Wow, what an amazing Rotary District 5840 District Conference! We had 200 Rotarian's from the District attend this event at the UTSA R.A.C.E. center. A special thank you to PDG Jan Livingston (District Conference Chair) and the entire District Conference Committee for doing such an amazing job in organizing the event. Clearly, an event this size can not happen without a committee doing great work up front, during and after the conference.
UTSA opened their doors for our district and blessed us with Coach Carol Price-Torok as the District Conference Keynote Speaker. The Coach covered key leadership points and the pillars she focuses on in coaching Volleyball at UTSA
During the District Conference, I was honored to present some amazing awards to Rotarians who have worked very hard this year. Rosie Ramirez was awarded the prestigious "Rotarian Of The Year" award. Max El Tawil was awarded the coveted "Rotary Club President of the Year" award. The "Rotary Club of the Year" award went to the Rotary Club of Fredericksburg Nimitz under the leadership of Club President Cindy Turner. The "Assistant Governor of the Year" was awarded to Sarah Eckart-Maurer from the Fredericksburg Morning Club. The District Golden Leadership Award went to PDG Jerry Hardy. In addition, Leadership awards went to Pam Blankenzee, Susan Burkholder, and Johanna Crespo-Quinones. We also had an opportunity to present the "Rotary Rockstar Challenge" Awards to many Clubs.
As we get near the end of the Rotary year we need to stay focused on our goals. Fellow Rotarians often say the Rotary year is almost done. I return by saying, we are not finished until the last day of our Rotary year. In other words, we still have work to be done. District membership is steady but we need to continue to retain our current members while drawing in new members. Focus, focus, and focus with a kind smile. We have almost reached our goal in Polio Plus with 92 percent of the goal reached. However, we still have 21 clubs who need to turn in contributions. All of us in the District can help with Foundation contributions by enrolling in Rotary Direct. The District still needs about 75 new members to enroll in Rotary Direct to reach our Rotary Direct sign-up goal. In Foundation giving, we have reached about 82 percent of our goal. So, we still have a little work in this area. Keep in mind, our District goals are the goals of each and every club combined together. We are close to reaching every goal but have just a little more work. I am so proud of all the amazing accomplishments by Rotarians in the District. I see people working hard in their communities with pride in Service-Above-Self.
DG Dwayne Hopk