July message from DG George

Month Theme: Rotary Shares

My first official duty as District Governor was to congratulate Carol Burdette and the clubs of District 7750 for the incredible year. In spite of the meltdown on Wall Street, the failure of major companies and a severe national recession, the District Rotarians had

1. a net increase in membership, I think the only district in our zone to have an increase in membership
2. an increase in Foundation giving by almost $50,000
3. met the polio plus goal
4. raised money for 98 wheelchairs
5. prepared 13,000 meals to go to Haiti at the District Conference
6. had record attendance at all District events.

Rotary was of course in addition to her jobs as Executive Director of the Anderson County, United Way, Mayor of Pendleton, Chair of Advance SC, etc. Congratulations, Carol, on an incredible year.

I also want to thank those who attended the Installation Banquet on June 30. Our guest speaker was a former fraternity brother of mine from the University of Kansas, NBC’s Bob Dotson. Bob spends his lfe telling stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Bob’s book is about storytelling is called “Make it Memorable.” I committed to the audience at the banquet to do everything I can to make this Rotary year memorable.

In June, about 10 people from this District joined 16,000 others at the Rotary International Convention in Birmingham, England. RI did their usual excellent job with the programming. Speakers included the Secretary General of the UN, Chief of UNICEF’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene (or as she said, Taps, Toilets and Soap), Mia Farrow and Jane Goodall.

One of the most compelling speakers was an Englishman named Tom Henderson. Tom realized that in natural disasters, relief agencies provide food, water and medical supplies. However, there was rarely independent shelter for a family. So in 1999, Tom went to the local hardware store and began putting items together: a tent, tools, cooking equipment, fuel, games for the children. He found a box about the size of a trunk and packaged it together into what he called Shelterbox. The first box was delivered in 2001 and since he has distributed over 50,000 boxes and sheltered over 800,000 people in disasters like the 2004 Tsunami, Hurrican Katrina and the earthquakes in China and Pakistan. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

President John Kenny’s theme for 2009/2010 is “The Future of Rotary is In Your Hands.” By that, he means that the strength of Rotary is not in Evanston, or the zones, or even the District. It is in the individual clubs and the impact they have on the world around them.

One of my goals for 2009/2010 is to collect the stories in District 7750. To better do this, I am trying to make most of my official visits in July and August. This will enable me to quickly get to know the clubs and allow more time to attend specific events. As I collect the stories, I will tell them in this newsletter. I will also combine them with the total money raised and manhours expended by our District for an end of the year video.

In the end our worth as an individual or a club is the impact that we have on our families, our friends and the world around us. Rotary in District 7750 is a great story and I will try to do a better job of telling it.

Make it memorable indeed.

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District Governor George Fletcher
Rotary Club of Greenville

205 Rosebay Drive | Greenville, SC 29615
864.380.6392 |DG@rotary7750.org

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