Have you made your plans to attend this year’s District Conference? Taking place on September 22 – 24, 2022 at the Lenexa Hyatt Place at City Center, the event promises to be full of ideas, inspiration, and fun! Our theme, “Building Champions, Changing the World” certainly speaks to Kansas City’s sports success, but also the important work that each of you do every day in communities across northeast Kansas (and the world!).
In addition to fantastic keynote speakers, we’ll have several informative breakout sessions on service, key areas of Rotary leadership, and roundtable discussions that will allow you to brainstorm with your Rotary friends and peers. And, of course, plenty of fun (and service) mixed in along the way!
If you were able to join us at the recent TEAM Training event in Lawrence, you’ll know what a terrific and valuable time it was! It’s always so inspiring to hear from Rotarians in from across the spectrum in terms of location, club size, and membership tenure, and this was no exception. Many thanks to our district training dynamos, Ellen Bodgan and DeEtte Lombard for all their hard work to make the session a sold-out success!
Beyond these great events, we’ve also been busy at the district level planning for a new zone-level challenge, which includes a variety of topics/goals spanning polio, public image, membership, and foundation. Similar to a club citation, this challenge was created to help encourage districts to hit a variety of metrics indicative of healthy, thriving regions…and we’re up for the task! You’ll be hearing a lot from these respective chairs as we move through the year on opportunities to participate.
To that end, you’ll also see a new (but familiar!) face at the helm of our Rotary Foundation efforts – Faron Barr. As you know, Faron has served his club and our district in a variety of ways – including as District Governor – and has a wealth of knowledge in most areas, but is particularly dedicated to our foundation efforts, having begun the successful re-imagining of our annual banquet into the popular and fun “Gathering for Good” celebration. I’m excited to welcome him to this role and look forward to a wonderful year working with his team. And of course, many thanks as well to outgoing DRFC and PDG Gary Duggan for all his work.
This year’s District Conference, “Building Champions, Changing Lives”, will be held on September 22 – 24, 2022 at Lenexa City Center’s Hyatt Place! The event will include a Thursday evening social through downtown Shawnee’s many great local breweries and restaurants, a Friday filled with fantastic programming and opportunities for networking, brainstorming, and inspiration, and a Saturday of service.
As new incidents of detection and cases of Polio are making news not only here in New York but also in far flung spots around the world previously certified polio free, we continue to be reminded that outbreaks and transmission may only be “just a plane-ride away.” Rotary and the GPEI have defeated “outbreaks” before and with your help we can do it again. A major part of our attack to completely wipe out Polio now is being directed toward implementing a much wider use of the NovelOPV that will stop the occurrence of the Circulating Vaccine Derived Polio Virus (cVDPV). And Rotarians can do so much to spread the word of the need to immunize every child if we are to End Polio forever. To do these things we must not give up the fight. The support of every Rotarian is needed to respond to these recurrences with our donations to Polio Plus to assist in funding of National Immunization Days in locations around the world. Spread the word in your club and in your communities of the surety that Polio will ultimately be eradicated from the world as we track the current “Countdown to History” below which highlights the progress and need for your continued support.
So, even if you've recently given to PolioPlus this past Rotary year, now is the time to help your club set its Polio Plus Donation Goal for 2022-2023 at whatever level your club can achieve, no matter how small or how large! Remember, Past RI President John Germ has challenged EVERY CLUB to set a Polio Plus GOAL & to make that Goal be to donate at least $1,500 – you can help your club do it!!!
Go to my.rotary.org, click on the "Donate Button '' in the upper right of the page, and select Polio Fund...and give whatever you can...Be it $20 - $200 or beyond, it all adds up to maximizing the benefit of the newly extended Gates Foundation $2 for $1 match.
Also, if you have not joined the Polio Plus Society, whereby you commit to donating a minimum of $100 per year, every year until Polio is gone, you can become a Member of the District 5710 Polio Plus Society and receive a handsome Polio Plus Society Pin. Many Rotarians choose the "recurring" option, whereby you donate a little bit each month, as little as $10 per month. The Commitment Form is on the district website.
Thank you for your dedication to this, Rotary's #1 Priority, and the promise we made to children everywhere...a polio free world.
And “We are…This Close” as shown in our “Countdown to History”
HAS YOUR CLUB MET ITS DONATION GOAL FOR 22/23?
Call or email me for ideas or help: Jim Arnett, Polio Plus District Chair
District Team Seminar Training 2022 was a great success! One hundred Rotarians registered. Thank you to DG Stephanie Meyer, our guest speaker, the Rotary panel and all attendees. Your participation made this half day training opportunity engaging, fun, and purposeful. Of course, the complimentary brunch and beverages (to include Bloody Marys and Mimosas) added to the success!
As folks checked in, Rotarians who are not Paul Harris Fellows had an opportunity to submit their name to win a Paul Harris Fellow. The lucky lady was: Andrea Law, Konza Rotary Club!
DG Stephanie welcomed everyone and helped set the stage by reinforcing that this year’s Rotary International theme Imagine Rotary challenges us to embrace change.
This year’s Team Seminar focused on Change Management. We explored and applied the eight steps of the John P. Kotter Change Management Model to assist us in making how we Imagine Rotary become lasting transformations.
Our guest speaker, Mr. Billy Miller (Department of Command and Leadership , U.S. Army Command and General Staff College) addressed the first three steps of the Kotter model: Creating a Sense of Urgency; Creating a Guiding Coalition; and Developing a Vision. Participants then spent time with their table group identifying a needed change and answering questions related to the first three steps of the model. Table groups then volunteered to share discussion points with the group at large.
Our Rotary Panel members were Jason Camis (Public Image), Chuck Udell (Membership), and John Donovan (Foundation). They addressed the next three steps of the model: Communicate the Vision; Eliminate Obstacles/Challenges; and Create Short Term Wins. They discussed these steps in relation to their individual panel role. Table groups then volunteered to share discussion points with the group at large.
District Trainers, DeEtte and Ellen summarized the last two steps of the Kotter Model: Build on Changes and Anchor the Changes in Your Culture.
Before closing, the group was entertained and inspired by an Evan Burrell video on Public Image.
It was a Saturday well spent. Thanks to everyone in attendance. We all came away with useful nuggets to help us manage change in Rotary and in our professional and personal lives as well!
District 5710 has been awarded 30 grants to participate in the programs of the Kansas Leadership Center. The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) is a non-profit organization committed to fostering leadership for stronger, healthier and more prosperous Kansas communities.
The KLC offers three programs that build on each other:
•Your Leadership Edge is the introductory program that focuses on personal leadership competencies. It helps participants stretch and grow their leadership while addressing their toughest challenges.
•Lead for Changeis the advanced, deep dive into individual leadership – helping leaders understand how to mobilize others to deal with tough problems and change processes.
•Equip to Lead focuses on communications, integrating leadership principles into the organization, and facilitating real change.
These programs range from $399 to $799 in value. The grant allows Rotarians to attend for free.
Who Should Attend?
Each club should consider sending up and coming leaders from their club and community. The virtual sessions are ideal for clubs in western Kansas. Leaders who have done the first program should consider the second and third programs.
How To Register
To Sign Up for one of the three programs, we ask that you do two things:
1. Visit the KLC website at: www.kansasleadershipcenter.org. Create a personal account and register using the code Rotary2022 to waive the tuition fee.
2. Notify District 5710’s Trainers, Ellen Bogdan and DeEtte Lombard, of your interest in order that we might track Rotarians who are taking advantage of this grant. Our contact data is:
It is with great honor that I take my recent appointment to District Rotary Foundation Chair. I look forward to working with our wonderful string of District Governors and all of the Foundation committees. Our D5710 Foundation committee met just last week and I am excited about all the goals that we have in front of us. I think this year may be one of our best years yet in Foundation giving. We have not finalized all of our goals as of this writing, however I expect to be able to share those goals with you very soon. I am also trilled to be working with a phenomenal D5710 team! Our team is Stephen Graham, Carol Wheeler, William Richter, Greg Shondell, Jim Arnett, and Chuck Udell. You may hear from them a few times throughout the year as we strive to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation. You will be hearing from me throughout the year as well. In the attempt to achieve more transparency, I will be focusing on some of the many projects in our district that are using Foundation funds through District and Global grants. Please feel free to help me if you have a special project you would like me to showcase. If you would like me to speak to your club about the Rotary Foundation in any way, please contact me at fbarr@t-mfinancial.com. I look forward working with all of you.
Overland Park South Rotary, Rotary Club of Overland Park, Rotary Prime Lawrence, and Rotary Club of Topeka South, have hosted Rotary Swarm Presentations. Rotary Clubs of Bonner Springs, Gardner and Leawood have presentations scheduled. Our goal is for every Club to host a presentation, and to be involved in 1 service project to support efforts in their local community. This fulfills the Rotary International Resolution for each Club to become more familiar with the growing problem of modern day slavery and to engage in projects to protect all victims. Schedule a presentation for your Club by contacting lucy@veronicasvoice.org.
We look forward to seeing you at District Conference and hope you will be sure your Club is represented in our workshop being presented Friday at 1:45pm. Patti Mellard, Usha Reddi and I will share the same workshop we presented at the Rotary International Convention in Houston. District 5710 has set a high standard for engagement in efforts to end human trafficking and has continued to be a for-runner with the Intersection of Care grant.
Until all are free, Lucy Bloom, District End Human Trafficking Committee Chair
Our District 5710 Membership Team is up and running! We are excited and ready to help all of our district clubs grow more so that we can serve more people and improve their lives. Here is our team member line-up:
Position
Team Member
Club
Data and Analysis
Gerry Coffman
Overbrook
Attracting New Members & Leads
Shari Hansen
Leavenworth
Engagement & Retention
Greta Bauer
Mary McKenzie
Manhattan Konza
Jayhawk B’fast Lawrence.
Rotaract
Fernanda Tome’
West KC Rotaract
Rotary Alumni
Andrea Norris
Lawrence
New Rotary Service Opportunities
Kathy Peterson
Matt Zimmerman
Both - Shawnee
Dist. Membership Chair
Chuck Udell
Leawood
Please reach out to any team member for support.
For the first two months of this Rotary year, our clubs have added 39 members while loosing 21 Rotarians – for a net gain of 18. The Community Action Against Human Trafficking (CAAHT) eRotary Club officially added a satellite club, Rotary Satellite Club of Ending Forced Organ Harvesting, Kansas, USA. This enabled the CAAHT eClub to welcome 10 new Rotarians to our District. This is impressive! Congratulations to President Sharon Sullivan and her team!
Our first zoom Quarterly Membership Conversation was on Monday, August 8th. A special thanks to Mandy Sheldon for her tech expertise; Greta Bauer for sharing our District New Member Welcome Package; and Shari Hansen who told us about a sure fire way to gain new members – Rotary Membership Leads. The folks on Leads seek out Rotary and are interested in possibly joining. So, please when Shari sends you an eMail that someone is interested to learn about your club – please contact them ASAP!
Our Quarterly Conversations feature breakout discussion groups where participants can learn from each other. One great idea we learned about is if your community has a Chamber of Commerce, check out if they have a young professionals group. If so, reach out to them as well as other chamber members. Want to learn more ideas – then think about attending our next Quarterly Conversation at 5:30 pm on Monday, November 14th!
Recently, I attended a Rotary webinar, “5 Attributes of Successful and Agile Club”. One attribute is that clubs that have goals and a growth plan have a better chance succeed. If you’d like to learn more about what was covered, please email me at chuckudell@msn.com. I’ll be happy to send you notes.
Our team is looking forward to working with you all and your clubs.
At TEAM training in Lawrence a couple of weeks ago, a new Rotarian suggested we needed to do a better job at explaining our customs and traditions, indeed, the history of Rotary. He specifically used “why do we ring a bell” as an example.
Well, I'm the District Historian, so perhaps I should take a stab at that, and other questions throughout the year and thus earn the massive salary and prestige the position enjoys.
We didn't start out ringing bells to start meetings. In general, our clubs were small (but growing!) and didn't need that sort of formality. Clubs called themselves to order with a word, or gavels, knocking on the table, tapping glasses with knives and such. In the face of such anarchy and broken glassware a solution was needed. Of course, being Rotarians, we dithered, discussed, and argued. No doubt amiably, but no Rotary-wide consensus was reached. Or attempted really.
Then in 1922, Rotarians in the US organized a competition to see which club could most increase their meeting attendance. The carrot was that the losing clubs would give the winning club a prize. The Rotary Club of New York City won the contest, and the prize was a ship’s bell from a famous landmark harbor patrol boat. The bell was mounted on a piece of wood that came from HMS Victory, Admiral Nelson’s flagship at the battle of Trafalgar.
At the time, culturally, we were used to bells ringing in our lives. Churches and clocktowers tolling the hours and called the faithful to services and prayers. Shift change in the factories, school room classes, bells that warned of trains coming, fires, and even that traffic flow was about to change. It was a signal to pay attention. It was commonly understood.
The bells we use today (if they're the heavy, bronze ones) are also tuned so that the sound will cut across conversations and carry throughout the venue, just as a ships bell is tuned to cut through fog and mist and noises of the sea. So be gentle with that mallet if it is a small room! We all know, at least after that first meeting, that sound mean’s it's time to turn your attention to the purpose of our gathering and start paying attention to that person behind the lectern.
All of the inbound students have now arrived and have started school. As they get settled the district committee takes a brief breather before beginning the recruitment and applications for the outbound students for the 2023-24 exchange year. Clubs should be recruiting and interviewing for this wonderful program in the next few months. The district application is now done online by the student and is due to the district on or before December 1st. For more information on how to apply please contact District 5710 Youth Exchange Officer and Outbound Coordinator Stephen Wheatley atwheatleydc@sbcglobal.net. Remember that this program is open to relatives of Rotarians and that financial aid is available. This program is open to Sophomores to Seniors as well as Gap Year students (depending on age).
Pictured below: District Youth Exchange team members Anne Faucett, Stephen Wheatley, Harold Frye, and David Beck at the inbound orientation for the new exchange students. Newly arrived exchange students having Chipotle with the outbound exchange students and a few former exchange students.
Announcing the Rotary Satellite Club of Ending Forced Organ Harvesting
In 2018, a booth from HOF (House of Friendship) at the RI Convention in Toronto with the name of “End Organ Trafficking Now” caught Rotarian Shirley Hu’s attention. People at the booth were distributing flyers about forced organ harvesting - a crime against humanity that has been going on for more than 20 years. Traveling from halfway around the world, these booth exhibitors belonged to an NGO, TAICOT (Taiwan Association for International Care of Organ Transplant).
Shirley was inspired by the group and was surprised she couldn’t find any Rotarians who were involved or aware of this significant initiative.
In 2019, on behalf of Plano Metro Rotary club, she was able to organize a booth of “Ending Forced Organ Trafficking - Time to Act Now” at the RI Convention in Germany in partnership with TAICOT. More than 1,000 flyers and petitions were distributed; 550 Rotarians signatures were collected in support of the initiative. 59 banners were received from Rotary clubs worldwide. Clearly, she was on to something that struck a nerve with fellow Rotarians!
In 2022, with the proactive support from the RAGAS Chair Dave McCleary, Shirley recruited a group of four volunteers to help distribute flyers raising awareness of FOH (Forced Organ Harvesting) at the RAGAS booth at the Houston Convention. Crystal Chen was one of them.
Crystal was also invited as a featured speaker in one of the breakout sessions hosted by RAGAS. The session was standing room only.
Crystal was born to a family of musicians in Guangzhou city, China. After graduating college with a Bachelor’s in Economics, she worked for one of the largest international trade companies in China. Her career, however, was waylaid when she was imprisoned for 7 years in China because of her religious beliefs. During her time in imprisonment, she endured excruciating torture and forced labor. Her persecutors threatened to harvest her organs as they had from countless other fellow prisoners. After surviving the torture and escaping to the US, she made it her mission to speak for those voiceless she left behind. Many in the audience were moved to tears after hearing Crystal’s testimony, including RAGAS board member Amelia Stansell.
Numerous clubs followed up with Crystal and the volunteer team to present for them. Patti Mellard, the founder of CAAHT (Community Action Against Human Trafficking) Rotary club, was the first to invite the team to present to CAAHT on Jul 19.
Recognizing the powerful story Crystal shared and the support the four non-Rotarian volunteers at the HOF booth in Houston garnered through the hundreds of signatures on their petition to raise awareness, Amelia texted Shirley and the team on the way to the airport that they should explore a satellite club focused on organ harvesting and offered assistance when everyone was settled after the convention.
On Jun 15, Amelia initiated a Zoom call with the team and the topic was “Organ Harvesting Satellite Club Exploratory Committee.” Deeply touched by Amelia’s enthusiastic support and heartfelt compassion, Shirley and the team started to recruit more people to fulfill the minimum requirement for the Satellite club and set about meeting with the various human trafficking cause-based clubs to find the best fit for their effort.
On June 23, Patti shared the good news that the CAAHT Board and the District Governor Stephanie Meyer were both very supportive of sponsoring the team as a Satellite Club.
On July 29, an application for the Satellite Club with a total of 10 members was submitted to CAAHT to get approval from RI.
On Aug 15, “Rotary Satellite Club of Ending Forced Organ Harvesting, Kansas, USA” was born with the official blessings from RI!
Shirley Hu is a Coordinator of RAGAS and served as the Chair of EHT in district 5810 in Texas before she moved to Delaware in April. She is currently with RCEHT (Rotary Club to End Human Trafficking) based in Minnesota. She is proud to stand with Amelia, Patti and Stephanie behind the RSC of EFOH to fulfill their mission!
With 9 new members joining Rotary through the EFOH club, this is a great example of how cause-based clubs can support satellite clubs with a niche focus related to theirs and how we can continue to GROW ROTARY!
Let us welcome the new satellite club – RSC of EFOH! If you are interested in learning more about Forced Organ Harvesting or would like to have a program on the subject at your club meeting, please contact the Chairperson Ien Mason at contact@efoh.org.
This year Emporia Rotary Club will direct a district grant to support the baby closet. The baby closet is hosted by the First Congregational Church. The Baby Closet provides baby needs to families with children up to five years old. They provide clothing, toys, food, diapers, wipes and other needs – anything a baby or toddler can use except car seats. Clothing, toys, strollers, and other durable goods are donated. The food, formula, diapers, wipes, and other consumables are purchased with cash donations from the public and now the Rotary. At the club meeting on August 9, members heard from Pastor Cheryl Henson and Becky Goodman, the coordinator of the baby closet; both are grandmothers of nearly 20 children combined.
Pictured from left to right are Pastor Cheryl Henson, pastor of First Congregational Church in Emporia, and Becky Goodman, coordinator of the baby closet.
Mid-August saw the children in the Gardner Edgerton School District head back to school. The Gardner Rotary Club was committed to see that local students had a journey free of litter as they settled back in at the seven elementary, three middle, and one high school in the district. Saturday, August 6th, the club chose assignments and headed out to each school to clean up sidewalks, parking lots, and walkways around the schools.
This project, like others taking place in the Gardner club, was member-initiated and member-driven. This year the club is challenging every member to find something they are passionate about and DO something about it. The club has been challenged to answer daily: “Why Are We Here?” and to take action based on personal passions. The 12 bags of trash collected are the result of one member spreading that passion through the club.
This August held five Tuesdays, which provided the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club with five opportunities for meetings, with quite a bit of variety.
The KCK Rotary Club was pleased to host District Governor Stephanie Meyer for her official club visit and welcomed her to the Ballroom at Memorial Hall in downtown KCK. DG Meyer shared her personal story as well as her vision for District 5710. Luckily, DG Meyer left behind some of her infectious enthusiasm for this Rotary year!
The Club also welcomed a couple of writers this month: local author Michael Kolich one week and Monique Hammond, a researcher and author from Minnesota, another week. Mr. Kolich shared that his book was inspired by his time growing up in KCK, and he encouraged members to write their own story. Ms. Hammond is a Rotarian from Minnesota who has spoken to numerous Rotary Clubs across the US and other English-speaking countries. As a result of her loss of hearing as an adult, Ms. Hammond has been inspired to conduct extensive research on hearing loss and prevention of hearing loss to carry out her mission to “keep people of all ages hearing better, longer.”
Taking advantage of a lovely and atypical August evening in Kansas, the Club hosted a tailgate at Legends Field prior to a Kansas City Monarchs game. The tailgate provided a great opportunity for visiting with fellow Rotarians and their family and friends. Closing out August, Erin Stryka, the Executive Director of Rosedale Development Association, spoke to the Club about RDA’s goals and wonderful impact in the community.
Rotarian Mike Sevcik delivers Meals on Wheels – our club delivers meals Mondays & Wednesdays to very appreciative seniors in our community.
Several of our members (left to right, front row: Tamara Sevcik, Ellen Bogdan, DeEtte Lombard, Marcia Irvine, & Cassie Blakely; left to right, back row: Larry Martin, Timothy Moran, John Donovan, & Bob Walters) enjoyed our recent team training in Lawrence.
Rotary Park Clean Up was quick and easy with many members (and guests) showing up to work hard and get’r done!
We were happy to host one of our RYLA Delegates, Austin Davis. He told us about his experience while attending RYLA this year. Austin was also selected by his peers at Boys State to serve as Governor of Boys State.
A future Interactor (Julia Reid) assists Sergeant at Arms, Karel Sigtenhorst, with the pot drawing while her Mom, Vanessa looks on.
For a summer month, August was fairly busy. The Manhattan Rotary Club had great programs:
Jenny Barton, Alzheimer’s Association
Todd Holmberg, McCain Performance Series
Eric Higgins, Economic Outlook
Antonina Broyaka, Escape from Ukraine; War’s impact on World Food Exports
Six Rotarians received Paul Harris Fellow recognitions, ranging from levels PHF +1 to +8.
Nine club members assisted with the running and prize distribution of the Manhattan Parks and Rec Just Tri It Triathlon. Past District Governor Vern Henricks, new member Dave Lewis and president Steven Graham participated in a District 5710 Leadership Meeting in Lawrence. Two club leaders attended the TEAM Training session. The club received a new shipment of 5000+ Disney Books plus 4 pallets of Clorox Wipes to distribute to local schools and libraries. Six club members assisted with unloading. Next comes sorting and distribution.
In an effort to educate the local community on water issues and raise funds to support worthwhile water-related projects locally, regionally, and internationally, Konza Rotary initiated Water Matters Day in 2011. Since 2011, more than $105,000 has been distributed for the cause. At this year’s event on Saturday August 6th, the club and the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan worked together to provide activity booths and water play stations throughout the zoo. Manhattan Konza Rotary also presented checks to several local organizations to assist with their water-related causes.
The Overbrook Rotary Club spent a total of $2346.18 on swimming pool safety equipment and supplies for the City of Overbrook. Grant money of $1556 was received from the Rotary District 5710 - Eastern Kansas Rotary and $790.18 was contributed by the Overbrook Rotary Club. This money was used to purchase swimming pool ropes, hooks, floats and a concrete anchor to replace the existing pool rope system. Also purchased were lifeguard rescue tubes, whistles, lanyards, water bottles, children life vests, an outdoor storage cabinet, nine outdoor chairs, four bathhouse barstools, a swimming pool basketball hoop, water basketball and football, swim lesson toys, and towels. It is estimated 350 kids / adults come to the City of Overbrook pool each week.
Left picture from left to right: Larry Butel, Mike Bronoski, Ann Fawl (Pool Manager), Gerry Coffman, Marian Massoth, Austin Michaelis (lifegard), Vic Robbins, Derrick Dahl, Jim Koger (Overbrook City Clerk) and Randy Durbin (Overbrook Club President).
Right picture from left to right Jim Koger (Overbrook City Clerk), Gerry Coffman, Vic Robbins, Marian Massoth, Larry Butel and Ann Fawl (Pool Manager)
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Trooper Tiffany Baylark receiving a Rotary 4-Way Test pen from 2021-22 Overbrook Rotary President Randy Durbin.
Technical Trooper Tiffany Baylark (formally from Lyndon, Ks) spoke at the Overbrook Rotary Club. Tiffany is the Public Resource Officer - Troop A/Kansas City Area. The club was informed of her duties as a Trooper and her background, also she shared what her day is like and why she loves her job. Kansas is very fortunate to have troopers like her and the Overbrook Rotary truly enjoyed the time she spent with us.
“If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” Zig Ziglar
Overland Park Rotary is a club of great history and roots. Constant is the focus - “Service Above Self”.
Last spring, looking forward with vision, Jameia Haines, Overland Park Rotary past president, asked Laurie McCormack, incoming president to lead an Overland Park Rotary Strategic Plan committee. Seventeen Rotarians participated in active conversation and engagement over the course of several weeks. They worked on five elements of importance to all Rotarians – Membership, Structure, Rotary International, Service, Meetings and Programming.
The Strategic Plan committee crafted an exciting mission driven plan that was unanimously approved in July by the Overland Park Rotary Club. This robust plan has been embraced and we look forward with enthusiasm.
Also in July the Overland Park Rotary elected to its leadership:
Wild Poliovirus Weekly Update
District Team Seminar Training 2022 was a great success! One hundred Rotarians registered. Thank you to DG Stephanie Meyer, our guest speaker, the Rotary panel and all attendees. Your participation made this half day training opportunity engaging, fun, and purposeful. Of course, the complimentary brunch and beverages (to include Bloody Marys and Mimosas) added to the success! 
It is with great honor that I take my recent appointment to District Rotary Foundation Chair. I look forward to working with our wonderful string of District Governors and all of the Foundation committees. Our D5710 Foundation committee met just last week and I am excited about all the goals that we have in front of us. I think this year may be one of our best years yet in Foundation giving. We have not finalized all of our goals as of this writing, however I expect to be able to share those goals with you very soon. I am also trilled to be working with a phenomenal D5710 team! Our team is Stephen Graham, Carol Wheeler, William Richter, Greg Shondell, Jim Arnett, and Chuck Udell. You may hear from them a few times throughout the year as we strive to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation. You will be hearing from me throughout the year as well. In the attempt to achieve more transparency, I will be focusing on some of the many projects in our district that are using Foundation funds through District and Global grants. Please feel free to help me if you have a special project you would like me to showcase. If you would like me to speak to your club about the Rotary Foundation in any way, please contact me at 
Join us for the next District 5710 End Human Trafficking Committee meeting will be held virtually on Wednesday, September 7th, from 8:30am - 9:30am. 
Our District 5710 Membership Team is up and running! We are excited and ready to help all of our district clubs grow more so that we can serve more people and improve their lives. Here is our team member line-up:
At TEAM training in Lawrence a couple of weeks ago, a new Rotarian suggested we needed to do a better job at explaining our customs and traditions, indeed, the history of Rotary. He specifically used “why do we ring a bell” as an example.
In 2018, a booth from HOF (House of Friendship) at the RI Convention in Toronto with the name of “End Organ Trafficking Now” caught Rotarian Shirley Hu’s attention. People at the booth were distributing flyers about forced organ harvesting - a crime against humanity that has been going on for more than 20 years. Traveling from halfway around the world, these booth exhibitors belonged to an NGO, TAICOT (Taiwan Association for International Care of Organ Transplant).
In 2022, with the proactive support from the RAGAS Chair Dave McCleary, Shirley recruited a group of four volunteers to help distribute flyers raising awareness of FOH (Forced Organ Harvesting) at the RAGAS booth at the Houston Convention. Crystal Chen was one of them.
Crystal was also invited as a featured speaker in one of the breakout sessions hosted by RAGAS. The session was standing room only.
This year Emporia Rotary Club will direct a district grant to support the baby closet. The baby closet is hosted by the First Congregational Church. The Baby Closet provides baby needs to families with children up to five years old. They provide clothing, toys, food, diapers, wipes and other needs – anything a baby or toddler can use except car seats. Clothing, toys, strollers, and other durable goods are donated. The food, formula, diapers, wipes, and other consumables are purchased with cash donations from the public and now the Rotary. At the club meeting on August 9, members heard from Pastor Cheryl Henson and Becky Goodman, the coordinator of the baby closet; both are grandmothers of nearly 20 children combined.
This August held five Tuesdays, which provided the Kansas City, Kansas Rotary Club with five opportunities for meetings, with quite a bit of variety.
Several of our members (left to right, front row: Tamara Sevcik, Ellen Bogdan, DeEtte Lombard, Marcia Irvine, & Cassie Blakely; left to right, back row: Larry Martin, Timothy Moran, John Donovan, & Bob Walters) enjoyed our recent team training in Lawrence.
Trooper Tiffany Baylark receiving a Rotary 4-Way Test pen from 2021-22 Overbrook Rotary President Randy Durbin.
“If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” Zig Ziglar.png)
