District Governor Dave Smette Visited Wahpeton Rotary.
The Rotary Club of Wahpeton hosted the District Governor (DG), David Smette and his wife Claudette, this past Tuesday November 26th. The venue was The Hughes Shelter in Chahinkapa Park not the normal venue of Prante’s.
District Governor Smette (upper right corner) and his wife Claudette (lower right corner) with the Wahpeton Rotary Board.
In the 1000 hours to noon period the District Governor and Claudette met with the officers and directors of the club to review the year and look for ways for the District to aid the club. That meeting went well as the DG reviewed the community work of the club and commented in particular on the many youth programs this club promotes.
The noon hour luncheon was for all the members, their spouses and visitors including our inbound Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) student from Chile Javiera Abd-El-Kader and her current host family Dawn and Richard Pehl as well as Winona Kingbird the mother of our RYE outbound student to Ecuador, Lilia Kingbird
DG Smette and Claudette with inbound RYE student Javiera Abd-El Kader
Head table: DG Smette and Claudette; President Darcie Huwe and her husband Keith.
The DG’s first action was to present the Rotarian of the Year award to Rick Jacobson “in sincere appreciation and recognition of distinguished service exemplifying ‘Service Above Self’.”
DG Smette’s talk to the club initially focused on membership. Working from the theme of “Engage Rotary – Change Lives” pointing to RI President Ron Burton and his wife, Past president Tanaka and giving the polio vaccine to and supporting a hospital that dies corrective limb surgery for children in Nepal (Ed. Note: DG Smette’s home club in Jamestown, ND has worked a lot in Nepal) as well as the paramedic station in San Juan Guatemala he asked why would someone not want to belong to such an organization doing good and promoting peace worldwide; peace through service. He emphasized that for all the good done internationally by Rotary it was really what we did at home that distinguished us; projects such as the Dictionary project, “Fill the Bus” for the food pantry and the bus project itself. He asked the questions: What brought you to Rotary? Why do you remain a Rotarian? He spoke of the Rotary symbol, the gear and how a shaft, a key way and a key are all needed for the gear to do any good.
The meeting
DG Smette during his address
DG Smette with our RYE outbound student's mother Winona Kingbird.