Dear Friends,

What a September it was. Rotary members from across the district participated in service projects, district events, traveling abroad and celebrating peacebuilding. Thank you for being an active Rotary member, and for being a part of the Rotary family. Your commitment helps demonstrate how we Imagine Rotary

On September 7th, I started my first official club visit to Rotary Club of Alleghany. First lady Divya joined to support me for four club visits including Ashe County, Rockingham and Wadesboro. We have enjoyed learning about our Rotary clubs, their impact in the local communities and making personal connections with Rotary members. I had a great time speaking at the breakfast meeting of the Rotary Club of West Stanly and Rotary Club of Concord-Afton Sunset at their new location. My daughter Smera accompanied us for a club visit a day before her trip to Spain. She is an outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student. We were truly honored and humbled to meet James Watkins. James celebrated his 100th birthday this year. My younger daughter Naisha joined me for my last visit of the month to the Rotary Club of Boiling Springs. Thank you everyone for your hospitality. I enjoy sharing my DG visits on Facebook, please follow me to learn more about clubs in our District.

Due to supply chain issues and increased costs for food, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina is in critical need of canned and staple food items. Please consider hosting a food drive for items on their most needed list. Emergency food drive is planned till October 31st. World Polio Day is fast approaching and it is time for clubs to prepare to hold events around that day. With the recent commitment of $150 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we are getting closer to eradicating polio. Partner with clubs in your area and create a fundraiser on Raise for Rotary as we approach World Polio Day, 24 October

The biggest single night event of our District’s Rotary year is the Foundation Celebration. It will be at the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord on Friday, November 18th. We have a great speaker, a fun and easy service project, surprises, and more. We’ll learn some of the extraordinary ways Rotary members in our District and around the world use the Foundation to serve others.Your participation is vital to make this event successful. Take a moment to register for Foundation Celebration.

October is Economic and Community Development month. The work of Rotary begins in the community, and every community has its own unique needs and concerns. While we serve in countless ways, we have focused our efforts in seven key areas to maximize our impact. Economic and Community Development is one such area of focus that Rotary has asked all clubs to focus on, especially in October. I encourage you to plan new service projects and engage your Rotary members and community.

Every day, I am honored to serve you, serve with you. Let’s continue to Imagine, act to serve and make an impact.

Warmest Regards,

Kam Chandan

SAT Oct 22 – Flight of Honor

SAT Oct 22 – Annual Polio Fundraiser

MON Oct 24 – World Polio Day

FRI Nov 18 – Foundation Celebration

NOV Newsletter – Pin Collections

The Host Organizing Committee is very excited to welcome Rotarians and guests to Melbourne for the 2023 Rotary International Convention. Known as one of the world’s most livable cities, you will enjoy what we take for granted, a beautiful, vibrant and cosmopolitan city. Set on the shores of picturesque Port Phillip Bay, the southern-most city of mainland Australia Melbourne is rich in aesthetics, with its beauty enhanced by the meandering Yarra River, immaculate parks and gardens, public art, classical buildings and innovative design.

Iconic Flinders Street railway station is the meeting point for all people when they come to Melbourne. Start your journey there and enjoy a great coffee and discover what Melbourne has to offer. With interlocking laneways with graffiti art and the buzzing inner-city precinct reveals one-off boutiques and world-class restaurants, while our larger modern department stores and shopping complexes compete to enchant the most discerning shopper. Melbourne is culturally diverse and is globally recognized as one of the most concentrated dining and fashion cultures in the world.

Melbourne is the heart of Australia’s major sports: Formula 1, Melbourne Cup (the race that stops a nation), Australian Tennis Open, and the mighty Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) which is home to Australian cricket and our unique Australian Football League (AFL). Just a short drive from the heart of Melbourne, you can take one of the world’s iconic drives along the Great Ocean Road. Head north to the Murray River and sit amongst the great river red gums or relax with a glass of local wine on a river paddle steamer. Or, if you prefer, head to Phillip Island. Here you can visit the koala sanctuary and see the world-famous fairy penguin parade in the evening. Step back in time – head to Ballarat and try your hand at gold panning at Sovereign Hill. Visit the Yarra Valley, home of great cool climate wines, chardonnay, pinot and sparkling. There are unlimited adventures and discoveries to be had, just a short distance from Melbourne City.

Please keep visiting this site because we will be regularly posting new exciting activities and information. We look forward to welcoming you to our great city. https://convention.rotary.org/en/melbourne

This last weekend, Zones 33 and 34 had a leadership Summit where District Governors (Past, Current, and Future) met in Baltimore to share ideas and inspire. Here are a few images from the Summit

REGISTER NOW FOR 1 OR 4! 202211: Impact Summit Break-Out Sessions (cognitoforms.com)

Our multi-district grant for Ukraine was approved. 15 Districts, including 7680, collectively participated for a total of 375,000.

Inbound RYE Students Dinner with District Leadership at Karen Steffens.

The District is sponsoring 7 inbound Rotary Exchange Students. They are:

Ella from Slovakia

Sponsor Club is Charlotte-North

Maria from Germany

Sponsor Club is Charlotte International

Marielen from Germany

Sponsor Club is Asheville

Karina from Czechia

Sponsor Club is Brevard

Olivera from Bosnia-Herzegovina

 Sponsor Club is Charlotte

Benedek from Hungary

Sponsor Club is Lake Norman/Huntersville

Kalle from Germany

Sponsor Club is Waxhaw-Weddington

Zuzia from Poland

Sponsor Club is Shelby

12-DAY TURKISH FRIENDSHIP EXCHANGE RETURNS AMID GLOWING REPORTS!

By: PDG Bob Wilson (2008-09)

District 7680 is currently participating in a cultural, friendship exchange with District 2430 located in Central Turkey. Led by Past District Governors Ineke and Bob Wilson, five Rotarians just returned from an incredible 12-day immersion into one of the most historical cultures in the World. The team consisted of Maya Tsekova (Ballantyne), Bill Burnham (Mecklenburg South), Jack Shimko (North Mecklenburg), Ineke and me (Huntersville Happy Hour). Our team visited six major cities and dozens of small towns. We lived in the homes of fellow Rotarians and experienced, firsthand, what it’s like to live in this modern, secular, Muslim nation. We ate local foods, shopped at local markets, saw children off to schools, visited a Turkish rug factory, got scrubbed in a Turkish Bath, visited four different Mosques, and learned to drink Turkish coffee, tea, and Roki. We learned about Ataturk and the incredible revolution that created the Turkish Republic after World War I. We crossed the Tigris River on a bridge the Romans built and saw distant Euphrates before driving through the fertile cradle of civilization in Mesopotamia. We explored castles built by the Hittites, Romans, and Ottomans, observed actual tools used by cavemen, and touched stone carvings over 8,000 years old.

On arrival in Ankara, we were greeted by local Rotarians and their District Governor. During the week, the team attended four (4) Rotary Club meetings, participated in an awareness Parade for Polio in downtown Adiyaman, attended the 12th Traditional Friendship Festival in Samsun, a resort city on the Black Sea, and even participated in a District-wide service project by assisting mobility-challenged individuals to view the iconic ruins at the top of Mount Nemrut. And while there, we intentionally sought ways that our clubs in District 7680 might participate in the work of these Rotarians by using the power of our Foundation’s Grant process. If interested in grants, get in touch with Ineke.

As with most Friendship Exchanges, our team took advantage of extending the official Rotary agenda and included several days of sightseeing on our own. This resulted in a balloon ride over the incredible cave dwellings of the early Christians in Cappadocia, a boat ride through the Bosphorus in downtown Istanbul, a Turkish cooking class and a side trip to the Biblical town of Ephesus.

For 12 incredible days we were given the privilege of living in the homes of people who shared common Rotary values of Truth, Fairness, Goodwill and Service. We broke bread with them, played with their kids, learned of their stresses, their concerns, their religion, their politics, and the challenges they face by living in Modern Turkey today.

Was this Cultural Immersion to better understand another part of the world, foster peace and goodwill Oh, yes! This was Rotary at its best.

Truly, the memories of such a life-expanding experience are sterling, but the gold standard must be applied to the value of the personal relationships, the friendships that have resulted from these Twelve days in Turkey.

The reciprocal Friendship Exchange The Turkish Team will visit our District November 14-27, during this coming Thanksgiving Day Holiday period. If you or your club would like to participate by taking a couple of days to host a member of the Inbound Turkish Team, then email PDG Ineke who is serving as the District’s Friendship Exchange Chair. Her email is for.ineke@gmail.com. Cell number is 704 905-5002. And, if your club would like to learn more about the Friendship Exchange, Ineke is primed to deliver a program.

Please mark your calendar and

vigorously promote the

Membership Action Plan (MAP)

“Bite-Sized” webinars, every month

on the second Monday at 6 pm ET.

The target audience is club leaders, Presidents, Assistant Governors, Presidents-Elect, Membership Chairs, and anyone else who has an interest in the long-term viability and vitality of their Rotary club. All District leaders are also encouraged to attend.

The MAP Page on the Zone website has past recordings, registration links for upcoming events, and a library of membership collateral: RIZones33-34.org/membership-action-plan

What is the MAP?

It’s a unified, multi-year membership growth initiative spanning Rotary Zones 33 and 34 — 1,700 clubs and 66,000 Rotarians from Pennsylvania to Florida, then extending through the Caribbean to the coast of South America.

In search of a strategy to mitigate membership decline and get our clubs on a path of consistent, moderate growth, RI Director Jeremy Hurst launched a task force in January of 2022.

This group of District and Zone leaders has developed a set of “Bite-Sized” webinars (1 hour or less), delivered once a month, that are 100% actionable by the clubs. No concepts. No theory. No figuring out how. Everything is there. Strategies that are GUARANTEED to work (they’ve worked for hundreds of clubs), together with recipes, templates, slides, videos, worksheets and scripts. There’s also an awards program that will recognize both clubs and districts for their participation and achievements.

How can YOU help?

Embrace, publicize and promote participation of all your club leaders in these monthly events. Yes, they are being recorded, and, yes, all the material presented is downloadable from the MAP Page on the Zone Website: RIZones33-34.org/membership-action-plan.

CART is having a Car Raffle to raise money to fight this disease. Tickets are $100 and limited to 500 total tickets.

The winner can get a Free 3-year lease on a Toyota Hybrid of their choice: Avalon, Camry, or Rav4 or $20,000 cash

Personal checks accepted mail $100 to Norm Rogers, 146 Freeboard Lane, Carolina Shores, NC 28467 (check= CARS FOR CART) normrogers@atmc.net Proceeds benefit

TRAC (Trust Rotary for an Alzheimer’s Cure) www.cartfund.org

*subject to North Carolina law as applicable.