Rotary International President John Germ

Posted by Gary O'Rielly on Jan 11, 2017
 
A rare event in the history of the Rotary Club of Everett occurred when the Club hosted RI President John and Judy Germ at their meeting on Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at the Holiday Inn Downtown. Thirteen area Rotary Clubs were there for this historic event celebrating the Rotary Club of Everett's Century of Service including seven members from our club. The Rotary Club of Everett has several children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren Clubs including ours!
 
 
RI President John Germ and his wife Judy are from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Germ is Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Campbell and Associates Ins,  consulting engineers. Germ joined Rotary in 1976. He has numerous awards and honors such as the Young Man of the Year award in 1970; Engineer of the Year-1986; Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year-1992 and Tennessee Community Volunteer of the Year, 2009. Germ is the recipient of the Boy Scouts of America Silver Beaver Award and the Arthritis Foundation Circle of Hope Award. In 2013, the White House recognized him as a Champion of Change. His activities and offices in Rotary are long and numerous, serving with distinction.
 
The same year that Rotary Club of Everett was started in 1916, technicolor was discovered along with the PGA and light switches. President Germ spoke of the importance of the Rotary Foundation and the role it has in the world. In 1917 RI President Arch Klumph proposed an endowment "for the purpose of doing good in the world." It all started with a $26.50 contribution which set in motion a powerful force that has transformed millions of lives around the world. The Rotary Foundation was formally named in 1928 at the convention in Minneapolis.
 
President Germ spoke of the importance of Rotary in the local community as well as the our participation around the world. He spoke of Rotary's effort through the Foundation to eradicate polio around the world. Currently there are 35 cases of polio in three countries in the world. He spoke of the initial meeting with Bill Gates and the pledge he made to eradicate polio in the world if Rotary would match his contribution.
 
As mentioned in the opening, this was a rare moment to hear from our RI President and even rarer that this is the first time the Rotary Club of Everett has hosted a Rotary International President.