
Happy February Rotarians. It has been a cold and snowy winter this year, but we are tracking slowly toward the end. We have conflicting reports on how long winter will last. Punxsutawney Phil said six more weeks of winter, while Buckeye Chuck said early spring. I am not sure who is correct, but we only have 38 more days until spring. Warmer weather is forecast for this week, so let us hope we melt some of this snow away!
February is Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution month and marks the 121st anniversary of the first Rotary meeting held on February 23, 1905, in Chicago. February is dedicated to promoting peace and resolving conflicts. It is a month that Rotarians take time to reflect on their commitment to peace and engage in various activities aimed at fostering understanding and resolving conflicts in their communities and beyond. Remember, Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo stated, “Peace is not simply the absence of war. A life free from conflict but marked by hunger, instability, or the inability to care for one’s family is not true peace. Peace requires liberty, opportunity, and respect for human dignity.” Let us all take this to heart as we work toward true peace and human dignity.
With February being Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution Month, it is a good month for your club to think of becoming a Peacebuilding club in the district. Most of everything we do as Rotarians fits well into being a Peacebuilding club. To qualify as a Peacebuilding club, a club needs to have two members sign up at $20 per year. Clubs must perform two peace-building activities per year (Foodbank, youth programs, and food drives all qualify). My goal is to eventually have all fifty clubs be peacebuilding clubs. To register, please contact Tom Carlisi, Chair of the Ohio chapter of the Rotary Action Group for Peace. His email is carlisiandassociates@gmail.com or he can be reached at 614-332-5974. Tell him you are from District 6630, and he will take it from there. I will report next month on the 2026 Community Peace Summit that was held last Saturday in Elyria. I was unable to attend, but heard it was fantastic.
Membership
IPDG Dale has been busy helping clubs learn how to grow. We have another great membership forum coming up. Please join us on February 21, 2026, at the Twinsburg Community Center (10260 Ravenna Road in Twinsburg) to Create the Perfect Rotary Club! Doors open at 9:15 for coffee and donuts; the interactive event runs from 10 AM until 11:45 AM. During this event, we will have breakout groups that create perfect traditional, companion, and cause-based Rotary Clubs. Throughout the event, we will be sharing ideas for member attraction and engagement that will be applicable now. There is no cost for the event, but we are asking that attendees register in advance! Here is the registration link.
8 in 8 Membership Challenge
Our Rotary International Zone Director Brian Hall has a new challenge we are starting called 8 in 8. We have joined this effort and IPDG Dale will be discussing it more at the Membership event on February 21. All clubs that add eight new members will be added to a drawing for $1,000 to use on a membership event. IPDG Dale will be sharing with you all an additional incentive from the district for this event. Stay tuned for more details. Below is a synopsis of the challenge. I will be sending more out in an email later this month.
This February, Rotary clubs across Zones 30 and 31 are invited to begin planning for the 8 in 8 Membership Challenge, a focused, achievable effort to strengthen clubs through intentional growth. Beginning March 1, clubs will have 8 weeks to add eight new members. Early planning starts now.
The Challenge Goal: Add 8 new members in 8 weeks
Timeline: March 1 through April 30
Eligibility: Any Rotary or Rotaract Club in Zones 30 & 31 There is no complicated scoring or comparison by club size. Meet the goal, and you are in.
The Incentive Clubs that successfully add eight new members during the challenge period will be entered into a drawing for $1,000 to host a member social event in May or June. The social event must include members bringing guests, reinforcing Rotary’s culture of invitation and fellowship.
All Ohio PETS
All Ohio President Elect Training is right around the corner on March 13-14 at the Renaissance in Columbus. If you are a President Elect or an Assistant Governor, please register now if you have not done so. The hotel fills up fast. Hotel reservation discounts close February 23rd. Please go to allohiopets.org for conference and hotel registration information.
Rotary for Reading 2026
Each year, the President-Elects of the five Districts in Ohio have a fundraising challenge. This year, the District Governors-Elect chose Rotary for Reading 2026. This project supports Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and making reading accessible, impactful, and exciting for Ohio children. Donations are being collected to help pay for a monthly book for a child to age 5. Information has been sent to each club President about how to donate. You can learn more about this exciting project by going to OhioImaginationLibrary.org. Please reach out to District Governor Elect Terri Speck with any questions at tspeckrotary@gmail.com.
4 Way Test Speech Contest – District Finals
We are looking forward to Rotarians joining us at the 4 Way Test Speech Contest District Finals on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 9 AM at Springfield High School. 9-11 AM is the first round and noon-2 PM are the finals. WE NEED JUDGES! If you are interested in judging for this event, please reach out to DGN Rich Cole at rcole@iamsuper.org for more information.
District Conference of Clubs
Planning has begun in earnest for our annual Conference of Clubs. This year’s event will be held at the Marriott East in Warrensville Heights on Friday & Saturday, April 24-25, 2026. We have condensed Friday to begin registration at 2 PM Friday to better serve those who work. We hope to have a full schedule done and registration open sometime this month. Friday will be the business meeting and Memorial service followed by social hour and then dinner. Dinner on Friday will be at food stations followed by a speaker. After the speaker, we will play Rotary Jeopardy with our eight clusters. Stay tuned for more information on this fun event. Saturday will be our breakfast, followed by our District Learning Assembly. Our signature Youth lunch will follow. This is the most impactful and fun event that is always well attended. After the Youth Lunch will be a new and exciting service project that all can participate in. Pack Away Hunger is the event that will have us pack at least 20,000 meals in ONE HOUR. These meals will be distributed to food banks and food pantries IN OUR DISTRICT. Each meal costs 40 cents for a total of $8,000. We are collecting donations for this, so please give what you can.
Donations can be sent to:
Chagrin Valley Rotary Foundation PO Box 82 Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022 (Note “Pack away hunger” in the memo line)
Or contact me (330-801-0159) or Carrie Heppner (440-477-4711) with any questions.
United States of Kindness – A Nationwide 250th Anniversary Challenge

To celebrate our country’s 250th anniversary, we are going to join a national movement to help unite Americans through a grassroots challenge of 250 Act of Kindness in 2026, making kindness visible, measurable, and actionable nationwide. In the simplest terms, we will ask each Rotary Club and their Family of Rotary to perform 250 Acts of Kindness and share their stories in 2026. This is something that every Rotary Club, no matter the size, can participate in and celebrate during the year and beyond. I will be sending an email out later in the month explaining the program in depth. Stay tuned for this impactful program which can also be implemented with our youth, in our communities and shared with our humanitarian partners, you will be glad you did!
250 trees to be planted in the district
I talked last month about a goal to plant 250 trees around our district to celebrate our nation’s birthday. This would happen in DGE Terri Speck’s year, as the trees would be planted in October. We now have two arborists helping us further plan and finalize before we launch the program in May, after all the planned events are completed. I will share information each month on our progress before we launch.
Presidents Elect & Club Executives in ClubRunner
It is that time of the year when we begin to update our ClubRunner executives for 2026-2027. This is an amazingly easy task to accomplish, but a particularly important one. We use these positions you fill in to contact that group of Rotarians (President, President Elect, Treasurer, etc.) with essential information throughout the year. Please take the time to complete these. If you are not sure how, ask your President or reach out to Cheryl Warren for help. Take the time now as it will help you for your upcoming year.
Thank you for all you do to make our world a better place. Your time, talent, and treasure are so appreciated in everything we do. Remember, Unite for Good!
Yours in Rotary,
Bob Oborn
District Governor Rotary International District 6630
Stow-Munroe Falls Rotary Club
Tel: 330-801-0159
Email: rorotary20252026@gmail.com
































Sincerely,



