THE SPOKE
Official Newsletter of the Salem Rotary Club

This week at Rotary...

JOHN S. HALL II
Past President of Salem Rotary & Past District Governor for District 7930
John Hall joined us this week to give a reclassification of sorts that was largely focused on his time and work as District Governor (DG) for 7930 in 2013-2014. There have been only four Salem Rotarians to serve as District Governor in our 100+ year history. John was interviewed for the role the year he served as President of the Salem Club in the 2009-2010 year. He was then appointed to the three-year term that begins with District Governor Nominee, District Governor Elect, and ends with District Governor. John noted that 60% of DGs serve in the role when they are retired, but he did not have that luxury. He worked full-time throughout his leadership service, which was challenging but still incredibly rewarding.
 
John shared a little about what goes into the training for Rotary District Leadership. There are intensive, mandatory trainings that allow you to interface with Club leaders from all over the world. His training, with 535 other DGs, took place in Vancouver, Canada. The training took 4 days and covered things like Rotary polices, practices and public speaking. Following the training there was the International Assembly which required a one-week trip to San Diego, California. There he met Rotarians from 170 different countries, some of whom are now his close friends. While at the Assembly, he was inspired by then incoming RI President Rob Burton. He shared a clip of Ron’s inspirational address.
 
The International Convention for that year was held in Portugal, where John joined over 20,000 Rotarians from across the globe. The opening and closing ceremonies were extraordinary and featured renowned speakers and famous musicians from all over the world. While on break, John was approached by someone who congratulated him for Rotary’s work to eradicate polio and shared a flyer encouraging Rotarians to think about a sanitation project in India that would provide all families with a toilet. With over 1.3 billion people in the country, India has significant issues with sanitation, because almost 60% of the population are without a toilet. While the Gates Foundation is leading the effort to address sanitation challenges in India, the Rotary Foundation has similar sanitation and water projects throughout the world. For every dollar contributed to the Foundation, $0.90 is spent on international projects.
 
John noted that the DG’s job is to inspire Rotarians to act and to get people involved throughout the district. Rotarians have the ability and the capacity to make a big difference in the world, and John is proud of all that the District has accomplished and the work that the Salem Club has done throughout his tenure as a Rotarian. He hopes there is another DG in the Club and encourages us to think about inviting more members to join us in the great work we do and great fun we have as Rotarians.

ROTARY MINUTE

Rinus shared that the Rotary Foundation received the top ranking (4 stars) from Charity Navigator, the nation’s largest evaluator of charities. Charity Navigator uses a ranking system to examine an organization’s financial health, accountability and transparency. The Rotary Foundation has received this rank for 13 consecutive years.

CALENDAR WINNER!

Adria Brady of Peabody
Sold by Diane Pabich

Why I am A SALEM Rotarian

Club Secretary Rich Eisner kicked off our meeting this week by sharing why he joined Rotary and why he has stayed. Rich joined to learn more about himself and to serve the Club. By serving the Club, his efforts impact the community. Club Service is one of the avenues of Rotary service and what he likes to focus his time on. Rich was proposed by legacy Rotarian Bill Ives in 1993. He was honor to be proposed by a member with such great standing in the Club and the community. Bill suggested Rich get involved with Rotary because he is not from around here, and he needed to meet some people. (Rich is from Springfield!) Bill was right, and Rich feels the Club has done 100 times more for him than he has for it. Rich has selected Bill Henning to share next week.

RotarIAN NEWS...

  • Gerrit Bradley shared that he was testing a different camera and microphone this week because his sister-in-law is doing a chocolate making event for her school, and Liz wants to help her sister improve the production quality. Gerrit also got the stink eye from a red shoulder hawk at Phillips Beach.
  • John Hall showed an award that the EarlyAct Club gave him that he had framed.
  • Joe Amico has been busy with pre-PETS and is looking forward to learning more at PETS. He is still deciding whether he will go to the International Convention in Taipei.

Club Announcements

Paul Harris Recognitions
Jason Consalvo made special deliveries to two outstanding Salem Rotarians who earned a Paul Harris Recognition from Rotary International. John Hall II received his Paul Harris+5 pin and Rinus Oosthoek received his Paul Harris+1 pin. In a candid camera style setup, Jason surprised the recipients during Tuesday's meeting and caught the moments through his phone so we could share in the excitement over Zoom! Special thanks to Mark Shaw for the history of the recognition which also helped Jason drive from one house to the next!
 
Dutch Drinks
Friday February 12 at 6 PM
Destination Dutch Drinks! We have all been cooped up with the colder weather and the pandemic so our next Dutch Drinks will be travel themed! We can dream of places we’ve been and/or places we want to go. Bring a snack and beverage from your favorite destination to enjoy with friends. Let's take John Hall's advice and invite a friend! More details to come next week.
 
Salem Rotary Scholarship Applications Are Posted!
The 2021 scholarship applications are now available on our website. The Scholarship Committee is already working to promote this opportunity to seniors. Please help get the word out in any way you can and direct interested applicants to the “download files” section of our homepage on the bottom right for the applications. Applicants must be residents of Salem, Massachusetts and may not be the child, grandchild, niece, nephew, great niece or great nephew (this includes adoptive or step relationship) of any current member of Salem Rotary, or any person that has been a member of Salem Rotary within the past five years. These scholarships are available to grade 12 high school and trade school students pursuing college or a vocational trade. Applications will be accepted from February 24 through April 10, 2021.
 
Lifebridge Dinner Wednesday, March 10
Thank you to the volunteers who worked with Claire and Kristen to prepare a delicious lasagna dinner for Lifebridge for this past Wednesday! The next dinner for Lifebridge is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10. Again, a recipe will be provide to volunteers so the meal will be consistent, and volunteers will make a portion of the dinner in their home kitchens. Please contact Kristen Armstrong or Claire Kallelis if you would like to volunteer in March or in the future.
Upcoming Speakers
Feb 09, 2021
Deputy Plans Officer for the Massachusetts Army National Guard
Feb 16, 2021
Screenwriter and Playwright
Feb 23, 2021
Salem Public Schools Superintendent
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Adria Duijvesteijn
February 9
 
Jeffery Shribman
February 19
 
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Tuesdays at 12:15 PM
Hawthorne Hotel
18 Washington Square
Salem, MA 01970
United States of America
We are currently meeting via Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to returning to the Hawthorne Hotel soon! In the meantime, please email president@salemrotary.com for our Zoom link.
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