DG Dave's May Message

I have always considered May as the month that is full of possibilities. All the days in May get longer as nature explodes into green. Naturally then, Rotary’s May theme is Youth Service. I hope you and your clubs will shine in this area and share the year-round and seasonal youth opportunities with your community partners. For those that want to grow a strong youth focus…please consider the range of options available to you – like how to add an Interact program for example, or consider the Youth Exchange program. Moreover, young leaders are looking for networks and career start connections. Does your club stress this aspect to a potential young member? And hey, what club might have the audacity to start a Rotaract club?

For those club leaders, or those aspiring to be, I am asking you to complete the requirements for the Rotary Club Excellence Award over the next 60 days. Overachievers will also finish up the Lighthouse Award requirements. Ensure you work with your AG to get these tasks done!

I want to thank everyone who helped organize the District Conference in early April. For the couple of dozen people who got involved in early January and stuck with it to bring this meeting to life - I appreciate the time and effort of each and every person. Great job! The idea was to bring Rotarians and non-Rotarians together to discuss volunteering issues common to all of us as well as explore the magic of partnerships - Working Together Works Better. I think we checked that box. I hope people got a few fresh ideas out of our speakers and that the interactivity, fellowship, and fun was well worth the trip. We had a mini-trade show that featured a number of community projects and initiatives, a workshop on ClubRunner, and an extensive session for our youth participants. We bookended the experience with a great party on Friday night for our Best of Friends Heritage Endowment Fund and a cool afterparty with music trivia, bocce, and corn hole.