Rotary International Theme 2024-2025	THE ROWEL Rotary Club of Durham		Rotary International President: Stephanie Urchick Rotary District 5160 Governor: Daniel J. Geraldi Durham Rotary President: Peggi Whitman _____________ Editor: Phil Price Publisher:  Jen Liu
	June 24, 2025	Harvest Festival  2025 will be held on September 21, 2025

The Meeting Opening We met at the Butte Creek Country Club.  This was the last meeting of 2024-2025 and the Demotion of President Peggi. President Peggi called the meeting to order. She asked her grandson, 6 year old Noah, with the assistance of Steve Plume, to led the Pledge, which he did. She then asked Larry Bradley to lead us in a song.  Larry asked her what song she wanted.  She said “Grand Old Flag”.  Larry was concerned that he did not know that song well, but could start it, which he did.  He and the club actually did quite well. She then asked Ravi to give the invocation, which he did. At her request President Elect Tom Knowles recited the 4 Way Test from memory.

Introduction of Visitors

President Peggi introduced her husband, Harold Koehler, and her grand children, Noah and Jackson (age 4), who were here because their sister had surgery today and their parents were with her. 

President Peggi then recognized my birthday, which she had overlooked previously,although I had voluntarily contributed for it at the last meeting.  The club then sang “Happy Birthday” to me.  She had also brought a chocolate cake to the meeting which she said was for my birthday.  When it was served it came with paper plates and napkins which had “90^th” on them.  Thank you, Peggi.

Larry Bradley reported on our purchase of a lamb at the Junior Livestock Auction.  As a result of the purchase the club received a $100 Gift Certificate to the Galley.  He auctioned it.  The highest bid was $90 from Noeh, Peggi’s grandson.  So her husband, Harold, paid the $90 to get it.

President Peggi talked about her experience attending Camp Venture.  They had a lot of problems with having no water where they were roomed.  But the speakers were good.

President Elect Tom talked about Camp Royal and the necessity to deliver an EpiPen to his daughter.

Glenn Pulliam then talked about the Free Library that Durham Rotary and the Durham High Interact Club jointly installed at the Durham Park. They need donations of children’s and young person’s books.

 

Recognitions

Ravi was recognized for his anniversary of 38 years.  He contributed $38.

Then the Grinder was auctioned.  Steve Plume got it for $60.

The Program

The program tonight was the demotion of President Peggi.  It began with her reminiscent of events during the year.

She followed it up with the presentation of the Co-Rotarian of the Year awards to Jen Liu and Eric Hoiland.  Since Eric was not here, his award was presented to her grandson, Noah.

Then Past President Glenn Pulliam took over and completed the demotion talking about her missing her first meeting while she was stuck in Luxembourg which she had visited to become a co-citizen of Luxembourg.  Glenn gave us lessons in facts about Luxembourg and testing Peggi in her knowledge of that country.  Following this he awarded Peggi with her past president pin and plaque.

Then Peggi passed the gavel over to President Tom Knowles.

 Next Meeting

Our next meeting, on July 8^th, will be at the Butte Creek Country Club.  I have not been advised of who the program chairperson is or what the program will be.

There will be a Board meeting at 5:00 pm before the meeting.

Membership

Bring guests who you think you can interest in becoming a member.  Your dinner and your guest’s dinner will be paid for by the Club.  Also, bring a guest to one of our occasional social gatherings.

District 5160 Governor, Dan Geraldi is asking each club member to bring at least one guest toa meeting this year.

Go to the following Rotary International web site for information on membership development:  https://my.rotary.org/en/learning-reference/learn-topic/membership .  From this website there is access to membership development and other related information.

The Rotary Foundation Donations

You can make a difference in this world by helping people in need. Your gift can do some great things, from supplying filters that clean people’s drinking water to empowering local entrepreneurs to grow through business development training.

The Rotary Foundation will use your gift to fund the life-changing work of Rotary members who provide sustainable solutions to their communities’ most pressing needs. But we need help from people like you who will take action and give the gift of Rotary to make these projects possible.

When every Rotarian gives every year, no challenge is too great for us to make a difference. The minimum gift to The Rotary Foundation is $25.00.   An annual $100.00 gift is a sustaining member.  Once your donations accumulate to $1,000 you become a Paul Harris Fellow.

If you have any questions, ask Steve Heithecker.

It is possible to learn more about The Rotary Foundation on the Rotary web site. 

Your gift can be made online or by sending Jessica Thorpe a check made out to The Rotary Foundation to Durham Rotary, P.O. Box 383, Durham, California 95958.

Must Be Present to Win Drawing:

To: All Rotarians in District 5160

It's time to thank this year's Rotary Presidents and Leaders and Welcome their successors.  Please join us as our District Family comes together on Saturday, July 12, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM, for our annual Awards and Installation as District 5160.  The event will be held in Chico, at the beautiful Lakeside Pavilion, 2565 California Park Drive, Chico.  This event will celebrate the club's successes for 2024-2025 and ring in the new Rotary year through the installation of next year’s presidents. Registration is now open. Please use this personal link to register for this event.
 
Register NOW for the District Awards and Installation Event. Do not forward this is personalizedjust for you.

Saturday, July 12, 2025
Lakeside Pavilion, 2565 California Park Drive, Chico, CA 95928
$50 per person
5:30PM-8:30PM
(5:30-6:15PM No Host Cocktails and Social Hour)

For questions please contact Awards and Installation Chair Rene Matsumoto at crmmats@gmail.com.

Thank you,
Dan Geraldi
District Governor 5160
2024-2025
Joy Alaidarous
District Governor 5160
2025-2026

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From Rotary International’s News and Features Website

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Rotary announces US$2 million Program of Scale grant to foster peace in Colombia.  2025 Rotary International Convention also focuses on the status of polio eradicationefforts

By Etelka Lehoczky

Rotary International’s newest Programs of Scale grant will foster people’s capacity to build and sustain peace in Colombia. The US$2 million grant, the fifth that Rotary has awarded, was announced at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada.

The Pathways to Peace and Prosperity in Colombia program involves Rotary partnering with the United Nations World Food Programme on initiatives that enhance people’s ability to resolve conflicts peacefully and equip local leaders with tools for economic self-reliance.

“This program [will] strengthen conflict-resolution capacity, expand access to economic opportunities, and expand access to social service programs in conflict-affected areas,” said Mark Daniel Maloney, chair of The Rotary Foundation and a past RI president.

“The long-term goal of the program is to break the cycle of violence, poverty, and food insecurity for conflict victims to achieve sustained peace,” he added, speaking at the convention’s third general session on 24 June.

The United Nations World Food Programme will contribute US$1 million to the initiative, for a funding totalof US$3 million.

“[Colombia] is a country of astonishing beauty and courage, where the road to peace has been long, painful,and unfinished,” Rotary People of Action honoree María Cristina Cifuentes told the audience. “In Colombia, we know that peace requires working with communities to co-create lasting solutions. And we also know … that Positive Peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of equity, justice, trust,and opportunity.”

The previous Rotary Programs of Scale grant recipients have worked to promote sustainable farming in India,fight cervical cancer in Egypt, reduce deaths of mothers and newborns in Nigeria, and decrease cases of malaria in Zambia.

Foundation endowment reaches $2 billion

Maloney highlighted members' commitment to the Foundation’s Endowment, which reached US$2 billion in assets by June 2025, representing a doubling of its value over the last decade. Foundation trustees joined him on stage to celebrate.

“Your gifts, commitments, and dedication matter not just today, not just this year, but for future generations of Rotary members to come,” Maloney said.

Maloney also announced during the general session that a new Rotary Peace Center will be established at Symbiosis International University in Pune, India. At the new center, peace and development professionals from across the region will deepen their understanding of peace studies, conflict transformation, and sustainable development.

“The fellows of Symbiosis will focus on peacebuilding efforts throughout Asia,” said Rotary International President Stephanie A. Urchick. “With each new peace center, we are building a network of peace builders who are local experts with global reach.”

Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,800 Rotary Peace Fellows to build peace through careers in government, education, international organizations, and other fields.

1.    People of Action honorees Anne Kjær Bathel (left) and María Cristina Cifuentes speak during the third general session of the Rotary International Convention, on 24 June in Calgary, Canada. They discussed how they and their fellow honorees have turned their personal experiences into collective action to foster Positive Peace.

Later in the day, a breakout session addressed one of Rotary’s key initiatives: the eradication of polio.Michael McGovern, chair of the International Polio Plus Committee, led a panel of experts in a discussion of the current situation – with polio still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan – and the way forward.

“We need to get this done because we made the promise,” McGovern said. “We need to get this done because it matters to every last child.”

Aziz Memon, chair of the Pakistan Polio Plus Committee, discussed the difficulties of managing a vaccination program in remote areas of Pakistan where the country borders Afghanistan.

“Five and a half years back, we came to a phase where we didn’t have a single positive sample, a single case, all over the country for 15 months. We thought we were on the way to finish the job,” he said.

But Pakistan’s problems lie in the southern area where there are different warlords, Memon said. Anoutbreak started from a very small village.

“We thought we could contain it there,” he said. “But we learned [our] lesson.”

Johrita Solari, a past RI director who is chair of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the United States, addressed the shift in the U.S. government’s funding priorities for polio eradication and global health. She described the intense lobbying efforts that her group has undertaken.

“In collaboration with our partners, we’ve worked to ensure robust funding in both the House and the Senate appropriations bills,” she said. “We leveraged World Polio Day and other health milestones as strategic opportunities to highlight the urgency of continued support. While we still have a ways to go on the current budget process, I am optimistic that we’ll succeed.”US$2 million Programs of Scale

 — 25 June 2025rant to foster peace in Colombia

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