Bring on the April showers...I think we can all use the rain. Lots going on this month of which, I hope you will be a part.

First is the District Assembly and District Conference. District Assembly will be held on Friday, April 22 at the La Posada Hotel in Laredo. DGE Debbie has a full day planned for your incoming officers of training and inspiration to get their year off to a great start. Friday evening is the beginning of District Conference with a fiesta in the square in front of the hotel. Saturday is full of choices for you from great speakers, informational seminars, good food, fellowship and recognition awards for clubs and individuals who have truly been gifts to the world. Sunday will wrap up our weekend with JD's Celebration of Life to remember those who were special to us and have passed away during the last year. PDG Marilyn Bedell from New Hampshire and her husband will be joining us as the RI Representative and will be sharing updates from Rotary International. The Laredo Rotary Clubs and the City have been working hard for the past months to bring us an outstanding event. I encourage all of you to take time that weekend and join us in Laredo to prepare for the new Rotary year and to celebrate your accomplishments of this year. Registration is open on the District website for both events (Hint: You get a price discount if you sign up for both!)

If you are saying to yourself that you can't attend the Conference because you don't have anything to do with the children and want to spend time with them, never fear we also have that covered. On Saturday, Lt. Governor Mike Dickerson has a Youth Day planned for kids of all ages. He has all kinds of projects and events scheduled for them. One service project that you can help with is working with a local non profit to assemble person hygiene kits for the Veterans in Laredo. We are asking you to bring items which could be of use for these kits. I know I have a big bag of stuff I stole from all the hotels where I stayed during my club visits around the District which will be put to good use. (No, I didn't steal the TV or microwave...sheesh!) You can register for this event on the District website at the District Conference/Assembly link.

An agenda item for the District Conference will be to approve the selection by the District's Executive Committee of the new District Governor for District 5930 for the Rotary year of 2018-2019, Andy Hagen of the Brownsville Sunrise Rotary Club. Andy has served for many years, both in his club and on the district level and is very knowledgeable about all things Rotary. We are pleased with his nomination and know that you will enjoy working with him during his year.

If you didn't attend the District 4 Way Speech contest this year, you missed a treat. The students are great and speaking as one of the judges, it was a tough decision. First many thanks to Tim Dowling for organizing the contest. He did an amazing job. He also provided the luncheon speech that talked about applying for 4 Way Test to Voting which was aimed at those 18 year old students who would be voting for the first time this year but was so relevant to all voters in this crazy election year. Thank you Tim!! The winners of the contest this year were 3rd place - Lucas Kabell from Area 2 which is the Victoria, Goliad area, 2nd place - Shams Bawani from Area 5 which is Corpus and 1st place went to Natalia Perez Solis from Area 9 which is the Brownsville, Port Isabel area. Congratulations to all our District and area winners.

Betty Lara and Eddie Bartnesky have a Grants Certification training scheduled for May 7. If you want to apply for a District Grant, you need to have at least 2 members of your club certified by this training to be eligible for funding. The deadline to apply for district grants is June 30 so if you don't have enough people in your club certified, you need to attend this training. Check the district website for registration.

Are you still struggling wading your way through Rotary Club Central? RI has updated the reference guides, planning sheets and videos to assist you. Check them out at learn.rotary.org and search "Rotary Club Central".

One last item, we are quickly running up to the end of the Rotary year. Please don't wait until the last minute ( meaning "June") to send in your contributions to the Rotary Foundation or enter your accomplishments into Rotary Club Central. It takes time to process this information on the other end. If you want your donations to be reflected on this Rotary year, you need to get them in as early as possible.

Thank you for all that you do for Rotary and being a Gift to the World.