PP Vance Lewis Elected District Governor

The British Virgin Islands made history at the recently concluded 36th Annual District 7020 Conference in Jamaica, where Assistant Governor Vance Lewis was elected Rotary's 7020 District Governor for the year 2012-2013. A dedicated and committed Rotarian for nineteen years, Vance has exemplified the Rotary International motto of "Service Above Self", for which he has received many accolades and awards. Rotarian Vance is a Past President of the Rotary Club of Road Town, and currently the Assistant Governor (AG) for the Rotary Clubs of the British Virgin Islands. Rotarian Vance Lewis' election as District Governor is quite an honour not only for himself, but his fellow BVI Rotarians and the British Virgin Islands. During the Rotary Year 2012-2013, he will provide leadership for the 7020 Rotary District which presently comprises 77 Clubs and 2,800 Rotarians in the countries of Anguilla, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, French West Indies, Haiti, Jamaica, Netherland Antilles, Turks and Caicos, and U.S. Virgin Islands. Some forty BVI Rotarians, spouses, and other guests were among the 750 Delegates attending this past week's history-making 36th Rotary District 7020 Assembly & Conference in Jamaica. The BVI Delegation was headed by Assistant Governor Vance Lewis, and included Assistant Governor Nominee Ron Potter, current and incoming Presidents and Secretaries of the BVI's three Clubs - The Rotary Club of Tortola, Rotary Club of Road Town and the Sunrise Club of Road Town. Another history-making event for Rotary in the BVI is that for the first time as many as six BVI Rotarians will serve in various capacities on the new Team which assumes leadership of the District on 1 July 2010. Members of the District Team underwent leadership and other training in Miami in February this year. At the District Conference all three Clubs of the BVI, The Rotary Club of Tortola, The Rotary Club of Road Town and The Rotary Sunrise Club under the leadership of Presidents Leroy Moses, Melvin Stout and Monica Ramgeet, respectively, received the prestigious District Governor's Award for Club Excellence. Additionally, The Rotary Sunrise Club received two other awards for outstanding work in Literacy and Membership Development. A notable Conference highlight was the very emotional presentation including graphic scenes of the devastation of Haiti caused by the January 2010 earthquake, the tremendous amount of work to be done, and the leading role that Rotary, particularly District 7020, is playing in the relief efforts. Very poignant expressions of overwhelming gratitude were delivered in many ways by the many distinguished Haitian Rotarians at Conference. In the words of District Governor Elect Guy Theodore of Haiti: "The strong and prompt support by Fellow Rotarians and persons from all over the world was comforting to the people of Haiti; they felt that people cared and they were not alone and this support gave them strength to carry on". Special mention was made of the BVI's immediate response to the Haiti Disaster Relief efforts with exceedingly generous in- kind and financial support. Conference attendees were reminded that it will take several years for Haiti to recover and that Rotarians and the world must continue to keep the people of Haiti and the relief effort alive. Another notable Conference event was the setting of a new Guinness World Record on 8th May 2010 with the collection of 657,061 children's books, through a "Drive for Literacy" programme sponsored by The Kingston Rotary Club. Rotarians and non Rotarians, corporations from around the District and the world were part of this noble effort which will place these books in the hands of children of Jamaica and Haiti. The "One Love" Conference Theme was quite evident throughout the three segments of Presidents and Secretaries Training (PETS), District Assembly, and District Conference. The many humanitarian and social intervention efforts by Rotarians over the past ten months were shared; the bond of friendship and solidarity prevailed; and renewed commitments and new energy and vision for Better, Bigger, Bolder actions in District 7020 during the Rotary Year 2010-2011 were outlined. This will all happen under the leadership of District Governor, Diana White, the first female Governor of District 7020-another history-making event for Rotary District 7020. Governor Elect Diana White and her husband Rotarian Roger White currently reside in the US Virgin Islands, but previously resided in the BVI during his tenure as Manager of Barclays Bank, now First Caribbean Bank. Jamaica's Prime Minister Hon. Bruce Golding, Keynote Speaker at the Opening Ceremony of the Conference, acknowledged and commended the work of the Rotary movement which is helping to provide basic human needs that were unfulfilled. In his profound address he offered words of encouragement to Rotarians and non Rotarians and suggested that helping others is not just charity to them but it is to help ourselves. Rotarians from District 7020 as well as guests from Rotary International and other Districts appeared to leave the 2010 District Assembly and Conference feeling invigorated with renewed faith that Rotary District 7020 is alive and well and that Rotarians have an important and critical role to play in "Building Communities and Bridging Continents