We visited our 22nd club in District 7750 today at the downtown Rotary Club of Spartanburg. This mighty club was charted on April 1, 1916 (95 years old) , is now comprised of over 180 members, and meets at the prestigious Piedmont Club. Three PDGs were present today -- Paul Wilson (1990-91), Bill Monroe (1994-95), and Jack Blasius (1995-96). The club was thrilled to welcome back PDG Paul Wilson who returned today for his first club visit since having a stroke several months ago.
I was honored to be able to recognize PDG Paul Wilson as the club's Notable Rotarian! I generally recognize the Notable Rotarian and present the certificate about half way through my presentation. Since Paul was in a wheelchair today, I enjoyed leaving the elevated platform to personally present the certificate to him. PDG Paul Wilson is truly a remarkable Rotarian!He has been a member since July 1, 1972, served as a District Governor in 1990-91, and recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow. He received his higher education at Wofford College and worked for the Draper Corporation for many years as a division manager. The Draper Corporation thought so much of Paul that they established a scholarship fund just for him while he was in college. Paul is married to Dottie and has 3 children. Paul, we were thrilled to see you back at the club meeting today! Thank you for your great service to Rotary!
The Spartanburg Rotary Club board has big plans for the 2011-12 year. The even celebrated their big plans by firing a confetti gun during the meeting (see below)! They will continue to sponsor scholarships, participate in Salvation Army bell ringing, support PolioPlus efforts, work on clean water projects internationally, and generously contribute to The Rotary Foundation. They plan to work hard on increasing membership and diversity. I was pleased to see several young professionals in the club and was very appreciative when President Tony Fisher introduced me as a "young man". Now that I am getting letters from the AARP asking me to join their organization and receiving senior discounts at some restaurants, I enjoy being referred to as a "young man"!
I have been able to slowly reduce the number of slides in my presentation and was pleased to finish today with 3 minutes left. Several members came up to talk after the meeting adjourned to express their desire to meet my major goals for the year. I even had the opportunity to speak with the Mexican consulate who was visiting the club today. The greatest compliment to me was the request to send my PowerPoint presentation for later use in the club.
Today was a very special day in Spartanburg for me. I am proud to be a part of an organization that truly makes a difference in the lives of people in the club's local community as well as people around the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment