District 7390 teammates,

 

I am well into my governor visits to the clubs in the district. I am enjoying meeting you and hearing all that is going on at the club level. Thank you to the 13 clubs that have been gracious hosts so far. You energize me with your Rotary service. I look forward to meeting the remaining 28 clubs over the next 60 days. And thank you to our six Assistant Governors who have been joining me in these visits. I very much appreciate their willingness to continue to serve our district in this role. Each AG serves 4-6 clubs and are a great resource for club leaders to gain advice from seasoned Rotary leaders.

 

Speaking of Rotary service, our own PDG John Anthony from the Mechanicsburg North club was designated as the Mechanicsburg Man of The Year by the Downtown Mechanicsburg Partnership. The award dinner was a wonderful celebration of John and all his work to make Mechanicsburg a great place to live. True to John’s serving spirit, he added to the evening’s program 20 non-profit organizations that do charitable work in the Mechanicsburg area. Each organization got 2 minutes to describe themselves and their work. Rotary was well represented by Mechanicsburg North club President David Blain. That part of the program was a wonderful display of humanitarian efforts at the local level and a testament to all the work John does to enhance lives in Mechanicsburg and elsewhere. Congratulations to John on this well-deserved honor and thanks to all our Mechanicsburg area Rotarians for their service above self.

 

Two weeks ago, the governor line leaders attended the Learning to Lead conference in Toronto hosted by Rotary Zones 28 and 32. These Zone level conferences are held each year in late September and are open to all Rotarians, especially those in or assuming leadership positions. The break-out sessions were informative, energizing, and useful for club members. One trainer asked, “who do you lean on and who do you hold up?” That question resonated with me and I pass the question to you for your reflection. I ask club leaders to consider sponsoring one member, or a few, to attend next September. You will get back energized Rotarians with new knowledge. Thanks go to PDGs Connie Spark, Hector Ortiz, and Una Martone for serving as trainers and facilitators. These experienced and successful leaders are critical to making these learning sessions beneficial to all. Thank you for your time, talent, and work on our behalf. Also of note, there was a fundraising event for the Rotary Foundation called “Bouncing for the Foundation.” Volunteers from the 40 districts in attendance strapped on Zorb bouncy balls and sumo-style battled for bragging rights. I represented District 7390 and most importantly survived the experience. Thanks to those Rotarians who donated in our district and in the other districts, we raised $103,000 from the event. Awesome! You can Google “Zorb ball rentals” to see if this might make sense as a club fundraising activity.

 

I will close this note by acknowledging the horrific events that are on-going in the Middle East. One of Rotary’s focus areas is on Promoting Peace and this past week has highlighted the desperate need for peacebuilding. The district leaders are discussing how we as a district can support peacebuilding. As we gather information and develop a plan, I’ll communicate how Rotarians and clubs might support Rotary’s peace efforts.

 

Thank you for continuing to serve in Rotary. I’ll see you around the district.