Wow, this Governor thing is getting real! Through the end of August I have made it to 23 clubs all across the district from Shenandoah in the east to Aurora in the West, Wayne in the North and Pawnee City in the South. I have to give a huge Thank You to all the clubs I have visited. Thank you for your hospitality, your fellowship, your openness to discuss your clubs successes and challenges and sharing your plans and vision for the future.
I would be remiss if I didn’t give a special shout out to the Wayne Rotary Club and Dan and Kyle Rose. You truly made Jan and I’s visit one we will never forget.
You guys go all out, and I’m sure the Governors before me would agree that your efforts are over the top and greatly appreciated.
 
Since stepping into the role as DG July 1, I have also attended the following events in addition to my club visits:
 
  • a dedication ceremony for District 5630’s (Central and Western Nebraska) Hot Meals USA Disaster Food Trailer.  Our District contributed $1,000 of our undesignated DDF funds to help build the trailer and provided servers for a meal served to residents of Hamburg Iowa and the surrounding area in SW Iowa.
  • Made a trip to Cedar Rapids for District 5970’s “Blues Fest” which raised over $50,000 in support of “Polio Plus” and other community projects.
  • I attended Norfolk Rotary’s final “Music in the Park” bash which drew 3,000 people and demonstrated that we Rotarian’s are people of Action! This was the 4th free concert for the community and Rotary was well recognized as the organizer through public address announcements, banners, and a Rotary tent. The Band even thanked Rotary for putting on the event. Special thanks should go out to Troy Weyhrich, Randy Dee, Stan Christensen, Sherri Prim and all the other club members I am forgetting for a fantastic event.
Being Governor can keep you busy but it is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had. We are doing amazing things in this District and around the world and I wish I could highlight all of them. We currently have at least 3 global grants in the hopper which may get funded this year and we are currently sponsoring a Global Scholar by the name of Haley Dunlop who is studying at the University of Edinburgh pursuing a Masters degree in Public health on her way to a medical degree. I would encourage all clubs to utilize our “Spotlight on Clubs” section of the District Website so we can share all the great things we are doing with one another and the public. Reach out to Nicki Klein (exec@rotarydistrict5650.org) if you need help posting your stories.
 
As I have shared with the clubs I’ve visited, increasing our membership is RI President Mark Maloney’s and our Districts highest priority this year.  We started the Rotary year at 1,875 members in the District. As of August 30th we have added 15 new members in the district and stand at 1,890 members.  Our Goal is to get to 1,950 members this year so we have a ways to go. My challenge to each club is to grow by a net 2 members, if we do that, we’ll end the year at 1,957.  Look for a club challenge coming soon!
 
Thank you to all Rotarians in the District for all you are doing. Keep up the great work you are doing and let’s make 2019-2020 Rotary’s greatest year yet.
 
Mick
Henry "Mick" McKinley
Rotary District 5650 Governor 2019-20