 I was once asked to pen a few lines about the successes of our district while I was district governor. While I considered some of the things we accomplished, like membership growth, number and scope of the District Foundation Grants, the response of clubs to the polio
challenge and Philippines disaster or new RYLA initiatives; none of that really did it for me.
First, none of these are district successes. Though I was the district governor while all these things happened, they are the successes of dedicated Rotarians and Rotary clubs who have a passion for various aspects of Rotary service.
Second, none of these captures the essence of what I believe we do as Rotarians … Change Lives. You see, I have come to the conclusion that all the planning, all the projects, all the membership initiatives are for naught for the Rotarians who haven’t experienced
changing lives; experienced Rotary. You cannot see the look of hope and gratitude in the parents’ faces for the gift of dignity you gave them that day your club built that wheelchair ramp without being changed. You can’t encounter that student from years ago for whom your Rotary scholarship made education possible without being changed. You cannot administer the drops of polio vaccine into the mouth
of a child without being changed. You can’t pick up the Rotarian magazine month after month and see what YOU have done through YOUR foundation without being changed. As we change lives, we are changed.
So, what do we accomplish at the district level? Hopefully, it is helping Rotarians in the clubs to realize the excitement of changing lives and how to tell their own personal story to others. It is the main reason (if not the sole reason) to join Rotary and the main reason they will
stay. It is the answer to the question we all get from time to time: What is Rotary? The answer is simple: We Change Lives!
There are a few things that I’ve learned over the years as a Rotarian and through my involvement in Rotary membership. For instance, I’ve learned that …
• Even though there are 34,000 ways to do Rotary, we all eventually get to the same place. Yeah, there are differences between a club with 22 committees, three Interact clubs, two Rotaract clubs and the Governor (that’s the real Governor) as a speaker versus a club with dinner at the community hall for 15; but that’s all window dressing and process. The result is the same …Changed Lives. Size only matters in the number of Lives Changed. It’s got to be from the heart or it’s not Rotary.
• Clubs that make fellowship and social activities a key part of their club do not have the retention issues that other clubs have. It is much harder to leave your friends than to just resign from a club.
• Youth Exchange students have a contagious energy level; both the inbounds and outbounds. If your club is not involved in Youth Exchange, you are missing an exciting part of Rotary.
• Heart attacks suck, especially your own; but they only slow you down (that one is purely personal).
• There aren’t many places where you can invest your money better than The Rotary Foundation if you want to see results. If you doubt that, read your Rotarian magazine or look at the global and district grants that clubs apply for and receive.
• Our communities would not be what they are today if dedicated groups of men and women hadn’t taken the time to organize their Rotary
clubs.
• I am extremely proud of this organization and the great things we do as Rotarians. We change lives every minute of every hour of every day somewhere in the world (the sun NEVER sets on Rotary). Further, I am so impressed by what we do in District 6380, in our little corner of the Rotary world.
And finally, I have learned all this and still have the time, the health and the means to continue to change lives and help others to really experience Rotary.
How lucky am I?
Think about it, how lucky are you to be a Rotarian?
|
.jpg)
.gif)
