The Rotary Club of
New York
February 10, 2003
Fellow Rotarians,
The speaker at our next meeting on February 11th
is Julie Stewart, who is president and founder of Families Against Mandatory
Minimums (FAMM), working to change mandatory sentencing laws. FAMM has 30,000
members across the country. You can read more about Julie Stewart in the latest
Weekly Bulletin on our website at www.nyrotary.org/Bulletin/bulletin_02-11-2003.pdf
(click on the link to download it from our
website).
Suzanne Sebert
has written a very good description of the latest meeting in Reporter of the Week.
Susanne has been a member of our club since 1999 and her classification is
International Educational Exchange. She is the Director of External Relations
at AFS Intercultural Programs, Inc.
The Bulletin also has a section about 82 year old Bill Delong, who
tirelessly travels the world to help the suffering. There is a picture of Bill
where the German Ambassador to the U.N. Hanns Schumacker congratulates Bill on
receiving the German ASB volunteer medal for his help during the Eilenburg
Flood of 2002 in Germany. The Bulleting also has pictures of Bill with the
Children of Chernobyl in the Republic of Belarus. The suffering of those
children is indescribable, but Bill is not afraid of going there.
It was an exciting meeting when New York State
Attorney General Eliot Spitzer spoke at our club on
Feb 4th, 2003. He arrived with a camera team from PBS (Public Broadcasting
System). His speech was both intelligent and humorous and very popular with our
members. You can see 13 photos from the event on our website at www.nyrotary.org/spitzer/index.htm.
We receive a lot of praise for the quality of our speakers. Larry
Parks is doing a great job finding them. You can see a list of our future
speakers on our website at www.nyrotary.org/Events/events.html.
The following symbol is the new Rotary theme from Jonathan
Majiyagbe, who will be President of Rotary International 2003-04:
To guide us
on our path of service in 2003-04, I am asking all Rotarians to Lend a Hand.
This is a simple theme, but one that I believe eloquently captures the essence
of Rotary service. As Rotarians, we routinely Lend a Hand to our communities
and to the world. We Lend a Hand to our fellow Rotarians, those who are members
of our club and those abroad who need help in tackling problems in their
community. Sometimes this simple gesture is all that is needed to transform a
person's life. In other cases, one hand can become many, as Rotarians work
together to eradicate polio, raise literacy levels, provide low-cost shelters,
resolve conflicts, and alleviate suffering for thousands of people. It is in
our Rotarian nature to offer help wherever it is needed, and in 2003-04, I will
ask Rotarians to actively seek out even more opportunities to Lend a Hand.
Let us
begin the 2003-04 Rotary year with our hands outstretched, ready to help our
brothers and sisters in need. Working together, there is no limit to what the
helping hands of Rotary can accomplish.
Jonathan
B. Majiyagbe
President,
Rotary International, 2003-04
You can
download the complete statement from Jonathan Majiyagbe on the Rotary
International website (as an Acrobat PDF file) at www.rotary.org/newsandinfo/downloadcenter/pdfs/900en03.pdf.
I have as Chairman of the Group Study Exchange Committee (GSE)
received questions about the purpose of the GSE program. In response, I would
like to quote what Rotary International President Bhichai Rattakul wrote in the
February edition of the Rotarian Magazine (page 1):
My dream is that Rotary becomes a major force for peace. Rotary
Youth Exchange students, Ambassadorial Scholars, Rotary Volunteers, and Group
Study Exchange teams all contribute to global understanding.
The District Leaders’ Handbook for Group Study Exchange states the
following in reference to what Group Study Exchange is all about:
Over the past 50 years, knowledge of other cultures has
increased at a rapid pace, and perhaps we are more knowledgeable and
open-minded than previous generations. But no nation or culture is immune to
misconceptions and prejudices, nor to the debilitating and sometimes tragic
consequences that often result. And maybe now more than before, as the world
grows ever smaller, do we need to increase our knowledge about people from
other countries. Likewise, obviously, we need to share our own cultures. But a
Group Study Exchange is much more than simply comparing notes on religion,
politics, vocations, recreation, philosophy, etc. It is a tool to help us raise
ourselves and the world community to a higher level of international
understanding, goodwill, and friendly relations.
From its beginning in 1965, this unique program has been a
success. It has provided inspiring vocational, educational, and cultural
experiences for professional men and women. With good planning, goal-driven
design, and active participation of dedicated Rotarians, a GSE can be an
exceptional educational experience for both the visiting GSE team and the local
Rotarians. Moreover, a GSE can serve as an excellent tool for fulfilling a
district's International Service goals by integrating it with other Foundation
programs.
I will be speaking about the Group Study Exchange program at
Rotary Clubs and Rotaract Clubs in our district during the next couple of
weeks. The following speaking engagements have so far been booked:
Rotary Club of Metro New York, February 12th
Rotary Club of Croton-On-Hudson, February 18th
Rotaract Club at the United Nations, February 20th
We need more applicants for GSE team members. Rotaractors are
encouraged by Rotary International to apply. You
can find out more about the Group Study Exchange Program on the Internet at www.nyrotary.org/GSE7230.
Don’t forget to reserve your table for our next
meeting. You can do so via e-mail to our office at ny.rotary@verizon.net, or call Andreas or Ana at
212-633-1311. You can also fax in the RSVP form, which you can download at www.nyrotary.org/Bulletin/rsvp_02-11-2003.pdf. Our
fax number is 212-633-1954. Princeton Club’s culinary staff will serve us
Mahi-Mahi Filet.
I recommend that you
visit our New York Rotary website every week at www.NYRotary.org.
You can also see a list of future speakers on our website at www.nyrotary.org/Events/events.html.
Let us lend a hand for peace and
understanding across the borders!
Matts Ingemanson
Internet
Communication Officer
The
Rotary Club of New York
District
7230 Chairman
Group
Study Exchange Committee
Vice
Chairman
The
History of Rotary Project
This
newsletter has also been posted on our website at www.NYRotary.org.
I want to thank our Executive Director Andreas
Runggatscher and his Executive Assistant Ana Rivas for working so hard every
week creating and mailing the Weekly Bulletin. In addition to mailing it out to
our members, they also send me the electronic Bulletin so I can upload it on
our website. They are also working very hard with the administration of the World
Trade Center - Disaster Relief Fund.
In order to read the
PDF file of the Bulletin-on-the-Web, you need the latest version of the Acrobat
Reader (Version 5.0). If you don't have Acrobat Reader 5.0, you can download it
for free from the web at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
You can find the
following interesting websites at:
1.
New York Rotary
Club at www.NYRotary.org/.
2.
Rotary’s Global History
at www.rotaryhistory.org
3.
District 7230 Group
Study Exchange Project at www.nyrotary.org/GSE7230/
4.
Rotary
Youth Leadership Awards at www.rotaryryla.com
5. Rotary
Radio every Tuesday 5-6 PM EST or 2-3 PM PST at http://12.162.161.64/cart/ProductList.asp?SearchFor=Rotary+Radio&x=36&y=6
6. Matts
Ingemanson, Helen Reisler and Jim Thompson from the New York Rotary Club were interviewed
on Rotary Radio Tuesday July 9, 2002.
http://12.162.161.64/cart/ProductDetail.asp?PR_ProductID=329
You need
Windows Media Player to listen to Rotary Radio. Windows Media Player is
included with Windows Millennium and Windows XP. If you use Windows 95 or
Windows 98, you can download Windows Media Player for free from Microsoft.