A Word from Our District Governor

🌟 Welcoming a New Month of Service and Connection

As we step into a new month, I find myself reflecting on the remarkable momentum we’ve built together. Reaching the five-month mark of our Rotary year fills me with immense gratitude and pride for the energy, commitment, and fellowship I’ve witnessed across our district.

Over these past months, I’ve had the pleasure of visiting 28 Rotary clubs — each one unique in its character and impact, yet united by a shared purpose: to serve, to connect, and to lead with heart. From community health initiatives and youth mentorship programs to environmental clean-ups and international service partnerships, your projects beautifully embody this year’s theme:

Unite for Good: Growing Stronger, Leading Together

Every club visit reaffirms a powerful truth: when we collaborate across clubs, harness diverse strengths, and welcome new ideas, we magnify what’s possible. Together, we’re not only sustaining Rotary’s proud traditions — we’re evolving to meet the needs of a changing world and to create lasting, meaningful change in our communities.

As this new month begins, I invite each of us to carry forward the spirit of unity and shared purpose that has defined our journey so far. Let’s continue lifting one another up, building partnerships, and striving boldly toward the impact we know we can achieve.

Here’s to another month of service, connection, and leadership — growing stronger and leading together.

 

What’s happening around the District: 

🥫 Operation Full Plate: United to Fight Hunger

A Zones 30/31 Friendly Contest — And District 6040 Is All In!

As we begin a new month and continue strengthening our momentum, District 6040 is excited to officially launch Operation Full Plate: United to Fight Hunger — a fun, friendly competition across Zones 30 & 31 designed to make a measurable impact on food insecurity while sparking engagement, visibility, and membership growth.

The contest is happening NOW through January 10, 2026, and we already know this area of focus is close to the heart of every club in our district. Food insecurity affects communities across all of Missouri, and Rotary has long been a leader in meeting this need with compassion and action.
Now it’s time to unite our efforts and show what District 6040 can do together!

🔧 How It Works

Each club can choose any hunger-focused service project, including:

  • Food drives
  • Fundraising campaigns
  • Volunteering at food pantries
  • Meal-packing events
  • Or any other initiative that feeds those in need

Clubs simply report their impact to the district.
Your district lead for gathering this information is Kandi Kos

No need to calculate points — Zone leaders will take care of that.
At the end of the campaign, We will submit District 6040’s totals.

📊 Points Breakdown

  • 1 point per food item donated
  • 1 point per dollar contributed
  • 1 point per public image activity
  • 3 points per Rotarian volunteer hour
  • 5 points per non-Rotarian volunteer engaged

This is a wonderful opportunity not only to serve but to involve families, friends, community partners, and prospective members.

🎉 Incentives

  • Winning Zone: Virtual Happy Hour with Director Brian Hall
  • Top District: $500 Membership Grant
  • Losing Zone Coordinator Team: Volunteers an extra 10 hours fighting hunger
    (A win-win either way!)

📣 What We Need From You

  • Help promote the campaign to your clubs and encourage participation
  • Use and share the materials in this email
  • Access the full set of tools and resources in your Operation Full Plate Starter Toolkit, including communications templates, promotional graphics, project ideas, and more.

🍽️ Let’s Turn Fellowship Into Full Plates

Every can collected, every dollar raised, every volunteer hour — it all adds up.
Let’s show Zones 30 & 31 the power of District 6040 when we Unite for Good.

One meal, one act of service, one new connection at a time — together, we will fill more plates and strengthen more communities.

👟 Shoe Drive Spotlight: 25th Anniversary Challenge!

Shoes, Shoes, and More Shoes!

District Conference

📅 April 24–25, 2026
📍 Rotary Youth Camp, Lee’s Summit, MO

Shoe collection boxes that can be distributed to local businesses in your communities have been delivered to three strategic locations in the District so every club can access them – see additional details in this newsletter.  St. Joseph, Macon & Liberty.  

Let make this milestone year extraordinary—Unite for Good and have FUN along the way!

📬 A Message from Your District Governor

This is our journey — a shared commitment to service, connection, and meaningful impact. As we look ahead, I’m asking every club and every member to step forward with purpose and enthusiasm.

Your energy, your ideas, and your dedication are what move this district forward. Together, we will continue Growing Stronger and Leading Together throughout 2025–2026 — united in service, united in fellowship, and united in the belief that we can make our communities better, one act of Rotary service at a time.

Let’s keep going. Let’s keep serving. And let’s keep leading — together.

In Rotary Service,
Jodi Sundaram
District Governor 2025–2026
Rotary Club of Liberty

 

Around The District

Council on Legislation

The nominating committee of District 6040, which consists of the 5 most recent Past District Governors (Erik McGuire, Randy Steinman, Kent Shelman, David McCaughey, and Don Gladhart) recently convened to select the 2028 Rotary Council on Legislation delegate and alternate who will represent our district.

Our district's delegate to the 2028 Council will be Cassy Venters. Cassy is a Past District Governor (2014-2015) and a member of the Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza. Cassy has been a Rotarian since 1992 and has served Rotary in many, many capacities.
Read more...
Operation Full Plate

Rotary District 6040 is excited to launch Operation Full Plate: United to Fight Hunger — a friendly competition between Zones 30 & 31 to make a measurable impact on food insecurity while creating opportunities for engagement and membership growth.  The contest is running NOW through Jan. 10, 2026. We know all of our clubs work hard on this area of focus - food insecurity.  So, let's see how our District can unite to serve others!
Read more...
Direct Impact! Simple Giving=Big Impact

The Rotary Foundation Team is excited to announce its new campaign — “Direct Impact! Simple Giving = Big Impact.” Our goal is to increase the number of Rotarians using Rotary Direct to support The Rotary Foundation with automatic monthly or quarterly gifts.  Sign up by clicking here. Rotary Direct is simple, secure, and sustainable. You set it up once, and your recurring gift goes straight to the programs you care about most — no reminders, no extra steps. Minimum donations begin at just $10 a month, and you can pause or change your contribution at any time.
Read more...
World Cup and Rotary Service Opportunities

Rotary District 6040 chair positions are almost filled (all except Sponsorships), so now we need volunteers for each committee.  Please review the information and determine which committee is right for you!  Once you've decided how you want to demonstrate Service Above Self during the World Cup, please email the committee chair and copy Kathy Kopach.  Even if you live well outside the KC Metro, you can provide valuable input and other help from afar.  We need you!!
Read more...
Shoe Collection Boxes

We have received Shoe Collection Boxes from Buckner that clubs can distribute to their local businesses to assist with shoe collection at three strategic locations in District 6040 - Club shoe leaders can reach out to the below contacts to schedule a time to pick up boxes.   
Read more...

Rotary Area of Focus: Disease Prevention and Treatment 

We believe good health care is everyone’s right. Yet 400 million people in the world can’t afford or don’t have access to basic health care.

Disease results in misery, pain, and poverty for millions of people worldwide. That’s why treating and preventing disease is so important to us. We lead efforts both large and small.
Click Me To Learn More

World Polio Day Highlights

The Rotary Club of St. Joseph East held an awareness event at River Bluff Brewing on October 24. River Bluff Brewing is a popular gathering spot for the locals and the club took the party to them. Club members handed out free purple frosted cookies to brewery-goers and explained the reason for gathering. They had displays and info about the history of the campaign to eradicate polio. Most of all, everyone had a great time and they put the "fun" into fundraising, while expanding the number of donors over prior years. 

Leading up to World Polio Day 2025, their club conducted a campaign among the membership of both St. Joseph East and St. Joseph, and in total, collected $3,934 towards PolioPlus (before any matches are applied)  from 30 different donors. 
The Raytown Rotary Club raised funds to help eradicate Polio by featuring a purple piggy bank. 
 
World Polio Day was also recognized by a proclamation by Raytown Rotarian Mayor Michael McDonough. 



 

The Kansas City South Rotary Club recently hosted their Cornholio for Polio fundraiser on October 15, and it was an incredible success.

The club raised $1,000, and with the additional matches from the district, Rotary International, and the Gates Foundation, their total impact will reach approximately $4,500 toward ending polio! 

The club is so proud of the energy and generosity of their members, with special thanks to Curtis Stroud and Tom Sunquist for throwing in a little extra to help them hit their goal. It was a fun, community-filled event that brought together service, fellowship, and a great cause.



 

A Proclamation was issued by the City of Parkville and presented to the Parkville Rotary Club and the Rotary District.

 

Parkville Rotary provided a $2500 check to the District Governor for Polio. This is on top of a $500 check provided separately to the District for the District's funding raising efforts at the upcoming banquet in lieu of a silent auction gift. Another $1250 will go to the RI Foundation for Polio. 

 

To mark World Polio Day, South Side St. Joseph Rotarians baked and shared 70 dozen purple cookies with South Side schools, InterServ, and the Fire Station — a sweet way to celebrate progress and raise awareness about Rotary’s mission to eradicate polio for good.

The third annual Pickleball vs. Polio Classic hosted by the Rotary Club of Maryville. With matches from Rotary District 6040, the Rotary Foundation and the Gates Foundation, the club raised a total of $8,602.50 that will be put toward the effort of eliminating polio from the face of the planet. The disease remains endmic in only two countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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