Interact Advisors’ Update - November 2017
Hello, Interact Advisors!
Happy Thanksgiving! We do indeed have much to be thankful for, having the opportunity to lead and
coach the amazing youth who participate in our Interact clubs.
FLC Reflections — I know we ran into “heavy traffic,” encountering all kinds of conflicts, with our Nov.
4th Fall Leadership Conference date. However, it was great to see all who were managed to join us at
Barry Goldwater High School; and we are grateful to Advisors Mike Barrera and Stan Mah, and the
great BGHS Interact Club for hosting this important Fall event for Interact club leaders and advisors. I
was so proud of the way our Interact District Council members capably led this year’s FLC. The
comments I have heard from those who participated have all been positive and appreciative.
Interact District Conference — A number have contacted us since FLC to confirm the date and location
for the biggest and best Interact event of the year — our Interact District Conference. It will be hosted
this year by the Interact Club of Perry High School in Gilbert on Saturday, February 24, from 9:00 - 4:00.
The cost will be the same $25 per person, including lunch. An Early Bird discounted rate of $20 will be
available to those who are registered by February 1st. Registration will be online, with payment to be
mailed to Kathy Rossetti, our Interact Registrar. David Talbot will again be with us, and we will be
doing the packing of the crutches and other mobility devices to ship to Kenya. The Interact
Ambassadors team that represented us in Kenya this past summer will be there, and we will be
revealing for the time the identities of the five (5) incredible Interactors we will be sending to Kenya
next summer. So many good things will be happening, and accomplishments celebrated, at this year’s
District Conference. It is going to be fantastic! One club advisor has informed me they have already
reserved a bus to bring a large representation from their club. Don’t miss it! Start making plans now
to utilize this high energy event to inspire your club.
Deadline for Interact Ambassadors Applications — Are any of your Interact club members considering
applying to become one of those 5 Interactors who will represent us in Kenya, June 29 - July 15, 2018?
Please remind them that December 15 is the deadline for submitting their application, which can be
downloaded from the Interact District website, www.rotaryazinteract.org.
Canned Food Drives — This is an ideal time of the year for your Interact club to help re-stock one of
your local food banks, after their supplies have been depleted to provide food baskets to families for
Thanksgiving. They can be done on campus or in neighborhoods, by your club alone, or in partnership
with other clubs you may be able to recruit to help you. You decide when, where and how you want
to conduct your canned food drive, and which local food bank will be the recipient. We just ask you to
report, via our Interact website, by Feb. 1st, how many food items your club collected this year, so we
can recognize the top clubs, and report the impressive total number of items our clubs gathered.
Video Contest Deadlines Reminder — If your club is entering Rotary’s international competition, vying
for the $1,000 prize, remember the submission deadline is Nov. 30th. We especially encourage as
many clubs as possible to submit entries into our Interact District Video Contest, which has a deadline
of Feb. 1st. Your club’s 3-minute video presentation of how they are exemplifying the “Rotary Making
A Difference” theme with all the services they are rendering can also be a major PR tool to help attract
members and support for your club. These videos are fun for your club to make; but you need to get
started now, if you hope to win this competition. The top three videos will be featured at the Interact
District Conference, and the club judged to be the best will leave the conference with the coveted
traveling placque for their accomplishment.
RI Presidential Citation — Has your club set as one of its goals the achievement this year of this
award? Hopefully, as many of our clubs as possible will be recognized in this way. Several clubs have
asked about their certificates they earned last year. Past District Governor Danny Messersmith has
informed us that Rotary was in the process of transitioning to a new data management system last
year, and something apparently happened in the course of printing and distributing the certificates to
the clubs. He has been unable to retrieve the ones earned by our Arizona clubs. Since the forms
reporting the completion of the requirements were sent to Rotary International via the Rotary clubs,
neither he nor we know which clubs qualified for the award. last year. If your club qualified, and did
not receive your certificate, if you will let me know, PDG Danny is able to produce a facsimile of the
certificate they earned.
Purple Pinkie Funds — Several club advisors have asked about where and how Purple Pinkie funds
raised by their clubs are to be sent to help purchase vaccine for Rotary’s polio eradication efforts. You
will find the instructions for mailing the funds to The Rotary Foundation attached to this email, along
with the form to be used. Are you aware that, for every dollar your club raises to help Rotary eradicate
polio, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will done a match of two dollars? Therefore, if your club
raises $500 through your Purple Pinkie Days, that actually becomes $1,500 that will be able to
purchase doses of the life-saving polio vaccine. What an incredible deal!
Interact Resources on Website — Did you know you can find these documents, along with a number of
other Interact resources that you can download, on our Interact district website,
www.rotaryazinteract.org? Click on the “Other” tab, and look under “Interact Resources.” You can
also find back issues of this Interact Advisors’ Update on our website.
CCTDs Are Helping the Clubs — While the level of participation in our Cluster Club Training Days has
been less that we would like to see, those clubs that have participated in them unanimously say they
have found them to be helpful and informative. Again, I have been proud to see the leadership
demonstrated by our District Council members in scheduling and leading these CCTDs.
Ordering WAPI Kits — The flyer and order form to use to enable your club to begin to produce these
water pasteurization indicators to send to Kenya are attached. This makes a really exciting hands-on
international project for an Interact club of any size.
I hope you will all able to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families. Please let me know if you
have any questions, or if we can be of help in any way to your clubs.
-- Art