The Rotary Club of Easton celebrated the end of one Rotary year and the beginning of a new one. Outgoing Governor Bob Hobaugh was on hand as well as incoming Governor Len Gieseler. Past Governor Cindy Hornaman was also present. Highlighting the day was a long- awaited appearance by Past Rotary International Director Jeffry Cadorette. In his capacity as an RID, Jeffry oversaw 43 Rotary Districts stretching across 5 time zones.
The biggest external challenge facing Rotary is still the eradication of polio. Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two endemic countries. There have only been 8 cases so far this year. The biggest internal challenge to Rotary remains the shrinking membership, particularly here in North America. We routinely take in over 100,000 new members every year and yet we are losing ground. This indicates a retention problem. Another problem is attracting younger members. The young professionals are increasingly unlikely to join a legacy-style Club.
Fortunately, Rotary International has been heavily pro-active in encouraging the formation of new styles of Clubs. Many new Clubs meet electronically. Some new Clubs are “cause-based”, focusing on things like veterans or the environment. The important thing to remember is WHY it is so important to keep bringing people into Rotary. The reason is we are needed more than ever. There are millions of people in need. Some are within 5 miles and some may be 10,000 miles away. All of these people in need are staring at a world in which they are helpless by themselves. They need someone to bring them hope. That is what Rotarians do.
One of Jeffry’s newest endeavors is his position on the Board of ShelterBox USA. Easton Rotary presented him with a $4,000 check representing our 2021-22 contribution to this amazing organization. This donation earned our Club recognition as a Silver Hero. District 7430 is still the number 1 District in the United States for ShelterBox support. This year our total contributions topped $110,000. Our Rotary Foundation remains one of the top-rated charitable organizations in the world. We need to find a better way to tell our story. We need to reach outward and spread our message. We need to do this because the people of the world are waiting for us. And for the millions of people in need, the time is now. The time is always now. Rotary Service: It was time again for another round of Rotary jewelry. PRID Jeffry presented BJ & Kristie Metz with their Major Donor pins signifying they reached the lifetime total of $10,000 donated to the Rotary Foundation.