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Weekly Update
September 29 Rotary Club Meeting:  John F. Kennedy as Discussed in William Leuchtenberg's Book "The American President"
[Above] President Bob Fuhrman provided an overview of the chapter on the Presidency of John F. Kennedy presented in William Leuchtenberg's history titled "The American President."  Attendees shared perceptions and reflections on the pivotal years between the relative tranquility of the Eisenhower years and the emotional and political upheavals that followed the assassination of President Kennedy. [Below] Tom displays a copy of his father's book and Steve Naron visited from Hollywood Florida.
Jacques Paraskevas Compared the U.S. and French Political Systems at the Rotary Club Meeting on September 22, 2016
North Bethesda Rotarian Jacques Paraskevas compared the U.S. and French political systems at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club Meeting on September 22, 2016
Capitol Hill Rotary Club Achieves 50% Membership Growth in First Quarter
Capitol Hill Rotary Club Achieves 50% Membership Growth in First Quarter
By Quentin Wodon
 
Let’s admit it: achieving a high growth rate (negative or positive) is easier with a small club.  Still, after more than five years of almost continuous decline in membership, the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill seems to have turned the page. We had 18 members on July 1. Now we have 27, with 9 new members inducted in the first quarter of the new Rotary year. 

How did we do it? Let me share our recipe in case it may also be useful for other clubs.
 
Ingredient 1: Less meetings, more service and public events. Rotary’s Council of Legislation has given a lot of freedom to clubs on how they organize their meetings. So we decided to reduce our regular meetings from four to two per month, which gives us more time for service work and organizing public events.
 
Ingredient 2: Better service opportunities. Many Rotarians are professionals and business leaders, yet most do not use their skills when they volunteer with their club. We changed that in our club by creating teams of Rotarians and non-Rotarians combining their skills to provide pro bono advise to local nonprofits on the strategic issues they face. This is not only more interesting in terms of volunteer work, but it is also more impactful to create positive change in the community.
 
Ingredient 3: Lower cost. By the standards of Washington DC, our membership dues are not very high, at $600 per year. But this is too much for many. So we created two new membership types – a membership at half the regular dues for young professionals under 35 years of age, and a spouse/partner membership at one third of the dues. We may also reduce our regular dues in the future as we have more members.
 
Ingredient 4: Stronger public image: We are now organizing better and more regular public events. Our last two events were on September 20 (a seminar with great speakers on education for peace and social change at the World Bank), and September 24 (a stand at the Barracks Row Festival in Capitol Hill). We are also writing articles for the local blog and the local magazine for our Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, DC.
 
Ingredient 5: Strategic planning. We have now a strategic plan, the first drafted for the club since its creation in 2003. The plan gives us a vision, as well as clear milestones and targets that we are trying to achieve (the plan is available on my website RotarianEconomist.com if you would like to read it).
 
Ingredient 6: Pure luck. Part of our gain in membership was just luck. For example, two new members transferred from other clubs due to changes in jobs and the location of their workplace. What’s great is that they bring with them a lot of experience in Rotary.
 
It remains to be seen whether we will continue on the path of membership growth for the rest of the year. We expect some members to relocate, so we will need to recruit more members to compensate... But we are making progress, and we have exciting initiatives coming up that should help us become better known in the community, make a larger difference for the less fortunate, and hopefully grow further.
Dr. Susan Rich spoke about "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder" at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club meeting on September 15, 2016.
Dr. Susan Rich spoke about "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder" at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club meeting on September 15, 2016. Pictured [L-R] are State Senator Brian Feldman, Dr. Susan Rich, President Bob Fuhrman and State Delegate Aruna Miller.
Manna Food Center Packing Night on September 13, 2016
Alex Naron, Bob Nelson and new recruit Rosa Diaz packed 144 boxes at the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg on September 13, 2016.
 
Dr. Neil Cohen presented the TV sitcom pilot “Bennie’s Gym” starring Ed Asner that he produced locally at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club meeting on September 1, 2016.
Dr. Neil Cohen presented the TV sitcom pilot “Bennie’s Gym” starring Ed Asner that he produced locally at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club meeting on September 1, 2016.
[Above]  President Bob and Nan Fuhrman with their niece, Elena Torres.
[Above]  Guests included Nabil Bedewi from the One World Rotary Club, Heidi Pierano, Nan Fuhrman and Elena Torres.  [Below]  Guests included Gladys Howard, Arlene Cohen and her friend Sue Boren, Nancy Mason.
President Bob Fuhrman thanked Rotary District Governor Dr. Anna-Mae Kobbe for her presentation during the official visit at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club on August 25, 2016.
President Bob Fuhrman thanked Rotary District Governor Dr. Anna-Mae Kobbe for her presentation during the official visit at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club on August 25, 2016.
[Foreground, L-R] District Governor Dr. Anna-Mae Kobbe, Spouse Doug Newell, North Bethesda Rotarian Ron Sigelman, Area Governor Barton Goldenberg and Nancy Mason. [Below] District Governor Dr. Anna-Mae Kobbe honors Past Club President Chinyere Amaefule for her Rotary service.
Rotary SummerFest at Bluestone Sanctuary on August 20, 2016, was enjoyed by 40+ Rotarians and guests.
Rotary SummerFest at Bluestone Sanctuary on August 20, 2016, was enjoyed by 40+ Rotarians and guests from Potomac-Bethesda Rotary, Ellicott City Rotary, EC Sunrise Rotary and Howard West Rotary Clubs.
[L-R] Rotary Summerfest Hosts Bob Nelson and Nancy Mason
with grandchildren Carson and Chase, Katherine Zimmerly (Aunt) and Scott Zimmerly (Dad).
Dr. Stephen Hellman gave Dr. Stephen Vaccarezza a Rotary Cookbook for his presentation on his trip to Greece at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club meeting on August 11, 2016.
[Above] Dr. Stephen Hellman gave Dr. Stephen Vaccarezza a Rotary Cookbook for his presentation on his trip to Greece at the Potomac-Bethesda Rotary Club meeting on August 11, 2016. Dr. Stephen Vaccarezza is the Treasurer of the North Bethesda Rotary Club.
[Below] Alan Grant with his guest, Deann O'Brien from M&T Bank.
On August 9, 2016, we packed 192 boxes of food at Manna Food Center for needy families in Montgomery County.
On August 9, 2016, we packed 192 boxes of food at Manna Food Center for needy families in Montgomery County.
Potomac-Bethesda Rotarians enjoyed a Summertime Social at Bretton Woods Recreation Center on August 4, 2016, the 36th Anniversary of the Club's Chartering.
Foundation Update - Amazon and Fundraising
Here is a very easy way to help us with fundraising.  If you are an Amazon shopper please bookmark this link http://pbrotary.org/Page/amazon in your browser and ask your friends and family to do the same.  Whenever you start your Amazon shopping from this page the club gets a percentage.  See the link above for details.  You can also get to it from our website banner at http://pbrotary.org.
Webmaster Update - NEW Foundation Webpage
We now have a page which serves as a launching point to our club’s Foundation.  Check it out at http://pbrotary.org/Page/our-foundation.  You can get to it in three ways from our home page (www.pbrotary.org) : Look for “Foundation” located on the banner or under the menu choices “About Us” or “Services/Projects”. Besides evolving content and links to internal and external resources, on that page we can now accept online donations for everything we do. 
Items of Interest
Foundation
If you shop at Amazon through this link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-1264058, Amazon will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases (millions of products) to the charitable foundation of our club. Thank You!
Next Four Meetings
Oct 20, 2016
America, a Mirror Image of Ancient Rome?
Oct 27, 2016
Environmental Protection Issues Related to Nuclear Power Plants
Nov 03, 2016
Montgomery County's New Economic Development Corporation
Dec 01, 2016
India - Potential for Terrorism and Armed Conflict
View entire list
Upcoming Events (Calendar)
Dictionary Project at Beverly Farms ES
Beverly Farms ES
Oct 19, 2016
1:10 PM – 1:40 PM
 
Dictionary Project at Poolesville ES
Poolesville ES
Oct 20, 2016
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
 
Dictionary Project at Georgetown Day School
Georgetown Day School
Oct 26, 2016
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
 
Dictionary Project at Melvin Berman Hebrew Academy
Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
Nov 01, 2016
11:25 AM – 12:25 PM
 
Manna Food Center Packing Night
Manna Food Center
Nov 08, 2016
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
 
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