Dear District 5010 Rotarians: I am pleased to announce that Mike Pollen of the Rotary Club of Fairbanks is our new District Governor Nominee-Designate. Mike will join our excellent District leadership team that includes myself, District Governor-Elect Cheryl Metiva, District Governor Nominee Mike Ferris, and Lt. Governor Rosie Roppel. I have every expectation that you will find Mike Pollen to be an outstanding District Governor in 2023-2024. Our District has many exceptional Rotarians, far more than those persons considered by this year's Nominating Committee. There were many excellent candidates this year and it was a difficult choice for the Nominating Committee. Any of this year's candidates were strongly encouraged to apply in the future. Please join me in welcoming our new District Governor Nominee-Designate, the 2023-2024 District 5010 Governor, Mike Pollen. Mike's biography and and photo follow. Thank you and best regards Joe Kashi District Governor 2020-2021 MICHAEL R. POLLEN BIOGRAPHY Mike joined the Rotary Club of Fairbanks in 1999 and served as Club President in FY2015. He was a member of the D5010 Group Study Exchange Committee for over 10 years, served as its Chair for 3 of those years, and led a GSE Team to Taiwan in 2008. He completed the District Leadership Academy in 2014 and was the Northern Region Assistant Governor from 2016 to 2019. He is a past member of the D5010 Strategic Planning Committee and currently chairs the District Excess Reserves Committee. Mike served as a PNW PETS Training Leader in 2018 and 2019 and is currently a member of the D5010 Visioning Committee.  Mike and his wife, PDG Peggy, are both TRF Major Donors, Paul Harris Society Members, and Bequestors. They are also charter members of the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group (WASRAG) and continue to work on several Rotary Foundation Global Grant projects building water and sanitation facilities for schools in Belize. Mike has presented on water and sanitation issues at WASRAG meetings internationally, at D5010 RYLA Conferences, D5010 Conferences, and at Rotary Zone Institutes as an invited speaker. In 1970, Mike and Peggy met at UAF where he was studying biology and chemistry. They live in Fairbanks with their two son’s families and four granddaughters and will celebrate 50 years of marriage in March 2021. The Pollens founded and operated an environmental, water, and wastewater testing and consulting firm throughout Alaska for nearly 30 years and continue to manage a consulting and operator training business today. Throughout his career Mike has been very active in professional associations in the water and wastewater field. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) which respectively serve the water and wastewater industries globally. From 1992 to 1996 Mike went through the executive chairs of WEF, serving as President in 1994 and 1995. During his tenure as a WEF officer he presented over 100 keynote speeches to WEF member associations and other affiliated organizations in 10 countries. In 1996 he served as a consultant to the United Nations during the development of a set of water quality issue statements that were signed by 32 Western Hemisphere Presidents including US President Bill Clinton in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Mike has received numerous awards for service and professional contributions to the water and wastewater industry from AWWA and WEF. In October, Mike received an award as a WEF Fellow for his many years of service to the industry. He currently is a board member of the Fairbanks North Star Borough Air Pollution Control Commission and of the Alaska Governor’s Water Wastewater Advisory Board. In 2014, Mike and Peggy were honored by the Midnight Sun Boy Scout Council as Fairbanks Distinguished Citizens of the Year. |