Meeting Recap for March 21, 2011

Our club was honored to listen to key note speaker and Rotary International (RI) Director John Blount.  John gave us an inspiring and insightful update on the accomplishments and goals of RI.  By way of background, John is a dentist, in private practice the past 32 years in Sebastopol, California.  He and his wife of 35 years, Patti, are both members of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol, where John also served as a past President, and later as District 5160’s Governor.  He and his wife are major donors and bequest society members of the Rotary Foundation. 

John has also served on numerous organizational committees that deal with RI’s future, including “New Models of Rotary Clubs,” Rotary Action Groups,” three RI President nominating committees, and Vice Chair of the 2008 International Institute.  John also has a long history of training future Rotary leaders, including 19 years as a teacher at various workshops for president-elects.  The Blount’s years of devotion to Rotary are an excellent role model and reminder to us all. 

John remarked about that humble beginnings of Rotary and on how it has grown to include around 34,000 clubs with over a million plus active members worldwide.  He reminded us that our commitment for over 25 years to the eradication of polio is ever so close to reaching its final goal.  He reported that so far in 2011 there have been only 25 reported cases of polio in 4 countries, and that with our help we have vaccinated over 2.5 billion people.  Of course RI plans to “stay the course” until this dreadful disease is wiped forever from the earth.  But then what? 

John and others at RI are charting our course for the future and setting new goals for the organization.  “These times they are a changing,” as they say, and with Rotary membership having peaked around 1997, we all need to reflect on what makes Rotary thrive and on how we can invite new members into our organization.  We all need to reach out to our fellow business leaders, and invite the next generation to join us in our commitment to service.  We all need to consider how to “grow Rotary” -- perhaps through the use of new emerging internet social networks?  Perhaps through linking members worldwide in on-line chat rooms or discussion groups? 

Through it all, John reminded us that RI’s goals of fellowship, diversity, leadership, ethics, and, of course, service will and must remain our daily focus.  We thank John for his thoughtful presentation and for his inspiring commitment to Rotary.