Changing Lives Starts Here
E-CLUB PROGRAM
PRESIDING TODAY IS: Diana Martinelli, President-Elect
Ding! We’re now in session.
Welcome all – Visitors, fellow Rotarians and guests alike to this E-Club program!
Remember the smiling pot. Donations to our E-Club help support our service projects.
We’d like to respectfully remind all visitors that if they would like to contribute the normal cost of a meal for your makeup, we would be grateful. These funds go directly to our many and varied service projects around the world. You can make a contribution in the Donation box on the homepage. Or you can write a check to: Rotary E-Club of District 7530 and mail it to Treasurer MSRE, 115 Hoffman Avenue, Morgantown, WV 26505.
Four-Way Test
At the beginning of each meeting we remind ourselves of the The Four-Way Test. Therefore, please remember to ask yourself always . . .
Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
A Reflective Moment
To be truly free, one cannot be in love with money or be afraid of death.
Attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr., by Andrew Young at the 2017 Rotary International Convention
A Light Moment
Now that summer’s officially here and our transportation systems are busier than ever, it’s good to maintain perspective and a sense of humor when traveling. We hope you enjoy the following light-hearted moments, courtesy of Reader’s digest.
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My flight was delayed in Houston. Since the gate was needed for another flight, our aircraft was backed away from the terminal, and we were directed to a new gate. We all found the new gate, only to discover a third gate had been designated for our plane.
Finally, everyone got on board the right plane, and the flight attendant announced: “We apologize for the gate change. This flight is going to Washington, D.C. If your destination is not Washington, D.C., you should deplane at this time.”
A moment later a red-faced pilot emerged from the cockpit, carrying his bags. “Sorry,” he said, “wrong plane.”
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I couldn’t decide whether to go to Salt Lake City or Denver for vacation, so I called the airlines to get prices. “Airfare to Denver is $300,” the cheery salesperson replied.
“And what about Salt Lake City?”
“We have a really great rate to Salt Lake—$99,” she said “But there is a stopover.”
“Where?”
“Denver.”
Program: Changing Lives Starts Here
Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending my first Rotary International convention and seeing first-hand the diversity and passion for service Rotarians embody. Attendance figures were said to be nearly 40,000 for the Atlanta, GA, gathering, with representatives from more than 130 countries! The speakers were impressive too; among them were Andrew Young, well known civil rights activist and politician. Mr. Young spoke fondly of his grandmother, whose blindness, he said, actually blessed him, as she would ask him to read two things to her every day, which served him well: the newspaper and the Bible.
We also heard from James Quincey, president and COO of Coca-Cola, which is based in Atlanta but bottles and distributes its products around the world. Thus, the company contributes much to develop and support clean water supplies, to engage and educate women entrepreneurs, and to support education and economic development both at home and abroad. Actor and activist Ashton Kutcher also was on hand and relayed the shocking tragedies of child sex trafficking and worker slavery. These outrages are occurring everywhere, he said, including here in the United States.
One of the most exciting convention speakers was Bill Gates, who announced his foundation’s commitment of up to $450 million dollars in matching funds to support Rotary’s decades-long fight to end polio worldwide. (See part of the video announcement here!) It was also announced that Canada’s government pledged $100 million to the effort as well, maintaining its early and long support of this important worldwide work. All of the convention speakers acknowledged Rotary’s contributions, leadership, dedication and perseverance in the fight.
Speaker Minda Dentler spoke eloquently about her personal experience with polio: of how she contracted it as an infant, and how her mother couldn’t care for her, so she left her in an orphanage. A couple in Spokane, Washington, adopted her and provided her with the many surgeries she needed just to walk at all. Today, Minda still relies on arm and leg crutches for her mobility. However, despite her physical constraints, her spirit remained undaunted, and she went on to compete in Ironmans, swimming more than two miles with only the use of her arms, hand cycling 112 miles, and then pushing herself in her wheelchair for more than 26 miles!
She is now married and has a daughter of her own. She said when she took the child to get her polio vaccine, she cried with joy all the way home knowing her girl would not have to suffer the challenges she had endured. And, a few years ago, Minda joined Rotary and returned to her native home in India to give the precious vaccine to children there—thus coming full circle in her life. What an inspiration she is! (Read more of her incredible story here.)
Only one disease thus far has been eradicated from Earth: smallpox. Rotary and our partners continue to lead the world to make polio the second. In 1985 when Rotary first started its effort, a thousand children per day were contracting the disease. So far this year, only five cases have been reported! We’re “this close” to our goal!
Still, the vaccinations and education must continue everywhere, and new cases of the disease must be nonexistent for at least three years before the battle will be considered won. This is why Rotary puts such an emphasis on its fundraising to end polio, and one of the many reasons why Rotarians everywhere know they can—and do—make a difference in the world.
That’s why I’m so glad you’ve participated in our E-Club meeting and you’re part of Rotary’s fellowship and service. You will soon be hearing a lot more about Rotary, as they strive to share their efforts with others and invite them to join in the world’s largest service organization via a new media campaign. (See one of the new ads at 7:04 in the video here.) What a small group of individuals cannot accomplish, a large network of them around the world does! As you will hear often in the year to come, we are “People of Action!”
If you’d like to learn more about Rotary in general or you’d like to know more about our E-Club, please feel free to get in touch with me or with any of our officers. We’d love to hear from you!
Thank you for participating in this program!