Dear Fellow Rotarians:

A new Rotary year has begun and the opportunities to "Lend a Hand" are numerous. I’m excited about the potential we have this year to make a difference in our community.

Internationally, there are so many worthy projects that need our support and we will be working toward fulfilling an international need this year. Locally, we will be working on developing our Centennial Project to celebrate Rotary’s 100^th Anniversary in 2005. We also have plans to provide several opportunities for Rotarians to be actively involved through community service. Nothing can compare to the feeling you get from helping others.

I believe the implementation of a support group composed of our family members will make our Rotary experience more enjoyable. Rotary should be a family experience and I hope to be able to involve family members in several events.

A priority this year will be to provide leadership development for the young people in our community and the resurgence of the Interact Club. This club was once a guiding force in community service and we plan to see this happen again. Through this club, we can guarantee a progressive future by teaching tomorrow’s leaders the importance of community service.

We’ve got a lot going on, so feel free to jump right in and "Lend a Hand."

Yours in Service

Pam Fikes

The Kabul club existed from 1968 to 1979, but war and instability rendered it inactive. The 41 member club is part of District 3270 (Pakistan). Its sponsors are the Rotary Club of Hayward Sunset, California, USA, comprised almost entirely of Afghan immigrants, and the Rotary Club of Uni Town Peshawar, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan.

Although Rotary had been away from Afghanistan for years, the Rotary Foundation supported polio eradication activities in the country. And during and immediately after the war that overthrew the Taliban, Rotarians rallied to the aid of Afghan refugees and internally displaced people. The RI Afghan Refugee Relief Effort Committee worked in tandem with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to purchase and distribute aid to thousands of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

(Reprinted from ROTARYWORLD, July 2003 Edition

BIRTHDAYS                      ANNIVERSARIES

Vince Lavanna 2^nd           Tim and Tammy McKellar 1^st

Tim McKellar 4^th              Anessa and Chris Wright 6^th

Roger Hill 9^th                  John and Cheryl Odle 8^th

Haig Wright 9^th               Sabrina and Mark Keating 19^th

Torrie Grelle 12^th            Brack and Robbie O’Rear 19^th

Charles Stephens 14^th   Roger and Vicki Hill 20^th

Connie Cooner-Wells 15^th Libba and Hoyt Elliott 21^st

Ted Killingsworth 19^th    Marthanne and O.H. Brown 23^rd

Carol Savage 20^th         Linda Burns and Pat Hyland 29^th

Evan Dillard 29^th

Mark your calendars for Friday, October 10^th. We will need the participation of all members in some form. Opportunities will be available to (1) organize teams, (2) buy/sell signs, (3) donate prizes, (4) help out at the tournament and of course (5) play golf. Be thinking about what you can do to help out and make this fund-raiser a huge success!

Help Wanted - We had about 22 members to sign up for a committee in July. We have 20 board members and coordinators, so there are about 50 jobless Rotarians out there that need to sign up to help out this year in some capacity. Committee descriptions can be found on our website at on the main page in the "Upcoming Events" section.

August 12^th - Phyllis Kennedy, Director of the Department of Industrial Relations and member of Gov. Riley’s cabinet, will join us to talk about the governor’s tax package. Please demonstrate the strength and importance of our club by attending this important meeting.

Members of our club will have the opportunity to attend some very important events in the upcoming months - Rotary Foundation/Membership Seminars will be held in August throughout our District; the annual trip to the Rotary International Corporate Offices in Evanston, IL will be September 27-29; PETS/District Assembly will be March 12 &13; and the District Conference will be April 22 - 24^th. Each of these events is capable of giving you an awareness of the importance of Rotary that you would not understand otherwise.

PolioPlus - Rotary International has met and exceeded it’s goal of raising $80 million to eradicate Polio worldwide through funds collected and pledged. Our club is obligated to meet it’s pledge of $3,500 per year for two more years. Therefore, we will be campaigning this winter to raise this year’s pledge amount.

Recent Resignations - David Wesley, Sheila Jones, Sonya Jones, Bill Reynolds, Kyle Eaton, John Greene.