As usual, there is lots to talk about and share with you all. I had the opportunity to put together some halfway through the year numbers of our DG Steve Ivory and he was extremely excited about where we found ourselves at this point in the year. So let me share them with you now.

For District 6900, our annual fund goal for the year is $307,000, and as of end of December we are already at $347,000, which is 113% of the goal. Our Polio Plus goal for the year is $158,000 and we are already at $184,000 which is 116%! Not bad for this point in our year. Our endowments are $233,000. The district has two new Arch Klumph Society members as of now. Special thanks go out to our DG Steve Ivory and Mary Chapman for attaining that level. We now have a total of 11 Arch Klumph Society members in the district.

So where do these great numbers place us among the districts? We currently sit at number 1 in polio giving and are number 3 for our annual fund giving. All accomplished just halfway through the Rotary year. Let’s keep this going and keep District 6900 on top!

Let’s turn our attention now to how we fare with our Grants. The total available to us this year is $432,000. We’ve donated $55,000 to Polio Plus and invested $147,000 in district grants. In addition, we invested $220,000 in global grants with a total of seven clubs participating. There are an additional seven clubs that are waiting that are awaiting approval from Rotary International for $175,000. Once all is signed, we will have $35,000 left as a carryover for next year. The district has also helped in other areas, including the Jamaican hurricane relief fund and providing $22,000 in scholarships. The district has also fared very well in our benefactor and bequest numbers as both are up. Thank you to Lee Hollingsworth who has been extremely successful as our Benefactor Chair.

I do want to turn my attention to an outstanding grant project which has its own separate article in this month’s issue, which I highly encourage you to read in its entirety. The grant is co-sponsored by the North Atlanta Club, and it is aimed specifically at the country of Ethiopia. The grant is designed to prevent birth defects associated with Spina Bifida. RI President Arezzo and his wife Anna Maria have taken a personal interest in this project as they are making a trip to Ethiopia visit the project firsthand. Very exciting to have our RI President there. Make sure you read the full article in this month’s newsletter for all the information.

As time and space permits, I hope to highlight more grant projects to help promote continued thought in all our clubs of areas Rotary can continue to make a big difference in our own communities and the world at large.

If I can personally assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via cell or email. I’m here to help and together we will….Unite for good!