February 27th through March 4 is Rotary District 5840 Service Project Week. Rotary clubs all around District 5840 can maximize opportunities around service projects in local communities or even combine projects with several clubs. Please use local social media to push efforts and information on all the great work Rotarians are doing in the community. This of course is centered around Rotary Service Project Day at McAllister Park that is sponsored by the San Antonio Rotary Club on 4 March. Registration for this project starts at 9:00 a. with work efforts going from 10a.m. – 2p.m. More details the park sign-up can be found at this link https://rotary5840.org/event/rotary-day-sa-2023/
The Rotary International theme for February is Peace Building and Conflict Prevention. Please focus some club talks, efforts and discussions around Peace building and conflict prevention.
In my view, one of the most rewarding benefits about being a Rotarian is meeting amazing people. Just this week, I had an opportunity to visit the Rotary Club of Kenedy, Texas. The Rotary Club of Kenedy is celebrating 100 years in Rotary with the big celebration event this month. This club is a proud club with years of accomplishments in the community. During this visit, I also came across Rotarian Tobe Ricks. Toby has been a member of the Rotary Club of Kenedy for Twenty-Five years and could play the Piano very well. This was one of those singing Rotary clubs that many people talked about as I visited Rotary Clubs. When talking with Toby, I learned he played several musical instruments. I was fascinated how someone could learn several musical instruments. I quickly learned, it was not just one instruments that Toby played but four or five. During the conversation with Tobe, he mentioned that his father was also a Rotarian, and he continued to say his grandfather was also a Rotarian. Later, during a telephone conversation, Tobe said his father was a Rotarian during the 1930s and his grandfather during the 1920’s in Kenedy, Texas. The grandfather worked in farming, ranching and oil while his father was in the military and lived in Alaska eventually returning to Kenedy, Texas. I started to think of the Ricks family Rotary legacy over the years and noticed important events in our history like, The Great Depression of 1929, World War One (WWI 1914-1918) and World War Two (WWII 1939-1945) that this family has endured. The Ricks family Rotary legacy has passed from grandfather to father and now to the son, Tobe. The family did experience some breaks from Rotary during difficult times in history but endured and stayed with Rotary over time. Imagine, all the good this family accomplished over the many years with partners in Rotary such as the Rotary Club of Kenedy. Imagine, the many lives changed, opportunities for children, efforts eradicating Polio and good for all through Rotary over the years. Such an amazing gift to meet all the members of the Rotary Club of Kenedy. An extra special gift hearing the legacy of the Ricks family in Rotary. The legacy continues…Imagine Rotary.