MVR Member To Compete In Ironman Triathlon

Merrimack Valley Rotary Club's newest member, James Fitton, is competing in his first Ironman Triathlon in Louisville, KY, on August 31st, 2008. The race consists of a 2.4 mile swim in the Ohio River, a 112 mile bike, followed by a marathon (26.2 miles)! After 2 years of competitive racing in local triathlons of various distances, including sprints, international distance and half-ironmans, James feels his training over the past year and commitment to the sport has prepared him to take on this enormous challenge. On race day, you will be able to track his performance online, at http://ironman.com/events/ironman/louisville under the 'Race Results' Section, '2008 - Athlete Tracker'. Good Luck!

RI President D.K. Lee Challenges Rotary To Grow By 10%

RI president, D. K. Lee has challenged Rotary districts and clubs this year to a net membership increase of 10 percent and to add two new clubs in each district. New clubs are a means of reaching demographic groups that cannot get involved in current club meetings.
"If we do not bring in younger members, we will miss out on a great deal of energy and expertise," Lee said during a visit to the Rotary Club of Chicago in early July. "And we will not be providing a new generation of members to become club presidents, district governors, and senior RI leaders in the years to come."
In seeking to recruite new members, clubs should look to new enterprises, professions and occupations, such as web developers or technicians, that may have been previously overlooked, Lee urged.
Two clubs in Korea have been experiencing great success in membership growth. The Rotary Club of Gwangju-Ibseog in Gwangju, Korea, nearly doubled its membership in the 2007-08 year, and the Rotary Club of Iri Dong in Jeonrabug grew from 112 to 152 members last year. Read their stories.

Have Breakfast And Learn Spanish At Rotary

In honor of its new meeting home, the Cafe Madrid, The Merrimack Valley Rotary is not learning Spanish. So far member know how do say hello, see you later, thank you and ask where is the bathroom. At this rate, the members should be fluent in Spanish by the year 2010! Anyone wanting have a great breakfast, good company, rewarding service and Spanish lessons are urged to join MV Rotary on Wednesday mornings at 7:15AM at the Cafe Madrid in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. For more information contact MVRotary@gmail.com .

Go To Your Next Rotary Meeting In Your Pajamas

Rotary formed eClubs in 2001 for members to do makeups on line. Below is a list of those English Speaking Clubs where you can get makeups.LIST OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE E-CLUBS

Rotary eClub One: http://rotaryeclubone.org/
Rotary eClub of 3310: http://www.rotaryeclub3310.org/
Rotary eClub of District 7890: http://www.rotaryeclub7890.org/
Rotary eClub of Southwest USA, District 5510: http://www.rotaryeclubsouthwest.org/
Rotary e-Club NY1 of District 7150: http://www.rotaryeclubny1.com/
Rotary eClub of London Centenary, District 1130: http://www.erotarylondon.org/


For a list of eClubs throughout the world go to: http://www.rotilink.org/eClubs/

Merrimack Valley Rotary Has Added A Taste Of Spain and Cuba

The Merrimack Valley Rotary has found a new home in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. We have moved to the Cafe Madrid at 28 Alpine Lane, Parlmont Plaza (opposite Radisson), just down the street from 495! Meetings start at 7:15AM and end at 8:30AM. It is a new meeting location but the same highly motivated Rotarians.

On their web site http://www.cafemadridchelmsford.com/ owner Yazmin Badias-Fadjo say:

"It has always been a dream of mine to have a restaurant that would reflect the rich heritage of my background and allow me to use my many years of food brokerage experience at the same time. While I built my own business from scratch in the food industry I found that the excitement of meeting the needs of ethnic foods for those who sought a unique dining experience was something that came naturally to me. I was born of parents from Cuba and Puerto Rico and have a strong feeling for the many dishes that those countries had for their people. My best friend of 20 years being from Madrid, Spain and sharing the same interest in the foods of those people gave me the inspiration to start a restaurant that would serve only traditional dishes from these backgrounds.I trust that you will find in Cafe Madrid only the best quality and traditional recipes of the Mediterranean heritage and delight your tastes for truly a "Taste of Spain in Chelmsford Center"

Farewell To A Much Loved Rotarian And Friend!

This has been a sad week for the Merrimack Valley Rotary. We lost one of our charter members and .a former president Tom Waterworth. Tom was very instrumental to the development and growth We will miss him and never forget him....Below is his Obituary. Rest in peace Tom!

DRACUT Thomas L. Waterworth Jr., 69, of Dracut, died Wednesday, August 6, 2008, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital after a brief illness. He was the widower of the late Patricia (Moran) Waterworth who died June 19, 2007.A son of Catherine (Pulsifer) Waterworth and the late Thomas L. Waterworth Sr., he was born September 6, 1938 in Lowell, and was educated in the local Catholic schools. Mr. Waterworth served for seven years with the Army National Guard. He married Patricia and made his home in Dracut for the past forty seven years. He was an active communicant of Ste Marguerite d'Youville Parish, where he was a member of the St. Vincent dePaul Society and had served on the finance committee.A past President of the Merrimack Valley Rotary Club, he was also a Paul Harris Fellow, and was a member of the Knights of Columbus for the past forty three years, and most recently was an honorary member.Mr. Waterworth worked for Millen Industries for over thirty years, traveling extensively throughout the Country as a sales manager for Waste Management. He enjoyed traveling, fishing and being with his family.His survivors include his mother, Mrs Catherine J. (Pulsifer) Waterworth of Lowell, his four children, Patricia M. Morasse and her husband, Fred, of Lowell, Martha A. and her husband Kevin Sharpe of Hudson, NH, Thomas Waterworth III of Lowell, and Christopher Waterworth and his wife, Maureen, of Dracut; six grandchildren, Joseph Morasse of Nashua, Patrick Morasse of Lowell, Julie Morasse of Lowell, Jessica Haynes of Dracut, Casey Haynes of Litchfield, and McKayla Sharp of Hudson; his Godson, Fr. James Loughran; his sisters, Ann Loughran and her husband, James, of Lowell, and Mary Erickson and her husband, Wayne, of Westford; brothers, John Waterworth and his wife, Claire, of Dracut, and Edward Waterworth and his wife, Denise, of Dracut; his very dear friend, Diane Poirier of Pelham, NH as well as his good friend, Bill W.; and many many nieces and nephews.YOU ARE INVITED TO HIS CALLING HOURS 4 UNTIL 8 P.M. ON FRIDAY. ON SATURDAY, HIS FUNERAL WILL BEGIN AT 9 A.M. AT THE MCDONOUGH FUNERAL HOME, 14 HIGHLAND STREET, LOWELL (978 OR 800) 458-6816. HIS FUNERAL MASS WILL BE OFFERED AT STE. MARGUERITE D’YOUVILLE PARISH AT 10 A.M.. BURIAL IN ST. MARY CEMETERY. MEMORIALS IN HIS NAME TO ST. MARGUERITE D'YOUVILLE PARISH SVDP, 1340 LAKEVIEW AVE, DRACUT MA 01826. E-CONDOLENCE SITE WWW.MCDONOUGHFUNERALHOME.COM

Facebook Is An Excellent Network For Rotary

The social networking site Facebook gives users the opportunity to create a personalized page and include as much or as little information as they wish while being able to network with people from all over the world. Rotary clubs and districts should consider creating a page and promote what Rotary is doing through sites like Facebook. Be sure to read the seven tips nonprofits should consider before creating a page. A step-by-step tutorial is also available for further reference.