Welcome Dundee Area Rotary Club!

It was a glorious evening last Wednesday, as Super District 6400 welcomed its newest club, the Dundee Area Rotary Club! I was very happy to present Charter President Rachel Lloyd with the club charter, signed by Rotary International President D.K. Lee.

Area 7 Assistant Governor Jim Morr did a wonderful job as Master of Ceremonies. The club's sponsor is the Rotary Club of Monroe, and its Special Representative, Deanna Sobocienski, did an incredible job guiding the 24 charter members through the process.

In addition to the club's charter members receiving their charter pins and membership certificates, PDG Dave Carpenter made the evening even more special by inducting two additional members, bringing their total membership at inception to 26!!!

Representatives were on-hand from many different clubs across our district, and several presented gifts to President Rachel and President-Elect Bill Knopp. Pictures of the evening are on our district website, www.rotary6400.org. Check 'em out!

The club meets Thursdays at Noon at the Old Mill Museum in historic downtown Dundee, Michigan. Why don't you stop by for a make-up? Their food, catered charter member Scott Heck, is delicious!

And Now...The Rest of the Year!

With Sue and my trip to Westland Rotary (here I am with Westland President Julie Brown and AG Lois VanStipdonk) last Thursday afternoon, the official visits are officially over! And while it's a relief on the one hand, there's also a sense that we'll miss the fun of traveling from club to club and hearing about how Rotarians throughout Super District 6400 are changing people's lives!

Certainly Sue and I will be attending many more club projects, new member inductions, events, new member inductions, fund-raisers and new member inductions (did you notice the subtle hint?). So please make sure you invite us to attend those special occasions.

Another thing that we'd like to do is visit some of the Interact and Rotaract clubs in the district. Interact in particular is thriving this year at a number of high schools - if your club hasn't discovered the joys of sponsoring a club, perhaps you could make that a goal in 2008-09.

Next up: RYLA!

The Final Official Visits...

Coming up this week, Sue and I will be completing our "official" District Governor visits for which we are responsible to Rotary International. Carleton, Livonia AM and Westland wrap up what has been an incredible experience, as we have discovered the myriad of ways that the 50 (soon to be 51 with the addition of the new Dundee Area Rotary Club) District 6400 clubs make a difference in people's lives!

Last week, we visited clubs in Harper Woods, Lincoln Park and Detroit (that's Asst. Gov. Liz Smith and president Jay Ganatra with me).



Sue and I also had the opportunity to enjoy Windsor-Roseland's annual "Wines of The World" event Friday evening. Not only is this a huge generator of funds for the club's projects, but the sold-out party featured terrific food from nearly a dozen Windsor-area restaurants and caterers and tasty wines from a selection of wineries around Ontario and across the globe. I highly recommend you plan to attend next year's gala!



Finally, we spent Saturday evening at the annual Youth Exchange Halloween party at Westland Rotarian Ann Elliott and husband Joe's beautiful Dearborn home. The kids had fun eating chili, drinking cider and carving pumpkins; they wrapped up the evening with a brief neighborhood "trick-or-treat" and a trip to the Westland Jaycees' Haunted House.


Next up for the District - the charter ceremony for the Dundee Area club next week (November 5th) and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) November 13-15!

In the Homestretch...

We've been a little busy since the last blog post... in October, there have been official Governor's visits to Grosse Pointe, Tecumseh, Woodhaven & Brownstown, Taylor, Adrian Morning, Dearborn, Harper Woods and, today, Detroit.

Also, I attended an organizational meeting for a new club in Riverview, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Trenton, and inducted two new members into the Rotary Club of Livonia.

Finally, last Thursday the 16th, we had our annual Membership & Foundation Seminar and Interact Symposium, with over 160 Rotarians and Interactors in attendance! Fantastic turnout, and many specific, practical ideas were shared.

Click here for a link to the summary of what was discussed in the Rotary Foundation portion of the evening. And you can find the Interact breakout notes here. The membership ideas will be available in my next blog posting.

Many thanks to Susan and David Mehregan from the Rotary Club of Monroe for sharing some of the successes their club has had in membership and Foundation education and giving feeding off of each other, and to District Rotary Foundation Committee chair Bob Gallagher and Membership Chair Chris Hardy for putting together two terrific programs.

Special appreciation goes out to the Area Membership Coordinators and Area Foundation Coordinators for their role in facilitating the breakout sessions.

The Area Membership Coordinators are:
Area 1 - Roger Hull; Area 2 - John Williams; Area 3 - Art Quintal; Area 4 - Tom Crowe; Area 5 - Beth Stewart; Area 6 - Wes Mator; Area 7 - Susan Mehregan; Area 8 - Rich Donner; Area 9 - Jill Marontate; Area 10 - Darren Winger.

The Area Foundation Coordinators:

Area 1 - Amy Gennaro; Area 2 - Mary Ann Snodgrass; Area 3 - Deb Green; Area 4 - Jerry Sawicki; Area 5 - D.J. Boyd; Area 6 - Neal Ballheim; Area 7 - Paul Howey; Area 8 - Jeff Juby; Area 9 - Jim Cosgrove; Area 10 - Shiva Koushik.

Thanks to all of the Rotarians who attended this very important evening. Please make sure you share these ideas with our clubs who weren't able to be there!

October Buzz from Bruce is Here

There is a link to my monthly podcast on the District 6400 website, but I thought I'd make it available here for you to download and listen to at your leisure. It's an opportunity for me to showcase Sue and my vocation, radio broadcasting, and also communicate news about what's going on in and around our Super District 6400!

Hope you enjoy it.

Listen to the October Buzz from Bruce

Our Official Visit to the Hedke-winning Trenton Club

This past Monday, Sue and I were honored to visit the Trenton Rotary Club, winner of the 2007-08 Dick Hedke Award. The award, named after the late Detroit Rotarians and Past Rotary International President Richard Hedke, is presented each year to an outstanding Rotary club in District 6400, a club that exemplifies balance and functions at the highest level in a variety of areas.

Assistant Governor and Trenton Rotary past-president Kyle Stack and I are seen here with 2008-09 club president Joe Hoshaw.

Register now for District Conference on Mackinac Island!

Sue and I would personally like to invite you to join us for our District 6400 Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, April 30-May 3, 2009!

Some of the members of the Conference committee recently participated in a site visit to the Grand to consider logistics for the 3-day event. At left (standing in the back) are Sgt.-At-Arms chair Bill Swasey, DisCon Co-Chair Larry Wright and Registrar Sarah Wright, Special Activities chairs Jill & Jim Karolyi, and Promotion & Marketing chairs Sherry & Mike McCullough. (Middle Row) Sylvia and DisCon Co-Chair Roberto Sanchez. (Front Row) DG Bruce & Sue Goldsen.

To get more information and register online now for DisCon 2009 at the Grand Hotel, click here.

District Governor's Golf Outing Fun!

The 27th annual "District Governor's Golf Outing," sponsored by the Rotary Club of Detroit, was loads of fun, on a beautiful autumn Wednesday at the Kingsville Golf & Country Club in Kingsville, Ontario.


Nearly 90 Rotarians from across our District participated, with the proceeds from the outing going to the District 6400 Foundation's support of international service projects. My thanks to all who joined us. In the photo, Adrian Rotarians Mike Olsaver, Floyd Rodgers, AG Mark Murray and Kevin Keller took a moment to pose with me in between their long drives.

I Know It's Been Awhile...

...but Sue and I have been on the road quite a bit lately! So it's time to play "catch-up" with DG Bruce's Rotary District Tour.

Since I last posted here, we've had another 10 official visits with great Rotary clubs across Super District 6400. Sue and I visited the Rotary Club of Canton on September 22nd. Smiling along with us are AG Wayne Titus, President Ken Beardsley and Canton's Rotary Youth Exchange student, Laura Aviles.

Next, we joined the Monroe Rotary Club for lunch on the 23rd. AG Jim Morr and President Steve Pipis posed with me after the meeting, where I learned about the many wonderful projects the club does in and for the Monroe community, including their participation in the upcoming "CROP Walk for Hunger" and inter-club "Bed Race"! They're also sponsoring our District's newest club, the Dundee Area Rotary Club, which will be formally presented its charter the evening of November 5th. More on that soon.

Back in District 6400!

Forgive my absence from the blog over the past two weeks. Sue and I had the pleasure of attending two Rotary Zone Institutes - one in Sandusky, Ohio, for the U.S. Rotary zone to which we belong (Zone 28), and the other in Victoria, British Columbia, (photo at right) site of this year's Canadian Institute (Zone 22).

Victoria is a beautiful city, and Rotary leaders came out in large numbers to learn about the latest projects and information about the Rotary Foundation.

District Governor Elect Neil and Cheryl McBeth had their "coming-out party" at both Zone gatherings, and Sue and I were honored to accompany them as they were formally introduced to attendees. They were officially welcomed by Rotary International President D.K. Lee and his wife Young, and R.I. VP and Zone 22 director Monty and Liz Audenart .

It was a wonderful week, but we're happy to be home, and returned with several more club visits, which I'll detail in another post.

Welcome District 6400 Youth Exchange Students!

Not only am I blessed to have my wife Sue as the Governor's First Lady, scheduler and much better-half, but the district is also fortunate that she serves as its Youth Exchange Chair, a job she has worked hard at for the past several years. Today, Sue and the equally-hard-working District Youth Exchange committee held its orientation for the 18 just-arrived Rotary Youth Exchange students from around the world.

After an introduction from Sue and yours truly, several committee members spoke to and with the students about all of the things they need to know while they're living in Canada and the United States. Inbound U.S. Coordinator Bill Jasman from the Rotary Club of Trenton worked with the students on helpful hints while they're here. Outbound U.S. Coordinator Jeanne Knopf DeRoche (Rotary Club of Plymouth AM) and Canada Coordinator Bev Cyr (Windsor 1918) made sure everyone's paperwork was correct, no easy task these days.

Events Coordinator Diane Ives from the Rotary Club of Dearborn shared this year's schedule of fun activities, including a trip to Cedar Point this month and October's Halloween Party, always a big hit. And Youth Protection Officer, PDG Roberto Sanchez from the Rotary Club of Grosse Ile, told the students that there are several important Rotary YE rules, designed for their safety.

After the orientation, the students had an afternoon picnic and swimming at the Southgate YMCA. Many thanks to the Rotary Club of Southgate, the Holiday Inn Southgate and the Y for sponsoring this great and important event in our district!

Chickens Overrun Plymouth!

Sue and I enjoyed the most amazing spectacle today... the Plymouth Rotary Club's 53rd annual Chicken BBQ, part of Plymouth's Fall Festival. Over 10,000 chicken dinners, including fresh-from-a-dedicated-farm-field corn-on-the-cob, are served this one day each year. It's a sight worth seeing, that's for sure.

Over 400 community volunteers, young and old, help serve the dinners. In addition to its primary downtown location in the midst of the festival, there's also a "drive-thru" outpost at the middle school, where thousands more are served.

Congratulations to the Rotary Club of Plymouth, which uses the funds raised from this event to do good in its community in the form of scholarships and dozens of service projects!

At the Rotary Zone 27/28 Institute in Kalahari

Sue and I once again had the privilege of attending the Zone 27/28 Institute, held this year at the Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. To make it easier to govern, Rotary International is actually organized in three distinct levels... the clubs, of course, are the "members" of Rotary International. Groups of clubs form a "district," and we have 50 clubs in our "Super" District 6400. Next, several districts are grouped into 34 "zones" across the globe. It is these zones that elect the board of directors of Rotary International. DGE Neil & Cheryl McBeth and DGN Kim Towar and partner Dave Colton spent several days of pre-Institute training for future District Governors. As you can see, Neil took this very seriously.

The Zone Institute is the opportunity for past, present and future Rotary leaders to learn more about our organization, and much times is spent detailing innovative projects, Foundation programs and providing insight into the governance of R.I. It is also a great time for Past District Governors (PDG) to reconnect with their "classmates." Here, you see our own Past Rotary International Director (PRID) Bill & Marilyn Ives with fellow-Past Rotary International Vice-President Lou Piconi.

Immediate PDG Jennifer Jones and PRID Mike McCullough did a superb recap of the Rotary World Peace Summit held this past April in Windsor. They pointed out that, in addition to panels, speakers and seminars educating the community on the importance of peace, the event also served as a public-relations bonanza for both the event itself and Rotary.

Next, Sue and I join DGE Neil & Cheryl and PDG Jen in Victoria, British Columbia, for the Zone 22 Institute.

A Busy and Fun Week!

7 official visits this week... phew! Plus Clinton's Area 8 Steak Fry and a well-attended "Foundation Kickoff" featuring Rotary Peace Scholar Ryan Hendy (left) and several Foundation alumni, who described how Foundation educational programs changed their lives. This was a week that makes a District Governor really appreciate the diversity of Rotary clubs and Rotarians!

I had fun with my Lenawee County clubs Wednesday - starting with my official visit to Blissfield at noon. President Paula Saxton is leading her club to new heights this year, with aggressive membership goals and another successful auction that will raise $50,000 for Blissfield community projects.

Then, it was off the Clinton's annual Area 8 Steak Fry, which has become such a favorite that it seems there are more district Rotarians than Area 8 folks on hand! President Les and Linda Kopka did their usual outstanding job hosting the event, and the food and fellowship were wonderful as always.

Many thanks to all the clubs that hosted official visits this week: Grosse Pointe Sunrise, Belleville, Leamington, Rockwood, Livonia, Blissfield and Hamtramck! Now, it's off to Zone Institutes... the Rotary Zone 27/28 Institute at Kalahari in Ohio, followed by Zone 22's gathering in Victoria, BC!

Please check out the September edition of the "Buzz from Bruce." And here's a last bit of great news - we're up to 398 registered Rotarians, family and friends for DisCon '09 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Who's going to be lucky 400!? Click here to register!

Up Up & Away!

Sue and I had an uplifting experience during our official visit to the Rockwood Rotary Club when longtime club leader Dan Mercure Sr. took President Vaughn Molnar and us up in Rockwood Engine #1361 on a sunny Tuesday afternoon. It provided us a beautiful view of Super District 6400 from 100' in the air!

We started this week's tour with a visit to the Rotary Club of Livonia, where President Barb Lewis is leading a motivated group of Rotarians to reach new heights this year as they work together to Make Dreams Real with a number of engaging service projects in their local and world community. Public Relations chair, past president Janet Haas, has hit the ground running this year with an impressive number of newspaper stories and flyers to promote the club's activities, including their recent Livonia Fun Fest and Bar-B-Que.

Then, it was off to Leamington Rotary, where I was happy to induct new member Ken Cadot into the club.

This morning, we shared fellowship and a lovely view of Lake St. Clair from the Yacht Club with the Rotary Club of Grosse Pointe Sunrise. President Wayne Manchester is getting the club ready for its big 5 & 10k Run fund-raiser, as well as several fellowship events including a Super Bowl party.

Tonight, we met with President Rich Willick, who's leading the Belleville Rotary Club. Here's a group that provides 3rd graders at a local elementary school with dictionaries every year... 1,000 will be distributed in 2008!!! Also, Belleville Rotary provides $15,000.00 in scholarships to local students every year! They also participate in Operation Warm Coat, so no child has to go unprotected in the cold. Add to that distribution of free popcorn to 1,500 Trick-Or-Treaters in downtown Belleville on Halloween and the delicious pancake breakfast they serve during the Strawberry Festival each June, and you have a club, like so many in our great district, that understands the meaning of Service Above Self!

It's off to Blissfield, the annual Clinton "Steak Fry" and Hamtramck - more on the blog as it happens!

Whew! What a busy week...

Just finished another whirlwind week of official visits and other Governor-type events! Many thanks to all the hospitality shown to Sue and me. The Rotarians in Wayne, led by President Laura Mack, went above and beyond again, presenting us with thoughtful momentos of our visit, including an "old-time" radio with the inscription "From an Oldie...Wayne Rotary - to a Goodie...DG Bruce"! They also have a marvelous literacy program where they donate a book to the local public library, with a twist - it's a book that is of special meaning to that day's speaker. Somehow, Rotarian Paulette, who's also the librarian, discovered that Prince Edward Island is a place that means a lot to me, and she found an appropriate book about PEI! Bravo (again), Paulette!

I had the pleasure of sitting in on today's interviews with several Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar candidates. This is tough work, and the committee members spent five hours interviewing and deliberating over who will be the recipient of these awards. Thanks to these Rotarian for giving up a Saturday morning for this "Service Above Self" task. To learn more about the Foundation's Ambassadorial Scholars program, click here.

It was back to Wayne on my way home to see the preparations for their "Chili Cook-Off." On a 93-degree Saturday afternoon, these Rotarians were helping set-up twenty booths for this event, part of Wayne "Wheelfest." This is both an important fund-raiser for the club, a fellowship event and great community service and outreach. I hope it's a big success!

After a Sunday off, it's back on the road for several more visits this week, including Grosse Pointe Sunrise, Leamington and Belleville, among others. Have a great Rotary week!

Fun in Dearborn Heights!

Sue and I took the District Governor road show to Dearborn Heights today. This is a group that knows how to have a good time. I was pleased to welcome their 25th member, Super Rotarian Penny Oglesby, who transferred in from the Dearborn club. Penny is well-known to District 6400, where she serves as the co-chair of the district's World Community Service committee. She's also a veteran of several international volunteer trips including National Immunization Days.

Club president Dave Zielinski has several ambitious goals for the club, and with his enthusiasm, I think he'll lead the club to new "Heights."

Tomorrow, I'm off to Garden City and La Salle-Centennial, as I watch the clubs of Super District 6400 Make Dreams Real for the world's children!

What a great Governor's Picnic!

Sue and I would like to thank all of the wonderful District 6400 Rotarians who joined us today for the 2nd annual Governor's Picnic on Boblo Island! It was a beautiful day of sunshine, food and fellowship. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to the Family of Rotary committee chair Alison Baldwin and the Rotary Club of Amherstburg for organizing the event, the Rotary Club of Essex for providing the food and cooking facilities (they're available for your next event!) and especially to Assistant Governor Arnie Charlton for his time and dedication to making this event so successful.

Arnie's already planning next year's event... so please feel free to contact him with your comments and suggestions.

Another busy week ahead, as we have official visits scheduled with Fairlane Sunrise, Wayne, Dearborn Heights, Garden City and La Salle-Centennial. Looking forward to seeing you soon!

"Back" to work!

My recuperation from back surgery was a little longer and more painful than I had hoped, but today, it finally feels like I'll be able to get around again!

So with that behind me, I'm looking forward to this week's official visits to Clinton and Southgate.

Many thanks to everyone who called and emailed with their concern and best wishes. The "family of Rotary" is certainly alive and well in Super District 6400!

More later in the week...

Cottam Rotary, and some observations on membership

My official visit to the Rotary Club of Cottam was filled with fellowship and insightful conversation. Like many of our District 6400 clubs, the Cottam Rotarians want to explore ways in which they can boost their membership ranks. The challenge is to figure out how to promote Rotary and the many great things we do as Rotarians in our local and world communities, and then identify future Rotarians, our friends and neighbors who share our vision of "Service Above Self."

I'm encouraging clubs to set-up brainstorming sessions where all members suggest ways to "re-invent" the way you "do Rotary." Bring in past members, and even invite some prospective members to help out - they can be valuable resources, if they can tell you what types of service and fellowship appeals to them. You may already be doing those things, or it might be easy to add in some of those new ideas.

Many thanks to President Wayne and Bonnie for hosting the meeting, and to all the club members for the delicious meal!


On an unrelated note, I had some relatively minor back surgery yesterday; as of this writing, it looks like I'll be heading home sometime this morning. My official scheduler has given me some days off the Governor trail to recuperate, and I expect to make my next official visit to the Rotary Club of Clinton on Wednesday. At least I have a few days to watch the Olympics!

Have a great Rotary weekend...

August 8, 2008.

Wednesday the 6th, Sue and I visited the Rotary Clubs in Flat Rock and Gibraltar. Thanks to both clubs for welcoming us. After the morning Gibralter meeting we had a chance to visit President Milt's home and see his Electronic Train display. Wow!!! Milt is quite the train enthusiast and a very accomplished artist.

As with many clubs, membership was a topic of conversation. Remember everyone....ask, invite...ask more! This will surely lead to new membership growth.

Last night, DGE spouse Cheryl assisted me as I met with the nice folks from Cottam. Even though bad skies were looming, we had a nice bar-be-que and good conversation.

Tonight, I am having a day off from Rotary, while I recover from back surgery. I am happy to report, things went well and after a few days I should be pain free and in better shape than when I came here.

Warm Rotary regards to all..... See you soon Bruce.

August 5, 2008

Many thanks to my many Rotarian friends who've passed along their best wishes for my birthday! Sue and I will be at Huron Township's meeting celebrating my birthday "Official Visit."

We had a wonderful time in Plymouth last Friday - President Nancy Baldwin certainly has an active club, which does many great things for their community. Its annual "Chicken Bar-B-Q" is coming up Sunday, September 7th. If you haven't checked it out, I hope you'll have a chance to do so this year. Sue and I will be there!

The August edition of the "District Digest" is just out; you can view it here. Rotarian Richard Woodall pointed out that, although I mentioned the meeting-place for our new, provisional "Dundee Area Rotary Club," I neglected to reference their meeting time and date! They meet Thursdays at Noon, at the Lone Star Steakhouse next to Cabela's in Dundee, Michigan. Please stop by for a make-up.

Webmaster PDG Jim Karolyi just posted the August podcast of my "Buzz from Bruce." You can download it here.

July 2008 Official Visits!

Sue and I are having a fantastic time as we begin our official visits to the 50 clubs of Rotary Super District 6400! Our first visit was to the Rotary Club of Essex, home club of District Governor-Elect Neil McBeth. Club President Brian Hyland and his wife, Immediate Past President Rina hosted the meeting at their lovely farm, and we thank them for their generous hospitality.

My next stop was to the Wyandotte club, and President Joe Peterson rolled out the red carpet treatment as well. This club is on fire, with 55 members and a new meeting place, the beautiful new "Michaelangelo's Restaurant" in downtown Wyandotte.

My final visit in July was to the club where I first became a Rotarian - Adrian (Noon). President Patty Clark is a "take no prisoners" leader, and her enthusiasm for Rotary is infectious. Membership chair Greg DuMars is also taking a lead role in bringing in new Rotarians; I had the pleasure of inducting Adrian's Downtown Development Authority director, Kyle Hoffman, as the club's newest member. Congratulations, Kyle - welcome to Rotary!

I expect great things from all of the clubs in our district this year. More to come as we head into the dog days of August!

Yours in Rotary Service,

Gov. Bruce & First Lady Sue