The first task for the DG was to award Past President Kelly Alexander for our club's status as first in District 5495 for our contributions in 2018-2019 to the Rotary Foundation. 

 

 

 

 

 

The DG then spent most of his time talking about why Rotary was important to him and explaining the new Vision Statement for Rotary.  The photo shows the statement - 24 words in all - that all have significant meaning. The first key work is "together" which includes Interact, Rotaract, and Rotary. The first two oranizations are important because the youth don't have time or treasure to contribute but they do have talent.  We need to take advantage of those talents if we are to continue to grow our organization.  David emphasized that we no longer focus on Service Above Self, but instead are labeling ourselves as People of Action and hopefully this will appeal to younger people.  He told us that many people in our communities don't know who we are our what we stand for. David encouraged us to be bold and get people aware ( wear our Rotary pins ALL the time for instance). We want to create lasting change across the globe - i.e. ensure sustainability for all our projects. The 6 areas of focus for Rotary are: Promoting Peace; Fighting Disease; Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; Supporting mothers and children; Supporting Education; and Growing local economies.  These are the building blocks for peace.   We need to be BOLD, learn the vision and embrace these words.   

 

 

 

 

 

As a real life example of being BOLD and getting the community to better understand who we are, David wrapped his car to advertise Rotary.  See the photo below.

The honor was awarded at the club's 15 year celebration which was attended by District Governor David Simmer and several other Rotary dignitaries. Barbara Feder, one of the key founders of the club 15 years ago reflected on the early beginnings and how strong the club has become.  During the presentations, Wally Stuebner was awarded the Rotary Contributor of the Year for his vision and hard work to make the Kyrene Golf Classic a huge success.  Fellowship and camaraderie were abundant as everyone enjoyed the fine food at Roy's restaurant.