District 5500 Governor Bruce Monro helped the club induct three new members before sharing his district's goals for this Rotary year.
Club President Cindy Dooling called the meeting to order 7:10 a.m. We recited the “Pledge of Allegiance” and welcomed our special guests in attendance, District 5500 Governor Bruce Monro and Assistant District 5500 Governor Aleta Wiener.
Visit from District 5500 Governor Bruce Monroe
Assistant District Governor Aleta Wiener introduced District Governor Bruce Monro from the Rotary Club of Tubac. Bruce has been with Rotary for 12 years. He’s two-term past president of the Tubac Club. First experience participated in a shoe drive, a Tubac Rotary Club service project, which was his introduction to Rotary. Industrial engineer in his professional career.
Before delivering his message to club members, DG Bruce inducted three new members: Beverly Smithwick, Michael Ottman and Kathy Jorgensen.
DG Bruce said that our new members were joining a community of people who are united by the common idea of service and that “Service Above Self” and the Four-way Test are guideposts. And, that we make this commitment to Rotary also for fun and fellowship.
DG's Message to Marana Rotarians
DG Bruce said he is focused on making District 5500’s resources available to the all the clubs in the District which stretches from Yuma to Tucson to Sierra Vista. Past trainings were either in Tucson or via Zoom and neither were satisfying. This Rotary year, training opportunities are available in Sierra Vista, in Florence, in Tucson, and in Yuma. The District 5500 conference is set for Sept. 25-27 at Tubac GC and Conference center with breakout sessions and special presentations on ShelterBox and Peace and Resolution. Coming in October, the Mexico – USA Friendship Conference is an opportunity where we can learn about potential international projects in Mexico. Last year, District 5500 clubs funded five international/global projects in Mexico. And then in November, District 5500 will host aid station for Ride to End Polio which is held in conjunction El Tour de Tucson.
DG Bruce also touched on his return from the Rotary International conference in Calgary, Canada. More than 60 in attendance hailed from District 5500. He was impressed with the speech from this year’s RI President.
DG Bruce then reminded us that our effort to eradicate polio – which Rotary has fought for 37 years – remains just out of reach, with only two countries polio-endemic, Pakistan and Afghanistan. He fears the commitment to eradicating polio is losing steam because people don’t know or have forgotten about its dangers and the devastating effects of the virus. “We need to get this done,” DG Bruce implored. “My focus is to ask each of you to become members of the Polio Plus club it’s just $100 per year.” (To learn more about Rotary’s efforts to eliminate polio, check out this: https://www.endpolio.org/ ).
A second area of emphasis is club membership, which has been flat for a long time. Membership is dependent on strong clubs and strong community service projects. The opportunity to do good in the community is a driving motivation for new members. The third area of emphasis for DG Bruce is fostering peace which ultimately allows us to tackle big issues such as poverty.
In closing, DG Bruce said that district leadership is here to support clubs, by encouraging us, challenging us, and providing training opportunities. “You are already doing a lot of good things,” DG Bruce said. But let’s keep striving, he added, to fulfill the Rotary Vision Statement: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”
At the end of the meeting, the Marana Rotary Foundation donated $1,000.00 to Polio Plus in honor of Bruce’s District Governorship, and we sent him on his way with a coveted Marana Rotary Club cowbell.
Submitted by Laura Clymer