Past Governor 2008-09

Governor Jim’s June 1 Message to the Membership

Wow, what an amazing year. It seems like only yesterday that Linda and I were starting our Club visits. As some of you may have heard me say, YOU are the best kept 66 secrets in District 5

Past Governor Jim Campbell and spouse Linda

Past Governor Jim Campbell and spouse Linda

160. We have enjoyed visiting the Clubs so much that we made a second round of visits to many of you. Some of the work you are doing during these difficult economic times is incredible. We have seen Clubs working together to paint schools, mentor students, provide dictionaries, take kids fishing for the first time, build trails, take over care of veterans cemeteries, wash windows for seniors, put on a party honoring senior citizens age 75 plus, …. The list goes on and on.

A few of the international projects involve food banks in Mexico, water wells, blood banks in Nigeria, and many other projects. We, Rotarian members, families and friends made 586 quilts for Rotaplast, Alliance for Smiles and for local projects. We made 360 bears for HiV/Aids orphans in Uganda and Kenya.

It is projects like these that keep the District vibrant, fun and valuable. We are one of 4 districts in Zone 23/24 that had a positive membership growth this year. Keep up the good work!

Did you have the opportunity to meet our GSE team from D9200? They were at our District Conference in October and visited many of your Clubs. Weren’t they great! The team represented their home countries of Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya well. Equally impressive is our D5160 team who just returned from Ethiopia and Kenya. Linda and I can’t wait to hear about their experiences.

Speaking of District Conferences – if you missed it, you missed two days of great speakers, hands on activities in the project rooms, great entertainment (bring those Taiko drummers on!), and an opportunity to shop with our vendors that were present.

We have far surpassed the 1st year goal for the Polio Plus Bill Gates Challenge. D5160 has raised $190,000 in year number one toward the three year goal of $201,000.

On the local front, our Youth Programs have grown. We have over 45 Interact Clubs, 5-6 Rotaract Clubs with a new one just chartered at St. Mary’s College in Moraga. Both Camp Royal and Camp Venture are thriving. We started a Rotex this year. Rotex is led by returning exchange students to support the exchange students in D5160 for the year. This year we have 15 Youth Exchange students from around the world. We sent 19 students overseas. They should be returning soon. A special thanks to the Clubs that support this program. You have changed the life of a young person forever.

Did you know that we started a Leadership Academy this year? Did you also have the opportunity to experience a Visioning Session with your Club? Both of these programs were initiated this year and have grown faster than we ever thought.

Did you know that you may have played a key role in opening Rotary up to China? On May 23, General Consul Gao along with 77 staffers and family members of the Chinese Consulate for the People’s Republic of China joined us for an agricultural tour. We learned about walnuts at the Martinez Ranch, processing fruits at Mariani’s, rice at California Family Foods, farming at Muller farms, and wine at Ledgewood Creek Winery. Thanks to the Rotary Clubs of Winters, Vacaville, Colusa, Woodland Luna Vista and Cordelia for hosting this event. The warm welcomes were really appreciated by the Consulate members and family. This is a big step in building good will and friendship.

We would like to give a special thanks to the District Leadership Team, our Assistant Governors, District Chairs, and our District Committee members. Without you and your support, our District would not be the success it is today.

Linda and I would like to thank you all for giving us the opportunity to serve you this year. We have met the most wonderful people and seen the incredible work that you all do. It has been an experience of a lifetime.

Warm Regards,

Jim

Governor Jim’s June 30 Remarks to the District Leadership Team

Team,

And I mean the word team. Although each of us is very capable and can do many things, we do not accomplish the work alone as individuals. We accomplish our goals by working together to better Rotary. This year we did just that.

As many of you are aware we have had one of the worst economic downturns in modern times, with some stating it is the worst downturn since the great depression. We were challenged with membership. We were challenged with Foundation giving. We were challenged to step up our effort forPolio.

And yet, as I tell people, we have 66 of the best kept secrets in Rotary. We have clubs and club members dedicated to growing Rotary, dedicated to supporting their communities, and dedicated to doing their part internationally to make the world a better place. The club visits have without a doubt been the highlight and reward of the Governorship. What you do as clubs, each and every one of you, is nothing short of amazing. You Make Dreams Real.

We have achieved our three year Polio goal in the first year by raising $208,774. Our three year goal was $201,000, which seemed daunting when we established it last January. And yet Rotarian’s understand the need we have to end Polio. Together we made a difference.

We have raised $376,714 for annual giving. Although not as high as last year at $447,000, or the 2006-2007 year at $424,000, we have managed to exceed the amount with which I have had to work with this year and so Dave Dacus is in a little better position to work from than we were this year, and we did that while doing what we did for Polio.

We have grown the district by a net 50 members. We have a number of clubs who have exceeded President DK Lee’s goal of net 10%. We have many more clubs finish in the net positive for the year. In fact we were one of three or four districts on the west coast to finish in the positive. That’s out of 23 districts!

Yes, there are clubs who have had a net loss for the year, but in speaking with the President’s throughout the District there is an overall feeling we will continue to grow and revitalize Rotary. After all, that’s the purpose. To bring in people with new hands, new hearts, new ideas, and to build our future leaders. We need to continue to help grow Rotary, for both the health of our clubs and for the health of the organization as a whole.

To finish the year, last night we chartered the Rotary Club of Diablo View (Walnut Creek). What a great honor it was to preside over the event and welcome them into Rotary, not as a provisional club, but as a Rotary club. The energy and vitality of their club is going to help them club achieve a great deal in furthering Rotary, and they act as a model for new clubs in other areas where busy people want to get together to support Rotary. Good luck Diablo View!

I would like to close by thanking each of you for working with me to make this a great Rotary year. I especially want to thank Linda, my guiding light, for being there and making sure the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed. And with all of that, she still kept her projects going, finishing the year with 600 quilts and 360 AID’s bears. All because the clubs cared and wanted to make a difference. And it wasn’t just the members, it was the mom’s, daughters, parents, quilt guilds, church’s, and in some cases people who heard and just wanted to do their part to give.

Thanks team. You Make The Difference, You Make Dreams Real.

And thanks Rotary. It’s been one of the greatest experiences I have had.

Now let’s keep the ball rolling and get to work on Earl’s year, because The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands.

Yours in Rotary…….
Jim