“Rotary International is an international
service organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide
humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. It is a non-political and non-religious organization open to all. There are over 35,000 member clubs worldwide, with a membership of 1.2 million individuals, known as Rotarians.”
District 5910 is planning a very special virtual Foundation event on Saturday, February 20, 2021. Chairs Brenda Walker and Phil Shackelford are finalizing the details now, but we have confirmation that our special guest speaker will be RI President Holger Knaack!
Calling All Singers for a Virtual Holiday Choir
District 5910 singers wowed Rotarians far and wide (around the district, the state, and even in other countries!) with the performance of
Let There Be Peace on Earth at the governor installation in June. If you would like to be a part of a virtual holiday choir, email Lynn Hill at (
lynnhillbd@gmail.com) so she can put you on the communication list.
Instructions on how to participate and information about what we'll be singing will be sent to those who express interest. If you have not participated in a virtual choir, it is much easier than you might think. You just need your cell phone (with camera to record yourself singing), headphones to sing along with the pre-recorded accompaniment, and a love of singing (level of talent is less important than enthusiasm!).
The virtual choir performance will be shown as part of the district holiday party and will be available for any club to use at their own holiday celebrations!
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5910 Disaster Relief Efforts: Collaborating with Disaster Aid USA (DAUSA) and Operation Blessing from Virginia
Sincere thanks to the District 5910 Rotarians who have assisted the remediation efforts in the Lake Charles community, working with other relief groups including Disaster Aid USA (DAUSA) and Operation Blessing. The destruction from both Hurricanes Laura and Delta have devastated this community. We appreciate the work of the people who have responded.
The spouse of a College Station Rotarian, Tom Small, drove five hours to offer assistance. “I went down to volunteer and support the Rotary call for Disaster Support to the community in the Lake Charles area. When we were finished with the damaged home, the owners had tears, thanking us for the help we provided. I am so thankful for the Rotary call to support this community in need. If my schedule permits, I would like to return to support this group. They truly need more volunteers - I think they will be on site for another several weeks.”
Beaumont Rotarian Tim Sudela reported, “The house that I worked at was a family with ten children. The mother and children evacuated for Hurricane Laura and had not returned yet. The tenth child was born during the evacuation. I met the father briefly before he went to work. He is a US veteran and is currently working three jobs to support his family.”
Betsy Rewolinski from the Fredonia Club writes, "It was phenomenal!! I had a great time working with everyone and helping the two families resume some sense of normalcy. I'm seriously thinking of going back very soon 😊...it truly was an influential experience to be able to physically do God's work by being His hands and feet, to love our neighbors as ourselves. To dig in and be helpful."
Workdays are coordinated by the two experienced and devoted disaster response groups, and they always need extra people to accomplish the work. Volunteers of any skill level are welcome. Let us know what you can do and when you’re available. We should be able to connect you with a crew.
To volunteer, please contact Ruth L. Suhler, leahone@aol.com to let her know of your interest in assisting.
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District 5910 Nominates Galveston Rotarian
Rotary People of Action: Champions of Health
For over a century, Rotary has committed itself to addressing the health needs of communities all over the world. In recognition of that commitment, Rotary will honor six members of the Rotary family - Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Rotary Peace Fellow Alumni - as Rotary People of Action: Champions of Health during Rotary Day at the World Health Organization (WHO) on 26-27 February 2021.
Dr. James LeDuc, from the Rotary Club of Galveston, has been selected as the nominee from District 5910 for this prestigious recognition.
Dr. James Le Duc is an expert in infectious diseases, public health and international biosecurity. He is the Director of the Galveston National Laboratory (GNL), one of the world’s largest biocontainment laboratories, located on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston. He is also a professor in the School of Medicine at UTMB. He has been a field biologist with the Smithsonian Institution in West Africa. He served as the Associate Director for Global Health in the Office of the Director, National Center for Infectious Diseases at CDC, and was a Medical Officer in charge of arboviruses and viral hemorrhagic fevers at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Le Duc has also served as Director, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases coordinating research activities, prevention initiatives and outbreak investigations for viral and rickettsial pathogens of global importance, including viral hemorrhagic fevers, influenza and other respiratory infections, childhood viral diseases, and newly emerging diseases such as SARS.
The Galveston National Lab has improved testing to determine the presence of COVID-19, extensive antibody testing aimed at neutralizing the virus and is conducting numerous clinical trials in the hunt to find effective agents against COVID-19.
District 5910 congratulates Dr. LeDuc on his nomination and thanks him for this critically important work.
