A MESSAGE FROM IPP ERVA DENHAM
Fellow Members of Rotary II:
This has, indeed, been a difficult year for many of us on a personal level. However, out of adversity, great things can and do happen. Thanks to all of you, the Rotary Club of St. Thomas II had a GREAT year! If you listened to Saturday's REACH program, you'd have heard a listing from Service Projects Chair, Val George, of some of the many activities in which we were involved - most of them centering on Youth and Literacy. By focusing on these areas, we had a chance to achieve BIG! Meanwhile, we did not forget our Seniors.
Thanks to all the things we did, many of which you may not even have been aware of, our Club has this year achieved a first in our District - Literacy Awards for the District, the Zone, and a Silver level award for North America! We've also received the RI President's Citation and a Gold level District Governor's Award. It could not have been done without the hardworking members of our Club. All of you have made me even more proud of our Club than I ever was before because you have proved that no matter how difficult things may be, the spirit of Rotary and the ideal of Service exists within us, making us willing to ignore our own problems and concentrate on the needs of others.
I will not be fading away. As Immediate Past President, I expect to be working with the Macon M. Berryman Scholarship Committee, (serving as a liaison with our students), serving as a link between our Club and the UVI Rotaract Club, and also working with the next Model United Nations Competition at UVI. Through the Service Council, I plan to advocate for an extension of the Dictionary Project - not just for the third grade class at Lockhart Elementary School, but for every third grade student in VI North. In this manner, Rotarians have a chance to have a lasting impact on our school population, and will truly be promoting literacy at a critical age.
Again, my thanks and best wishes to all of you, and here's to another splendid Rotary year!
Erva A. Denham