My name is Julie McCoy and I have been a member of the Chillicothe, Missouri, Rotary club for 27 years. My husband Rolfe and I have three beautiful daughters and 4 exceptionally bright grandchildren. While I love them all dearly, I look forward to being your District Governor for the 2018-19 year.
First, let me say thank you to the outgoing District Governor, Allen Garner, District 6040 Officers and all the District 6040 Club Presidents. This past year has been memorable under their leadership. And, we have truly “made a difference” in our state and around the world. Thank you all for your service!
Next, I’d like to congratulations to the new officers serving in the 2018-19 year. I am looking forward to working with you each of you. In fact, I look forward to meeting all 2400 Rotarians in our district. I want to see and learn what great things are happening in your communities.
This year’s theme was set by Rotary International President, Barry Rassin. He has asked each one of us to Be The Inspiration…in our clubs, in our communities and around the world. And, I have no doubt that District 6040 Rotarians will inspire others to success as we continue to work towards service on behalf of others. I look forward to an Inspiring year ahead!
District 6040 has some amazing and inspiring Rotarians. I would like to spotlight one of them today.
Elizabeth Usovics, KC Plaza Rotary Club, was honored at the White House in recent years for her work on service projects. Only 10 women were selected as part of Rotary’s Women of Action.
Elizabeth 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. And, she continues to work on humanitarian efforts in Malawi. She also serves as our Zone 31 Rotary Public Image Coordinator, which is a big job. Thanks Elizabeth for all you do for Rotary.
To all District 6040 Rotarians, thank you for all you do, and congratulations on your accomplishments. The future is endlessly bright, and I am inspired by all of you. I look forward to serving you in 2018-19!
Posted by Kirby Asplund, District 6040 Public Image Chair
Facebook can be a powerful tool for Rotary clubs, helping you to keep your members informed and engaged, and at the same time informing and engaging others in your community about Rotary! A few suggestions for putting the power of Facebook to work for you:
Assign a member (someone who enjoys social media) to set up a Facebook page for your club.
Post items about your club’s meetings or activities two to three times per week – with photos or videos if possible.
Encourage your members to “like,” “comment on” and “share” the club’s posts. This will really help extend your reach. (This is what the “social” in “social media” is all about – interaction and engagement.)
Why not post a notice about a particularly exciting program or service project coming up – and invite non-members to join you?
The ideal scenario? When others see what your club is doing in and for your community – and they see the camaraderie and engagement of your members – they’ll want to join!
Posted by Don Gladhart, Past President St. Joseph & District Governor Nominee
The four St Joseph area Rotary Clubs hosted RI President Ian Riseley on May 30. He attended a tree planting ceremony at the new Convention and Visitor’s Bureau in downtown St. Joseph. President Ian participated in a press conference, a ceremonial tree planting, received a Key to the City, received proclamations from the Mayor and the State Legislature and gave a short presentation to those gathered.
Following these activities, the group moved to the Pony Express Museum. 135 Rotarians and guests enjoyed lunch. After lunch, President Riseley who has a keen sense of humor, spoke again. That was followed by several members from each Club who received Paul Harris Fellows pins. Next, President Ian was given a special tour of the Pony Express Museum, which he appeared to thoroughly enjoy.Last year, The St Joseph East Club, received a District Matching Grant to build a new exhibit in the Museum. The last event of the day was a tour to inspect the 200+ trees the Clubs planted throughout the City. This special day, all started with a table conversation at PETS in 2017, after then President-Elect Riseley announced he had a goal of planting a tree for every Rotarian in the world during his Presidency. He indicated during his remarks, that the goal of 1.2 million trees planted throughout the world has been passed. The planning committee made up of members from all four Clubs and working together as “ROTARY” did a great job of making this a very memorable day in St Joseph Rotary history.
Don’t look yet, but the District 6040 website is undergoing an overhaul. “It really started as a simple initiative to update information,” District Governor McCoy explained. “But as we looked at what we wanted to do, the project grew. The objective is fairly simple: to make it easy.” Easy for members to find out about district initiatives and events and to register, where applicable. Easy for club leadership to access support materials or other resources (through the officers’ file cabinets, for example). Easy for non-member visitors to learn about types of membership, clubs in their vicinity, etc. And, with the introduction of the new ClubRunner App, easier than ever to access!
A website committee – spearheaded by members David McCaughey, Bob Merrigan, Stephanie Smith and Johnah Terbovic – are working with the incoming team of District Officers to collect information and post it to the new site being built out in the ClubRunner platform. The site is not intended to replace other program specific sites (e.g., ShowMe Rotary for PETS training, or RYLA) but will link to and support those sites in effort to have one primary place to go to when searching for information about any District program. The goal is to have the basic navigation in place by the first of July, and information will continue to be updated as leaders of the various service areas provide it. Stay tuned …
Question - How can I see my giving history to The Rotary Foundation?
Answer - You can view your records on My Rotary at www.rotary.org. Your club secretary can help you establish a My Rotary account. The club president, secretary, and foundation chair have access to club giving records and can also help you find your giving history. If you still have questions, call 1-866-976-8279 or email Rotary at support.center@rotary.org to check on contributions and recognition points.
Next months topic: Understanding Foundation Recognition Points
ing your District Governor for the 2018-19 year. 
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