Five Attend Mid-Winter District Conference

Last Saturday, Bob Fry, Terry Jones, Krista Cole, TJ Adams and John Biggs attended the District 5400 Mid-Winter Conference in Meridian. About 70 Rotarians were in attendance representing 17 clubs from around the Treasure Valley. Our District Governor Gene Hoge did great job in creating, and sticking to, the full agenda.

Here's a recap of what we discussed:

• The District received a "promotion" grant from Rotary International for $8,950. So, for the next five months, watch for big Rotary billboards popping up along our highways.
• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given an additional $255 MILLION to Rotary International for its fight against polio....which continues to exist in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria. Its a matching grant -We just have to raise $200 MILLION by 2012.
• Most clubs in the district are participating in the Dictionary Project. Some have gone to a Spanish/English version.
• A major focus over the next few years will be membership. Our own Krista Cole is on the District Membership Committee. They are developing a 3-5 year membership plan. The District has 2016 members, down just a bit. A key is new member orientation to improve retention. Did you know only 20% of Rotarians have ever asked someone to join?
• The Annual Conference will be held May 14-17 at the Sun Valley Resort. Sounds like a great time to be had!
• Tid-bits: The smallest club in the District is Arco (10) and largest is Boise Downtown (181)..........Emmett was used an example of a club that has added new members - TJ says its because we have guns....... this is the 20th anniversary of women in Rotary - before that it was a "secret men's club".......ask yourself : " Am I making a difference as a Rotarian?"