The clouds parted and the recent rain showers stopped long enough to give us a very nice day for our weekly meeting at the Wakonda Club. President Shawn Mullen welcomed us and called on Graham Gillette for some words of inspiration, which he very capably offered, then Susan Scharnberg, (who just happens to have been president of the West Des Moines School Board when our speaker today was hired to head the schools there), introduced our one guest- our RCDM Drake intern, Anna Jensen. President Shawn called on Randy Worth, who told us about the Wheels Fellowship and its next meeting, to be held on Sept. 22, which will allow attendees to learn a whole lot about trucks and how they work. Similarly, Rob Smith was asked to tell us about the Golf Fellowship, which will meet on Sept. 24 at Glen Oaks for an outstanding opportunity to combine a round of golf for only $50, all of which will go to the RCDM Foundation, thanks to the event being underwritten by Kyle Lee.
Two Governors in two meetings! How’s that for good work by the Program Committee? Last week we heard from Governor Reynolds and today President Shawn introduced us to Tom Narak, our District Governor and a member of the West Des Moines Club. Tom is retired from being Superintendent of the WDM schools, having held that position from 2004 to 2011. Gov. Tom congratulated our club for its leadership over the years, remarking on the range of size of membership within the various clubs in the District, but emphasizing that all have a lot in common in that we all are striving to ‘make the world a better place.’ This year’s RI theme is “Be the Inspiration” and all Rotarians can be an inspiration to those around them. He conveyed messages from our International President, encouraging every one of us to invite at least one guest to a meeting this year and also to recognize our responsibilities in acting to ensure the sustainability of the earth. Tom and his wife, Carol, are obviously a team and showed that by his inviting her to join him at the lectern and to share information about areas they plan to focus on this year. She stated that those include: Literacy, since it impacts the future of every child as they mature, from the financial opportunities they might experience to the quality of citizenship they can provide; Preventing Child Abuse and the plan to share ideas with our club regarding possible projects we might consider along that line; and Eradicating Polio, which we must do to avoid the possibility of its returning, even though we have been so successful in reducing its incidence to just a few cases per year throughout the world. Toward that end, they mentioned World Polio Day, scheduled for Oct. 24, and the District goal of raising $16,000, as against the $8,000 committed last year. Tom also reviewed the important work of the RI Foundation and its international significance. The Rotary Leadership Institute will be held in Nov.3 in WDM and the District Conference will be May 2-4, also in WDM, and will return to a more traditional format, emphasizing family activities on Saturday, the final day. Tom closed his comments by touching on several areas of activity in the District, including various youth activities, health and medical missions to Mexico and Central America, and of his own family’s having faced some of the same health challenges being addressed by the teams to other countries.
As members of Rotary, we should be conscious and appreciative of the commitments of so many of our leaders, including local, District and International, who give so much time and effort to making our organization both enjoyable and productive. At the conclusion of Gov. Tom’s presentation, President Shawn expressed that “Tom Narak is a personification of Rotary in action” and we can agree with that. District Governors play a very key role in making Rotary International into the powerful force for good that it is by providing the connection between local clubs like our own and all the other districts and clubs throughout the world. Toward that end, we are well led and we appreciate Tom Narak for his leadership and for his joining us today.