One day our life is fine and the next an unexpected change arrives at our door. Such is the case with the Coronavirus. Not one of us was looking for something like this to change our course of action in March. Yet it stopped us dead in our tracks. Suddenly we had to start carefully negotiating how we do things.  The care and concern I have witnessed from Rotarians throughout District 5020 is inspiring and heart warming.

In the midst of a global pandemic, we understand that attention to polio eradication will be temporarily diverted, and this makes it all the more vital for Rotarians to remain strongly committed to fighting polio and not let our progress be eroded.

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteers who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members from more than 200 countries and geographical areas who focus on service above self. Our work impacts lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.

By our actions we seek to put into practice our vision statement that “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

After graduating from College in 2002 I decided to follow my future wife to the Olympic Peninsula where I developed a salmon fishing addiction that precludes moving away. Since moving to Port Angeles, I’ve worked as a ...

   The Rotary Club of East Jefferson County is proud to sponsor the Hadlock Block Party Parade which will take place Saturday, August 1st, 2020, during the two-day Hadlock Block Party August 1st and 2nd in Port Hadlock WA.  

Rotary International President Mark Daniel Maloney's March message is unusually hard-hitting. An excerpt:

"Business as usual will not work for us anymore. Bringing in more members to replace the ones we lose is not the answer. It is like pouring more water into a bucket full of holes. We need to address the root causes of member loss in many parts of the world: member engagement that is not what it should be, and our member demographic that skews steadily older. It is time to make some fundamental changes."

The Rotary Club of East Jefferson County is offering college and vocational school scholarships to students graduating in 2020 from Chimacum and Quilcene High Schools in Jefferson County, Washington State.  

With a new peace center at Makerere University in Uganda, a reimagined peace fellowship program, and ambitious plans for the future, Rotary International advances its push for global harmony

Rotarians worldwide participate and celebrate the week of the anniversary of Rotary’s founding as World Understanding and Peace Week.  During this week, our Club will celebrate Rotary service, reflect upon our past achievements, and focus on programs of peace, understanding, and goodwill in the community and throughout the world.

Dr. Fozia Alvi grew up in Pakistan. She is an American trained physician who has been working in Calgary, Alberta, for the past 13 years. 

Nalani Flinn is a retired credit union executive, who renewed her commitment to service above self in April 1996, when she joined the Waianae Coast Rotary Club. During a 40-year career in the credit union industry, she played an increasingly significant role in improving her community through helping families secure loans to buy cars, start businesses, improve homes and pay for their children's education.

Rotary Alumni are part of an incredible network of leaders engaged in service around the world - but who are they?

Step out of the rain and into a fun and enjoyable Rotary-sponsored pancake breakfast Saturday morning at 9am at the Bay Club!

East Jefferson County Rotarians are raising money to help impoverished villagers in the African nation of Togo build composting toilets to improve sanitation and reduce disease and violence. We'll serve you pancakes, bacon, sausage, orange juice and coffee from 9am until 10:30 am to help us meet our goal! 

The fourth element of the Rotarian Code of Conduct is “Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians.”

This one is pretty simple and needs little, if any, explanation or background. 

Most of us carry the Rotary “gear” on our vehicles, or wear Rotary-themed clothes (hats, in particular, are quite popular) with the Rotary “gear” in evidence. The world sees us a Rotarians, and judges all Rotarians, and our organization, by what they observe.  

The new Rotary Strategic Plan, like all such plans, begins with a vision statement, provides clear direction through a series of priorities, and provides a set of objectives for each priority.  The Strategic Plan is effective through 2024. https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/about-rotary/strategic-plan

Happy 115th birthday, fellow Rotarians and members of the family of Rotary!

Much has changed in the world since 1905. Then, the global population was roughly 1.7 billion. Today, it is 7.7 billion. There were 5 telephones per 100 people in the United States 115 years ago. In 2020, it is estimated that 96 percent of the U.S. population has a cellphone — and both China and India have more than a billion cellphones in use.

In the 115 years since Rotary was founded, seemingly everything has changed except Rotary values. We began, and remain, committed to fellowship, integrity, diversity, service, and leadership. While our Service Above Self motto dates to 1911, the ethos behind those words had already been ingrained by Rotary's founders.

The third element of the Rotarian Code of Conduct reads “As a Rotarian, I will use my professional skills through Rotary to mentor young people, help those with special needs, and improve people’s quality of life in my community and in the world.”

Rotarians come from all walks of life, and are focused on taking action to use their skills and expertise to help others. That’s why we’re known as People of Action. This derives directly from one of the Objects of Rotary, which is to apply the ideal of service in one’s personal, business, and community life. 

The second element of the Rotarian Code of Conduct is “As a Rotarian, I will deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect.” 

Rotarians strive to live up to our Code of Conduct at all times. It’s often tough to do, especially in these fractious times, but we know, in order to work together as people of action - people who make good things happen - we must deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect.  

We connect people!

Rotary unites more than a million people. Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.

We transform communities!

We take action locally and globally. Each day, our members pour their passion, integrity, and intelligence into completing projects that have a lasting impact. We persevere until we deliver lasting solutions.

We solve problems! 

No challenge is too big for us For more than 110 years, we’ve bridged cultures and connected continents to champion peace, fight illiteracy and poverty, promote clean water and sanitation, and fight disease.

The Rotary Club of East Jefferson County meets at the Old Alcohol Plant Restaurant, 310 Hadlock Bay Road, Port Hadlock WA at noon. An optional cafeteria-style lunch (soup, salad and sandwich $15) is available beginning at 11:30am. The meeting begins at noon and wraps up promptly at 1pm. Nearly every meeting features an interesting and informative speaker. We welcome guests! 

For more information, please see www.ejcrotary.club, or email info@ejcrotary.club   

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Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts for Interact students, Interact alumnus, Rotaract members, and Rotary Youth Exchange students ages 14-30 to facilitate leadership skills development and Rotary connections. This year, the 50th annual Pacific Northwest Rotary Youth Leadership Awards  will be hosted in Tacoma at Pacific Lutheran University March 12th-15th, 2020

The Rotary Club of East Jefferson County is proud to be recognized as a partner of Chimacum Schools.  

The Club has partnered with Chimacum Schools for decades, and, in 2018, was honored with the Washington Association of School Administrators (WASA) Community Leadership Award in recognition of  the Club's tremendously supportive and creative relationship with Chimacum Schools. 

A new recognition, entitled  “Champions of The Rotary Foundation”,  has been announced by District 5020 Foundation chair Howard Svigals.  Champions are people who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the Foundation, through past and future giving. Champions must be: 

The first element of the Rotarian Code of Conduct is “As a Rotarian, I will act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life.”

Rotarian professional life and vocational service go hand in hand. Rotarians have a dual responsibility: represent their occupations within their club and exemplify the ideals of Rotary in their places of work.

January is Rotary’s Vocational Service Month, a great time to start leveraging vocational service! How can you take action?

As a Rotarian, I will:

1.  Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life;

2.  Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect;

3.   Use my professional skills through Rotary to mentor young people, help those with  special needs, and improve people’s quality of life in my community and in the world;

4.  Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians.

5.  Help maintain a harassment-free environment in Rotary meetings, events, and activities; report any suspected harassment; and help ensure non-retaliation to those individuals that report harassment.

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What a great way to start 2020.  January is dedicated to Vocational Service.  Seriously - that is exciting!

Vocation Service is the premise Rotary was built on. We are skilled, successful individuals, using our skills (and the money we make with those skills) to help make the world a better place.   

Rotary is built on connection. When Paul Harris came to Chicago as a young lawyer,  he formed Rotary for one compelling reason: to help him connect to others in a new city. More than a century later, we have at our disposal countless ways to form friendships and networks, most of which Paul Harris never dreamed. Yet Rotary’s ability to connect us remains unique — and unrivaled.  

As a new decade begins, we are shaping Rotary’s future. In 2019-2020, Rotary will implement its new strategic plan, respond to the innovation of the Council on Legislation, and serve in our revitalized areas of focus. But the real work of shaping Rotary’s future lies in our clubs, where our organization must do the most to adapt to today’s changing realities.  

While the club remains the core of the Rotary experience, we are now far more creative and flexible in deciding what a club can be...

As we approach the end of the calendar year, it might be a good time to consider a donation to The Rotary Foundation. Our club goal for individual member donations to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund is $11,500 this Rotary Year, which runs through June 30th, 2020, though we hope to exceed that amount.  

The Annual Report is the best single overview of Rotary International.  We are a large and very effective organization with over 1.2 million members who serve across nearly every country in the world. 

Our Annual Report does a great job encapsulating what individual Rotarians, working together and through their Clubs, are doing by taking action to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever.  Check it out here: https://www.rotary.org/en/annual-report-2019

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteers who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members from more than 200 countries and geographical areas who focus on service above self. Their work impacts lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. By our actions we seek to put into practice our vision statement that “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

How do you stay informed about the broad spectrum of Rotary International beyond the Club level? There are many useful websites you can use to stay informed and learn more about Rotary. Here are just a few of our favorites. 

   The Every Rotarian, Every Year initiative asks all Rotarians to support The Rotary Foundation through a donation to the Annual Fund every year and by getting involved in a Foundation project or program. 

   If you haven’t had the opportunity to make your contribution yet this Rotary Year to the Annual Fund, now is the time, as the end of the calendar year is fast approaching!  

The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan, nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. It is one of the world’s most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics and was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as Rotary International (RI) president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. Adopted by Rotary in 1943...

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever. Chief among these areas of focus is our promotion of and work towards peace. 

In every survey about why Rotarians love Rotary and why Rotarians continue to be members, one of the top reasons (and often the number one reason) is fellowship.

Being a Rotarian likely means that your closest and dearest friends are or are going to become Rotarians.  Why?  You are among people with the same world view.  No matter what the religion, the politics, the race, the age or the sex, these are all people who share a culture of service above self and the four-way test.  These are your people.

So how do you befriend these people?  What if you are a new Rotarian, or new to a particular club, or an existing Rotarian and you want to expand your circle of friends?  Here are five ways to grow your friendship in Rotary that you might consider:

What Do Rotarians Do? As Rotary Club members, we take action to contribute our skills, expertise, and financial support to address six causes - promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water and sanitation, saving mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies. We accomplish a great deal of this work through Rotary grants, which are used to fund local projects here in our communities and global projects around the world.

Rotarians are focused on taking action to address challenges in both our local communities and around the world.  We channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through the foundation of Club activity, the five Avenues of Service, one of which is Vocational Service.   

What Do Rotarians Do? Rotarians take action to address some of the world’s toughest challenges. We fund grants to accomplish that change. Rotary grants respond to community needs, bring Rotary service project ideas to life, and enable Rotarians to accomplish the needed sustainable change.

Rotarians channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity. The Avenues of Service are part of the Guiding Principles of Rotary, which include the Object of Rotary, and the 4-Way Test.

   Our club goal for individual member donations to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund is $11,500 this Rotary Year, which runs through June 30th, 2019, though we hope to exceed that amount.  

   Donating to the Annual Fund is actually quite easy. You may write a check to the Club and designate it for the Annual Fund, giving it to the Club Treasurer. Or, you may make a one-time donation, or arrange for an automatic deduction each month from your bank or checking account to The Rotary Foundation at https://my.rotary.org/en/donate.

Nearly 6 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. Through the Annual Fund, Rotarians expand access to quality care by giving communities the help and training they need to take control of their own maternal and infant health care, so mothers and their children can live and grow stronger.

Every year, our Club President-Elect, working with the Board of Directors and the Foundation Committee, with input from individual Club members, establishes our fundraising goals for their year as President. The goals include our Club’s support of the Annual Fund and the Polio Plus Fund of The Rotary Foundation. 

The mission of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is to enable Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty.

Our individual contributions to The Rotary Foundation's Annual Fund make  it possible for clubs to transform lives worldwide by funding projects in six  important areas that Rotarians know as our Areas of Focus. The six areas are, in priority order, Promoting Peace; Disease Prevention and Treatment; Water and Sanitation; Maternal and Child Health; Basic Education and Literacy; and Economic and Community Development. How do we do this?

A portion of the money we donate to The Rotary Foundation is made available for us to use in the form of grants. Working within the framework of our six Causes, Rotary members contribute their skills, expertise, and resources to help solve some of the world’s toughest problems. From providing clean water to promoting peace worldwide, Rotary Foundation grants bring our local and global service project ideas to life. This entry provides a brief background to the two types of grants we use as a Club, global and district community grants.

Rotarians are involved in their communities and those around the world. We engage in purely local activities to improve our communities, and we engage in local, district and global activities with the support of The Rotary Foundation. 

The Rotary Foundation is organized as a public charity operated exclusively for charitable purposes and governed by a Board of Trustees. 

The mission of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Foundation is very well-documented, both online and in print. 

The Annual Report is the single best overview of the Foundation and its global activities.  

The Rotary Foundation (TRF), as Rotary’s charity arm, is an integral part of Rotary International. The Foundation is a nonprofit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of Rotary International who share Rotary's vision of a better world.  Individual Rotarians voluntarily donate the majority of funding used to implement the activities of The Rotary Foundation, which disburses over 250 million dollars annually to the causes we Rotarians support. Club dues are not used to support The Rotary Foundation. You’ll find the Foundation’s financial reports here.  

The Paul Harris Fellow recognition acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of US$1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Both Rotarians and non-Rotarians are eligible for the recognition.  Rotarians may also use their Club points to award Paul Harris Fellow recognition to Rotarians and others.

It was established in 1957 to show appreciation for and encourage substantial contributions to what was then the Foundation’s only program, Rotary Foundation Fellowships for Advanced Study, the precursor to Ambassadorial Scholarships. 

Brien Crothers
Rotary Club of Middletown, California

I didn’t start running ultramarathons until I was almost 40. An old high school chum introduced me to it. Then I went to help out at an aid station at the Western States 100-mile race, and I saw 70-year-old guys coming through there. I was like, “I gotta do this.”

 The Rotary Club of East Jefferson County is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Pot of Gold raffle.  There were four first place $2,000 winning tickets pulled. The winning tickets were held by...

The Rotary Club of East Jefferson County is leading construction of a covered 20‘ x 30’ pavilion within the confines of the Chimacum High School’s garden area that will be used by the teachers and students in the school’s horticulture program.  The Club, led by President Paul Wynkoop, was inspired to build the Pavilion to enhance the ability of teachers and students to learn and work within the confines of the garden. The new structure will allow for greater hands-on learning opportunities for students in the garden area for longer periods of time during the school year. 

All Rotary Clubs welcome new members. It’s not difficult to join a Club, but all Rotary Clubs are “by invitation only” and there are several kinds of clubs. With that in mind, we invite you to consider joining us! 

Rotarians are all about action - making a difference. Working together and with partners,  the 1.2 million active, involved Rotarians in tens of thousands of clubs worldwide lead and contribute to positive change in our communities and around the world.  The best way to obtain an invitation is ...

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever. Taking action to save mothers and children is one of those six areas.

Nearly 6 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. Rotarians expand sustainable long-term access to quality health care for mothers and their children.

We were busy planning a Rotary presidential conference that was to be held in January 2000 in Côte d’Ivoire. We had made arrangements for top government officials to attend, but then, on 24 December, a military coup ousted the president and put General Robert Guéï in charge.

Following the initial panic...

Dignity Toilets for Togo is a proposed global grant being developed by the seven  Area-8 (Olympic Peninsula) Rotary Clubs, all of whom have formally agreed to work together under the leadership of the Nor’wester Club which will serve as the international sponsor. The grant, when approved by The Rotary Foundation, will support one of the six Causes on which Rotarians focus, that being water and sanitation.  

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever. Chief among these areas of focus is our promotion of peace. 

Knowledge is power, in Rotary and in the world.  Every Rotarian has the ability and opportunity to share knowledge.  That knowledge can be as simple as sharing the accomplishments of your committee with the rest of the club. That knowledge may be as important as making your club and foundation finances as transparent and accessible as possible.   In our modern world, none of that knowledge can be shared without a literate audience.

Regardless of the season, every family has its own traditions. I would like to suggest a new one for yours: Find an opportunity to introduce your family to Rotary. One of my family’s traditions is to take our daughters and grandsons to the Rotary International Convention. The 2020 convention in Honolulu will be a wonderful way to introduce your children and grandchildren to the internationality of Rotary. We are planning many family-oriented events for everyone to enjoy.

The Rotary Club of East Jefferson County is partnered with Chimacum Schools. The Chimacum High School Students of the Month program is chaired by Linda Kostenbader. 

Each month during the school year, from September through May, the Rotary Club of East Jefferson County is honored to recognize two outstanding students who attend Chimacum High School students.

Rotarians are people of action. We share an urgency to become  involved in our communities, both locally and globally, to make a positive and lasting difference. We enjoy working together, and focus our activity on six main causes, one of which is education. 

Our broad goal within the area of education is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults. Rotarians are involved in activities to further these objectives not only in our own communities, but all over the world as well. 

Here in our local communities, our Club is deeply involved in this Rotary cause. 

Rotary's strategic plan sets the framework for our future, ensuring that we continue to be known as a respected, dynamic organization that advances communities worldwide.

As we stand on the cusp of eliminating polio, it time for us to create a new path toward bringing more people together, increasing our impact and creating even more lasting change around the world.

Our individual donations to the Annual Fund are the mainstay of The Rotary Foundation, and make  it possible for clubs to transform lives worldwide through programs and projects within our six Areas of Focus. Those six areas are, in priority order, Peace and Conflict Prevention / Resolution; Disease Prevention and Treatment; Water and Sanitation; Maternal and Child Health; Basic Education and Literacy; and Economic and Community Development.

We begin the Pot of Gold fundraiser today. We use the money, after paying the raffle winners, to support our scholarship program and local projects.  Tickets this year will be $50 per ticket. The raffle will be held on Thursday, September 26th, 2019, at the regular meeting of the Club.  The prizes for this year’s raffle will include four $2,000 prizes as well as a $1,000 of sales at QFC and $500 of sales at Hadlock Building Supply.    Contact any member of the Club for tickets! 

The second element of the Rotarian Code of Conduct is “As a Rotarian, I will deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect.” 

Rotarians strive to live up to our Code of Conduct at all times. It’s often tough to do, especially in these fractious times, but we know, in order to work together as people of action - people who make good things happen - we must deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect at all times.  

 Aloha District 5020 Rotarians!   It is with extreme Joy that I greet you, this brand-new Rotary Year, as your District Governor.  It is a time to look forward and to plan your connections with each other, with your community and with the world. 

The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster, FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service. Acquaintance is the heartbeat of any successful Rotary club and of Rotary International itself.

The Four-Way Test is the nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide Rotarians use for their personal and professional relationships. It is the code by which Rotarians strive to live, and a very important part of the strong, common purpose which binds us together in voluntary membership.

The third tenet of the Four-Way Test is “Will it bring goodwill and better friendships?”

The eradication of polio remains the top priority of Rotary International, which is a key partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).  

So - how are we doing? The short answer is ‘slow but steady progress, though numbers are up this year - 29 wild polio cases so far, compared to 12 last year at this time.’

Rotary’s support - our support as individual Rotarians - including members of the Chimacum High School Interact Club - remains critical to eradicating this dread disease.  

The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The second tenet of the Four-Way Test, “Is it fair to all concerned”, serves as a beacon to Rotarians worldwide.   Like any code, the Test is a standard to which we aspire to adhere. As Rotarians, we strive to be fair in our interactions inside and outside of Rotary.

More than 60 years ago, in the midst of the Great Depression, a U.S. Rotarian devised a simple, four-part ethical guideline - a test - that helped him rescue a beleaguered business. The statement and the principles it embodied also helped many others find their own ethical compass. Soon embraced and popularized by Rotary International, The Four-Way Test today stands as one of the organization’s hallmarks. It may very well be one of the most famous statements of our century. The Four Test challenges us, in the things we think, say and do, to ask:

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Profound in its simplicity, and used as intended, the Test becomes a key element in any type of decision-making.

Central to its effectiveness, is the first question: Is It The Truth?

June---seems such an appropriate time to pause and reflect upon this past Rotary year as we celebrate our successes, install our new Rotary boards, and anticipate the potential of our incoming theme:   Rotary Connects the World!

The Rotarian Code of Conduct. As a Rotarian, I will:

1.  Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life;

2.  Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect;

3.   Use my professional skills through Rotary to mentor young people, help those with  special needs, and improve people’s quality of life in my community and in the world;

4.  Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians.

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Rotarians are people of action. We share an urgency to become  involved in our communities, both locally and globally, to make a positive and lasting difference. We enjoy working together, and focus our activity on six causes, one of which is education.

Our broad goal within the area of education is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults. Rotarians are involved in activities to further these objectives not only in our own communities, but all over the world as well.

Here in our local communities, our Club is deeply involved in this Rotary cause.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is a public-private partnership led by national governments with five partners – the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Its goal is to eradicate polio worldwide. Today, we take a closer look at a key partner, the U.S-based Centers for Disease Control.

I know I am meant to inspire here, but safety requires that I begin with a warning: This Moment of Inspiration is cursed. I first wrote it for the December meeting that got canceled due to high winds. I signed up again to deliver it for the February meeting that got snowed out. Today marks my third attempt; do not be surprised if an earthquake or some other calamity strikes in the next four minutes.

Rotarians use the Four-Way Test as an ethical guide for our personal and professional relationships. In all we think, say, or do, we ask…

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? 

Most of us fail the Four-Way Test pretty routinely.

The East Jefferson County Rotary Club (EJRC) is John Erickson’s fifth Rotary membership.  He joined this club in 2010, after retiring from a 40-year career in education.  John was a founding member of the Rotary Club in Stayton, Oregon.  John has enjoyed participating in all of the Rotary clubs where he has been a member over the last 35 years or so, and continues to contribute to the activities and projects initiated by the EJRC.  He was club president in 2016-2017.

Rotary Alumni are people who have previously been involved in some aspect of Rotary International, but who are no longer active. If you’ve previously been involved in some aspect of Rotary but are no longer active, for one reason or another, we’d like to welcome you to a meeting of our Club. And, if you've not been previously involved in Rotary but would like to know more ab out who we are and what we do, read on!

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever. Chief among these causes is our promotion of peace.

    The Chimacum High School Interact Club will sponsor the Santa Booth again this year on Saturday, December 8th and Sunday, December 9th, 2018 during the Chimacum Arts and Crafts Fair from 10 am - 4pm each day.

A key Club goal this year is to earn the Rotary Citation with Platinum Presidential Distinction. We must complete qualification by June 30th, 2019.

Just seven percent of Rotary Clubs earn the Rotary Citation in any given year. We’ve earned the award three times so far - in 2014, 2016, and in 2018.

The intended beneficiaries of the Grant are the 350 children served by the Jefferson Teen Center annually. These children range from 12-18 years old, though most are of middle school age.

The grant will benefit children attending Chimacum Schools by improving the physical capacity of the Teen Center to support its beneficiaries, by providing expanded mentoring and adult support to these children within the Teen Center mission, and by involving Rotarians in these activities.   

We asked the Jefferson Teen Center Director, Shayann Hoffer, for a list of the materials needed by the Teen Center not covered by the DCG. The Teen Center is an IRS-recognized 501.c.3 non-profit, (tax ID #91-1561993) so they can provide acknowledgement of your donations for tax purposes, if desired. If you do donate materials, please let Pete or John know so they can record the donation as part of the Club’s support of the Jefferson Teen Center.   

The Jefferson Teen Center (JTC) would gratefully accept donations of the following materials to improve support for the kids:   

Art Supplies: such as paint (watercolor, acrylic & tempura), brushes (variety sizes), paper (variety types), wax paper, canvas boards, gesso, oil pastels, chalk pastels, charcoal, drawing pencils, drawing pens, Prisma color markers, and so forth.

Craft Supplies: such as yarn, crochet & knitting needles, tag board, markers, string, scissors, tape, glue sticks, glue, scrapbooking materials, jewelry making supplies, precious gemstones.

Health Wellness items: such as yoga mats, and sport balls, inside nerf hoop and ball set.

Office Space Supplies: such as folders, 20lb white & colored paper reams, cardstock, blank greeting and thank you cards with envelopes, highlighters.

Every year, our Club President-Elect, working with the Board of Directors and the Foundation Committee, with input from individual Club members, establishes our fundraising goals for their year as President. The goals include our Club’s support of the Annual Fund and the Polio Plus Fund of The Rotary Foundation.

The Charity Navigator report on the Foundation reflects top marks for our Foundation - in fact, it is one of the very highest ranked in the nation, and has been for eleven straight years. Rotarians can place great confidence in the Foundation, which manages and uses our money wisely.  You’ll find the Foundation’s financial reports here.  

This post introduces you to the scope of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and explains how we as individual Rotarians and as a Club both support it and employits capabilities to further our work.  

Rotarians are involved in their communities and those around the world. We engage in purely local activities to improve our communities, and we engage in local, district and global activities with the support of The Rotary Foundation.

The Rotary Foundation is organized as a public charity operated exclusively for charitable purposes and governed by a Board of Trustees.

The mission of The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. The Foundation is very well-documented, both online and in print.

The Annual Report is the single best overview of the Foundation and its global activities.

The Rotary Foundation (TRF), as Rotary’s charity arm, is an integral part of Rotary International. The Foundation is a nonprofit corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of Rotary International who share Rotary's vision of a better world.  Individual Rotarians voluntarily donate the majority of funding used to implement the activities of The Rotary Foundation, which disburses over 250 million dollars annually to the causes we Rotarians support. Club dues are not used to support The Rotary Foundation. You’ll find the Foundation’s financial reports here