On August 1, we had our own club members Paige Reeves, Guiscela Perez-Arellano, Tamara Larson, and Rotaract member Yvone Joubert talk about their experience at the Rotary International (RI) Convention in Atlanta. They stayed on Peach Street which is Atlanta’s version of Whyte Avenue and were surrounded by 40,000 Rotarians. The conference had many highlights including 2017-2018 Rotary Internation President, Ian Riseley, sharing his goals in Rotary of peace and sustainability. Martin Luther King Jr’s daughter and CEO of The King Centre, Bernice King, also spoke about her and her father’s message of peace. Bill Gates spoke about our polio efforts and has pledged 1.2 billion dollars for the new polio campaign, Drop to Zero. Ashton Kutcher spoke about his work with human trafficking including online tracking software to help find people involved. Kutcher urged to be more aware that trafficking is thriving in developed countries and that survivors need not only to have the rings broken up but to have supports created for them afterwards. Overall, it was a fantastic experience designed to help Rotarians think about how to connect their inspirations and skills to be better Rotarians. For those interested in attending the next RI Convention it is in Toronto from June 23 - 28, 2018.
