Governor’s Message
By Peggy George

As I watch July 1 draw increasingly closer, I realize with amazement that my three years in the “Governor Track” are almost over. That’s how long it takes to work through Governor Nominee, Governor Elect, and FINALLY, Governor. And what a three years it has been…what a privilege to get to know so many of you…and work with you…and celebrate the wonderful work that Rotary does, not only in each of our communities but around the world. That’s one of the beautiful benefi ts of Rotary. It lifts our eyes beyond our own self-serving thinking and gives us a way to truly reach out to every corner of the world with the united strength of our Rotary family.

We have had a good year, although we’re still short of our Foundation goal, and there are still a few clubs out there who have chosen not to participate in the annual programs of Rotary. As I have told every club that I have visited (and that’s all 77 of them and I’ve been to some of them several times) our $100 Every Rotarian Every Year requires less than $10 per month for us to achieve our goal. It’s so little but it can do so much! What would you give to save a life, give sight to the blind, provide clean water for dying children, and make possible the hundreds of other worthwhile projects our Foundation gifts accomplish? Even at this late date, I urge every club to consider making a gift of some kind to help us do the work of Rotary. There should never be a zero-giving club in this District even if it’s a token amount.

It occurred to me that NO ONE has worked harder this year than our beloved PDG Gerald Harp who has served on our Annual Giving Committee with Don Wasson this year. He has continually reminded, encouraged, and practically begged all of us to get on board. And he has led by example, year after year, with his total giving approaching three million dollars. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful tribute to this faithful Rotarian in his time of struggle and pain if we could have an outpouring of giving in his honor toward our District APF (Annual Programs Fund) Foundation goals? Wouldn’t it be a blessing for him to know we actually achieved our District goal and that there were NO NON-GIVING CLUBS in our District because he encouraged us? We have just a few days left to make it happen. Will you help?

Well, as I bid a fond farewell and ride into the sunset, I just want to tell you that it has been a pleasure and privilege to serve you this past year as District Governor. You have honored the offi ce of Governor and welcomed me into your clubs, and I feel as though I have 5,000 new family members. Thank you for all you do for Rotary. We are making the world a better place, and each one of you is a signifi cant part of that accomplishment. I urge you to support Ellis in the coming year. Because of Gerald Harp’s generosity three years ago during his term as Governor, we have more funding available for projects than we have ever had in this District. But it only happens if the clubs take the initiative and get those projects rolling. So go out there and make it happen and be proud of Rotary!

A special thanks to our Newsletter Editor: I want to express my deep gratitude to Steve Reid, our tireless newsletter editor who has faithfully served us for the past four years. Steve has invested thousands of hours in helping gather the news, shoot photos, and do the graphics for our monthly (or bi-monthly) newsletters. He donates his time and talents spending twenty to forty hours in production for each issue. It has been my pleasure to work with him for the last year, and I cannot say enough about his dedication, his commitment to Rotary, and his fantastic talent. We are blessed to have a man of his caliber in our District who cares so deeply about our organization and the quality of the product.
Please continue to support him in this coming Rotary year by providing news and photos about your events, both work and play, so that our Rotary family can share with one another the successes of our organization. If you have not signed up to receive the newsletter electronically on a monthly basis, please contact Steve to do so. He can’t send it if you don’t ask, so DO IT TODAY.