Where Do I Begin?

There is so much going on in YOUR Rotary district that I truly don’t know where to begin.

  • I am exceptionally proud that our Group Study Exchange has been working hard for months to prepare for an experience that will last a lifetime, and that the four member team (and their Rotary team leader) are motivated and qualified to make the most of the opportunity.  And they are OFF to Central America!
  • I am “Jazzed” (my former students tell me I’m unique in using that word) by the enthusiasm generated within the President-elect field at PETS and SETS.  As good as this year is, I see many wonderful things in store for 2013-14.
  • I am blissed-out (I think I heard that term being used on MTV) that Rotary International has selected one of our own, Past District Governor Raymond Plue, to receive the prestigious Service Above Self Award.
  • I am agreeably shocked that eighty-five Missouri Rotary Clubs will be sending young leaders from our communities to RYLA this year.
  • I am happy that so many clubs participated in RI President Tanaka’s call to arrange a Peace Project for the 2012-13 year.
  • I am flabbergasted by the many formidable projects that clubs have been conducting within their communities – responding to current needs in energetic and inclusive ways. (By the way, bragging about these projects on the District Facebook page and web site is HIGHLY encouraged.)
  • I am stupefied that we have been acknowledged for our works and cooperation by United States Special Operations Command.
  • I am whipsawed (did I make that one up?) by the response of our district to qualify for participation in Rotary Foundation Grants under the new Future Visions certification and administration process.
  • And I am humbled by the people around me – the wonderful people I meet in Rotary.

We still have work to do.  District membership has been drifting lower throughout the year, so please pay special attention to John Caran’s message in this newsletter.  And, we have about $100,000 in Annual Foundation Fund Giving to go if we are to maintain our District’s proud tradition of the $100 per-member level and qualify for a hefty amount of District Designated Funds (DDF) to come back to Missouri projects in 2015-16.

If I were communicating with any other set of people I might have mentally given up on either of these challenges at this point in the fiscal year. But I’m not communicating with any other set of people. I’m communicating with people that routinely make the unbelievable happen.

You know who they are.

Mark Pearce
Governor 2012-13
Rotary District 6080