Wow! What a wonderful start to the Rotary year. As you read this I will have completed all of myclub visits. Carol and I have had a great experience meeting Rotarians and visiting the service projects all over the District. So many of our clubs are instrumental in improving the quality of life in their communities. Rotarians are very kind, welcoming and complimentary people.
I’m biased, but I am so proud of the District Conference that was held last month. We had great speakers and breakout sessions. I’m sure all who attended went home energized and educated about Rotary. Thanks to PDG Steve Harrington and his committee for putting it all together! Thanks also to the Plymouth County Pork Producers for grilling us such tasty pork Chops. Congratulations also go out to the 10 Rotarians of Distinction, Roger Kozak Award winner Steve Sikorski and Rotarian of the Quarter Mary DeVany! Congratulations to the clubs who received certificates for Membership Growth, Foundation Giving and Polio Plus Giving.
Monday October 24th is World Polio Day. I hope your club has some kind of a plan to celebrate the great progress Rotary has made over the past 35 years in our attempt to eradicate Polio. Also, I hope our clubs have some kind of fundraising project for Polio Plus. Here are some ideas; (https://www.endpolio.org/world-polio-day). If you haven’t already, read District Polio Plus Chairman Willis Sutliff’s article about Polio.
October is also Community Economic and Development Month. The District Grants Committee recently reviewed the District Grant applications. We reviewed outstanding projects that relate to this month’s theme. As I said earlier, Rotarians make a great impact on their communities. Please make sure you give Rotary credit by using appropriate signage to inform the community of your work. The Rotary Wheel speaks volumes! Public Image Chairman, Kay Norton, would be happy to help you with that. Make sure you watch the photo slideshow on the district website or click the Imagine Rotary logo below to see photos of the great work Rotarians do.
I’m looking forward to the rest of the Rotary year to work on my goals of Membership, Foundation Giving and Ending Human Trafficking Global Grants. Every Rotary Club with very few exceptions has brought up the concern of building membership. District DG Line and the Membership Committee will be working on a plan to help clubs with that challenge. When your club receives information about our plans, please take advantage of our help.
Yours in Rotary,
DG John Schneider
