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In This Bulletin ...

Read about this week's speakers and plan to join us by Zoom this Friday at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86202979419, then read on to learn more about ...

• President Ardy's request for your help in identifying ways we can serve the community
• Our service and fellowship opportunity this Saturday, September 12, at the Dunwoody Nature Center
• More about what's in store for Rotary Youth Exchange in the future
• Rick Otness, who shared his Rotary story and background in last Friday's member moment

Also, mark your calendars for Thirsty Thursday next Thursday, September 17. We're planning on meeting in the parking lot at Charlie Augello's East 48th Street Market (weather permitting) or at Marlow's in Dunwoody Village on the back patio if the weather tries to rain us out! Watch for more details in an email later this week!

This Week's Speaker
Daniela Sanchez, Rotary Youth Exchange ... In Person or on Zoom

This Editor's Note: This Friday, you have a choice ... Join us at the Dunwoody Country Club at 7:15 am or grab your coffee or tea and join us on Zoom at 7:15 a.m. to hear about Daniela Sanchez's year as a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Korea. Just follow the Zoom link - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86202979419. Daniela says she always wanted to go on exchange "ever since I was little." Find out Friday whether her experience matched up to her childhood dreams. Daniella will be presenting via Zoom. [more]

From Our Club President
Restless to Serve?

Thoughts from President Ardy ...

Last week, I wrote about my sense of worry  about how others in the community are doing, and wishing there were more ways for us as Dunwoody Rotarians to be "out there" doing something that would help the community and further Rotary's mission of Service Above Self. This week, I was looking at our Rotary District 6900 Newsletter  - and saw many ways that other clubs are addressing this - from Roswell working to connect people with jobs ... to programs to support local food banks, provide school supplies ... to cleaning up the environment ... to Columbus providing headsets with microphones to 150 students to support distraction-free remote learning. I just know there are projects like this waiting to be done in our community. 

We have one of these opportunities this Saturday at the Dunwoody Nature Center, and I hope many of you will join us. You can read about it here. And the following Saturday, we're set to take our gardening skills to Bounds Gardens - the traffic island across from the Dunwoody library.

I'd also to ask again for your help - please bring the needs you're hearing about - in our schools, your neighborhood, the broader community - to our attention. What could we be doing as a Rotary Club that would make you prouder to be a Dunwoody Rotarian? And what kinds of activities would you be willing to take on - from home or out in the community - to help us make a positive difference.

The Board is working on this too - looking at ways we can partner with the Community Assistance Center, Malachi's Storehouse and the Dunwoody Nature Center, and how we can continue projects like our Thanksgiving baskets for Kingsley Elementary families, Toys for Tots, and books for the students at Dresden and Kingsley. Sara Etelalahti, our Youth Services Director, is looking at ways to provide hot spots for students who need Wifi to do schoolwork but can't afford them, and Ed Holliday, our Director of Administration, is working with Dunwoody High School and the Atlanta Metro club to identify projects where we can partner.

And we're open to new ideas from you – in a new time where needs and circumstances have changed. I invite you to reach out to me and/or Kobelah Svenson Bennah, our Community Service Director, with your thoughts about this. In addition, a team will be reaching out to all of you individually over the next week or two – to check in on how you’re doing and talk about this a little more.

Opportunities to Serve
Gardening and Fellowship at Dunwoody Nature Center - September 12

Don't miss out on this awesome  opportunity to "play in the dirt" at the Dunwoody Nature Center on Saturday, September 12 - and enjoy some Dunwoody Rotary fellowship at the same time. Join us from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM for the Nature Center's regularly scheduled work day - and bring a cooler/lunch bag for some outdoor fellowship after we finish our work!  Dress to get dirty - in a Dunwoody Rotary shirt if you have one! Bring water, gloves, mask, social distance and  a can-do spirit. The Nature Center is located at 5343 Roberts Drive, Dunwoody, GA 30338.

Contact Cathie Brumfield to RSVP with pleasure! (404) 668-6693. You will also need to visit the Dunwoody Nature Center website and complete a volunteer registration.

We're planning to build an RCD Nature Team to help with whatever tasks we might find. This opportunity may be open monthly but for now we'll focus on September 12.

Rotary Youth Exchange
Where do we stand for 2021-22?

This Friday, we will hear from Daniela Sanchez, our club’s outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student for the 2019-2020 school year about her year in Korea. I have received questions about the status of Rotary Youth Exchange and the possibility of hosting students and sending students overseas for the 2021-22 school year, and thought this would be a good time to update all of you about Rotary Youth Exchange.

As you might imagine, Rotary Youth Exchange planning is very much in flux. There are a lot of steps to be taken to get ready for the new year, including information sessions for potential applicants for outbound students, completion of applications, interviews with applicants, and training for accepted students. Unfortunately, none of these can happen until Rotary clubs commit to hosting inbound students for the 2021-22 year (except possibly the information sessions), because the exchange program is a one-to-one exchange. (This means that if five clubs from our Rotary District 6900 commit to host inbound students, Rotary District 6900 is permitted to send five outbound students.) The clubs cannot commit to hosting students until we get clearance from the U.S. State Department that visas will be issued to incoming students. We also need a commitment from local high schools that they will accept inbound students. As you can imagine, no one is willing to make those commitments until we know more about what is happening with COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Additionally, all the challenges we are facing in making decisions in the U.S. are being replicated in all of our exchange countries around the world.

Therefore, the leaders of Rotary Youth Exchange are pushing off all decisions regarding the program for 2021-22 as long as possible. Information sessions, application and interview dates have not been scheduled at this time. We all hope that we will be able to re-activate exchanges for next school year. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Deb Cameron at dsc630@gmail.com. Thank you for your support of Rotary Youth Exchange! 

Member Spotlight
What We Learned About Rick Otness ...

Rick shared that he has been a member since May 2007. He shared that he probably wouldn't have discovered Rotary if it hadn't been for Fred Brandt's negotiating skills. Rick wanted Fred to be a co-chair of Citizens for Dunwoody, but Fred insisted the only way he would agree was if Rick committed to attending a Rotary meeting. Rick put off attending a meeting as long as possible, but finally fulfilled his pledge in May 2007, when Jackie and Scott Cuthbert were briefing the Club on their project which was giving the gift of vision to people in Costa Rica. Rick was so impressed with the project that he became a member within two weeks of attending his first Rotary meeting.

He has served for 11 of the past 13 years on the Board of Directors, and was President of the Rotary Club in FY 2018, as well as serving as the Presidential Advisor to both Cathie Brumfield and Ardy Bastien. Learn more ...
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