Dear fellow Rotarians, Thank you for the privilege of serving as your Club President for 2023-2024 year. I greatly appreciated the many resilient, innovative and exceptional ways each of you contributed your ideas, time, wisdom, and talent to create hope within our Club, our community, and beyond! As we transition our Executive Board leadership and shift our RI theme from “Creating hope in the world” to “The magic of Rotary”, may I take this special moment to have each of us pause, take a few deep and easy breaths, smile, and celebrate the mini-milestones that we accomplished together since July 1, 2023:
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- Welcomed our new club administrator, Chersten Keillor and her family
- Engaged our members in a variety of venues - speakers programs, service learning, mentoring, skill-building, peace-building, and new partnerships – we are truly Rotarians in action
- Transitioned and streamlined administrative processes and templates (hybrid & zoom)
- Engaged young professionals and supported mentoring – Rotary Youth Exchange, Jeremiah Program/Cook4Kids, Mentoring 2.0, MC Research, RYLA, Walk with a doc; Toastmasters
- Quarry Hill Nature Center’s anniversary,annual Fall Festival, planted shrubs/trees and cleared buckthorn @ QHNC; White Oak Park monthly clean-up
- Completed our Rotary Global Grant project on improving indoor air quality and basics of environmental/lung health education for 210 families in San Lucas Toliman region of Guatemala
- Continued archiving special events and stories in preparation of our 100-year centennial celebration (May 15, 2025), along with Moccasin Flower newsletter and sign-up volunteer opportunities via Club’s website
- Volunteered at and promoted Cradle 2 Career summit, Strive, Ethics and Peace-building (first 50+ students @ JM), Rochesterfest and City of Belonging/Living Your Dream – service club
- Made peace and collaboration more visible within our growing and diversifying community as we recovered and pivoted after COVID pandemic – ethics, belonging, servant leadership, technology solutions, and fun with selfies/story-sharing on social media
- Invited guest speakers to explore the ways we can better understand gender and pronouns, nonviolent peace-building, safety around schools and public spaces, support vulnerable populations, and enrich community nonprofit partners through broader socioeconomic COVID pandemic recovery efforts
- Participated in four District events, NC PETS, and sent Dave Moertel to Singapore for Rotary International Convention
- Restarted Rotation Days – Mayo Northwest Support Center and UMR campus; more ahead!
- And, several more that may be seen in our online photo gallery and Moccasin Flower newsletter!
Thank you, again, for cultivating such a great club experience with local impact and global results - best wishes to each of you and your families!
Yours in Rotary service and shared commitment to the ideals of Rotary and its objectives!
Ashok Patel, Chersten Keillor, and our outgoing Executive Board members for 2023-2024 term.
June 13, 2024