Greetings to all in District 7390. This year is flying by fast! District Learning Assembly is in a few days, next month will be the Leadership Summit and environmental projects, May holds spring- maybe a Peace Meeting, then it’s June and off to Taipei!
PELS was really great this year, a lot of sharing between the President Elects, plenty of new ideas and energizing for an exciting 2026-2027. Utilizing the Savannah Bananas’ Fans First vibe to incorporate into the Rotary’s Action Plan was inspiring. Hope everyone holds onto that and brings it back to their clubs.
In my opinion, while we can blame Covid for thinning our ranks, there are other things at play. Everyone is working hard, there is so much need out there and some days, you just need to pause. Does Rotary help you feel better about the world? It does for me. Does Rotary provide you with the means to help change your community? Yes. Are you just tired? That hits home too. Take a moment to think about why you go to meetings, why you support Rotary, what do you wish would be different? And then speak up. Be the change. And if the club is not ready, reach out to District. We can help.
We have five or six clubs that have celebrated 100 years of service. Many more are in their seventh or eighth decade of serving their communities. How much have we made things better in those decades? It wouldn’t have happened without Rotary. So I am asking you today to invite a friend, coworker, or neighbor to join us. Invite them to a service project – let them see us in action! Bring the kids, let them see service to others.
Thank you for all you do - Mary Brunski, DG 7390 2025-2026
Rotary Club of Carlisle – Sunrise in a partnership with Redwood Materials in Carson City, Nevada, will be collecting and recycling lithium-ion batteries and rechargeable devices. Join us on Saturday, 16 May 2026 between 10AM and 4PM at the Army Heritage Education Center Parking Lot (950 Soldiers Dr., Carlisle, PA) and bring your discarded lithium-ion batteries and rechargeable devices including smartphones, tablets, electric toothbrushes, laptops, power tool batteries, lawn equipment batteries, rechargeable vacuum batteries, wireless headphones, and any other lithium-ion battery and help close the loop.
Climate change is creating a global imperative to electrify everything from our vehicles to our grids. Lithium-ion batteries are at the heart of powering all these solutions and are made up of metals like cobalt, copper, nickel and lithium along with rare earth elements. At the end of a product’s life, every rechargeable lithium-ion battery is an excellent source for making new batteries and sustainable energy products. By responsibly recycling these products and batteries, we keep them out of landfills, reduce the need to mine critical minerals both in the US and abroad, lessen foreign dependence, and help increase the security of our domestic supply chains.
Smart phones, laptops and electric vehicles all are powered by lithium-ion batteries and Redwood Materials can recover more than 95% of the metals from old, end-of-life products that serves significantly decrease the US' reliance on newly mined materials and overseas supply chains. However, today, few pathways exist to get these old products recycled responsibly resulting in a national recycling rate of about 5%. Redwood Materials is on a mission to collect as many of these old products as possible to sustainably recycle, refine, and remanufacture these batteries here in America.
Every rechargeable battery is a source for making new, more energy efficient batteries and sustainable products. Recycled batteries are actually more powerful than their new, original source batteries. Consider this, Redwood Materials’ recycling plant is entirely powered by solar energy stored in discarded Li-Ion battery banks, demonstrating a net zero carbon footprint in the pursuit of recycling Li-Ion batteries.
Note that this event is specific to lithium-ion batteries. We cannot accept other e-waste such as power cords, flat-screen TVs, printers, copiers, or circuit boards. Those items can be recycled at the Cumberland County Recycling Center (1001 Claremont Road, Carlisle, PA 17013)
We can do more.Our planet needs you.Come recycle with us!
Visit https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/recycle-with-us/ for more information, including where to find lithium-ion batteries throughout your home.
Each year, Zones 28 and 32 recognize a Rotarian, or a Rotary organization, for outstanding achievement, consistent with the ideals expressed in the fourth object of Rotary: “the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through humanitarian activity of international significance.”
The award honors Halifax, Nova Scotia, Rotarian Donald MacRae, who during the international convention in 1918 proposed that Rotary become an agent for the promotion of goodwill and peace among nations. That was the first time an international vision for Rotary was publicly expressed.
Recipients of the Donald MacRae Peace Award have demonstrated the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through consistent peace-making efforts, or humanitarian activity of international significance, plus leadership in the pursuit of peace as envisioned by the fourth object of Rotary.
The Donald MacRae Zone 32 Peace Award for 2023-2024 was presented to Connie Spark!
Concetta ‘Connie’ Spark, a member since 1996, of the Rotary club of York-East, District 7390, in Pennsylvania, USA, has steadfastly undertaken humanitarian medical missions to over a dozen countries on three Continents—Africa, Asia, and South America.
For over three decades, Connie has either led or participated in 35 missions, raising funds applying for grants and directing many highly successful programs. Connie‘s expertise has enabled her to participate in dental, vision, and medical missions from Ethiopia, to Zambia. Her contributions include ‘reverse’ medical grants to provide vision care for school children in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Connie is a major donor, a recipient of the Service above Self award and a citation for meritorious service. She has a passion for international service and is a true promoter of peace!
The District Learning Committee is hard at work building opportunities for our Rotarians to grow their knowledge and skills. To that end, we are starting a series of monthly on-line learning sessions on various topics that should be helpful to your Rotarians and club leaders. Please join us the 4th Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. to LEARN more about Rotary!
March 24: Fundraising
April 28: Club planning, goals, assessing, communicating
May 26: Youth Services (RYLA, Youth Exchange, Four-Way Test Essay & Speech)
June 23: Rotary Outside the Club
Pre-Registration for the Zoom Meetings is required! Register here to receive the Zoom link!
Can your Club find a few dynamic leaders to attend the Annual RYLA Conference?
The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) Leadership Conference is an interactive development program designed in enhancing leadership skills in the next generation of innovative leaders. Working with students after their Junior year of high school, Rotary Clubs throughout Rotary District 7390, select up to 140 students to participate in RYLA Leadership Conference. The Conference is held in mid-June every year. The 2026 Conference will be the 64th RYLA in Rotary District 7390.
Upon arriving at RYLA, participants are assigned a Counselor and Country with up to 15 other Conferees. Conferees spend four days exploring the intricacies of leadership and how it arises in the real world. Activities focus on team building, group problem solving, and interpersonal management within project teams.
RYLA helps individuals increase their self-confidence, enhance leadership capabilities, and provides tools of communication. The result is an increase in self-efficacy, and the ability to enhance the communities you are involved in. The schedule includes various speakers, career seminars, team building activities, a conference band and chorus and much, much more.
RYLA registration will close on April 1, 2026. The fee to sponsor a RYLA Conferee is $600 per student.
Check out the Upcoming Club Events Around the District! If you want your Club events listed in the newsletter, simply send an email with details to office@rotary7390.org!
The Rotary Club of Palmyra will host its second annual Chili Cook-Off on Sunday, March 15, 2026. This community event raises funds to support local community projects in the Palmyra area.Community members are invited to enter their favorite chili recipe for a community tasting competition. Chilis will be judged by local chefs, food writers, and business owners. Chili entries must be registered in advance at www.palmyraparotary.org. A $25 entry fee is due at the event. All community members are welcome to attend and taste chilis—no registration required. Tasting flights of five chilis will be available for $10.
