NEPETS all-virtual, refunds going out to Clubs
District dues "free" this year for members under thirty
Rotary 7780 Midyear Dinner "virtual" on January 25
Financial statements for 2019-2020 ready for Clubs, members to review
Help wanted! Grow Rotary and Grow your own skills too: Rotary District positions you may be able to fill
ICYMI: Governor Peggy's yearend message
NEPETS, the training program for all Club Presidents-elect, will be all-virtual this year. The NEPETS training sessions run from March 11 through March 20, and Governor-elect Dick Hall is also scheduling pre-PETS meetings for the team. Because of the Covid-19 move to all-virtual training, the district's finance committee in December authorized refunds of $210 per club to return most of the club PETS assessment charged in the October dues invoice. Your club treasurer may already have received a check in that amount. Any Clubs sending more than one president-elect to NEPETS will be charged separately for the incremental amount.
As part of our "Grow Rotary" efforts, the District Governor leadership team and the finance committee have authorized a one-year experiment to allow any Rotary members under the age of thirty to pay no dues to the district. The $42 per member assessment (and the related $1 per member foundation assessment) has been credited back to your club, provided your club submitted names and ages of the under-30 members. This has resulted in a district-wide dues reduction of over $1,800 this year. Possible continuation of the program, designed to strengthen our membership efforts, will be discussed as next year's budget is prepared. Please note this change applies only to district dues, and clubs continue to pay all per-member assessments of Rotary International dues without regard to the members' age.
District Governor-Nominee Claudia Frost announced last week that the Midyear Leadership Dinner will be held via Zoom on January 25, 2021 at 6:30PM. Club leaders and district leaders should watch their emails for further information.
Financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020 have been finalized by the district finance committee. The final version of this statement, the supplemental statement and the IRS form 990EZ are now posted on the district website. All members of our Rotary district can review these statements by going to rotary7780.org, logging in with your Clubrunner ID and password, and then clicking this link to the finance committee's member-only page:
The financial statements need to be ratified by a vote of the Clubs, which normally would occur at our in-person district conference. Governor Peggy will be in touch with Club Presidents about an alternate procedure to ratify the statements.
Help wanted! Did you know that each District Governor fills dozens of volunteer positions for committee members? We consider positions on the Foundation, Bylaws, Finance, Public Image (newsletter editor), International, Recovery, Youth Services and Membership Committees....and more! Please consider spreading your wings and engaging with other Rotarians in projects and teams that support Rotary across Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire. To learn more, please send an email of interest to District Governor-Elect Dick Hall (dickhall7780@gmail.com).
Newsletter editor volunteer(s) needed now! You've noted a gap in our newsletters, and we need to fix that because good communication is more important now than ever before. This January newsletter was assembled by a very small team of volunteers over the holidays (two of us). We agreed to do this as a one-time venture, so our district now needs one or more volunteers for the remainder of the Rotary year. Please contact DG Peggy to discuss your possible interest (pegb51@yahoo.com) or if you want a double-secret under-the-radar background discussion first, try sending a note to the new email box
rotarynews7780@gmail.com and see if it works! (Yes, we will get back to you). (Yes, we are renegades, that's a good credential for an editor).
ICYMI: Governor Peggy Belanger's yearend message to District 7780 Rotarians and Clubs.
Warmest Greetings, Dearest D7780 Rotarians,
As we reach the end of 2020, please take a moment to reflect upon your/our Rotary Journey and reflect on how your/our lives have changed!
All journeys, including our Rotary Journey, occasionally incur road bumps. This year included a plethora of road bumps with the COVID-19 Pandemic. Paul Harris is quoted as saying “If Rotary is to realize its proper destiny, it must be evolutionary at all times, revolutionary on occasion.”
This year was marked with revolutionary changes with a challenge to all Rotarians to bring their “Vocational” skill sets into play to help reimagine the future of Rotary. We rose to the occasion and now are becoming proficient with social media, community collaborations, and hybrid communication. We found new ways to connect, and embraced new approaches to service and fundraising. Many of these changes will become a part of the "new Rotary-way".
There are so, so many stories of how ALL of D7780's Rotary Clubs cared for their communities and each other. With each passing day, I become prouder of our organization. Rotarians, despite the pandemic, you didn't stop !
Our "stories" give us all reason to be optimistic about Rotary for the incoming new year. You have heard me say time and time again that we are not just surviving, we are thriving and gaining strength. RI President Holger states, "we are discovering how resilient our organization truly is and seeing for ourselves how Rotary Opens Opportunities, to grow, to connect, and to engage our members and the communities we serve".
I can't wait to see the good things that 2021 will bring........
My sincerest Thanks for all You do and for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your lives. I feel very Blessed to be your District Governor and fellow Rotarian.
Peggy
That's your District 7780 Newsletter for January 1. All for now from the elves on the newsletter shelves, stay safe and have a wonderful New Year. Thank you for keeping ME/NH Rotary thriving and safe!