Sanford-Springvale Rotary - Changing & Saving Lives

This past weekend, at the annual District Conference for Rotary District 7910, Past District Governor Elias Thomas and his wife, Jane, served as the official representatives for Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson and his wife, Joan.

The conference was held over the May2-May 4 weekend at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough, Massachusetts and was attended by some 450 Rotarians and guests.

On Saturday evening, Thomas had the pleasure of recognizing the efforts of Shonda Schilling, wife of Red Sox pitcher, Curt Schilling, in her establishing of The Shade Foundation. Several years ago, Shonda Schilling was diagnosed with stage-2 melanoma and after a number of very invasive surgeries, she enjoys being cancer-free. Shortly after her diagnosis, Shonda established The Shade Foundation for the purpose of raising awareness regarding melanoma, as well as raising funds to aid in research of this disease and ways to combat it.

The Rotary Foundation recognizes the contributions of Rotarians and non-Rotarians, alike, not only for financial contributions, but also for contributions to the betterment of society. District 7910 contributed funds to The Rotary Foundation, in order to recognize Shonda Schilling for her efforts on behalf of humanity in the fight against melanoma. Thomas had the honor of presenting Shonda with a Paul Harris Fellow Medallion and pin at a dinner in Boxborough on Saturday evening.

Dear Rotary Friends,
>
> I hope despite the cold winter weather that you and your families are
> warm with holiday cheer be it in preparation for Christmas or New
> Years or both. It is wonderful to be here in Denmark during the
> holiday season. Although the days are short (it doesn't become light
> until about 8:30 in the morning and it is dark by 4pm) the Christmas
> lights above and along the main streets are many and keep me feeling
> optimistic and grateful for the opportunities before me despite biking
> around town in sometimes bitter wind and chilly temperatures.
>
> I will soon depart for a brief trip to the US to visit my family. It
> has been several years since I made the trip to Maine for Christmas.
> In the past I have opted for spending Thanksgiving with family as New
> England weather is quite unpredictable for plane-travellers in
> December. I am hopeful that the snow from giant storm that blew
> through my home state recently will be cleared away enough by the time
> I arrive on Wednesday to enable me to visit friends and family during
> my week there.
>
> The courses at University of Copenhagen are continuing to keep me
> busy. The environmental conflict management course this term has been
> fantastic and I am looking forward to the advanced course in the
> spring, which will feature a visiting professor from the US who came
> for a few lectures earlier this month. The second course will focus on
> tools and approaches to use as a facilitator in collaborative learning
> and other conflict management processes involving public participation
> in environmental disputes. I am very happy to have the opportunity to
> take both of these practical, and very hands on courses.
>
> I have initiated contact with the head of the International Rotary
> Club in Denmark but have yet to find the time or opportunity to attend
> any of their meetings. I did, however, spend a lovely evening with San
> Francisco Rotarian Paul Bach and his wife at the Christmas reception
> at the American Ambassador's residence outside Copenhagen. I also had
> the fortune to attend the District 1080 Conference with my Rotary
> Peace Fellow Alumnae colleague Carys Hughs. Carys gave a speech at the
> conference about her experience in Japan and research in Uganda as a
> Peace Fellow. It was a great opportunity to spread the word about the
> Fellowship and meet many kind British Rotarians.
>
> Happy Holidays wherever you are on this small planet. I wish you and
> your family peace and happiness in 2008.
>
> Cathy Brown
> 2005-2007 Rotary World Peace Fellow International Christian
> University, Tokyo Japan
> 2007-2009 Erasmus Mundus Scholar in Sustainable Forestry and Nature
> Managment

Dear Rotary Friends,

> I hope this email finds you all well in the run up to Thanksgiving in

> the US and the slow start to winter in many places on the planet. It

> is a chilly morning here in Copenhagen and winter is well on its way,

> we already had a dusting of snow last week.

> My studies at University of Copenhagen are still going well. The first

> term ended on a high note and after a week to slow down and relax the

> new term has started and once again I am very busy. This term one of

> the courses is Conflict Management, which is fantastic. I am well read

> on many of the issues, however, there is always more to learn in this

> field.

> As many of you know, while I was in Japan as a RWPF we took a study

> tour to Hiroshima City to learn more about the Atomic Bomb and the

> surviving hibakusha (A bomb survivors). I lived outside of Hiroshima

> for a year prior to my participation in the RWPF program and came to

> know many people through that experience and attended the annual

> memorial ceremony in August remembering the day of destruction there.

> Since my first visit to the Peace Museum in Hiroshima more than 10

> years ago I have held the belief that every world leader, upon

> assuming their post, should visit this museum. There are lessons to be

> learned that cannot be found in a book that I think any leader could

> benefit from. My colleague Megumi, from Class V at ICU Tokyo, made

> this film about the trip the Class V fellows took last year to

> Hiroshima. I thought you might find it interesting to view. The link

> is:

> http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3gwuy_hiroshima-rotary-trip_politics

> Take care and best regards,

> Cathy

> Rotary World Peace Fellow, ICU-Tokyo 2005-2007

> Erasmus Mundus Scholar Sustainable Forestry and Nature Management,

> 2007-2009

Dear Rotary Friends, Hello from Copenhagen! October 2007

> As many of you know I have commenced 2 years of study in Europe

> following my 2 years at ICU in Japan. I can hear some of you asking,

> why more school?

> During my thesis research in Thailand and Cambodia I came to

> understand a lot of the challenges and on the ground realities

> regarding the effective involvement of communities in forestry and

> natural resource management planning. My goal is to work in this field

> to facilitate dialogues between governments, academics, practitioners,

> and communities about how best to conserve and utilize natural

> resources - forests in particular.

> Given this interest I thought it important that I have a better

> grounding in the science as well as the economic interests and

> arguments in forestry issues. During the first year of my Erasmus

> Mundus Scholarship in Sustainable Forestry and Nature Management

> (SUFONAMA) I am taking a combination of courses which include:

> Conflict Management (with regard to natural resources), Applied Forest

> and Natural Resource Economics, Agricultural Economics and Policy, and

> Conservation and Management of Genetic Resources to name just a few.

> This is an intense program, particularly for one such as myself

> possessing a limited scientific foundation upon which to build. It is

> precisely because these are difficult areas of study that I know it is

> essential for me to be here. My hope is that by the end of my 2 years

> (I will be in Wales in 2nd yr) I will be an effective bridge for

> enabling better communication, planning and implementation of forestry

> plans, forestry resource allocation etc.

> My professors have been very encouraging of my participation despite

> my lack of science background as they have seen the need to integrate

> the social sciences into the field of forestry, however, many social

> scientists have little or no understanding of the natural science

> involved in forest management. One of my professors is a former board

> of director at CIFOR (a forestry research organization in Indonesia)

> and believes my background will be able to contribute a lot to

> organizations such as CIFOR attempting to better understand how to

> integrate the 3 pilliars of sustainable development relating to:

> economic, biological, and social issues.

> Now that I have settled into my life here in Copenhagen I am looking

> forward to getting in touch with Rotarians in Copenhagen that I have

> obtained contact details on from our RWPF person in Chicago Michael

> Pfriem. I may also be meeting some Rotarians in Brighton UK at a

> Rotary Conference in October.

> I hope this email is not too long or too specific. My intention was to

> update all my Rotary friends of what is happening in my post-RWPF life

> and to ask you to please get in touch if you have any travel plans to

> Copenhagen in the next 9-10 months!

> Best regards,

> Cathy Brown

> Rotary World Peace Fellow ICU-Tokyo 2005-2007 SUFONAMA Erasmus Mundus

> Fellow, 2007-2009

To My Fellow Rotarians, October 2006

Here is a long email update from Cathy Brown, the Rotary World Peace Scholar
who is in Tokyo.

Cathy Brown in Tokyo

>
> Dear Rotary Friends,
>
> As they say in Japanese "hisashiburi"! Its been a
> while since I last wrote to update you all on my Peace
> Fellow life/experiences, my apologies.
>
> My summer in Geneva interning at the South Centre was
> wonderful. I wrote 2 lengthy papers for them. One
> titled "Internet Governance for Development" has been
> submitted to the UN Forum on Internet Governance
> taking place at the end of October in Greece. You can
> find this paper on the South Centre home page if you
> scroll down, the website is www.southcentre.org. The
> other paper is on political integration and the future
> of ASEAN. This may be published as a proper research
> paper (with my name on it!) if the funds are
> available.
>
> I made the most of my time in Geneva to network and
> meet with individuals who are well-respected in the
> field of Transboundary Environmental Cooperation. This
> is the field that I am learning more about for my
> thesis research and in which I hope to find a job once
> I finish in Tokyo. I met with people from The World
> Conservation Union (IUCN), Intercooperation (Swiss
> Development Agency), UN Food and Agricultural
> Organization (Rome), UN Environment Program, WWF, and
> the International Institute for Environment and
> Development (London).
>
> I have been on the go since returning to Tokyo. Due to
> schedule conflicts I have had to give up taking
> Japanese courses with such intensity as last year. I
> have obtained special permission to audit the level 6
> course 1 day per week. I am now taking 2 graduate
> courses at my university (Social Problems and Policy
> and Microeconomics) and one course at UN University
> (The UN in a Turbulent World: Peacebuilding and
> Sustainable Development).
>
> I am also moving forward in my thesis research. I have
> 2 trips scheduled to SE Asia giving me 1.5 weeks in
> Bangkok (to meet w/various international/domestic
> NGOs) and 2.5 weeks in the border region of Thailand,
> Cambodia and Laos where the transboundary conservation
> project I am researching is located. I have
> established ties with Ubon Ratchathaani University in
> Thailand near the border and connected with a
> professor there who is an advisor to the Mekong River
> Commission and is very knowledgable about
> transboundary conservation. Additionally, my contact
> at the University is helping me to find a translator.
> I also have contact with a professor at a university
> in Bangkok who is an advisor to the International
> Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), the prime
> funder/coordinator of the project.
>
> For my thesis I also intend to attend an annual
> meeting at ITTO in Yokohama in November where I aim to
> speak with reps from the Thai and Cambodian
> governments. It is uncertain whether there will be any
> representative from Laos at this point in time.
>
> Beyond my thesis and graduate work I am in the midst
> of coordinating a retreat for Class IV (my class) and
> Class V Fellows to build friendships and a support
> network. We did this last year with Class III and it
> was an valuable experience for all of us, a foundation
> for lifelong friendships.
>
> I am also coordinating a Rotary Peace Forum taking
> place on campus next week with Robert Jacobs,
> researcher at the Hiroshima Peace Research Institute.
> He is speaking on The American Hibakusha, Americans
> explosed to nuclear/radiation testing during the Cold
> War.
>
> With regard to Rotary-events we had a much better
> annual evaluation this year, no language translation
> issues like last year luckily. After the evaluation we
> shared a fantastic Mexican meal at Hirose-san's
> restaurant. In early September I also gave a 15 minute
> speech in Japanese to the wives of all the Governor's
> Elect in Japan about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship
> Program.
>
> On a slightly different note, I have been asked to
> moderate a discussion on Transboundary Conservation at
> a conference in Dec. coordinated by students at
> several universities in Tokyo to build a network and
> activism plan for building peace and relationships
> through transboundary conservation.
>
> Lastly, as you may know Rotary has decided to gather
> Rotary Peace Fellows from around the world prior to
> the next annual meeting in Salt Lake in June 2007. It
> remains unclear how I can secure permission or funding
> to attend the conference. The meeting at UN University
> in Tokyo last year was incredibly fruitful and the
> current and former students attending that meeting
> (myself included) have maintained contact and
> continued discussing issues by email about how to
> proceed with ideas on strengthing this important
> program.
>
> If any of you have information on how I may be able to
> attend this conference please let me know. Ideally I
> would like to attend to continue to participate in
> building this program, and to combine this trip with a
> visit to the SF Bay Area to meet with various clubs
> and students at the program in Berkeley if possible.
>
> My apologies for this lengthy email. I hope you found
> it interesting. If you would like any further detail
> on the contents please let me know I am happy to
> provide more information.
>
> Best regards,
> Cathy Brown
> Rotary World Peace Fellow
> International Christian University in Tokyo
>