Vice President Bert Bell

President Elect Lloyd Huskey

Secretary Jim Lund

Treasurer Jo Kuchle

Past President Joane Johnson

Sgt. At Arms Gretchen Gordon

Club Service A Debbie Ganley

Club Service B David Van den Berg

Club Service C Craig Ingham

Community Service

Doreen Deaton

Vocational Service

Steve Adamczak

International Service

Shelby Nelson

Happy

May Birthdays!!

Michael Kelly 6 Krista Stamper 13 Darren Franz 14 Denise Goss 17 Gretchen Gordon 23 Robert Sparks 24 Robert Boswell 26 Shelley Ebenal 26 Ronald Davis 28 Judy Kleinfeld 29 Michael Milam 29 David Kilbourn 31

President

Jack Wilbur

ROTARCTICROTARCTICROTARCTIC PO BOX 72114 FAIRBANKS, AK 99709PO BOX 72114 FAIRBANKS, AK 99709PO BOX 72114 FAIRBANKS, AK 99709

(907) 458(907) 458(907) 458---422242224222

Volume 10, Issue 23

Welcome to the Club

Meetings: Thursday’s at 12pm Westmark Hotel 813 Noble Street

Fairbanks AK 99701

Vista Program Kathryn Dodge and Jim Dodson

May 19th 2011

AmeriCorps*VISTA helps communities implement grassroots solutions designed to alleviate poverty. Founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, the program places individuals at nonprofit organizations and public agencies across America. Among other activities, AmeriCorps*VISTA members, who serve full time for a year, recruit community volunteers, raise funds, help manage projects, and other-wise build the capacity of non-profit organizations to become sustainable. Come and hear about projects that have been implemented to support those in our community. For more information on the program:

http://arcticvista.wordpress.com/vista/

Rotarians go all out for polio eradication

By Arnold R. Grahl– Rotary International News 17

May 2011

Rotarians are continuing to find unique ways to raise money for Rotary's

US$200 Million Challenge. On 12 April, Colleen Bonadonna walked into

the meeting of the Rotary Club of Dulles International Airport, Virginia,

USA, completing a quest to visit 200 Rotary clubs in 200 days to raise

awareness for Rotary’s challenge. Her odyssey brought in more than

$8,000 for the polio eradication effort. A member of the Rotary Club of

West Point, Virginia, Bonadonna says she was inspired by her participa-

tion in a February 2010 National Immunization Day in Dhanbad, India,

coordinated by District 7730 (North Carolina). "I thought, wouldn't it be cool to visit 200 clubs in 200

days," she recalls. "First and foremost, I wanted to share with clubs that we need to finish the job we

started. And second, to remind each of the clubs that we are in this together." She kicked off her adven-

ture on 2 October with a visit to the Rotary Club of North Suffolk, Virginia. During each visit, Bonadonna

asked the club to waive her meal fee, which she donated to PolioPlus. Clubs and districts made addi-

tional contributions, which are still being tabulated. Along the way, she posted pictures and wrote about

each visit on her blog. "During my journey, I had hoped to inspire other Rotarians to become involved

with PolioPlus," she says. "But as I visited clubs, it was I who was inspired by the great works being com-

pleted by Rotarians around the globe."

Christine Phelan, Holly Weber, and Alice Maliakkal at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.Photo courtesy of Alice Maliakkal.

Historic Moments: Sergeants-at-arms

By Susan Hanf

Rotary International News -- 12 May 2011

Anyone who has attended a Rotary conven-

tion is familiar with the sergeants-at-arms.

Since the first convention in 1910, these men

and women in yellow vests have guided Ro-

tarians and their families.

During this year’s convention, 21-25 May, the

sergeants-at-arms -- this year known as Rotary

guides -- will sport a new look, designed to keep

them cool in the often-steamy weather of New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Instead of the usual

yellow vests, the guides will be wearing yellow

sashes. The hundreds of volunteers who assist

them will sport red ones, in a nod to the red vests

they’ve traditionally worn.

Sergeants-at-arms have a long and distinguished history in Rotary. The organization’s first constitution established the position as an

elected officer of the association. Werner Hencke, of St. Louis, Missouri, was the first to serve in the role. He was charged with main-

taining order at meetings, including the convention, which functioned as Rotary’s legislative body in its early years.

At the 1921 convention in Edinburgh, Scotland, when delegates elected George Harris sergeant-at-arms for the upcoming year, Gen-

eral Secretary Chesley Perry presented him with a shillelagh that had been given to Rotary by the Rotary Club of Belfast. Harris (no

relation to Paul) quipped: “I only want to say one thing. I am a little fellow, but I promise you now that I will use that mace to keep peo-

ple straight, and I am going to have a great big fellow to assist me so that I will keep straight.”

Each year, the wooden club was passed down, and for

several decades, the chief sergeant-at-arms carried it at

conventions as a ceremonial symbol of the position.

There is no record, however, that it was ever used for

“keeping people straight.” The shillelagh is now part of

the Rotary History and Archives collection.

As the result of changes to the constitution passed at

the 1922 convention, sergeants-at-arms now serve as

officers of the convention, appointed by the president

rather than elected.

Chief sergeant-at-arms H. Tucker Gratz raises the symbol of his office at the 1969 convention in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. With Tucker are some of his assistants: Ray Faisst, of El Paso, Texas; Paul Heckenlively, of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Jack Ma, of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada; and John Young, John King, and Edward Arm-

Fairbanks Downtown Rotary’s own Sergeant-at-arms

Gretchen Gordon

Clubs make plans for Rotarians at Work Day

By Arnold R. Grahl

Rotary International News — 25 April 2011

The Rotary clubs of Truckee and Truckee Sunrise, California, USA, will be teaming up to

build an exercise course for elementary school students on Rotarians At Work Day, 30 April.

Dozens of volunteers are expected to help create a looping path through the woods behind

Truckee Elementary School. Steps and ramps will help students navigate between the

course’s two levels.

Started in 2006 by the late Bob Watson, past governor of District 5340 (California), Rotarians

At Work Day happens the last Saturday in April each year and challenges clubs around the

world to carry out hands-on service efforts in their community.

Watson hoped that by 2014, every club and Rotarian would participate. "We're really starting to see the impact of Rotarians At Work Day as more Rotary clubs around the world perform community service projects on the same day," says Pamela Rus-sell, chair of the District 5340 Rotary Foundation Committee. "It provides a great opportunity to revitalize your club, attract new members, and generate publicity for Rotary."

Tim Aspell, 2010-11 president of the Rotary Club of Vista, California, USA, supports William Harmatz, a former Preakness-winning jockey, during a Rotarians At Work Day project in 2010. Photo courtesy of District 5340

In the Rotary year 2003-04 the then President of Rotary International

asked Rotary clubs and districts to emphasize water and sanitation in

their programs. Initially he created the Water Resource Group whose

function was to provide information and support to clubs wishing to

embark on "watsan" projects. It soon became apparent however that

clubs needed more. They needed access to the most appropriate

technologies, to outside funding and to expertise, none of which were

available within the traditional Rotary structure.

Most important, it became apparent to Rotarians and to potential

funding partners that the original Rotary model – many small projects

with limited community involvement or empowerment - would not

have the impact many Rotarians were seeking. Nor could the supply-driven focus of many clubs achieve any significant de-

gree of sustainability.

Thus was born the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (Wasrag) − Rotarians working to improve life and livelihood

through the provision of safe water and sanitation. Wasrag´s mandate is:

"To provide information, support and encouragement to Rotarians, Rotary Clubs and districts to take active roles in pro-

jects/programs to develop safe water and sanitation as a means of promoting health and alleviating hunger."

To fulfill this mandate Wasrag´s goals are to:

• Create awareness among Rotarians of the importance of conservation and sustainability and of local and global water

issues;

• Raise awareness of the need for, and benefits of, safe water and sanitation;

• Develop a compendium of best practices to ensure sustainability and cost-effectiveness;

• Distribute information on appropriate technologies for supplying, conserving and purifying water and for sanitation;

• Build and encourage mutually beneficial relationships with other organizations, corporations, agencies and NGOs shar-

ing common water and sanitation related goals;

• Identify alternative sources of financing to complement The Rotary Foundation e.g. private foundations, corporations,

government agencies;

• Assist in identifying and formulating programs and projects that will promote sustainability;

• Implement mechanisms to determine the effectiveness of projects;

• Create a network of experts accessible to Rotarians and Rotary clubs;

• Provide training and education on water/sanitation technologies and issues;

• Facilitate the exchange of information via a web-based forum a forum;

• Establish a bibliography of relevant materials, references etc.;

• Give information on relevant conferences;

• Act as advocates on water issues;

• Support Rotary clubs seeking financial and/or technical assistance;

• Foster "Centers of Excellence" on water/sanitation;

• Operate a web-site and produce regular newsletters or bulletins;

• Implement procedures to ensure sustainability and cost-effectiveness;

Wasrag was authorized by Rotary International to carry out this mission in February 2007 and was officially launched on

World Water Day, March 22nd, 2007 at the National Press Club, New York. Since then it has facilitated some 200 projects −

helping clubs find partners, helping to ensure sustainability, stressing the importance of a needs-driven approach, develop-

ing best practices, encouraging a holistic, integrated approach in which water is not the end in itself but is rather the means

to a better life and livelihood in the community. Most importantly it links water and sanitation to personal hygiene, better

health, empowering the community - especially women, irrigation and agriculture, education and literacy and, ultimately,

child mortality.

www.startwithwater.org