District Governor Dayle Quigley addressed the club on why she joined Rotary, why she stays, and where she sees Rotary going.  She began by saying that she learned some of the tenets of Rotary growing up in Baltimore. One of her grandmothers taught her by example that one is never too old to make changes and do new things; and she told Dayle that when someone tells you that something can’t be done, it is a challenge.  Her other grandmother raised 3 boys on her own and taught her that what you leave behind at the end of life isn’t important; it’s what you give to others while you’re alive.  Dayle’s grandmother had little left of value when she died, but it turned out that she’d given much to many in the community where she lived.
 
How she found Rotary Dayle’s daughter at 16 expressed an interest in foreign exchange. After doing research into various programs, the family chose Rotary due to the strength and safety inherent in the organization.  The daughter went to Latvia as one of the first students to go to that part of the world.  After returning from Latvia to visit her daughter, Dayle asked to join Rotary in Hayward WI because no one had asked her.  She became president of that club very quickly but resigned the position – but not Rotary -- in January because of disagreement about the leader’s role.  Her expectation was for more member involvement.

Why she stays Dayle described an amazing experience in India.  Immunization Day occurs every 6 months.  She saw the immunization day work, and got to see some amazing club work with poverty populations.  The club in India attacked the issue of local poverty with a 3-prong approach: 1) start preschool to address the limits of generational literacy and learning gaps, 2) provide women with some basic skills to enable them to work, and 3) to train men jobs such as truck and taxi drivers.  

A colleague told Dayle that the key motivator for India is belief that a better world is possible.  Ideal is that people have the opportunity to reach their potential.  Rotary International’s 6 areas of focus all point to ways that the world can become better.

Dayle combines optimism and realism, knowing that the finish line is far out.  She likes the RI President’s choice of Imagine as the theme.  She urged dreaming big, acting small.  We all have the power to change the world one way or the other, and she used the example of the Grand Canyon as the application of a little bit of pressure applied over time.  She offered a saying that she found inspiring:  “The world needs dreamers, needs doers, but mostly needs dreamers who do".

The future outlook for/at RI.  Dayle described big things in Rotary’s future:  # 1 is partnerships,  urging collaboration with non-profits, NGO’s , etc.  #2 is to work with other clubs to combine talents and resources, urging us to use our Rotary passports.   

The other notable change in Rotary:  the rules have gone away – changing with the times.    Other than dues, clubs are free to do what works for them in terms of meeting frequency, organization, etc..  RI cares about doing good in the world, whatever shape that takes.

In response to a question, Dayle said that RI has changed the “big idea” approach used with polio eradication, which of course is still ongoing.  The new model is to address big problem with one huge new grant per year, working from models of projects that started small(er) and scaled up based on smaller scale success.  In the future RI will not jump into global project from a start.  Projects can scale up from local/regional to country-wide and beyond, with adaptation as need to the cultures and conditions being addressed.