John Arcana, Realtor with Re/Max One, introduced Rebekah Maxwell.  She is well known to those of us in Rotary because of her service and her positive attitude - as well as the way she spells her name!

 

Her challenge to us was “Why are you in Rotary?  What brings you back to the meetings?”  The theme of the 2019-2020 International Rotary Year is Rotary Connects the World.  Rebekah has certainly been doing that.

 

Rebekah began her Rotary journey at Lamar University when she became a member of Rotaract.   A month into her membership she was asked if she wanted to go to Belize with Rotary.  She and her sister Elizabeth said YES and off they went with people they did not know to a place they had never been.  The Belize Service Project was life-changing for both of them.

 

While Rebekah was in Belize she participated in a service project that had two goals:

1. Support ten students to allow them to go high school.

2. Interact with the students by offering leadership skills and team building.

The students in Belize have little opportunity to go to high school and even less opportunity to learn about leadership and team building.  The project brought them skills that will change their lives.

 

She was a senior at Lamar when she was given the opportunity to go to Scotland with the Youth Exchange Program.  She again said YES.  She spent a year learning about how they do Rotary in Scotland.  She met lifelong friends and even got her very own kilt (which she still has).  

 

Rebekah completed her studies at Lamar finishing her Masters in International Marketing.  One of the requirements of her degree was to make presentations to international audiences and she far exceeded the minimum requirement.  She said YES to more than double the number she needed.  Her public speaking experience on the international stage was a direct result of her Rotary travels abroad and her willingness to say YES.

 

Rotary has given Rebekah so much experience, confidence and opportunity.  Her question to us was “What can one of us do?”  Each of us can do something.  We can give back in service and make a connection.

 

One of Rebekah’s reasons to stay in is that Rotary sees potential in people and projects.  Not only do Rotarians see the potential, Rotarians act on the potential.  We also have fun doing it.  Today we can improve our club.  We can sign up for service.  We can Connect to the World and to our fellow Rotarians.  I think you see a theme to Rebekah’s history in Rotary.  She says YES a lot.  She has given herself permission to jump into Rotary full throttle!  If you have watched Rebekah as I have, you know that she is our future.  She inspires us to do what we can, to go to places we have never been and to do things we never thought of doing.  We are honored to have Rebekah in our club, and she truly inspires each of us to Connect and to say YES.