Directed byRick Bixler as

President of

Point West Rotary

... so Get’r Done

Produced by

Cast of players:CLUB EXECUTIVE

Secretary Samantha HoshidaTreasurer Drew Houghton

Executive Secretary George DanielsPWRC Foundation Michael Cendro

Club Information Officer Samantha Hoshida

CLUB DIRECTORSClub Service 1 Tim MaliepaardClub Service 2 Tom EngwerClub Service 3 Paul Snyder

Vocational Service Jeniece ThomasCommunity Service 1 Brad McDowellCommunity Service 2 Drew ReisingerInternational Service Paul Friedrich

Youth Services Mike GarciaClub Information Officer Samantha Hoshida

Membership Venita SivamaniSergeant-at-Arms Tom Knox

Assistance Sgt At Arms Kathleen McNabbMonte WatsonSteve Morrow

President Elect Carl NaakePast President Desirée WillsonGrant Review

Committee ChairmanRuss Fujii

Point West Rota r y – w i th the co l lec t ive energy and power of our members, we d o g o o d t h i n g s , c h a n g e lives, make an impact, help the community be a bet ter place to live, leave a legacy.

It is through our combined passion, talents, skills, abil-ities and generosity that we make a difference in our world.

Guest stars Our speakers

Sep 08, 2017Art DeardorffClub Runner and website use for members

Sep 22, 2017Robin Stimson VPBusiness Dev. Siemens Corp High-speed rail in the US

Oct 06, 2017John MatthewsRotary International Director Elect Bottoms up management at Rotary

Oct 13, 2017No Meeting

Oct 20, 2017Judge Stacey BoulwareHuman Trafficking

Oct 27, 2017Dr James YoungChester Foundation for disadvantaged pets

act I expOsItIOn

the Best Damn rOtary cluB

On the planet

Thanks to everyone for starting the three day weekend with Point West Rotarians, We have a brewfest coming, a membership mixer and another get together next Friday, Damn I love this job.Thanks Your Prez,Ricky B

Issue 33 – Volume 8 September 1, 2017

Submitted by: Bea Maurer

the curtaIn rIsesThe meeting got start with a very long introduction by Head Sargent-at-arms, Tom Knox by announcing: Ladies and Gentlemen and Rotarians of all ages, in 1955 there were 307,932 babies born in the State of Missouri. Of those, 20,611 became attorneys, 45,509 became farmers and 112 are convicted felons. But only one became the president of the Rotary Club of Pont West Sacramento. Please welcome president Rick Bixler!

Tom Engwer read the 4 Way Test.

Pledge of Allegiance was led by Bill Dunk (with an almost missing flag).

The coin flip was once again Heads so Lee Holmes and Larry Challis let us in a duet of My Country Tis of Thee. (Love my bald spot, thanks Mike)

newslettersBixFix Vol 7 Sep 1, 2017

BixFix Vol 6 Aug 18, 2017

BixFix Vol 5 Aug 11, 2017

BixFix Vol 4 Aug 4, 2017

BixFix Vol 3 Jul 28, 2017

BixFix Vol 2 Jul 21, 2017

BixFix Vol 1 Jul 14, 2017

Desirée's Diary Jun 23, 2017

cluB phOtOs33rd Term Meeting 8

33rd Term Meeting 7

33rd Term Meeting 6

33rd Term Meeting 5

33rd Term Meeting 4

33rd Term Meeting 3

33rd Term Meeting 2

upcOmInG events

Sep 16, 2017

California Brewer’s FestivalDiscovery ParkChair: Maia Schneider

Feb 24, 2018

Festa di VinoCa Automobile MuseumChair: Kathleen Wheeler

cameO appearances Guests & vIsItInG rOtarIans

Our one and only guest this morning was Chris Clark, a visiting Rotarian from the Rancho Cordova Sunrise club and board member with the Folsom School District.

At the head table today were speaker chair extraordinaire Mark Albrecht and club memeber Jim Fritzsche. Jim was substituting for our scheduled guest speaker. Our two Eagle Golf chairs this year – Steve Thomas and Russ Fujii.

A touching invocation was given by Past President Mike Cendro. He started by saying Thank You to everyone in the room, then proceeded to thank everyone for caring, giving, and doing great things for the community and our world; thanking everyone for looking out for each other and helping each other; thanking us for being willing to be part of our leadership group; thank us for building business relationships with each other; thanking us for coming together to put on the best run and best organized fund raisers in town; thanking us for being role models for our kids and grandkids and showing them the path of service above self; thanking us for saying yes to volunteer on

a committee, a work project or chair an event; lastly thanking us for giving him the opportunity to become a better person and a Rotarian for life. He also rang the bell!!!

BIrthDaysDarin Michaels . . . . . . . Sep 01Steve Morrow . . . . . . . . Sep 02Gordon Gerwig . . . . . . . Sep 07Beth Schatz . . . . . . . . . Sep 07John Price . . . . . . . . . . . Sep 09Venita Sivamani . . . . . . Sep 09Earl Dempsey . . . . . . . . Sep 10Tom Harvey . . . . . . . . . . Sep 15Desirée Wilson . . . . . . . Sep 18Jim Fritzsche . . . . . . . . Sep 22Daniel Hall . . . . . . . . . . . Sep 22Tim Davidson . . . . . . . . Sep 24John Bell . . . . . . . . . . . . Sep 26Jerry Avila . . . . . . . . . . . Sep 29

annIversarIesEngwer, Tom; Ann

Sep 08 1984; 33 years 0 monthsTronson, Keith; Betty

Sep 09 1967; 50 years 0 monthsFifer, Lou; Joy

Sep 12 2013; 4 years 0 monthsReisinger, Drew; Emily

Sep 13 2014; 3 years 0 monthsHoeft, Beverly; Gordon

Sep 17 2016; 1 year 0 monthsFriedrich, Paul; Sharon

Sep 28 1990; 27 years 0 month

JOIneD rOtaryCopeland, Mark

Sep 01 1996; 21 years 0 monthsDunk, William

Sep 01 1985; 32 years 0 monthsHardesty, Gary

Sep 01 1991; 26 years 0 monthsKoogle, John

Sep 01 1989; 28 years 0 monthsWeill, Doug

Sep 01 1996; 21 years 0 monthsDaniels, George

Sep 02 2005; 12 years 0 monthsPrice, John

Sep 11 2015; 2 years 0 monthsHaley, Marty

Sep 15 2010; 7 years 0 months

act II rIsInG actIOn

annOuncements

The Prez then shared a video clip of Otis, a German shepherd carrying his bag of dog food down a street in Texas following Hurricane Harvey. He has become an unlikely hero to the Texans in this battered state.

Donation and Free Publicity! — The American Red Cross contacted Rita Gordon for a donation towards Hurricane Harvey. Rita contacted Rick who came up with a donation of $2,000. She then contacted Pas President Desirée. In

less than an hour Desirée went over and picked up a check, and got over to KOVR Channel 13, and was able to do a check presentation on the air. Fantastic job Rita and Desirée!!

Sunglass Social – Yours truly talked about the great time had by all at the Sunglass Social at the Mimosa House. We were fortunate to have the event inside so everyone was able to stay cool, enjoy great food and beverages.

Out of five contestants Gary Pevey stole the show and took first place in the sunglass contest with his oddly shaped spectacles that had a picture of Bix on them! Ed Shatz (Beth’s husband) took second and Trish took third.

Sac Professionals Networking Mixer – Venita Sivamani asked everyone to spread the word about the upcoming about the upcoming mixer. Partners are NAWBO, Sacramento Metro Chamber, Uptown Studios, and the Hispanic Chamber. The event is Thursday, September 7th at Uptown Studios. You can share this event on the PWR facebook page.

Brewfest Update – Jeniece said “it’s crunch time”! It’s only two weeks away and we need to invite more people and need manpower!! Please sign up for something – all hands on deck!

Tim Davidson added his Four Bits worth.

Foundation – Mike Cendro talked about the terrific leadership and

accomplishments of Kathy Copeland during her term as Foundation Trustee president. He thanked Kathy for her service on behalf of all the trustees and presented her with a gift card for a night out with Mark (or somebody!).

auDItIOnInG FOr the

castInG DIrectOr

At your age, you can actually text message?

Our MissiOnThe Rotary Club of Point West Sacramento is a vibrant community service organization promot ing ser v ice to those in need, goodwill, peace, and fellowship

Our VisiOnBe a major contributor to children’s charities and support other local and global charitable opportunities and to be recognized for such

Our COre ValuesService, Fellowship, Respect, Diversity, Integrity and Leadership

Our BrandGreat people doing extraordinary things and having fun while doing it!

Our GOals1. Develop and maintain a strong public

relations/outreach campaign that will effectively drive membership and support fundraising efforts.

2. Increase overall membership by a net of 9 new members by the end of the 2019/2020 Rotary year by focusing in three areas: younger members (20-40), diverse populations, women.

3. Increase the Permanent Fund of the Point West Rotary Club Foundation to $1.5 million by the end of the 2019/2020 Rotary year.

4. Maintain a strong presence and participation in District and Rotary International events and programs.

The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service; SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society; THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life; FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service

In the early 1930s Herbert J. Taylor set out to save the Club Aluminum Products distribution company from bankruptcy. He believed himself to be the only person in the company with 250 employees who had hope. His recovery plan started with changing the ethical climate of the company. He explained:

The first job was to set policies for the company that would reflect the high ethics and morals God would want in any business. If the people who worked for Club Aluminum were to think right, I knew they would do right. What we needed was a simple, easily remembered guide to right conduct - a sort of ethical yardstick- which all of us in the company could memorize and apply to what we thought, said and did.

I searched through many books for the answer to our need, but the right phrases eluded me, so I did what I often do when I have a problem I can't answer myself: I turn to the One who has all the answers. I leaned over my desk, rested my head in my hands and prayed. After a few moments, I looked up and reached for a white paper card. Then I wrote down the twenty-four words that had come to me.

I called it "The Four-Way Test" of the things we think, say or do.

Adoption Of The Test By Rotary

In the 1940s, when Taylor was an international director of Rotary, he offered the Four-Way Test to the organization, and it was adopted by Rotary for its internal and promotional use. Never changed, the twenty four word test remains today a central part of the permanent Rotary structure throughout the world, and is held as the standard by which all behavior should be measured.

The test has been promoted around the world and is used in myriad forms to encourage personal and business ethical practices. Taylor gave Rotary International the right to use the test in the 1940s and the copyright in 1954.

act III clImax

FOur way test

We meet Fridays at 7:00 AM

Dante Club2330 Fair Oaks Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95825

rOtary CluB Of POint West - saCraMentO

District 5180Club Number 22656P.O. Box 15006Sacramento, CA 95851-0006Click to email Point West Rotarywww.PointWestRotary.com

cOme JOIn the Fun

GUEST SPEAKER – Well , our guest speaker cancelled so

Mark found a speaker within us! Yep –

He Introduced Jim Fritzsche. OK, so this Rotarian had her doubts about this speaker – Fritzsche giving an educational talk on Art History and Antiquities?

act Iv FallInG actIOn

specIal Guest star: Our speaker

WOrld POliO day OCtOBer 24, 2017One day, One fOCus,

endinG POliO.Get ready for our 5th annual World Polio Day event, co-hosted with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. We will stream live from Gates Foundation headquarters in Seattle, Washington to bring together more than 50,000 viewers around the world. Joining us were celebrities and experts to share our progress on the road to polio eradication.

Celebrate With Us

I am from a generation who has witnessed the devastating effects of polio. When I discovered how close we were to eradicating polio, I was very motivated to be a part of this movement.

It is so rare when you can accomplish something so spectacular.

Angelique Kidjo, singer-songwriter

3 aCtiOns. 3 Minutes. a WOrld Of differenCe.

learn POliO faCtsGet informed and help make polio a subject of conversation in your community.

shareMost people have heard of polio but few know that the disease still affects children around the world. You can help by spreading the word.

Every donation helps us obtain the vaccines, transport and materials needed in the fight against polio.

dOnate nOW!

GInO's OppOrtunIty

First Draw for $10.00: Kathy Copeland

Second Draw for $1,000: Russ Fujii — No Joker

mOrnInG Duty

Greeters: Russ Fujii, Dean Wilkie

Credit Card: Christine Cahill ReamsCash Box: Rita GordonTickets: Drew ReisingerAV: Shawn Harris

September 08 Sac Metro Chamber Executive Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

September 12 Sac Metro Chamber Referral Round Table . . . . . . . . . . .

September 14 Sacramento Metro Chamber After Hours. . . . . . . . . . . . .

September 16 Brewfest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

September 22 Sacramento Metro Chamber Power Lunch . . . . . . . . . . .

September 26 Network After Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

October 18 Celebrate Sacramento Reinvestment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

October 26 Building and Construction Showcase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

castInG call Open auDItIOnsFor all of the Rotarians unsure about how they feel about the networking process, we have news for you: networking is the necessary beast on which the Rotary Message depends. So instead of seeing networking as an emotional job interview, shift your perspective to see networking for what it really is: a chance to bring yourself to meeting new members, to share what you love in front of an attentive audience, and to possibly make some friends.

Whether it’s breaking into the business or landing a spot at a reputable acting school, like it or not, this strange gathering of folks in a room where one must lay bare their soul is here to stay. So now is the time to gain new insights and brush up on the knowledge you already have! Here to help is the official Rotarian International Welcome New Member page.

act v DenOuement

all the wOrlD's a staGe,And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Rotary arrived in Africa with the formation of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg in 1921. One of the club’s charter members was ‘Rusty’ Rusterholz, a US businessman living in South Africa. In 1925 clubs were chartered in Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. The Rotary Club of East London was chartered the following year. With the formation of these clubs, District 55 came into being and ‘Rusty’ Rusterholz was elected first district governor. In 1927 Rusty suggested the establishment of a magazine to serve the district’s eight clubs. Benjamin Herbert Dodd, the editor of East London’s Daily Dispatch, offered to run it.

1927The first issue of South African Rotary was published in July. It was a four page paper, about 10 centimeters wide and 20 centimeters deep - smaller than many club bulletins. The first print order was for 400 copies, which allowed every Rotarian to receive a copy and for a small reserve to be kept.

1928Dodd asked to be relieved of the job of running the magazine and Percy Bishop, assistant editor The Natal Advertiser (now The Daily News), accepted the task. Percy ran the magazine for 18 years.

1930In July, the magazine’s name was changed to Rotary In Africa to reflect the expansion of Rotary across the continent with the chartering of clubs in Nairobi and Bulawayo. This extended the boundaries of District 55 to include Africa south of the equator. By the time the district conference was held in 1930, there were 17 Rotary clubs on the continent.

1945Glen Buchanan became editor and was the only editor who had no experience in journalism. Although there were only 21 clubs and about 500 Rotarians in the district at the time, Glen and his Ann, Mary, saved the magazine from extinction.

July 2017 marks the 90th anniversary of Rotary Africa. The magazine, established in 1927, has undergone two name changes and expanded its distribution to include English-speaking Africa. Rotary Africa is published by Rotary In Africa a registered public benefit organisation.Rotary Africa is one of the more than 30 regional magazines (licenced by Rotary International) which communicate with  Rotarians as part of the Rotary World Magazine

Press. More than half of Rotarians worldwide receive a regional magazine. These publications are distributed in more than 130 countries, published in 24 languages and have a combined circulation of 872 000.Each magazine has a regional point of view but also includes articles and photographs of international interest from The Rotarian…

the whIte hOuse hOnOrs rOtary wOmen FOr theIr humanItarIan servIce

Photo Credit: Rotary International/Alyce Henson

By Adam Ross, Rotary News, 8-Oct-2014

Senior Rotary leaders gathered Tuesday at the White House to honor 10 women for their service projects, an event attended by members of U.S. President Barack Obama's senior staff.

The Rotary members presented their projects, in the hopes of creating new inroads for government partnerships and support.

"This is recognition of the great work that they do but also serves as a great vehicle to inspire others to do similar kinds of things," said Rotary General Secretary John Hewko. "One of the things we're doing a better job of is sharing our story to the non-Rotary world."

The honorees were selected by Rotary senior leaders and endorsed by the White House from clubs around the U.S. but their projects touch lives across the globe.

Carolyn Jones, of Anchorage, Alaska, has served numerous times as a Rotary volunteer in Russia, three of them as a preschool teacher for developmentally delayed children in orphanages. During her presentation she lamented hearing about a child sold for a bottle of vodka, and vowed to use her honor as a stepping stone to save more lives.

Jacqueline Parsons, a licensed professional counselor from San Antonio, Texas, works on projects in her community and abroad, including the FLAG (Fitness, Literacy, Attendance, and Grades) program, which provides incentives to students to go to school, including bikes, sports equipment, and other items.

Ginger Vann from Baker, Louisiana, coordinates tutoring for at-risk students. With the help of her club, she renovated an uninhabitable school building, and worked with tutors to reach 50 students each day. She's also passionate about workforce development in Baker, where well-paying craftsman jobs often go unfilled.

Tina Tchen, assistant to President Barack Obama, and chief of staff to First Lady Michelle Obama, thanks the Rotary honorees for their humanitarian work.

"We just don't have enough craft workers, people who are certified to do the jobs," she said.

Michelle Candland, from San Diego, California, works with Monarch High, an alternative school designed for homeless children.

"Right now there are over 1.3 million homeless kids on the street in America. That's more than there are Rotarians around the world," said Candland. "Twenty thousand of those kids are in San Diego alone."

"How can a child focus on school if their tummies are growling, their shoes don't fit, and they don't even know where they are going to be sleeping the next day?" she asked. "It takes an entire community to work together to solve this problem."

The other honorees Tuesday were Bernadette Blackstock, Marion Bunch, Carol Butler, Elizabeth Usovicz, Deepa Willingham, and Jane Winning.

Winning, a registered nurse from Chowchilla, California, has provided immunizations and health exams to more than 2,500 people in need across Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, and Guatemala. She's also worked with Rotaplast International to provide free cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgery to those who cannot afford it.

"A gentleman was 65 years old and he said, 'I can kiss my wife for the first time,'" Winning said of the man post-surgery. "Those are incredible experiences you don't get to share every day."

Butler, also from Anchorage, highlighted two projects. The first is a statewide suicide prevention plan. According to Butler, Alaska has the highest rate of suicide per capita in the nation. The public awareness plan educates Rotary members and Alaska residents to recognize the warning

signs of someone in crisis. She also talked about her club's partnership with the Alaska Mission of Mercy, a collective of dentists, staff, and other volunteers who provide free dental services throughout the state.

"Dental care is a gateway to good health," says Butler. "There's an increasing problem nationwide with people seeking dental care in emergency rooms."

Usovicz, of Shawnee Mission, Kansas, has worked on service projects in Missouri as well as abroad. In Malawi, she helped to reduce the rate of malaria deaths by 65 percent to 70 percent in less than a year by supplying the community with mosquito bed nets.

Willingham, of Solvang, California, is the founder and chair of Promise of Assurance to Children Everywhere (PACE), an organization that educates girls and their mothers, and works to prevent child trafficking and early marriage in India.

Bunch, of Atlanta, Georgia, is the CEO of Rotarians for Family Health and AIDS Prevention. She has received numerous awards on behalf of her work for AIDS, and considers herself a mom who represents the face of AIDS because she started her work after losing her son to the disease in 1994.

"Because of that one single tragedy, my life's journey changed dramatically from a very engaged business woman to a warrior on AIDS and advocate of human rights," Bunch said.

As a result of her leadership, in April some 343,660 people received health care, medical checkups, and counseling from 8,150 Rotary volunteers during Rotary Family Health Days across Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and South Africa.

Like Bunch, Blackstock, of Franklinville, New Jersey, has turned her love of service into a career, launching the People for People Foundation, which assists families struggling with financial hardships. To date, the foundation has helped some 10,000 families afford food, clothing, rent, utilities, medications, and other life necessities.

"Our combined mission today is not only to provide small grants but to serve as advocates for our families and provide life-skill training and mentoring and case management where needed."

The event in D.C. was also an opportunity for the honorees to share ideas with each other.

"There are some resources still available to expand and improve projects even amongst the women here," Jones said.

"Listening to the ladies, I was in awe," said Vann. "I was thinking what if all 10 of us got together on one project. That would be amazing. We're talking and it's exciting to be a part of that conversation."

Give now and help support Rotary's work

Learn more about Rotary and how to get involved

Learn more about the work Rotary members do around the world

Sponsor a project on Rotary Ideas

texas rOtary DIstrIct cOllects emerGency FunDs FOr

hurrIcane harvey vIctImsRotary clubs in District 5930 (Texas, USA) are collecting emergency relief funds to help flood victims of Hurricane Harvey, which slammed into southeast Texas over the weekend.

Severe rainfall has caused historic flooding along the Texas coast, including in Houston, the fourth largest city by population in the United States. Deluged towns in the region are in desperate need of aid as thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes. About 6.8 million people have been affected by the hurricane, which made landfall on 25 August.

District 5930 has partnered with the nonprofit McAllen North Rotary Fund to set up an emergency relief fund. To help, please send checks and gift cards to:

Rotary District 5930 McAllen North Rotary Fund 501 W. Nolana Ave. McAllen, Texas, 78504

Federal Tax ID# 27-3855943

If you have questions about how you can help, contact relief@rotary.org.

nOW eVen the shelters are flOOdinG in texas

By Yaron Steinbuch

August 30, 2017 | 12:12pm Civic center flooding Posted by KFDM News102

The catastrophic downpours in Port Arthur, Texas, have been so severe that a major shelter is becoming submerged — with shocking images showing waterlogged cots and evacuees cowering in the bleachers.

The photos by Beulah Johnson capture the nightmarish conditions at the Bowers Civic Center, which was inundated overnight and leaving the displaced residents wondering where they would end up next.

Some people were being moved to the Carl A Parker Multipurpose Center.

A woman who shot video inside the cavernous Bowers center said she also saw a snake in the water, KXAN-TV reported.

GOODwIll GamesBy Sallyann Price

From the March 2016 issue of The Rotarian

The fierce July sun beat down on us as we approached the field where the match was to take place. It wasn’t much of a soccer pitch, with its uneven terrain and rusty poles for goalposts, but the local teens we had met came ready to play. They guided us over the piles of bricks and broken tiles that separate their neighborhood community center from the field behind it and took their positions.

Much like any schoolyard competitors, incursions from grazing cows notwithstanding, players stretched and warmed up, took turns retrieving out-of-bounds balls, and, after the final goal, lined up to exchange high-fives. The Vietnamese contingent handily outscored our group of American Rotary volunteers, but the defeat was far from bitter. The five Rotarians, four Interactors, and two 20-something alumni of Rotary Youth Leadership Awards had already achieved what they had come to Vietnam to do: distribute durable soccer balls to promote play and to spread Rotary’s message of service and goodwill.

The community center sits on the outskirts of Hoi An, a resort town on the South China Sea. Orange and fuchsia bougainvillea blossoms spill over stalls selling scarves and spices at one of Vietnam’s oldest marketplaces, and along the banks of the Thu Bon River, food vendors serve aromatic pho (noodle soup) and banh mi (sandwiches). By night, tourists dine under glowing silk lanterns at the seaside restaurants and hotels.

The kids we met in Hoi An have a few soccer balls on hand, but are just as likely to kick around rocks or bundles of banana leaves. Tim Jahnigen first observed this phenomenon in 2006 as he watched news footage of a refugee camp in Darfur, Sudan. The children on the screen were playing soccer using a bundle of trash tied with twine. Struck by the evidently universal tendency of children to play no matter how difficult the circumstances, Jahnigen set out to develop a soccer ball tough enough to endure the harshest conditions.

Almost 10 years later, One World Play Project – the company Jahnigen founded with his wife, Lisa Tarver – has provided more than 1.5 million durable soccer balls in over 175 countries. The ball itself is made of a proprietary foamlike blend that bounces like a soccer ball but won’t puncture, deflate, or otherwise fall apart.

“Play is vital for humans to thrive,” Tarver says, echoing recent research. “Play is one of the most effective therapies for any kind of trauma or hardship, whether in refugee camps or inner cities afflicted with gang violence – anywhere kids have suffered human rights abuses or the effects of poverty or natural disasters. Play is what allows them to recover and connect with their community.”

Our team of Rotary members and youth program participants from the San Francisco Bay Area brought to Vietnam 2,400 of these balls, bound for schools and community centers. We traveled south from the capital, Hanoi, through the mountains and along the scenic coastline to Ho Chi Minh City and the villages of the Mekong Delta. In each community we visited, we met with local officials, handed out balls, and challenged the recipients to a game – no translation required.

“Play is the universal language,” Tarver says. “You go somewhere and you may not be able to talk to the people, but if you pull out this ball, you’ll be connected, because it’s intuitive. The ball is the connector between the visitors and the community.”

There are no Rotary clubs in Vietnam; they were disbanded in the 1970s. Since 1994, however, when the U.S. government lifted the trade embargo that had been in effect since the Vietnam War ended, Rotary clubs have worked with government approval on several successful projects with local charities.

Sue McKinney, a member of the Rotary Club of Oakland Sunrise, has divided her time between Ho Chi Minh City and her native California since 1994. A lawyer by training and a serial entrepreneur in practice, McKinney has worked on 21 projects in Vietnam, coordinating Group Study Exchange trips, organizing wheelchair distributions and medical camps, hosting dozens of visiting U.S. Rotarians, and tapping into her extensive in-country network to promote Rotary’s work.

The collaboration with One World Play Project also has its roots in McKinney’s Rolodex. She once hosted a GSE participant from California’s District 5170 named Ingrid Fraunfelder, and the two kept in touch. When Fraunfelder went to work for One World Play Project as a program manager, McKinney saw a natural fit for the district’s Interact program. She presented the idea to the district and reached out to contacts at Aid for Kids and Football for All in Vietnam, two local nonprofits that provided logistical support and helped coordinate distribution events.

McKinney also saw an opportunity to expand Rotary’s network and build goodwill through cultural exchange. “Group Study Exchange was my introduction to Rotary 30 years ago,” before clubs accepted female members, she recalls. “I went to Holland on an all-female GSE team, and I’m still in touch with those women. Those connections are for life. It’s a way of networking, and it helped recruit me into the organization. Once I’d seen Rotary at work on the world stage, I wanted to be a part of it.”

For Gloria Garing, a member of the Rotary Club of Freedom, Calif., the trip was an opportunity to honor her late husband, Ward, who served in Vietnam in the late 1960s and died of cancer in 2006. Midway through the trip, Garing made a solo detour down the coast from Hoi An to Cam Ranh Bay, where Ward had been stationed, to deliver soccer balls at a school.

“I wasn’t sure about what it would be like going to a communist country,” Garing says. “Growing up in the 1950s and ’60s with a father in the Navy, the whole idea of communism was, ‘They’re the enemy.’ There was a lot we didn’t know, of course, but there was a real fear.”

Garing met students, teachers, and families in Cam Ranh. “I was surprised by how welcoming everyone was,” she says. Vietnam, she says, is beautiful and interesting, but there was more to the trip: “When we do service work, it’s about the people we meet and the connections we make.”

Vu Dinh, a member of the Interact club at Mount Eden High School in Hayward, Calif., until his graduation last spring, was born in Vietnam, but his family moved to the United States when he was a baby. He had returned to Vietnam only once since then, on a family trip 10 years ago.

“It’s weird to think that one turn of events can change your whole life,” he said as we left a

secondary school in Hanoi where he had addressed students in hesitant Vietnamese. “I’m sitting across from these kids, thinking how I could have been in their seats, meeting these American visitors, but instead I’m coming to their school on a tour bus.” Later, after he had reconnected with family members outside Da Nang, he said, “I’m glad my parents came to America, but I’m also glad I have the chance to come back to Vietnam, to spend time with my parents’ brothers and sisters, and see what the world looks like from the back of their motorbike.”

Dinh joined Interact during his sophomore year. He met new friends across the district, participated in leadership development programs such as RYLA, and served as club president in his senior year.

“In high school it’s often repeated that grades stay on your transcript forever. But these clubs teach you that the impact you make stays on these people’s lives forever,” Dinh says. “Interact has given me the opportunity to grow as a person, gain leadership skills, and give back. In Interact we have a structure and a network that allows participants to branch out in different communities and move toward a global community. That’s what sets Rotary apart.”

The way he sees it, our group is bringing that message of inclusion and opportunity to everyone we meet in Vietnam. “We’re giving away these soccer balls, but we’re also giving the opportunity to play and grow as a community through sports,” he says, “and we have the opportunity to let people know Rotary is important.”

The nearly indestructible soccer balls will go on conveying that message, says inventor Jahnigen. “When you go into a community and leave a ball behind, it reinforces the bonds and messages that came with it,” he says. “As long as it’s there being played with, it keeps the connection alive.”

Look for Interactors from District 5170 in the House of Friendship at the 2016 Rotary International Convention in Korea. Learn more about this ongoing project.

DIstrIct 5180 calenDar

Oct. 7 Sacramento Century Challenge Start: 7:00 a.m. and finish on Capitol Mall and 8th Street

Oct. 28 Foundation Dinner Citrus Heights Community Center 6300 Fountain Square Drive Citrus Heights

2018May 11 District Conference

Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino Incline Village

what Is rOtary cluB central?Rotary Club Central is an online tool to help clubs set and track their goals and achievements.

Please download the Reference Guide to learn how to use this online tool.