The Feel of the Rotary Foundation by Dr. John Blount
Our speaker for November 2, 2023, was Dr. John Blount, an inspirational speaker on a variety of Rotary subjects. John is a retired dentist from Sebastopol, has been a Rotarian in the Rotary Club of Sebastopol for 45 years, and has worked in a variety of Rotary International positions. For example, he was District Governor for District 5130 in 1990, a member of the Rotary International Board of Directors from 2009-2011 and chair of the RI Board of Directors Executive Committee. He chaired RI’s Communications Committee from 2011-2013. He has just completed a three-year assignment on Rotary’s Peace Centers Committee. John remains active in Rotary by, among other things, serving as a trainer for President-Elects and District Governor-Elects.
John’s presentation was entitled “The Feel of the Rotary Foundation.” While he admitted that he is not a “Foundation Guy,” John is also of the belief that Rotarians learning about the Foundation learn more than facts and figures; they experience something that is hard to put into words. His club has sent its President-Elects to the Rotary International Convention every year. When they come back to the club and try to describe what happened, they always say they can’t explain the feeling being at the meeting gave them.
John gave us a brief historical view of Rotary’s involvement with community service. Rotary was started in 1905. The original mission was to promote business endeavors, friendship, and fellowship among Rotarians. In 1906, Dan Carter started the idea that Rotarians should be promoting civic pride and service to the community, and Rotary revised its mission statement to reflect that goal. One of Rotary’s first service projects was the construction of public comfort (restrooms) stations! As John explained, this was a really big deal because before that time such stations did not exist and people had to use bars to get it done, typically having to pay the bar for the privilege! This project involved coordination and cooperation with other civic groups, something we’ve learned to do very well over the years.
John also talked about his own club’s experience with global projects. Their first project involved a children’s health drive in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. They worked with a local Rotary club to identify children who needed medical aid. The little girl they helped came to California for surgery. Their club has also built a school! Rotarians can get things done that no one else seems to be able to accomplish (think Polio)! John also worked with the Ambassadorial Student Program. He recalls sending a young Ukiah student to New Zealand for college; that kid later got a law degree and worked for the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office in New Zealand, writing legislation.
John updated us on two specific areas of conflict that Rotary has been working on, Haiti and Ukraine. RI’s key initiative in Haiti is addressing water and sanitation issues. Rotary (including the Foundation, RI, and District 7020) is working with other organizations to help Haitians fix their own problems. The key mechanism is Hanwash, the Haiti National Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Initiative. Hanwash has now established drinking water systems in several towns, allowing Haitians to see for themselves what they, with help from others, can accomplish. Rotary’s involvement in Ukraine includes at least $75 million in aid other assistance.
Thank you, John, for the inspirational discussion of the Rotary Foundation and its good works. Probably every former President-Elect from Sunrise would agree with your sentiment that it is impossible to truly capture the feeling that an RI Convention engenders. And, you don’t have to be a PE to know that Rotary is one of the most positive agents for good in the world!
Click HERE to view a limited time recording of John's talk.
