Do more than attend club meetings Look what's in store for us.
- Club Leadership Training, for club officers, committee chairs, and others
Saturday, Mar 18th, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., at Howard Community College
Cost: $25. I am guessing that the club will pay that.
- District Governor Installation Ceremony
Saturday, June 2nd, from 6:00 until 9:00 p.m, in the College Park City Hall
Free of charge. DGE Nomie has arranged for that. Do go. Be a part of our district!
- District Conference, with District 7610 (from Virginia
October 4-6 at the Weston City Center Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Early Bird registration for $225 (includes 1 lunch and 2 breakfasts)
If you want to stay in the hotel, there is a discounted price of $161, all inclusive.
Finally, Nomie let it slip that we are likely to have a conference in the Bahamas. How will we get there? Via ship from the Baltimore Cruise Port. Imagine the good times. Watch for details.
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
By Kenneth D. Weiss
Yes, work and play. President Margaret was perfectly prepared as a deluge of our members arrived in La Villa to stuff envelopes (reminders of high school days). In 45 minutes, 500 of them were ready and sorted by zip codes. Soon after, they were mailed to companies whose wise leaders might want to sponsor our Flags For Our Heroes project.
A newcomer was there and did her share (or a little more). She was Esi Sonia Sotiglo, born in Togo and living in the U.S. since age 5. She studies theology, plays rugby, and probably more. Welcome, Sonia!
When our work was done, it was time for food and fun. Our waitress, Vilma, again, got everyone's order right. Ken reported on the District Conference in Cambridge, MD, with emphasis on the fun part. He started with what our next District Governor wore on Saturday--orange trousers, a pink shirt, and a red sports coat. Also, he said our c
lub received a "Gold Plus" award for our work in favor of the environment.However, Past President Janet reported that our collection of crinkly plastic was on hold because Fitzgerald Subaru had decided to stop sending it to TerraCycle, which is apparently the only processor. See the last story in this bulletin.
President Margaret said she had collected more children's books and had found good homes for those that are not needed for our Little Free Library.
Then, Janet displayed her painting, "The Light of Truth, the Only Creative Power," and said prints were for sale in various sizes. They are with other paintings on her website, https://www.jcgartstudio4.com/. Proceeds from sales will be donated to a charitable organization for Ukraine. Art for a good cause. It's hard to beat that.
For months, Past President Janet taught us about crinkly plastic, collected it from us, and took it to Fitzgerald Subaru, which sent it to a firm called TerraCycle. On Tuesday, Janet informed us that the Subaru dealer was no longer accepting the material because of the cost of sending it.
Your editor went on the internet to look for an alternative but could not find one. It seems that only one firm in the USA processes crinkly plastic. I went to the TerraCycle website and found that we could send ours to them in a "Zero Waste box." The smallest is 11 X 11 X 20 inches and costs $105, including shipping both ways. I called the firm to see if there was a lower cost alternative, but drew a blank..
Then, it was back to the internet, asking what to do with crinkly plastic, and all the websites said to put it in the regular trash. That seems horrible after having an environmentally sound alternative, but nothing else appeared. If you have suggestions on how to reduce the damage to old Mother Nature, kindly communicate with Janet. The only suggestion I have is to stop buying candy, cookies, crackers, cold cereal, and a lot of other products.
Monday, April 22, 2024
By Kenneth D. Weiss
"Niger" is not short for "Nigeria," everyone. It is a French-speaking West African country that has been in the news lately. Per capita income and the rate of education among girls are among the lowest in the world. Also, there is a high incidence of child marriage, which has life-long negative impacts on the girls involved. Our club's foundation has made grants to help the school and, previously, the Montgomery Village Rotary Foundation did likewise.
The Hanna Girls Training Center is probably the only all-girls' middle school in Niger. Our speaker, Char Haruna, first spoke of two friends who helped the school a great deal--our club Past President Linda Hanson and our current member, Art Elgin. According to Char, the school is now well established and has about 100 students. The country's Department of Education provides teachers and, now, some administrative staff members. There is a very high pass rate on the country's fifth grade examination.
Rotarians have helped the school in many ways. For example, to have solar power and a solar water system, so it is not affected by blackouts. The country receives less than an inch of rain per year, but sunshine is plentiful.
Many of the students are unable to commute from their homes, so lodging is needed, and funding to build a dormitory would help a great deal. Funds are needed also for operational support of items such as a tutoring program. More information is available from [email protected]
In closing, Char mentioned the political situation. As we have heard on the news, the government appears to be changing allegiance, from the USA to Russia, and has asked the U.S. to withdraw its military personnel (although negotiations are ongoing). We sincerely hope the school is not affected by big-power politics.
Last Tuesday was a good day for guests. We enjoyed the company of Kevin Bouen, a guest of Bob R., Steven Clark, from the U.S. Small Business Administration, Rotary wives Grace Chong and Adriana Bokma, and Tamika Bennett Wall. A native of South Carolina and now a resident of Germantown, Tamika is interested in becoming a Rotarian.
President Margaret said we had openings for speakers as of June, and suggestions would be welcome. Diana reported on funds received from Flags For Our Heroes, while Margaret and Stu emphasized that every club member should participate. Yes, each of us should sponsor at least one flag and help and/or help with preparations on the field.
Still regarding FFOH, Margaret said we were going to try a direct mail campaign to possible sponsors. To help implement this, we will meet in La Villa restaurant on April 23rd to prepare pieces for mailing. There will be rewards for all of us who participate, like: (1) helping with this exciting project, (2) fellowship, and (3) lunch (as usual).
Foundation Chair Janet reported that the Board had decided to grant $1,000 to Nourish Now, $2,100 to Freedom Schools (for students with emotional disabilities), $1000 to the Personal Care Foundation (for women who suffer from domestic violence), and $500 to Gaithersburg Help to buy food items. Also, it is participating with $2,000 in a Rotary Club Global Grant to improve lives in a community in Cameroon. Out foundation continues using its money wisely.
Then, with a seemingly endless stream of happy dollars, we adjourned until the 23rd.
Our annual Rotary District Conference wound up late this morning in the beautiful Hyatt Hotel and Resort in Cambridge, MD. About 175 people attended including, from Gaithersburg, Ken and Bea, Sara, and Janet.
Every District Governor put his/her stamp on the annual conference, and Governor Delores was no exception. She and the conference staff produced an event in which Africans and African-Americans played major roles from beginning to end. Friday afternoon and evening were all important and serious. So was Saturday, but the group came to life Saturday after dinner. There were flute music by Alicia of the Rockville Club, a poetry recital by Ukpemen, also from Rockville, a wonderful song and dance presentation by two people from Cameroon, and lovely music by the chorus of the Universidad of Maryland, Baltimore County. Then, it was outside for disco dancing (and samoras for the kids). Yes your Gaithersburg members were in the disco scene.
A highlight, as always, was the Four-way Test Speech Contest. The talks by the four finalists were engrossing. Ken's mentee ended up in second place--a slight disappointment--but her check for $1000 made her happy again. Awards were given to several clubs, and we left with a Gold Plus for our work on the environment. Bea claimed it, and will take it to the next club meeting.
Our next District Governor, Nomie Hamid, who was dressed in red, orange and pink for much of the event, announced coming events including his installation on June 22nd and the next district conference, in October, with another Rotary district. Then, it was back across the Bay Bridge, with new friends and happy memories.