Every month, 147 of us receive one or more emails from Patti (Patricia Johnson), our hardworking District newsletter editor. She wants us to tell her about the latest news from our clubs—members, events, projects, grants, fundraisers, or anything else we can share in the newsletter that goes to all active and honorary Rotarians and Rotaractors in the District’s 69 clubs.As an End Polio Co-chair (with PDG Frank Adamson) and Coordinator for the District’s new PolioPlus Society, I was surprised and grateful to discover Patti’s enthusiasm for polio-related content. In a world where so many people don’t know about polio or don’t think ‘it is a thing’ anymore, polio is very real for Patti. She wants to inform and educate us because she truly cares about Rotary’s eradication initiative.
Patti recalls that in kindergarten or first grade, she stood in line with other children ages five, six, or seven to receive a sugar cube—an oral polio vaccine (OPV)—in a small white paper cup. There were quarantine signs on houses in her Jamestown neighborhood. During the summer, pools were closed and birthdays (including Patti’s) were cancelled. She remembers a classmate who wore a lift in his shoe. “It didn’t hold him back,” she says. Although he walked with a limp, he ran and played football. Nor did polio have a significant impact on her sixth-grade teacher, a nun who was also a polio survivor. Patti remembers that her parents were scared— “you can’t go there”—because polio was around. She did not see an iron lung, but she certainly recalls the photos.
(Paul Richard Alexander [January 30, 1946 – March 11, 2024] was an American paralytic polio survivor, attorney, and author. After contracting polio in 1952 at the age of six, he spent the remainder—and vast majority—of his life in an iron lung and is currently recognized as the person to have spent the longest period of time occupying one, at almost 72 years. Decades following his disablement, Alexander earned a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor at the University of Texas at Austin and was admitted to the bar in 1986. He self-published a memoir in 2020 and, later in life, built a following on TikTok.)Polio returned to Patti’s radar in the 1980s, at the beginning of Rotary’s polio eradication efforts in the Philippines. When she joined the Rotary Club of Grand Island in 2000, there was not much discussion about polio or appreciation of the important work of The Rotary Foundation. After moving to Buffalo, she joined Buffalo Sunrise and has been a member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus since 2023.
Patti is concerned about the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States. She worries about misinformation and vaccine hesitancy and fears the spread of measles, whooping cough, and hepatitis. It could be only a matter of time before polio is on the rise again in North America. Perhaps her training as a biophysicist influences her thinking. Patti doesn’t want to be political, but she does want to draw our attention to what is happening in the world and to emphasize how urgent it is to support polio eradication.
Like so many in District 7090, Patti’s passion for The Rotary Foundation was ignited by Karen Oakes, who passed away in 2021. Karen’s contributions to Rotary, including serving as District Governor, are numerous. Another powerful influence was Dick Earne, a long-time Rotarian and past District Governor, who introduced the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) to our District. Patti oversaw the program for three years. She has also served as an Assistant Governor. Patti sees both RLI and the role of Assistant Governor as valuable to Rotary.
Patti has been the Foundation Chair for her Rotary club since joining. She is keen to inform her fellow members about the vital role of The Rotary Foundation (TRF) and involvement in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
Like many of us post-pandemic, Patti believes there is something special about in-person versus virtual or screen-based Rotary experiences. She also believes we need passionate individuals to drive awareness and support for The Rotary Foundation and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
Patti took on the role of District newsletter editor about a year and a half ago, shortly after Secretary Pene Hutton retired, and has the experience needed. Some of it has been acquired through helping her husband, David Johnson, with grant writing for Rotary projects related to his humanitarian travel, including trips to Nepal, Ethiopia, and Bangladesh. She truly cares about sharing and highlighting our Rotary stories. Although Patti spends a significant amount of time on the monthly newsletter, she enjoys the work.
Thank you, Patti, for your commitment to District 7090’s Public Relations, The Rotary Foundation and for your passion to End Polio.