Rotary District 6440

GSE TAIWAN INFORMATION ON WEB:   You can find information and application downloads by going to the district website at www.rotry6440.org. 

 GSE TEAM TO TAIWAN 2012:   In the spring of 2012 District 6440 will engage in a GSE (Group Study Exchange) exchange with Rotary District 3480 , Taipei, Taiwan. GSE is a cultural, vocational experience that takes place in  country for a four week period. Participants will live with a number of Rotary families over the period, while visiting places of government, education, culture and have an opportunity to spend time observing their individual vocations at work in another world….Our team will depart Chicago on Saturday, 17 March and return on Monday, 16 April 2012…The Taiwanese team will arrive on Monday, 16 April and depart for the return trip to Taiwan on Monday, 14 May 2012…Eligible Outbound Team members shall be between the ages of 25 and 40 years old, engaged in their particular profession/vocation for a minimum of two years and committed to returning the same career endeavor. Candidates must either live in or work within District 6440, not be linearly related to a Rotarian and have the endorsement of a local Rotary club and their employer. Applications will be available on 1 July, 2011…For further information contact Jim Runnfeldt, District GSE Chair 2011-2012 at 312-259-7906 or Jswede@aol.com.

DISTRICT CONFERENCE:     This year’s district conference will be held at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort beginning on Thursday, 28 April through noon on Sunday, 1 May. The Paul Harris luncheon is scheduled for Friday with presentations by a number of Ambassadorial Scholars and GSE team participants following. Additional information can be found on the district website www.rotary6440.org and clicking on the the conference link on the right side of the page. 

AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLARS:    Applications are presently available for Ambassadorial Scholar candidates for the academic year 2012-2013…These scholarships are worth up to $27,000.00 and provide for study at an institution in a foreign country. Applicants must live in the District 6440 or be attending a higher education school in the district. A brochure and application are available at the District web site www.rotary6440.org. Applications are due to the district by 1 July, 2011.

2010-2011 ROTARY INTERNAIONAL PRESIDENT - FORMER AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLAR:  At the resent annual RI convention in Montreal, Canada, Ray Klinginsmith was installed as the President of Rotary International for the coming year…..President Klinginsmith is the first Ambassadorial Scholor (University of Cape Town, South Africa) to be elected president of the international organization. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Kirksville, Missouri. He was general concil and professor of business at Northeast Missouri State (Truman State) until his retirement. 

GLOBAL SERVICE TO HUMANITY AWARD:  Steven Hollingworth, a 1980-1981 Ambassadorial Scholar to the University of Manchester (England) and sponsored by the Rotary Club of England - Noon has recently been named, the recipient of the Rotary Foundation’s Global Service to Humanity Award for Zone 28. Steven was the Foundation Luncheon speaker at the past District Conference in Lake Geneva.

SOUTH AFRICA OUTBOUND GSE TEAM SELECTED:  Terry Desmond of the Rotary Club of Lake Forest - Lake Bluff  has been chosen to be the leader of the GSE Team going to South Africa September 3 - October 3, 2010. He will be accompanied by Deborah Bloom, Alison Daigle, Angie Kooima and Michael Wirsing. Ada Kahn of the Evanston Noon club will serve as the alternate team leader.

AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLARS SELECTED:  Four individuals were recently selected from sixteen candidates to receive the 2010-2011 Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship Grants of $25,000.00 each. The recipients are Kim Karlin, sponsored by the Buffalo Grove club, who will be studying Second Language Acquisition;John Moore, sponsored by the Winnetka-Northfield club, who will study International Relations & Development Economics;  Melanie Quall sponsored by the Lake Forest - Lake Bluff club, who will study International Relations Public Policy & Development; and Irene Swanenburg, sponsored by Northbrook, who will study Public Health.

 NEW ZEALAND GSE FAREWELL:   There was great reception biding farewell to the D-6440 Outbound GSE team to New Zealand on Monday 13 April. The event was held at Buckley’s at Willow Glen Golf Course, Great Lakes. The families, friends and employers of the team members were present, as well as members of the sponsoring Rotary Clubs and other district dignitaries.

JOINT DISTRICT GSE RECEPTION:  Districts 6440 & 6450 hosted the GSE team from Norway, at a reception on Tuesday evening, 28 April 2009, 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. The event was  held at CANS Bar & Canteen, 1640 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago. There were 35 persons in attendance.

JOIN A ROTARY CLUB:  As a former GSE team particpant or Ambassadorial Scholar you have more knowledge of Rotary then the majority of individuals who join Rotary clubs. Contact Jim Runnfeldt, Jswede@aol.comor phone at 312-259-7906 to findout more about how you can become a Rotarian.

WELCOME to the District 6440 Alumni Association Web site. We hope that this site will provide a means of communication between association members, Rotary International and the clubs of district 6440.

You will soon find information regarding alumni events, a data bank of past Ambassadorial Scholars and GSE Group Study Exchange Teams, plus many other useful tools to help you keep in touch with your Rotary experience.

ALUMNI ID CARDS: The association will be issuing D-6440 Alumni ID cards, which will identify you as a participant in a Foundation sponsored program and extend an invitation to you to visit a Rotary club in your area. In order to complete the ID we will need the following: name, program participated in, i.e. Ambassadorial Scholar, GSE, other, country and district visited. Please register, by going to the REGISTER BAR under META in the right column of this site, to provide us with this information.