunteer spirit, rooted in compassion and a sense of responsibility to our fellow human beings, that offers so much

help for the future, beginning with the children.” Carol Bellamy, UNICEF executive director

Message from Gov. John: As many of you are aware current Assistant Governor

Coordinator Floyd Lancia has moved forward to become District Governor elect and is in

preparation for his year as District Governor which begins July 1st. With his increasing

focus on the coming year, I believe it is important to cut back on some of Floyd’s

responsibilities to this Rotary year. In light of this, I have asked Assistant Governor Mike

Crabill of the Elkhart Morning Club to assume the duties of Assistant Governor Coordinator

effective immediately. I know Mike will do a tremendous job and is looking forward to

helping the Assistant Governors complete their responsibilities for this year. I hope all of

you will give Mike your complete support as he takes on this new role.

Finally, a BIG THANK YOU to Floyd for his outstanding service to Rotary, to District 6540 and this

Governor.

Mike Crabill

AG Coordinator

The District 6540 Group Study Exchange Committee has done an outstanding job of putting together our GSE team

who will be representing our district in Turkey this coming May. Team Leader is David Mann of the Wabash Club.

Team members are Vivian Yamoah of South Bend and Sarah Aubrey, Kurtis Hilfeford, and Kathleen Silliman of

Fort Wayne. Thanks to GSE Committee Chair Doug Risser, Outbound Chair Dick Conklin, the committee and all

in District 6540 who helped in the selection process. Stay tuned to find out more about our GSE Team.

What to learn more about the Turkish culture and be prepared to host the team from Turkey? Musa Pina, Valparaiso

Rotarian is from Turkey. He came to the US to attend college and teaches International Marketing at Valparaiso

University. He returns to Turkey each summer to visit family. He was the recipient of a Rotary University Teachers

Grant and spent the past summer teaching at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. He has been a Rotarian since

1990. While teaching at St. Joe College he joined the Rensselaer Rotary. If you would like Musa to present a

program for your club you may contact him at musa.pinar@valpo.edu

REMINDER!

IRS REQUIRES ALL ROTARY CLUBS FILE 990-T

DEADLINE NOVEMBER 15, 2008

YOU MAY CONSULT WITH YOUR LOCAL TAX ADVISOR OR IF

ASSISSTANCE IS NEEDED YOU MAY CONTACT RENSSELAER

ROTARIAN MATT ROBERTSON, EMAIL mrobertson@huththompson .com

DISTRICT 6540 YOUTH EXCHANGE

The weekend of September 27/28 the Rotary Youth Exchange program was hosted

by the Monticello club and boy did they do it up big for the students! We were hosted

by the Lighthouse Lodge B&B on Lake Shafer (www.thelighthouselodge.com) by

Mike and Bonnie Triplett and they just were incredibly generous in the use of the

fantastic inn, the pontoon boat rides, the great food service, the rec room, a huge

bonfire on the lake and indeed in saving us great weather to enjoy it all. The

students had Saturday at the Indiana Beach amusement park and that was a great

time for all. Sunday found us hosted by the Van Meters’ Buffalo Ranch (email:

cvmbison@hotmail.com) by Carl and Zona Van Meter, and the entire group was

taken on a hayride through the herd of 91 buffalo (yes, it was nice to be up on a high

wagon when you were in their territory). We learned a lot and left with great respect

for buffalos. Eight of the nine inbound students were able to attend and now the

students have great expectations and it will be very difficult for the YE committee to

top this weekend. We thank the very hospitable Monticello Club and in particular Al

White for the arrangements, the Tripletts, and the Van Meters.

The District YE Committee

DISTRICT 6540

YOUTH EXCHANGE

Thank you to all of the

district Rotarians for their

support of our YE

programs. Gov. John