- The 2023 District Conference will be held at Wartburg College in Waverly on April 21 and 22, 2023. Registration is now open. Register here.
- This year's "Duck Pluck" will take place on April 22, 2023. To buy a duck online, click here.
- Grant Management Seminars will be held March 21 at 7:00 p.m. and April 4 at 5:00 p.m. Register under "upcoming events".
- North Central President Elect Training will be held virtually on March 22-24, 2023. This is mandatory for all presidents-elect. Registration is open at www.northcentralpets.org. The cost is $150. Presidents-elect will be reimbursed the registration fee after the training is complete.
- The Board of Directors is taking applications for District Governor for the 2026-2027 Rotary year. Find more information here or complete the application and return to Suellen Kolbet at des@district5970.org.

March, 2023
A Note from Your District Governor
- Find out who is receiving Rotary’s highest recognition—the Service Above Self Award.
- Learn from your Rotarian neighbors in the District about how to make your meetings fun, and how to attract new members and retain your current members, and hear about some really clever ideas on how to raise funds in your club
- Make connections with potential partners on projects
- Meet our Rotary Youth Exchange students and hear them sing a song you won’t want to miss!
- Be recognized for your achievements, and cheer on your Rotarian of the Year!
- Be ready to be entertained by “Abbott and Costello” and the “Smothered Brothers.”
- Enjoy all this and much more!




President 2022-23
March 2023
As we planned for this Rotary year, I could have never "imagined" the breadth of stories we would encounter nor the scope of the people we would meet.
I find oxygen in sharing time with our members — hearing their truths and learning about their personal journeys and their deepest desires for goodness.
And so it was that I encountered two very different men with very similar stories.
One-hundred-year-old Genshitsu Sen is a remarkable human being and a joyful soul. We greeted each other in Kyoto, during my trip to Japan in November, with a hug and an instant connection.
Not only is Sen a former grand master of the Urasenke tea tradition but he is also an active member of the Rotary Club of Kyoto, where he has served as club president. He assisted in the charter of the Rotary Club of Kyoto-South. And he has also served as governor of District 2650 and held leadership roles in Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation.
During that same week, I had the great pleasure to record a birthday video for a 100-year-old World War II naval hero who is an exemplary leader and who served two terms as governor of District 5810 in Texas.
Both men are decorated World War II heroes in their respective countries and share unthinkable history. And although they served on opposing sides of the war, their stories are remarkably similar — and they are both honorable men who chose Rotary to carry on lives of peacemaking.
I have been reflecting so much lately that we are all on this planet simply trying to do our best, and we are much more similar than we are different.
I feel incredibly fortunate to share in these stories and to meet such incredible people.