We can all be inspired by our new Rotary International President Jennifer Jones and all the work being done around the world. Her Imagine Rotary theme is catching on fast with its seven orbiting dots representing the 7 global areas of focus.
Rotarians in our district continue to be very impressive as well. From the news stories you submit we see our clubs emerging strong from the pandemic and resuming their legacy of good deeds. The Service-above-self attitude is a strong tradition in South Central Texas. As I travel the beautiful byways of Texas I’ve had the honor to visit with Rotarians in Del Rio, San Antonio’s Dominion, Canyon Lake, and several other clubs. I cannot help but feel the energy of as we Imagine Rotary in our community. I see Rotarians helping needy communities with school supplies projects, scholarships programs and planning their polio plus FUNdraisers. All that you do is inspiring and I look forward to eventually meeting all of you in person.
As we continue to Imagine Rotary in our lives and communities, please think about simplifying your life with automatic contributions to The Rotary Foundation through the Rotary Direct Program at https://my.rotary.org/en/rotary-direct. You can save time and lives through your contributions to the Foundations with either a one-time annual gift or a monthly recurring gift like I do. It’s easy to set up.
RI and your District provides great opportunities to learn more about Rotary. Rotarians can learn more via RI’s online “Learning Center”. You log into your “My Rotary” website at https://my.rotary.org/en/ and select Learning & Reference. This amazing site has almost every topic from district grants to club leadership roles. You can also either attend the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) in person or via Zoom. The next in person (and frankly more fun) class will be held at the Spring Creek United Methodist Church near Fair Oaks Ranch on Aug 20, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. There are also fun “Lone Star” Zoom sessions conducted with other districts found at https://lonestarrli.com/
The Rotary theme for August is Membership and Club Development. As a past club president, I know that membership retention and growth is always on your mind so let me just share an analogy. Students are returning back to school all excited. Parents are excited too on getting the kids out of the house. Recall the excitement when you were invited to become a new Rotarian or upon relocating to a new town and finding a new Rotary club. You and your members can be a spark that creates that same excitement. Simply remind your members caring about their own club is accomplished through sharing their excitement with others.
Lastly, thank you for the opportunity to see first-hand all the amazing work being done in our communities. Clearly, every Rotarian in our district is an inspiration to the world on what we can do as we put all our effort together as one. Simply put, you Rotarians are amazing. As our Rotary International President Jennifer Jones says…”Imagine Rotary”.
DG Dwayne Hopkins