Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Stop Hunger Now Event A Success


It is my pleasure and honor to send the final report for the Stop Hunger Now Event held on December 5th at the Franklin County High School. We raised $3,000 which was matched $3,000 by the District Simplified Grant. Rotarian Mike Greer raised another $1,500 from Glade Hill Baptist Church. Jon Morris, Local Services Chairperson, led the effort with a very active Local Service Committee from the Rocky Mount Rotary Club. Andre Peery was the volunteer coordinator for the event. Charlie Boothe organized the public relations effort.

We packaged 30,000 meals using approximately 350 volunteers. Our goal was 150 volunteers for the event. We had volunteers from our Interact Club, Rotoract Club, Boy Scout Troops, Girl Scout Troops and S.T.E.P., youth groups from several churches, C.H.A.M.P.S. group to keep kids in school to graduate, teachers and parents. We had strong participation from our local Rotarians. We also had volunteers from New Hope UMC, Redwood UMC, Rocky Mount UMC, and many other churches.

The initial article in the Franklin News Post can be read at this link: http://www.thefranklinnewspost.com/article.cfm?ID=14527&back=archives. We've included both articles in the final report which appeared in the Franklin News-Post. Stop Hunger Now was an excellent partner and we are very happy with the support and leadership from Troy Henson. The Rocky Mount Rotary Club may consider this project as an annual event.

It was a real team effort within the Rocky Mount Rotary Club and within our community. I thank every Rotarian who was involved in the planning, community outreach, volunteer coordination, and working to prepare the meals.

Regards,

Walter Hughes
President, Rotary Club of Rocky Mount, VA USA

Monday, November 9, 2009

Membership Drive and Celebration of Club

Please come to our meeting on Thursday, November 12th. It will be a celebration of our Rocky Mount Rotary Club. Rotarians will be talking about what we do as a club locally, internationally, our July 4th Celebration, the Rotary Foundation and Rotary International and why they choose to join our club.

Membership Drive: I've attached and included in the body of this email the names of the potential members who were sent invitations to the Rotary Club meeting on Thursday, November 12th. If you recommended one of the people on this list, please call them personally to invite them to the meeting. If you are a friend of one of the people on the list, please feel free to welcome them to come. We are also asking that you sit at a table with guests instead of having a 100% Rotary table. We've had a positive vote on all of the thirty-one (31) people on the list. We want them in our club. Our goal is to recruit about 5 to 10 of those listed.

We had about seven people recommended that were not invited due to concerns from current members in the club.

There's a Rotary Foundation Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 11th, at 6:00 PM. If you'd like to attend, please let me know. It is a great way to learn about the Rotary Foundation and meet others from the Roanoke area. The session will be held at “202 Market” in Roanoke. They will be serving a meal as well. If you are on the local or international service committees, it would be great for you to go.

Susan is doing very well with her treatments. Thanks for all of your encouragement, support, and prayers. She has a lot of energy and love of life. The full body scan did not find any sign of cancer!

Our latest clean water grant is up to $88,800. The grant number is 71926. We have about $14,000 to raise from Rotary Clubs within our district. I could use your help to obtain the pledges from our neighboring clubs. Wells are being dug everyday from our previous grants. We are also repairing wells and even digging household latrines for one city.

It is time to vote on our President nominee who will serve in 2011-2012. Al Flora is our President-Elect for 2010-2011. The three candidates are Joanna Hudzik, Eric Lorens and Charlie Boothe. Please think about this important selection. We will probably vote in two weeks at our club assembly. If you have another nomination, please let a member of the board know.

Interact and Rotaract News: We are sponsoring a high school senior, Sewong Jung, to compete in the Interact Speech Contest on Dec. 11th. We are also sponsoring the President of Interact to attend the weekend Leadership Weekend in December. The Rotaract Club at Ferrum College has elected officers. They are moving closer to being recogized by Ferrum College. If you can chaperone the speaker to Virginia Tech on Friday, Dec. 11th, please let Florella or I know.

Babies: Our club is celebrating the birth of future Rotarians. Please congratulate Brian Hamilton and Jason Turner (and their wives) for their great news.

Walter Hughes
President, Rotary Club of Rocky Mount, VA USA

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Rocky Mount Rotary Committees

We are setting up committees for our club. The executive board will meet every third Thursday of month or as needed after morning meeting.

President Walter Hughes, Jr. President-Elect Al Flora
President Nominee To Be Determined Past President Jason Turner
Secretary Eric Lorens Treasurer Charles Boothe
Local Service Jon Morris Club Administration Mike Greer
International Service Chuck Harris Membership Mark Newbill
4th of July Team Lisa Schenk Director Mark Hudzik

Local Service Chair: Jon Morris; Serve Franklin County with our time.
Walter Hughes, Sr., Rol Walters, Greg James, Butch Cassidy, Sam Campbell, Jon Morris, Rick Huff, Andre Perry, Ron Evans, Florella Johnson, Dave Lawton; Tiffany Grace, Al Flora;
Volunteer Coordinator Chair: Andre Perry; Find volunteers for specific projects in our area. Track individual volunteer hours. Be contact for groups needing help.
Hands-on Projects Chair: Ron Evans; Lead construction projects such as playgrounds, handicap ramps.
Rotaract Club at Ferrum Chair: Rol Walters; Greg James; Al Flora, Tiffany Grace; Dave Lawton; This can make your contributions be a lot more effective. Build new club at Ferrum College that promotes leadership and service. Build ties between Rocky Mount Rotary and Rotaract students.
Interact Club at FCHS Chair: Butch Cassidy; Andre Perry; Grow existing club at Franklin County High School to promote leadership and service. Build ties between Rocky Mount Rotary and Interact students.
Bloodmobile Chair: Walter Hughes, Sr.; Liaison with the Red Cross and make sure we have enough Rotarians to work the bloodmobile.

International Service Chair: Chuck Harris; Serve the World with our time.
Jim Bailey, Walter Hughes, Jr., Bill Jacobsen, Sam Litton, Walter Hughes, Sr.
Rotary Foundation Chair: Pat Cundiff; Mark Hudzik, Jim Bailey; Promote the Rotary Foundation. Encourage Paul Harris Sustainers. Recognize members as Paul Harris Members. Increase awareness of PolioPlus campaign. Increase support of District Simplified Grants and matching grants.
Group Study Exchange Chair: Walter Hughes, Sr.; Scott Martin, Jim Bailey; Find new GSE outgoing team members from Franklin County. Host an incoming GSE team.
World Community Svc Chair: Chuck Harris; Determine projects that deserve our support in Franklin County and around the world. The Indonesia project and Friends of Barnabas are two possibilities. Build rapport with US and International Rotary Clubs partnering with us. Help find funding for clean water grants and other deserving projects. Increase awareness & promote Rotary projects.
Clean Water Grants Chair: Walter Hughes, Jr.; Pat Cundiff; Chuck Harris; Promote clean water projects in Ghana. Speak about need for clean water. Be active in the life of each competitive matching grant.
Intl Hands-on Teams Chair: Bill Jacobsen; Find opportunities for hands-on team work around the world in Zambia, Ghana, and other countries. Advertise for team members and promote ways to participate such as on a PolioPlus team.
Youth Exchange Chair: Greg Harmon; Find students to exchange internationally.
Alumni Relations Chair: Greg Harmon; Find people who have been on GSE Teams, received Ambassadorial Scholarships, or been touched by Rotary in any other way. Build rapport with inactive honorary members. Make a contact list.

Finance Chair: Jerry Robertson; Serve with our financial resources.
$100 & $1 Tickets Chair: Jerry Robertson; Collect tickets and funds for $100 raffle and Dollar tickets at event. Deliver funds to treasurer. Keep track of not paid $100 tickets and make collections.
New Fundraiser Chair: Jason Turner; Plan, organize, and handle money for other fundraisers and deliver funds to our treasurer to be deposited.

Public Relations Chair: Charles Boothe; Mark Hudzik Communicate objectives of Rotary.
Rotary Foundation Chair: Charles Boothe; Publicize Rotary Foundation projects such as the clean water grants and PolioPlus. Write press releases for partner clubs.
Web Communications Chairs: Kevin Wray & Brian Hamilton; Build club web site. Look into Facebook and other networking web sites. Get info updated on dacdb database.
Bulletin Chair: TBD; Write monthly bulletin to be distributed at club meetings and via email. It will list upcoming speakers and achievements of our club and its members.
Historian Chair: TBD; Record life of club in photography and a written record. Research our club history.

July 4th Celebration Chair: Lisa Schenk and Mark Newbill; Deliver great event to our community; Members: Kathy Hodges, Jeanne Martin
July 4th Coordinator Chair: Lisa Schenk; Co-Chair: Mark Newbill
Sponsorship Fundraiser Chair: Larry Heaton; Find sponsors for July 4th Celebration
Games Chair: Greg Harmon & Butch Cassidy/Interact; Find and organize games for children at event
Vendor Team Chairs: Billy Kingery and Kevin Wray; Schedule, plan, and manage vendors at event.
Food/Drinks Chair: Danny Perdue; Determine fundraiser for our club at event to sell soft drinks or food.
Band/Entertainment Chair: Mark Hudzik; Find, sign, and manage bands for July 4th event. Obtain sound system for bands.
Publicity Chair: Kay Pagans; Get banners scheduled in Rocky Mount. Distribute posters throughout county. Work with PR Team to get word out about event.




Club Business Chair: Mike Greer; Help our club run smoothly;
Bill Jacobsen, Kay Pagans, Jeanne Martin
Attendance Chair: TBD; Assist Secretary in tracking attendance
Programs/Speakers Chair: Kay Pagans; Rick Huff; Schedule speakers for our meetings. Have contingency plans if speaker can’t make it.
Sgt. at Arms Chair: Mike Greer; Prepare meeting space. Pass out name tags. Welcome visitors. Conduct 50-50 raffle.
Food & Meeting Czar Chair: Jeanne Martin; Bill Jacobsen; Add variety to our breakfast menu and be the liaison to the Franklin Center.

Wes Naff Scholarship Chair: Brian Hamilton; Help students attend Ferrum College;
Treasurer Chair: Janet Stockton; Send funds to Ferrum College for Scholarship
Interview Coordinator Chair: Florella Johnson;
Liaison to Students Chair: Rol Walters; Contact with students regarding payments & questions.
Fundraising Chair: Kathy Hodges; Determine when a fundraiser is needed for Wes Naff Scholarship. Publicity Get recipient in the newspaper; Advertise scholarship with guidance counselors at high school. Ask Ferrum for Franklin County students going to Ferrum.

Membership Chair: Mark Newbill; Support Rotarians to “serve above self.”
Orientation Chair: Mark Newbill; Joanna Hudzik; Hold orientation meeting with new members. Keep new members informed and involved during first six months.
Fellowship/Family Chair: Dean Stone; Build rapport between members and find ways to include our families in events like a picnic, canoe trip, etc.
Recruiting/Club in a Club Chair: Mark Newbill; Kathy Hodges Identify new Rotarians and hold a membership drive. Develop model for other neighboring clubs in our district.
District Events Chair: Florella Johnson; Publicize District Conference, Rotary Leadership Institute, District Assembly, and Area 8 Joint Functions. Encourage partnerships with Smith Mtn. Rotary or other neighboring clubs. Apply for District Awards for our club.
Member Book Chair: Joanna Hudzik; Eric Lorens; Make sure all classifications are represented in our club and record each person’s classification in our records.

President’s Council Chair: Jason Turner, Past-President; Make sure Walter does job.
Members: All past-presidents; They provide counsel to president. They are to mentors to president-elect and president-nominee. They are also to give advice to chairpersons of key teams. Share wisdom!

New Club Planning Chair: Kathy Hodges; AJ Dudley; Mark Newbill. Determine feasibility of new club for lunch or dinner. Find way to retain members who have challenges meeting in the morning.

Note: More information can be found about each committee on the www.rotary.org web site. If you are not listed, please review possibilities for you to serve.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

We Were awarded Local Grant

The Rocky Mount Rotary Club was notified that we received Community Project Grant #0910-15 for $3,000. This money will be used to fund the Stop Hunger Now event that we will do in the fall at the Franklin County High School in Rocky Mount, VA. We also have potential funds from Glade Hill Baptist Church.

News from Rotary International and Other Clubs