I hope your new year is off to a great start! Here's what we are going to cover this month ...
DG’s Message
Membership Update
Building New and Current Rotary Clubs!
North Richland Hills (New!)
Forest Hill (New!)
Veterans Club (New!)
Brownwood (New!)
380 Providence Village (Current Club with New Possibility!)
Denton-Lake Cities (Current Club with New Possibility!)
Veteran-Focused District-Wide Club
Youth Services News!
Paul Harris Society Update (Do You Need a Chevron?)
Blood Drive in a Box
Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group Update
Upcoming District Events
Upcoming Club Events
DG'S MESSAGE
There are four months left in this Rotary year. I know everyone has been working hard to grow their clubs. My message to you is:
Don't let up! Keep the petal to the metal!
There are 3 things I'm going to ask you to concentrate on:
RETAIN your current members
Let them know how much you appreciate them and how important EVERY PERSON is to Rotary's mission!
Even if they can't make a lot of meetings or participate right now, they are still a part of everything we do!
Continue to ATTRACT and bring in New Members!
Remember the Power of Invitation!
Consider starting a companion club (like Denton Lake Cities!) or an alternate membership type (like Colleyville!) - see below!
CONTACT previous members and INVITE THEM BACK!
Maybe their situation has changed, and all they need is an invitation to come back!
Consider a Homecoming Happy Hour!
Here are the clubs that are leading the way in membership:
Top Eleven Clubs in % Growth
Kennedale - 53%
Red River - 37%
Mineral Wells - 32%
380 Rotary Club - 22%
Breckenridge - 21%
Flower Mound - 20%
Denton Evening - 17%
Burleson Area Mid-Day - 16%
Fort Worth East - 16%
Fort Worth International - 15%
Highland Village - 15%
Top Eleven Clubs in # Growth
Fort Worth Downtown - 14
Mineral Wells - 11
Arlington - 10
Red River - 10
Kennedale - 9
Flower Mound - 9
Highland Village - 6
Mineral Wells - 8
Granbury - 5
Lewisville - 5
Wichita Falls - 5
31 of our clubs have shown a net increase in membership this year!
KEEP THAT FOCUS! IF THESE CLUBS CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU!
BUILDING NEW AND CURRENT ROTARY CLUBS
Heart of Texas (Brownwood)
President-Elect Otis Felton has led the effort to start this club, serving Brownwood and the surrounding area. We hope to charter within the next month with over 40 new Rotarians!
Birdville (Serving North Richland Hills, Richland Watauga, and Haltom City)
President-Elect Greg Gideon and AG Tito Rodriguez have led the effort to form this new club! Many community leaders are on board! Enthusiasm is high!
Everman/Forest Hill (NEW Club Opportunity)
President-Elect Shehan Karunaratne, along with Kennedale's Jessica Mang and Lori Glovier are leading the effort to form a new club in Everman/Forest Hill. They have held two information sessions and will continue this month!
North Central Texas Salute to Veterans (NEW Club Opportunity)
President-Elect Kevin Sellers is leading the effort to establish a new stand-alone club focused on attracting veterans, and individuals with a heart for recognizing, honoring and serving veterans.
Please take a few minutes and think about people you know who may be interested in this type of club. If you or someone you know is interested, please reach out to Kevin Sellers at 405-503-6450, or kevins@excelmedstaff.com
The Colony (NEW Club Opportunity)
We are in the initial stages of looking into forming a club in The Colony. If you know of people in this area who would be potential Rotarians, please contact DGE Angie Cox.
380 Providence Village Club (Current Club with a NEW Possibility)
380 is refreshing their club and is beginning to see results!
Denton-Lake Cities (considering a Companion club)
Denton-Lake Cities has updated their Strategic Plan to include starting a companion impact club in relationship to a local realty office. Denton-Lake Cities is being creative and innovative!
Colleyville (considering a Service + membership type)
Colleyville realized there are people in the community, many of whom are spouses or children of Rotarians, who participate in service projects, fundraisers and socials, but simply can't come to a Tuesday lunch meeting. They are considering a "Service +" membership type.
If you have ideas about expanding your club or launching a new or companion club, contact District Membership Chair Kurt Bartley and the District Membership Success Team. They are ready to partner with you to GROW ROTARY!
I AM SO INSPIRED BY WHAT Y’ALL ARE DOING! LET’S KEEP IT GOING! WE CAN DO THIS!
Veteran-Focused District-Wide Club
As mentioned above, Kevin Sellers is leading our effort to start a District 5790 Veteran-Focused Club. This concept, which would be new for our district, has been successfully implemented in other districts around the country.
The Veterans-Focused Club would be cause-based rather than geographically based. Our vision is that club membership would be open to anyone - veterans and non-veterans alike - with a focused interest in recognizing, honoring and serving veterans, and veteran-related causes.
Our intention is that members of this club would for the most part be NEW ROTARIANS. Other districts who have formed this type of club report that few members come from existing clubs - almost everyone is a new Rotarian, and that is our goal as well.
The club is in the initial formation stages. Please take a few minutes and think about people you know who may be interested in this type of club. If you or someone you know is interested, please reach out to Kevin Sellers at 405-503-6450, or kevins@excelmedstaff.com
Youth Services in D5790 is very active. To maintain our momentum, we need your help!
INTERACT
If your club sponsors an Interact Club, please email Steve Trine at strinerotary5790yeo@gmail.com and let Steve know the school(s), and about how many kids are in the club.
RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award)
RYLA 2026 will be June 18 - 21.
Watch for RLA notices to come out in the next few days
Rotary Youth Exchange
We also need clubs to commit to Rotary Youth Exchange.
We currently have two inbound long term exchange students from Slovakia and Germany, living in Wichita Falls and Abilene, respectively
Applications for Short Term Exchanges for Summer 2026 will continue to be accepted until March 1st, 2026.
The Paul Harris Society is different than being a Paul Harris Fellow. The Paul Harris Society means you have pledged to give $1000 per year to the Rotary Foundation. It is not automatic. In other words, you have to sign up - just because you give $1000 a year does not mean you are automatically a member.
Once you sign up, you are eligible to receive a nifty PHS Chevron, as depicted above. However, this also is not automatic. You must notify your District Foundation Chair that you have joined the Paul Harris Society.
If you are a member of the Paul Harris Society and do not have a chevron, please email District Foundation Chair Scott Hendricks at jscotthendricks@yahoo.com.
Blood Drive Update!
Blood Drives are one of our top priorities this year! We want to make District 5790 the Blood Drive Champion of Rotary!
Since June of 2025, Rotary Clubs in the Carter Blood Care area across North Texas have hosted 219 blood drives and have collected 3427 units of blood, with 661 of them being first time donors.
Rotary Clubs in District 5790 that work with Carter Blood Care have collected 870 units of blood. The top clubs are:
Stephenville - 243 (WOW!)
Pilot Knob - 150
Breckenridge - 88
Decatur - 84
Weatherford - 54
Arlington - 53
We are encouraging every Rotary Club to hold one or more blood drives this year. Many clubs are already holding multiple blood drives. If you need help, check out the Blood Drive in a Box at Rotary5790.org.
At the District Awards banquet in June 2026, we will announce the Governor’s Blood Drive Champion Club for the club with the most per capita donations!
Let’s Make a Difference This Year in Advancing the Seventh Area of Focus
It’s not a secret that our world is facing some serious environmental challenges. Why don’t we agree that we can take some proactive steps both personally and in our clubs to influence change. Let me introduce the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG.) I like to refer to this group as the “boots on the ground” for “Protecting the Environment,” Rotary’s seventh area of focus which impacts every other AOF in its board reach and importance. Boots on the ground means that ESRAG goes beyond lip service and encourages clubs and individuals to take action with concrete projects, expertise and grant assistance.
Like Rotary International, ESRAG has areas of emphasis:
Biodiversity
Circular Economy
Climate
Pollution
Food Systems
Sustainable Living
Each club, and cascading down to each Rotarian, can choose to implement choices, which in aggregate can positively affect the environment.
Identify your club’s C.E.O., Club Environment Officer. This person or small team works with your club’s committees and members to estimate your carbon footprint and find a way to reach zero. Invite your Interact, Rotaract, or other local groups to help. Estimate your club’s GreenHouseGas emissions baseline. Keep it simple at first. A typical club emits 10 to 15 tons of CO2 equivalent per year.
On the website above, there are estimators to calculate your club’s CO2 burden. Here are some ideas that your club might think about to reduce the burden:
Avoid single use items.
Share or compost left-over food.
Source your meal ingredients locally.
Offer vegetarian meals with smaller serving utensils.
Offer ride-sharing.
Reduce travel by encouraging virtual alternatives.
Select projects that help care for the environment and mitigate climate change.
Share your good work with others in your community.
Lead or participate in projects that sequester carbon like planting/maintaining trees, re-vitalizing marshes, mangroves, etc.
Lead or participate in projects that support renewable energy.
Help your community to improve building standards.
Initiate and support the circular economy.
When travel is necessary, compensate for the carbon consequences with ESRAG’s Flight Carbon Estimator.
There are tons of great ideas for action and to initiate projects on the ESRAG website: https://esrag.org/
I’m Mike Weaver, your District 5790 Environmental Advocate, and I’d really like to tell you more about ESRAG. Please invite me to be a speaker at your club meeting and be in touch to learn more about what’s possible with ESRAG. Please give me a call or send me an email to talk about your ideas for the District and how to promote environmental protection.
