Last Regular Meeting-District 6440 Governor Rodney Adams talked about his vision for the Rotary year.  He also shared parts of the District's three year strategic plan and a brief preview of this year's District Conference and International Convention.

The work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative will not end once polio has been eradicated. Activities will be needed to minimize the risks of poliovirus re-introduction and the emergence of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV). To prepare for the management of these risks, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has a multi-pronged program of work consisting of research, new product development, strategy formulation and policy development. After interruption of wild poliovirus transmission, the budget will be driven by the costs of maintaining surveillance and laboratory capacity, and the costs of outbreak response capacity for circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus. Annual costs of these activities are estimated to be US$ 200-250 million. These costs will stop once use of oral polio vaccine has stopped and vaccine-derived polioviruses have been eliminated.

 

The number 711 has a very special significance for Rotary. Room 711 of the old Unity Building, formerly located at 127 North Dearborn Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA, was the birthplace of Rotary. It was in that historic room, which was the office of engineer Gus Loehr, where Paul Harris first met with several friends to discuss his new idea of a club for professionals and businessmen. It took extensive research and dedication by a few Chicago Rotarians to preserve the room and restore it to its 1905 authenticity. For years, Room 711 was preserved as a miniature Rotary museum by Rotarians around the world who voluntarily belonged to and contributed annually to the Paul Harris 711 Club, which provided funds for leasing, maintenance, and preservation. In 1989, when the Unity Building was about to be torn down, members of the 711 Club carefully dismantled the landmark room and placed its contents in storage. There it stayed until 1994, when the recreated Room 711 found a permanent home at the RI World Headquarters in Evanston, where this piece of Rotary's heritage is preserved.