Meeting: Making Peace, One Exchange Student at a Time (September 7th to September 13th, 2016)9/7/2016 President's Message - Capsun M. Poe, President 2016-2017 Aloha Rotarians and Friends: Maybe you have a similar observation. The more and more I look at my social calendar, the more I am hanging out with friends I know through Rotary and participating in Rotary events. It has increased since I first joined Rotary in February 2013 and grew exponentially during my year as President-Elect. When I talk to longtime Rotarians, I often hear from them that as the years go by, more and more of their friends are people they met through Rotary. They're not just Rotary friends, they are friends period. I reflected on that as I joined John Strandberg (PE at RC of East Honolulu), a friend I met through Rotary, as we celebrated his birthday earlier this week. There were a lot of Rotarians present, but also some friends I haven't seen in a long time. It's just more evidence of how Rotary brings good people together, this time to have fun, but often to make a difference in our own communities. I'm only a quarter of the way through my year as President and it's already the busiest and best experience so far in Rotary. One main reason for that is the new friends being made and nurturing existing friendships. I am inspired by YOU, my fellow Rotarians and friends by the work you are doing to carry out Rotary Serving Humanity this year and always. Just read on to see an awesome opportunity from RECH member Tippi Cogen. And soon I hope to announce the dates for our Dictionary Project with North Shore schools. FYI, it's my favorite project we do as a Club. Mahalo! Remember to click Read More below to view the rest of our meeting. Remaining 2016-2017 RECH Board MeetingsPlease know that you are all invited to our Board meetings held at Na Lama Kukui, 560 North Nimitz Highway, from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm., usually on the third Monday of the month. We regularly see guests at the one time we regularly meet in the same physical space. Here are the meetings for the remainder of this Rotary Year:
District 5000 Polio Champions ChallengeLast week, we mentioned that our very own AG Ray Paler is already on his way to being a Polio Champion in our District 5000. But you still have time to be a Polio Champion, too. Best of all, thanks to the Gates Foundation partnership, every $1 you give is actually $3 to The Rotary Foundation's End Polio Now efforts.   Updates from Rotary E-Club of Hawaii Members From Tippi Cogen: Thrive Global is conducting a large feeding for the 9/11 National Day of Service and Remembrance. They will be passing out hygiene kits, conducting a clean up and educating the homeless who reside in Kakaako park where to go in the event of a disaster. 9/11 National Day of Service & Remembrance Join us for this honorary day of service and remembrance as we head to Kakaako Gateway Park for a massive sacked lunch distribution for families living within the park and conduct a cleanup. Sponsored by Youth Service America and CNCS Ways to help: build gallon sized ziplock sacked meals (10-15/pp) filled with (example for each sack: sandwich, fruit, sweet snack, capri sun, chewing gum, etc). Be creative but be thoughtful on things that would help safely feed the crowds. For more information, check out our webpage at www.golovegrow.org. More info available at their Facebook event page. Other District 5000 UpdatesFrom Rotary Club of Waikiki:  From D5000 Membership Chair PDG Ayman El-Dakhakhni: SAVE THE DATE! DECEMBER 3rd on OAHU and DECEMBER 4th on MAUI! Priority #1 Membership Workshop, Learn How to Create a “Best Membership Experience”. This 3 hour workshop being presented by the Zone Membership Committee will show you best practices for member retention and growth. Priority #1 is a production based on four key concepts gleaned from the siegel + gale report. That report has fundamentally changed traditional thinking about members in Rotary. Priority #1 introduces some very basic, simple tools that District and Club leaders can adopt with immediate actions to attract and retain members consistent with the siegel + gale concepts. Details to Come on location and sign up. Contact AG Wendy Hornack at wlhmaui@hotmail.com for more information. From Rotary Club of Kahala Sunrise (Owen Fukumoto): Kahala Sunrise's September 28th meeting (usually at 7:30 am) has moved to September 29th at 5:30 p.m., still at Waialae Country Club. It is part of their effort to have a less-formal, social meeting once a month. From Rotary Club of Metropolitan Honolulu, AKA Metro Rotary: Oktoberfest: Rotary Metro is coordinating our 2nd Annual Oktoberfest mixer for Thursday, September 29th, starting at 5:30pm. It will be held at Gordon Biersch at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Cost is $25/person (includes two beer scripts and brat/pretzel pupus). So come celebrate, eat and enjoy some live music with your fellow Rotarians! Sign up today on our APP! WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE! Speaker: Making Peace, One Exchange Student at a TimeBy Marcellin Niset, Rotary Youth Exchange Student from Belgium to Alaska; Courtesy of Blog.Rotary.org  Belgian Exchange Student Marcellin Niset in Alaska The Italian-American author and actress Vanna Bonta wrote, “There’s no hospitality like understanding.” That quote stuck with me as a Rotary Youth Exchange student to Alaska in 2015-16. I arrived in Alaska, a wilderness filled with beauty and love, determined to make my exchange purposeful and beneficial for myself, my host community, and the world. An exchange is not only about a student going abroad, it is about all the people that make this exchange possible, and the ones that are impacted, directly and indirectly. Niset is using his exchange year as an opportunity to promote tolerance and respect. I come from a small village in rural Belgium and the exchange is a unique chance to accomplish something bigger than myself. To be selected as an ambassador for Rotary and my country meant being the custodian of national values and beliefs. Sometimes, the mission was easy. I brought happiness to people by making countless Belgian waffles. I presented facts about my homeland to my host club and community. But going deeper, and sharing what makes people from my country unique, explaining why we think and behave differently, without judging, is harder. There is not just one way to do things, and one way isn’t better than another, just different. At my first orientation with the other exchange students in Alaska, our coordinator told us that the Rotary Youth Exchange motto was to “Make peace in the world, one student at a time.” I only understood the real meaning of this sentence later in my exchange. Terrorist attack On 22 March, Belgium became the target of a terrorist attack. I saw the last place I had been in my country, the airport, blown up by people who didn’t understand differences. I saw a symbol of globalization exploded and my beliefs harmed. I had a friend from France, two from Indonesia, one from Germany. All of them felt the weight of terrorism. It oppresses you, makes you fearful, sad, and angry. How in a world interconnected, multicultural, and full of exchange students, can terrorist attacks still happen? But then it suddenly made sense to me why I was on exchange at this time. I realized how I could explain the values my country stands for, and show how Rotary members and exchange students can work together to help solve the world’s problems. Rotary members already have a drive to change the world. Exchange students promote tolerance and respect. Thanks to my exchange, I had the opportunity to share my values, my beliefs, my identity. I try to make the world stronger, one speech at a time, and am inspired to strive for greater things. This is the power of Rotary Youth Exchange. And it can be the pride of Rotary, too. Learn more about exchange opportunities through Rotary A Conversation About RotaryDear Hawaii Rotarians,
Rotarians throughout Zones 25 and 26 are invited to attend “A Conversation About Rotary,” which is an interactive webinar with RI Director Brad Howard. To accommodate your busy schedule, “A Conversation About Rotary” will be presented twice - either Wednesday, Oct 5 at 4 pm., or Friday, October 7 at 8:00 a.m. In addition to discussing current issues and initiatives facing Rotary, RID Brad will field your questions and comments during the webinar. This is intended to be an interactive meeting with your Director. Please plan to join the conversation! Please register for A Conversation About Rotary with RI Director Brad Howard Oct 5, 2016 4:00 PM PDT at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5965653601152669185 OR Oct 7, 2016 8:00 AM PDT at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/586905390237655553 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. We hope you can join us. Thank you, Tim Bewley Zone 25/26 Communication Officer |
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