District Governor's Update for March 9, 2006

KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS

Immediately following the calamity called Katrina, members of the Rotary Club of Little Rock were asked to bring forth ideas on how best the club could exhibit Service Above Self.  Our board of directors authorized donations of $500 each to the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.  But, our members were eager to do more than “write a check”.

Club President French Hill, asked PDG and past president of Club 99, Sam Chaffin, to sort through all the ideas that were coming forward on a daily basis.  As Club 99’s “Katrina Czar”, PDG Sam was asked by President French to recommend a working plan to the club’s board of directors.

Club 99er, Randy Hyde, Pastor of the Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, had learned about the early assessment and on-the-ground success of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) in Lacombe, Louisiana.  Together, Randy and Sam assessed how the Rotary Club of Little Rock could partner with CBF and help the families in Lacombe rebuild their homes and their lives.  In short, we agreed to raise funds for essentials like tools, construction trailers and building materials, and, most importantly, we committed to assemble a mass of volunteers who would travel the 500 miles and help gut flooded homes and later, rebuild these forlorn homes in the historic village of Lacombe.

L’autre cote du lac (the other side of the lake), now known as Lacombe, sits on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain where the Bayou Lacombe empties into the great lake.  The area is low, dominated by ancient and mighty live oak trees drooping with Spanish moss.  Many of the residents are proud, Creole descendants of free Blacks from the early 19th century.  They are predominantly Catholic, passionate about their home, their legacy and their future.

CBF identified homeowners that lacked insurance and/or the capital to clean up and restore their homes.  Some sixty families were assessed and Club 99 has been actively helping five rebuild.  Critical to our project’s success has been our cooperation with CBF and our key partnership with the Rotary Club of Mandeville, Louisiana.  Rotarians from Mandeville have opened their own strained wallets and most graciously their homes in order to house our Club 99 workers.  Since October, week-after-week, they have facilitated a warm, clean bed for the weary and helped our teams navigate their work.  Also a key to our success, PDG Sam and Mandeville Rotary’s president, John Caulking, were successful in obtaining a $50,000 grant from The Rotary Foundation (TRF) -Donor Advised Fund.  These funds have rapidly leveraged the over $13,000 in Club 99 raised funds in acquiring the necessary materials.

Since our project’s initiation, we have had seven working trips to Lacombe involving over forty Rotarians and their families or colleagues.  We have completed one home and have three at various stages of repair and one yet to select.  We want and need volunteers to help.  We want and need select household appliances (refrigeration, washer/dryer, stoves, etc.).  All contributions are appreciated.  Our trips have touched our hearts and have enriched our Rotary Club through fellowship and the wonderful feeling one has when helping someone in need.

For information about how you can help, please contact Sam Chaffin at sam.chaffin@sbcglobal.net or Butch Lomax at blomax@eaglebank.com.

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A few days after Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast, DGN Dr. Bob Warner and his wife Mary Ellen headed to the coast to check on family and friends.  They took with them food, water, gas, and generators.  After seeing all the devastation, they knew something needed to be done after they returned home. 

As a result, the Hurricane Katrina Relief effort by the three Jonesboro Rotary Clubs was born.  Eight tractor trailers full of food, water, new and slightly worn clothing, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, kitchen equipment, ply board, school supplies, and a gasoline tanker full of gasoline have been sent to Bay St. Louis. 

For Thanksgiving there was a “Day of Thanksgiving” where 4,000 individuals were fed turkey with all the trimmings.  The Friday after Thanksgiving a “Kids Fest” was held where 1,000 kids celebrated an early Christmas.  There were eighty bicycles and an average of three presents given to each kid.  Approximately 80 Rotarians and their family volunteered to help in this celebration.  This was a joint effort by the three Jonesboro Rotary Clubs, the Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis, television station KBIR from Knoxville, Tn, Calvary Chapel Relief Group, and the U. S. Marines. 

A fire truck and four police cars were donated to the City of Bay St. Louis and Hancock County.  The Three Jonesboro Rotary Clubs adopted the Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis and purchased all of their club supplies to get them back on their feet again.  Various local doctors and medical supply companies have volunteered their time to help in the medical clinic that was set up in the Bay St. Louis train depot.

All of the success of these activities was a result of cash, goods and in kind donations from approximately 65 companies and/or organizations and an excess of 100 individuals.  Over 312 volunteers have been utilized for approximately 2293 volunteer hours.  Approximately $53,000 from unsolicited donors has been contributed toward this relief effort.

We are continuing to provide assistance on these short term needs as donations become available.  Recently we received all the library books and shelving from the Parkin School District when it was closed and consolidated with the Wynne School District.  A large Baptist Church in Jonesboro rebuilt a new church and sold the old church to an investment group.  This business donated all of the personal property from this church to our relief effort.  This included office equipment, pews, kitchen equipment, doors, light fixtures, ceiling tiles, sinks, commodes, chandeliers, sound equipment, pianos, and organs.  The library items were given to two schools in Bay St. Louis and the church items are being prepared for shipment to various churches to help in their rebuilding.

As the short term needs are slowing down, our three Rotary Clubs have approved to continue assisting Bay St. Louis through a long term project.  We have partnered with the Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis, Rotary District 6190 and the City of Bay St. Louis to build a community center.

This will be a focal point in reestablishing the community by providing a gathering place for the citizens to conduct social events, house city office space, conduct meetings, etc.  This will be a center for all types of activities that will bring them back as a community again.  Meetings have been conducted with all the groups involved starting with the preliminary planning, formulating the appropriate committees, and developing a website.  A foundation has been set up called the “Rotary Clubs of Jonesboro Foundation, Inc.” with donations already being received.  Donations can be made by sending to the foundation at Katrina Relief Fund, P. O. Box 414, Jonesboro, AR  72403.

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Contact your Assistant Governor or DG Marilyn if you have questions about submitting forms and entries for these awards.  Dates represent the deadline for submission.

March 15, 2006 – Best Cooperative Projects Award
Recognizes outstanding Rotary club service projects done in cooperation with other organizations. - here

March 15, 2006 – Significant Achievement Award
Recognizes a project by a single club that addresses a significant problem or need in a community. - here

April 1, 2006 – Four Avenues of Service Citation
Recognizes one member of a Rotary club for outstanding efforts in the four avenues of service. - here

April 3, 2006 – 2005-06 Presidential Citation
certification form to the District Governor (Prerequisite for the Governor’s Banner). - here

April 3, 2006 – District Governor’s Banner. - here

Learn about additional Rotary International Award and Recognition programs. - here

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"If by interposition of Providence I someday were to find myself standing on a platform in some great Coliseum looking into the eyes of every living Rotarian, and were to be told that I could have one word to say, without an instant's hesitation and at the top of my voice, I would shout "Toleration!"

Paul P Harris in the first ever edition of
‘The (National) Rotarian’ January 1911

Toleration – this should be the focal point for every Rotarian. If we can understand and respect every point of view within our club membership; within our nation; within our world community - then we are, surely, on that path to fully realizing our dream of world peace and understanding.

Rotary is one movement embracing and celebrating the rich variety of all cultures, peoples and nations.

Calum Thomson
Vice-Chairman RGHF
calthomson@aol.com
RC, Longniddry & District,
District 1020, Scotland

Marilyn M. Hummelstein
District 6150 Governor 2005-06
dg0506@Rotary6150.org
http://www.Rotary6150.org

The District Governor's Update is sent to the following club and district leaders:  Presidents, Presidents-Elect, Secretaries, Executive Secretaries & Directors, Assistant Governors, District Committee Chairs/Coordinators, District Governor Elect, District Governor Nominee and all Past District Governors.

If you have information you want included in a future issue, please send it to
dg0506@Rotary6150.org