With the start of the new year, I want to kick off our District wide Smoke Alarm Program which leads up to our Rotarians at Work Day project on April 24. This program is something I have been thinking of for several years as a way to serve our communities, show Rotary in action and attract new members. And as a volunteer fireman, I know just how important working smoke alarms are in saving lives and property.

My goal is to have 10,000 smoke alarms installed, serviced or replaced on April 24. This means that if every club in the District participates, all it will take is for each Rotarian to handle just three smoke alarms. Wow, this would be unprecedented and I know we can do it.

To help in pulling this off, I have appointed Jay McLaughlin to be our Deputy District Fire Marshal and he will be coordinating all the materials with the clubs.

To participate in this program please Email the following information to Jay at jmcla@comcast.net: club name, contact person, Email address, phone number and mailing address.

The reason I am calling this a “program” is because there are many steps that need to be taken in order to have a successful work day, including: establishing an organizing committee, contacting local fire departments, contacting local businesses, identifying target neighborhoods, contacting potential recipients, alarm installation and service training, press releases and surveys. What should happen as your club moves forward with these steps is a greater awareness of the importance of properly operating smoke alarms. I hope this will be something each member carries with them long after the Rotarians at Work Day is over. Why not get started today by testing your own home alarms, after all, it will be beneficial to all concerned.

For more information please contact District Team Leader Jay McLaughlin at jmcla@comcast.net, 925.240.6889

District Team Leader

Jay Mclaughlin
4843 South Point
Discovery Bay CA 94505
jmcla@comcast.net
925.240.6889