Rotarians and friends of District 7150 across the world, we invite you to visit and browse through the new District 7150 websites. They consist of nearly 60 pages of information, pictures, music and more, all related to our District. The District can be found at www.rotarydistrict7150.org. The Youth Exchange program can be found at www.rotaryyouthexchange.org Both sites are cross linked. We guarantee, it's worth your time.

The District Technology Committee met in July at the request of DG Ed Paparella and discussed the goals he had set for electronically bringing the District into the 21st Century. It was firmly established that a District website should serve the needs of District 7150 Rotarians and also attract web browsers. The site had to be graphically pleasing, current and functional. The site had to not only provide timely information but also had to have the capability for the clubs to report monthly administrative data and allow visitors to easily send questions and information to the DG and others.

The site does this and more. Assignments were given to various Committee members and a work site was established where drafts of revisions and new ideas could be posted. This allowed committee members to comment and vote on the final version. It was quickly apparent that it was in the best interests of the District to move the site server to a local company to improve the service and speed. Borg Internet Services Inc. in Utica was selected. John Ryder, one of Borg's owners and a Utica Club Rotarian, volunteered his services at no cost to help the committee and assure a smooth transition. Marlene Brown, another Utica Club Rotarian and owner of Marmel Consulting Firm, a company that develops websites among other services, volunteered to "make it a reality". With the help of other committee members, Al Kalter, Ray Allen, Larry Golden, Fran Combar and Paul Nelson, the personal involvement of DG Ed and Barb Paparella (Barb was our key proof reader), we started compiling information and developed drafts for the committee to review.

The site expanded daily as Marlene posted draft pages and members sent e-mail comments back and forth. The final decisions on format and content were reserved for DG Ed following a series of votes. The enthusiasm grew as we worked together and our dream become a reality. As a surprise to DG Ed, Ray Allen convinced RI to give us the first copy of the 1998-99 Rotary theme song in a digitized electronic file. Marlene and Borg implemented it so viewers can click and hear the Rotary theme music. To the best of our knowledge, we are the only Rotary website in the world, and certainly the first, to be playing this music. Al and Ray also asked the Youth Exchange Committee to get photos of Inbound and Outbound student and write short biographical sketches. This, with other YE background information, a digitized file of the new RI Long Term Application and "YE Host", the YE newsletter for club YEO's and Host Families was forwarded along with a draft of the YE webpages, to Marlene for her to do her magic.

At 11:30 pm August 15, 1998, four weeks from the start, the new site was posted on the web for the world to visit. We are still tweaking pages here and there. When you visit you will see that some pages are updated almost weekly. New information dealing with other key District programs including Gift of Life, Group Study Exchange, Literacy and Community/Urban Concerns will be added soon.

If your club has a website, please let us know and we will link you to the District site. If a District Committee has material they want posted, send it to DG Ed or Marlene for consideration. Club Presidents and Secretaries, please note that you can now send your monthly attendance reports direct via e-mail from our website.

We hope you enjoy your visit. Please send us comments and suggestions for improvement. Continue to dream of the future. There are no limits. The Technology Committee wants to personally thank DG Ed and Barb for their work in helping to make our dream come true. Everyone is invited to our workshop at District Conference. We will demonstrate the District 7150 website, our new YE website, and provide you with ideas and guidelines on developing a website for your club. - Ray

* Webmaster's comments: Significant time and effort have gone into producing this website for our district. We are proud of our unique look and feel. We hope that you are able to use it as a guide in creating your own site and getting ideas regards information and subject matter that's nice to be included. Rather than utilizing our work, we would appreciate your respecting our copyright and creating your own unique site design. Let us know how we can assist. Thank you and enjoy all our site has to offer you. - Marlene