“Books ought to have good endings. How would this do: and they all settled down and lived together happily ever after?” - J.R.R. Tolkien

I have 140 Thank You cards sitting on my dining room table. I sat down to write each of you a thank you for your participation and contribution to this year. I had the best of intentions, but I confess that after 20 or so cards, I realized that I wasn't going to make it, especially not before June 26th, my last meeting as your club president. I'll save summing up exactly what we've accomplished for my last newsletter, as what I really want to say to you this week is

THANK YOU

Thank you for all the service hours you put into our Rotary club, giving of your resources even when your own business was foundering in the economic downturn;

Thank you for supporting The Rotary Foundation and the Service Fund and giving a little extra to "make up" for your fellow Rotarians who are put into a financial position where they can't give the way they would want;

Thank you for being a new member and embracing the idea of Rotary, even during a time when we can't meet in person. I know you have high hopes for this next Rotary year;

Thank you for being a Past President and continuing to support and serve. Your life is changing, but your commitment to "service above self" is steadfast;

Thank you for being a Rotarian, even when other things in your life need to take precedence. I know you participated as much as you could. You have been wondering if you should even still stay in Rotary if you can't contribute the way you want to, but you should. You are a person who serves, and you make our club better and stronger;

Thank you for being a Rotarian through the hardships and tragedies of life. Your heart has been broken, but you've let your fellow Rotarians comfort you and sustain you;

Thank you for being a Rotarian when you're not entirely sure of a group that doesn't seem to understand the way you experience the world. Our similar desire to improve the lives of those around us are greater than our differences, and you are exactly what this club needs right now;

Thank you for being a Rotarian year after year, giving of so much of yourself, carrying the torch of what this club has always been about and yet adjusting gracefully to the changing times and technologies.

Just thank you. Leading you this year has been a privilege I will cherish for years to come. The support you have shown me, I promise I will show to club presidents from now on. Or as a Sam said to Frodo, "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you!"

There's no dress challenge for the meeting this week, and since I began with a Fellowship quote from Tolkien, I'll end in the same fashion:

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”