April, 2006 My Fellow Rotarians - Rotary's Global History Fellowship

District 6440 Histories 2005
On March 25, the President's Elect Training Seminar was held at the RI Auditorium, in Evanston, with
nearly 100% of the President's Elect in attendance. It was hosted by the Arlington Heights Breakfast
Club, Tom Mead Chairman. The District Assembly followed this on March 13, at the Holiday Inn, at the
Crowne Plaza, in Northbrook. The Rotary Club of Rolling Meadows and Corbitte Henry, Chairman,
hosted this event. With Rotary International President-Elect Cliff Dochterman as keynote speaker, a
crowd of almost 450 attended. A gala party and dinner at the Avalon Banquets, on June 25, heralded the
installation of the new Governor. The Rotary Club of Rolling Meadows was in charge of planning the
festivities and Floyd Brown, of the Rotary Club of Elgin, served as Master of Ceremonies.
Shortly after July 1, the furious rounds of Official Governor's Visits, to 66 clubs, began. With only rare
exceptions the visits went extremely well and I was warmly received at every club. These visits were the
highlight of the year and I was amazed to learn the breadth and scope of the service efforts throughout
the District. All visits, with one exception, were completed before Christmas.
Goals for the year presented by the Governor and ratified by the Presidents and Clubs were:
Actively support the theme and goals of Rotary International and President Cliff Dochterman "REAL
HAPPINESS IS HELPING OTHERS". Achieve a net membership gain of 10 %, with at least 5% in
existing clubs. Organize and charter two new clubs. Support the Rotary Foundation $180,000 General
Giving. Enroll two new planned/ Endowment Foundation givers per club.
Each club to have a project to promote functional literacy. Improve ecology and the environment
through "Preserve Planet Earth".Stress Rotary Basics - encourage the involvement of every Rotarian in
some aspect of Rotary Service - Club, Community, Vocational or International.
Make the community more knowledgeable of Rotary activities and a partner in service.
Increase attendance at the District Conference by 10% and encourage families to attend.
The goals were generally achieved with the main exception of membership. Despite a determined effort,
there was a net loss in members of 15. This occurred even with the chartering of two new clubs, which
did achieve the goal of extension. The Rotary Club of Woodstock Morning received its charter on
September 26, 1992, and the Rotary Club of Northbrook Early Risers its charter on June 10, 1993.
I would like to point out just a few examples of the many activities that brought "Real Happiness is
Helping Others" to life. Every club had many very worthwhile projects.
Woodstock’s Christmas Clearing House; Antioch’s Auction Fundraiser; Schaumburg’s Aids Awareness
Program; Crystal Lake Dawnbreakers’ Coat-a-Kid Project; Wilmette Harbor’s Vocational Workshops;
Palatine’s Friendship Park; and Libertyville’s Service to seniors.
New initiatives this year included district-wide liability insurance coverage. For the first time all clubs
and Rotarians were covered by district sponsored liability insurance at a modest cost which saved
individual clubs substantial amounts. A Rotary Information Seminar, called the ABCs of Rotary, under
the excellent leadership and organization of Karen Kline, was an outstanding success and it has
continued in succeeding years. The District responded to an extraordinary appeal by RI President Cliff
Dochterman to aid refugees in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with over $16,000, from 40 clubs. This,
with over $1.5 million from Rotary Worldwide, was used to supply blankets, food, medicine, etc.
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