District 7230 Shareletter

Volume 1 Number 10 July 2008

Robert G. CucinellImmediate Past

District Governor

Newsletter Editor-in-ChiefNancy Wallace

Senior Editors Jay Feinsod • James Kushner

Linda Rey

EditorsDeborah Cooke • William Currie

Barry Litcofsky • Jim RomeoGeri Schwalb

Art EditorMarguerite Chadwick-Juner

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ROTARY SHARESRotary International

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My term as District Governorhascometoanendanditistimetolookbackandreflectontheachieve-mentsthathaveoccurredduringmytermwiththehelpofmanydedicat-edRotariansfromourDistrict. Therehavebeenmanynewandenhancedprograms,seminars,andprojects: • We joined 5 other districts to have aMulti-District PETS for our club presidentselectto learnfromtopspeakersandcollabo-ratewithupto300presidentelects. •WehadanoutstandingDistrictAssem-blywhere club leaderswere inspiredby theDistrictLeaderspassionandknowledge. •TheDistrictLeadershavebeenworkingextremely long hours to successfully accom-plishrecordbreakingresultsintheirareas. •WiththemomentumgeneratedattheAssembly, the District Leadership team hasbeen meeting monthly to address all areasof District involvement and support of theclubs. •OnJune28,wewerehonoredtohavetheVicePresidentofRotaryInternationalMi-chaelMcGovernpresidingat the installationoftheDistrictGovernoratthebeautifulven-ueof theScarsdaleGolfClubhostedby theHartsdaleRotaryClub.

2007-2008 Has Been a Great Rotary Year!

Continued on page 2

•FourrepresentativesoftheDistrict,in-cluding the District Governor attended thePresidentialMembershipSeminarinPennsyl-vania. • On September 20, the District had afantastic membership seminar with speakersfromas farawayasMaineaddressingRotar-iansofourDistrictwhichwascoordinatedbyourDistrictMembershipChairmenBillCur-rieandGeorgeCamp. • On October 13, we joined with fiveother districts to have a Foundation Semi-nar in our District with the Rotary Interna-tionalPresidentElectD.K.LeeasthekeynotespeakeralongwithRIDirectorandVPMikeMcGovern,RIDirectorElectMikeColasurdoandothersgivinginformativeandinterestingspeeches. •Wehaveexpandedtheuseofourweb-siteandregistrationofRotarians to facilitatethedistributionofemailsandnewsletters. • The Website has been stocked withmanyinterestinginformativearticlesandsug-gestions for clubs and Rotarians to improve

theirknowledgeofRotary. •WehaveformedaComputerInforma-tionTechnologyCommitteeunderthechair-manship of John Porco which has given theDistrict major information, videos, and pic-turesofseminarsandeventsinanadditionalDistrict Web Site RIDistrict7230.org. ThisCITcommitteehascreatedameansbywhichtheDistrictNewslettercanbedisseminated. • Our Rotary District has published 10NewslettersduringthisyeartokeepRotariansinformedofDistrict events and share in theclubeventsandprojects. • Future District Governor 2010-2011GeorgeCampattendedanNationalImmuni-zationDayduringatwoweektriptoBangla-deshandIndia. • In November we had an outstandingRYLA camp in Ashokan, NewYork offeringhighschoolstudentsawonderfulopportuni-tytolearnaboutRotaryandleadershipwhilehavingawonderfulexperienceinthebeautifulhillsnearLakeMinnewaska.ThiswaschairedbySueDonnellyandHenryAtterbury. • The Group Study Exchange Program

By Supriya Mishra GoingintoRYLAInternationalIalreadyknew I want to start a Rotaract Club whenIreturntoStonyBrookthisfall.Myexperi-encefromRYLAInternationaldidnotneces-sarilymotivatemetobecomealeaderorjointhe Rotary effort; I had already experiencedthatwhenIwasanactivememberandoffi-cer in the InteractClub inmyhigh school.MyRYLAexperience rather taughtmehowtosharpenmyleadershipskillsandbecomeabetterleaderthanIalreadyam.Havinggone

The RYLA International Experience

Continued on page 4

Our GSE Team returns from Germany.

RI President Wilf Wilkinson with D7230 RYLA representatives Dzifa Yador (l.) and Supriya Mishra (r.).

with Germany was extremely successful.Many Rotarianswere inspired anddelightedtobepartof theprogram.ThevisitingGer-manteamwasoutstanding.Wehavealsore-ceived reports from Germany that our teamhadagreattimeaswell. •WehaveselectedTaliaPageasouram-bassadorialscholar.ShewillstudyinAustraliaduringnextyear.Wearealsoincontactwithlast year’s ambassadorial scholar who is cur-rentlystudyinginAfrica. •WehadanoutstandingRotaryUNDayattended by over 1,200 people who learnedfromRotaryandUNleaderswhattheyaredo-ingtohelpothersintheworldalleviatepov-ertyandachievepeace. •WehaveappliedforandobtainedaPub-licRelationsGrantfromRotaryInternationalandweareadvertisinginformationaboutRo-tary in the lobbyof theWestchesterCountyAirportintheirdigitaldisplayunits. • We held the first 4-way Speech Con-testtoencouragehighschoolstudentstolearnabouttheRotary4-waytest.Ourgoalsaretoimprove ethics and morality among youngstudents. •OurWaterProjectsareaspecialpassionof mine. We have now expanded to severaldifferentareasofAfrica,Madagascar,CentralAmericaandEcuador. •TheMountKiscoRotaryClubhasob-tained a literacy project grant for South Af-rica.Wehavelocalcommunityliteracygrants

Staten Island Interact charter meeting.

Literacy Projects in District 7230

By Stanley Herz-PearlmanDistrict Literacy Coordinator 2007-2008 OnJune16th,amidstlivepiano,food,andwine,thewind-uptotheDistrictLiteracyProjectswasagalaeventthrownbyMahopacNationalBankfortheclubsthatparticipated.Theeve-ningalsoservedastheribboncuttingceremonyfortherecentlyacquiredSleepyHollowBranch(andtwootherbranches)nowunderthebannerofMNB.Theover60peopleattendingrepre-sentedMNBexecutivesaswellastheRotarians. TheDistrictRotaryClubsreceivingawardswere:Croton-on-Hudson,Briarcliff,Mt.Pleasant,Ossining,Peekskill,Pleasantville,Somers,Tarrytown,andYorktown. CharleyHellmich,onbehalfofthebank,awardedcertificatestoeachoftheclubs,andparticipantscorrespondinglyspokeabouttheirindividualprojects.MahopacNationalBankhasawardedalmost$20,000InthethreeyearsthattheyhavesponsoredDistrict literacyprojects.Andwiththatseedmoney,manyoftheclubshavebeenabletoraisestillmorefundsfromotherbusinesses.

withmatchingfundsfromMahopacNationalBank,thankstoStanleyHertzPearlman •Forthefirsttimeever,wesenttwostu-dents to the International RYLA Camp atthe International Rotary Convention in LA.WhenImetthemattheconvention,theiren-thusiasmwasoverwhelming. •WehavehadInteractactivitiesandfundraiserswherewe’veencouragedtheyoungIn-teractorstobeinvolvedincommunityserviceworking with Rotarians and learning aboutwhatRotarydoes. • We had a wonderful fellowship expe-rienceOctober21–28withNewYork andBermuda Rotarians joining me at dinners,cocktailpartiesandtheofficialDistrictGov-ernorvisits. •WeobtainedapprovalfromRotaryIn-ternational’sBoardofDirectorsforourRotaryDistricttoincorporateasanot-for-profitcor-poration. The incorporation of the DistrictprovidesliabilityprotectionforeachRotarianintheDistrictandinstillsthebenefitsofcor-porategovernance. •We had a very successful and well at-tended Paul Harris Luncheon in WhitePlains. •TheRotaryDistrictConferenceinSara-togaSpringswasexceptional initsentertain-ment, fellowship and international flavor.The Conference was so inspirational severalattendeesseekingtotravel toothercountriesexpressedaninterestininvolvementinfutureNIDs. •Wehave,aftermanyyears,reinstituteda Rotary Leadership Institute held this yearatConcordiaCollegeonMarch1 to inspireRotarianswithinformationaboutRotaryandenhancetheirleadershipskills. •WehavebeenhonoredtohaveoneofourDistrictRotariansPDGDonLeeselectedtobeoneof40RotaryInternationalAssem-blyTrainingLeadersfor2years.Wealsocon-

District 7230’s Group Study Exchange Team in Germany.

Rotary Year 2007-2008Continued from page 1

gratulatePDGDonLeeonhisappointmentbyRotary International to servenextyearasInternationalViceChairofRotaract.

Continued on page 3

•RotaryPresidentsineachareahavehadatleastoneormorejointmeetingstocollabo-rateanddiscussmulti-clubprojects. •Wehaveseenmoreclubsdevelopweb-sites and improve public exposure in theircommunitiesand theworldtospreadthegoodworksofRotary. • We started our ownRotary Foundation AlumniChapterforthefirsttimeinRotaryDistrict7230. •Thisyear,webrokeallrecords for contributions toTheRotaryFoundation.Wehaveadded4newmajordo-norsand4newPaulHarrisSociety members and haveawarded75PaulHarrisFel-lowships. • We formed a newInteract Club at the SusanF. Wagner High School inStatenIslandinJanuary2008. • The Ambassadorial Scholar from Ger-many,MajaPawelke,visitedtheBermudaRo-taryclubs thanks to the invaluableassistance

Rotary Images/Monika LeeRepresentatives of the four spearheading partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative addressed RI Convention attendees and the media on Tuesday. From left: Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF; Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization; Robert S. Scott, chair of The Rotary Foundation; and Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ofGregArcaroandGildaFurbert. •TheDistrictishelpingmanyclubswithMatching District Simplified Grant fundsfromTheRotaryFoundationtopurchase(17)Shelter Boxes to help hundreds of homelesspeopleinMyanmarandChina. AllofthetimeandefforttohelptheDis-trictduringthepastyearwouldnothavebeen

possiblewithoutthesupportofmywife,Don-na. Mysincereappreciationandthanksisex-tendedtoall theDistrictLeadersandRotar-ians of this great District including withoutlimitation Len Andrew, Greg Arcaro, HenryAtterbury, Bob Benson, John Bahr, George

District 7230’s Shelterbox effort.

The Dynamism of Interact

TheInteractprogramwasinitiatedinre-sponsetoRotary’sdesiretodevelopyouthser-vice.ThenameInteractisthecombinationofthewords“international”and“action”. ThefirstInteractclubwasfoundedinMelbourne,FL at Melbourne High School in October1962. Interact is a great way to meet peopleandmakenew friends. Interactors organizedances,sportingevents,andotheractivitiesasawaytoraisefundsandhavefunatthesametime.Workingtogetheroncarwashes,fooddrives,orclean-upcampaigns,clubmembersgettoknoweachotherbetterandbuildmanylasting friendships. At Interact conferencesfor clubs in a specific area, members have achance to expand their network of Interactfriendships and share ideas for projects andotherclubactivities. Interactors improve their communities,develop leadership skills and make a differ-enceintheworld.

The Family of Rotary ByjoiningInteract,youareunitingwithover246,000youngpeoplein109countrieswhobelongtomorethan10,700clubs.In-teractors are committed to community andinternational service, and exhibit leadershipskillsandpersonalintegrityintoadulthood.

Rotary Year 2007-2008Continued from page 2

Camp, Paul Caruso, Keith Clifton, DebraCook, Walter Cook, John H. Cooper, EvaCorridor , Roman Ciosek, Janet Cuney, BillCurrie,DavidDelMonte,VeraDeMarco,SueDonnelly, Timothy Donohue, Barbara Ed-wards, CobyEllingwood, Jay Feinsod,GildaFurbert,JackFurnari,BarbaraGerrard,MikeGraessle, Stanley Herz-Pearlman, EdwardHicks,MichaelHymes,DelanoIngham,Di-ana Juettner, John Kessaram, Lori Korelas,Geroge Koplinka, Don Lee, Barry Litcofsky,HelenLynch,MantonMartin,TomMcCon-non,GeorgeMcKinnis,WalterMetzger,KarlMildeJr.,TomMinozzi,GeorgeneMongarel-la, Andrew Morzello, Alan Nemlich, GlenNygreen, Ted Nygreen Ph. D, John Porco,Bunny Rappaport, Linda Rey, Jim Romeo,DavidRowntree,SteveScholle,AlixSchnee,GeriSchwalb,GladysSchweiger,KenSiggins,BarrySinger,EricStorbergRogerSwanson,RonTvert,NancyWallace,JamesWatlington,SusanneWetzel,andAlfredaWilliams. ThanksalsotoallRotarianshelpingoutontheGSEprogramsandallClubPresidentsfor their great leadership and accomplish-ments. I wish my successor District GovernorEric Storberg great success with his Rotaryyear.Hehasmyfullsupport.

YoursinRotaryService,BobCucinell

ImmediatePastDistrictGovernor

PDG Gilda Chirafisi (l.) and RI Trustee Carolyn Jones.

As if shotfromastar inouterspaceat-tendees viewed the entire the world beforethemattheRotaryInternationalConventionin Los Angeles. Twenty thousand Rotariansfrom almost 150 countries in the world at-tended the convention to learn how RotarycontinuestotransformlivesandhelpachievetheUNmillenniumgoalsonpeace,hunger,health,literacyandpoverty.AftertheRotar-ian was wowed by the accomplishments ofRotaryinthepastyear,eachwasentertainedbyoutstandingartists, suchasNatalieCole,Burt Bachrach, David Gaines, the PasadenaJazzBand,theAllBoysChoir. TheFamilyofRotarywastrulyappreci-atedbyattendeesatthe“HouseofFriendship”where300standsweresetupbyNGOs,Ro-taryFellowshipgroups,RotaryActiongroupsand Rotary Districts. Entertainment at theHouseofFriendshipwasavailablefrommanydifferentcountries,alldaylong.TheConven-tionwaspackedwithfellowship,funandin-formation.

Rotary International ConventionLos Angeles, California

New attendees walked away from theconvention with pride in the wonderful or-ganization of which they are members andfrequent attendees walked away with thesameprideandcontinuedconfidence in theexcellentworkRotarydoes in theworld. IthasoftenbeensaidthatnoonereallyknowsRotaryuntiltheyattendoneRotaryInterna-tionalConvention.PresidentofRotaryInter-nationalWilfWilkinsonproved to all thosewhoattended thatRotaryShares. PresidentElectD.K.Leeconvincedeveryonethatwemust“MakeDreamsReal”nextyearandhelptheyouthinthisworld,improvetheirhealth,enhanceeducationandalleviatepovertywhileinstillingthetruemoralethicalvaluesofRo-tary. TheconventionendedwiththeresolveofallRotariansthatRotarywiththehelpofitspartnerswilleradicatepolio.

WespeakproudlyoftheworkofTheRo-tary Foundation projects such as the world-wideeffort toeliminatepolioasanepidemicproblem.Weshouldalsorecognizethepoweroftheclub-basedoutreachprojectswhichtack-lelocalproblemsintheareasourclubsserve. Alloftheworldproblemswhichtheme-dia report are also represented in our localcommunities.Hunger,forexample,occursinnearlyeverycommunity.Foodpantriesservetheneedsoffamiliesandindividualswhoaretemporarily deprived of income or facilities.These are often administered by churches orothergroups.Theyallseektoserveidentifiedneedswithout regard to thegroup identifica-tion. Problemsof child care,housingneeds,water and sanitation, transportation, seniorcitizens often living alone or couples in iso-lation, recreation for teenagers, these are allproblems/issues which occur in all our com-munities.

The Hungry and Needy in Our Own

Communities

throughatrulyamazinginternationalexperi-enceevenifitwasinacollegecampuswithinmyNationonly,Iwasabletograsponeveryimportant quality of a good leader. Whenfaced with decisions not only must a greatleaderdecideuponasolutionthatisbestbutbest for all concerned. Keeping in mind anactivityfrommyexperiencecalledRYLAball,I learnedthateven if themajorityknewtherulestoawell-knownAmericangamecalledkickball, the participants from other coun-triesnotnative to this gamewereunable tocontribute to the decision-making involvedintheexercise.FromthisspecificexperienceIlearnedtobelessignorantandrealizedthatthe world is much different outside of mycomfort zone. I realized that Europe is notjust France and Germany; I simply cannotcontinuetolivemylifefocusedonjustNorthAmericaorevenjustNewYorkormyhome-town Ossining. I have learned that I mustconsiderothers indecisionmaking,whetheritbeothergroups,othertowns,otherstatesorothercountries.FromRYLAIsawthatwhenaskedtoenvision2030inoneofouractivitiesthe participants from Sweden, the Philippi-ans,Argentina,AfricaandtheUnitedStates,ALLhadthesameideasandgoals.FromthisI realizedthat ifonlya fewpeople thatpar-ticipatedinthiseventcancomefromdiffer-entpartsoftheworldandstillhavethesamegoals,thinkaboutallthoseotherindividualswhoprobablywantthesame.BecauseofmyexperienceinRYLAIwillnowalwaysconsid-erothersbeforemakinganydecisions,IwillbemoreawareofworldlyissuesandconcernsandIwillbelievethatnomatterhowdifferentweareincultureorbeliefs,intheendofitall,weallwantthesame:thebetterforourworld.InthefutureIhopetopassonmyexperiencetoothersandworktogetherwithasmanyin-dividualsasIcaninfectwiththeideathatitistimetomakedreamsreal;thoseexactdreamsthatweallessentiallyshare.

RYLA InternationalContinued from page 1

LocalRotaryClubswiththemotto“Ser-viceAboveSelf ”knowtheirlocalcommunitiesandneeds.Theyrecognizetheyareinthebestposition to work with others locally, includ-inggovernmentandsocialagencies,inraisingawarenessof theneedsof theirareasandnotassumeotherswillsomehow,unbidden,comeforwardwiththeanswerstothecommunities’needs. ROTARYISAPOWERFULENGINEFOR LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITYBUILDING!

International camaraderie was evident at the RI Convention in Los Angeles as was the pres-ence of Rotarians from District 7230.