District Governor Huston encourages us to explore all Rotary has to offer.
Rotary District 6600 Governor Carolyn Huston says she started out in Rotary just like we did. She joined the Lorain Rotary Club in December 1999 and quickly realized, "This is a really nice bunch of people." Rotary's mission to eradicate polio quickly struck a special chord with Carolyn because her mother's twin sister has polio. "Because of Rotary's commitment, I never worry about my children, and I've never worried about my grandchildren getting it."
Carolyn really started getting involved in Rotary when she attended a district conference and offered to help our own Bob Ruehl with international service. He convinced her to attend a UNIENDO Project Fair and see what true need there is in the world. Carolyn got involved with a group of schools that wanted create a mobile library in Central America. That experience got her hooked. She had a life changing experience in Honduras working on the same sanitation project that the Lima Rotary Club was involved with and seeing that her efforts were providing necessities to people who lacked something as basic as a toilet. While there she fell ill and ended up in the hospital. She was overwhelmed with the way the local Rotarians cared for her and helped her through her sickness. "Rotary truly connects the world. We are all Rotarians and we are all a big family."
Carolyn challenged us to get more involved and go to at least one district event this year. "Having the nerve to say, 'Can I help with that?' totally changed the trajectory of my life. Grandmas from northern Ohio don't typically have these stories to tell. Why not come out and get together with people who also share your same values and goals?" She says the District Conference is a great place to start. It's May 1 & 2 at Maumee Bay State Park. You can find information here: https://rotarydistrict6600.org/district-conference/
Also at Monday's meeting, Tammie Colon received her Paul Harris Fellow pin and Bob Komminsk received his Paul Harris Fellow +1 pin. And Tracie Sanchez gave us an update on the Rotary Community Stage and Park. We have raised just over $80,000 of the $2.5 million project. Site clearing begins immediately following today's meeting and will take about 2 weeks. We hope to begin construction next year.