Sunrise Welcomes DG Gary Citti

DG Citti shared his support for new RI President DK Lee applauding his special focus on the tragedy of child mortality. He was most impressed by this year's RI theme, to Make Dreams Real.   
 
He issued his personal challenge to each of us to put Rotary to work where we work.  We must maintain high ethical standards, the cornerstone of Rotary, in our work and lives.  He suggested that each Rotarian is a link between the idealism of Rotary and their personal occupation.  He went on to lament the erosion of ethical behavior and urged us all to bring the 4-way test to our businessess and our youth.  He poignantly asserted that if we forget ethics we endanger our professions, our relationships and our souls.
 
He then moved on to membership and encouraged us to focus hard on increasing our membership this year.  He pointed out the strength of Rotary is that it is full of leaders.   People who join are already leaders!
 
Membership retention is another important function best accomplished, he suggested, by personal contact and having new members be immediately involved in projects and committees.  "It's all about getting involved," he said.
 
To illustrate, he finished with a moving story about himself.  He explained how after a couple of years in Rotary he found himself just going through the motions... to the point where he had already penned his resignation letter.  Just at that moment he was invited to become a part of an international project.  His club was donating and installing the first generation of computers in 13 towns in Chile.  He went down to help, and upon personally witnessing the staggering impact of his club's gift at a small village school, he never looked back.
 
DG Citti concluded by presenting Randy Parker with his blue badge and offering that by getting involved you can truly make dreams real.
 
The meeting ended with a standing ovation.
 
Board and committee chairs stayed behind and each member reported in. 
 
DG Gary offered many very practical and insightful suggestions before heading out to the next club on his list... when does this lion sleep?