I will be brief.  Know that these are personal goals that I hope we accomplish in the next year.  We have an outstanding board.  Our board members are intelligent, goal-directed, and committed.  They will discuss, debate, and eventually give thumbs up or down with modifications:

 

My personal goals for our club revolve around Rotary International’s current Vision Statement:

 

A New Vision Statement for Rotary. At its recent meeting in Atlanta, the RI Board of Directors adopted a new 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."

 

Taking our cue from this vision statement:

 

Goal 1:  Lasting change across the globe:  For me as a pediatrician, this can only mean, for me, a hard participation by our club in the eradication of polio.  This is a noble effort.  Since RI’s effort began in the 1970s, estimates are that more than 18 million people have been spared the ravages and or permanent paralysis or death from polio.  I find acceptance of this goal to be generational.  The younger generation who never saw this disease is clueless.  Examples.  This will be only the second time in the history of mankind that we have eradication a scourge.

 

Goal 2:  Lasting change in our community:  When I was president of Rotary in 1985, our club supported and worked to create a community Foundation, under the leadership of Jack Phillips.  That’s lasting change.  And we did that with an initial investment of only $5,000 from the club.  Now with $14 million dollars plus.  We may never be able to duplicate that success, but we can try.  I propose that we create a 100 for the 100th project, to be announced under the presidency of Ken Farabaugh on the 100th anniversary of our club on November 1, 2020.  The money is there.  We as a club have set aside $50,000 for a worthy project.  We have an additional $30,000+ dollars in our account which we should, as a service club, put to good use.  We would then need to make a pledge of $5,000 per year over 5 years to reach our goal.  We can do this.  We need vision and determination — and the right project that will result in lasting change in our community.

 

Goal 3: Lasting change in ourselves:  Don’t misunderstand me.  This is club, not a church or a self help program.  But I am going to commit to become a better person a year from now than I am today.  This will mean different things to different people.  RI says that these meetings should be fun.  In that vein, what opportunities does Rotary provide for for lasting change in ourselves?  Another way to reformulate this question is: What do people see as the values of belonging to Rotary?  Studies show there are 7:  (1) making a difference in our community; (2) satisfaction of helping others; (3) belonging to a group of 1.2 million people of action; (4) belonging to a group with a charity foundation of more that a billion dollars - which enables the creation of major projects; (5) making life long friends; (6) socializing with them; (7) and at times gaining a different perspective regionally and internationally. It seems to me that here lies ample opportunity for personal growth if we take advantage of them.