District Governor Jon Catlin 2020-2021
Happy Birthday to Rotary:
Today is a great day, the sun is out and it is the 116th Anniversary of Rotary. Also, the first dose of vaccine for Polio was administered to children today at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, PA in 1954.
The Tragic Yet Fascinating History Of The Polio Vaccine (ranker.com) nothing about how Rotary helped to distribute the vaccine and to take it on as a major focus of our organization but we do what we do for the benefit of others not for accolades.
March is Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Month. So many good things that Clubs are doing and have to possibility to do. There are projects all over the world working with Clubs that are helping to bring clean water and sanitation stations to communities that need it. The CDC estimates that worldwide 780 million people do not have access to an improved water source. An estimated 2.5 billion people lack access to improved sanitation (more than 35% of the world’s population!). An estimated 800,000 children younger than 5 years of age perish from diarrhea each year, mostly in developing countries. This amounts to 11% of the 7.6 million deaths of children under the age of five and means that about 2,200 children are dying every day as a result of diarrheal diseases. These statistics are staggering and we are and will continue to work on reducing these deaths and improve access to improved water sources and sanitization.
Speaking of water and the importance of clean water, I hope you and your Club will join me on April 24th for the Rotary Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup. Any amount of clean up helps with keeping trash out of our waterways which all flow to the Great Lakes. Approximately 20% of the freshwater of the world is located in our Great Lakes. This is a precious resource that we need to protect and with The Rotary Foundation’s new focus on the Environment starting on July 1 in the new Rotary year, we believe the clean-up will be a great kick start to the year.
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Speaking of The Rotary Foundation we are part of a Zone project for May 12th from 8-9pm. It will be a Foundation Gala with some worldwide speakers, entertainers, and Rotary members. I hope you will join me in attending the event. The cost is $110, but $100 will be credited to your Rotary Foundation giving meaning if you have not yet sent in your Every Rotarian, Every Year contribution, this will make it whole.
We also have an exciting event for you on April 15, 17, and 18th. Our District Conference will be held virtually on Thursday Evening, Saturday Morning and Sunday Morning. So much great information will be shared. I hope you can join us for an informative and fun event!
I want to extend my congratulations to our District Governor Elect, Gary Chenoweth, as he has completed his District Governor training for this upcoming year at Virtual International Assembly. RI President Elect Shekhar Mehta unveiled the theme for the next Rotary Year of “Serve to Change Lives”. I believe that we can all get behind this theme as we work to improve our communities and the world. The President Elects will be attending MEGA PETS this year virtually and hear from RIPE Mehta, RIPN Jennifer Jones, and many other great speakers. We encourage your Clubs to send their President-Elect but also the President Nominee!
Our District is working hard to come up with the District Training for our PE’s and others and more information should be out soon. Thank you to District Educational Specialist Mark Andresky and DGE Gary Chenoweth and of course, our own District Administrator Kathy Hegedus for a program that will knock it out of the park.
The pitchers and catchers have reported to spring training for baseball so spring should be here soon and with it, I hope that your Rotary Club can meet in person at a park or wherever soon and safely. This past year has been a challenge, a learning opportunity, and Rotary has stepped up in so many ways to Open Opportunities. Until I get the chance to visit your Club in person, stay safe, stay healthy and I am going to enjoy my afternoon lemonade.
