I am honored and humbled to be your District Governor . I
follow in the path of governors who have lived Rotary’s motto and served with
distinction and set a high standard. I have been especially appreciative of the
relationship Past District Governor John Adams, Immediate Past District
Governor Kathryn Hardman, District Governor Elect John Salyers and I have had
over the last couple of years as we have worked together on the various aspects
of Rotary to strengthen the Rotary clubs in our district, expand service in the
name of Rotary and develop future Rotary leaders. I am inspired by the
Rotarians and Rotary clubs who have modeled the way of Rotary in my 34 years as
a Rotarian.
In January of this year, my wife, Kay and I met RI President
Ron Burton and his wife Jetta at the International Assembly training for
District Governors from around the world. There, President Ron announced his
theme for the 2013-14 Rotary year Engage
Rotary, Change Lives. That theme speaks to me as a Rotarian. In many
ways it is a call to action for all us Rotarians. Engagement means making a
connection and becoming involved. I learned that early after being a Rotarian
for only a month and a half and being made co-chair for a new fundraising
project for my then Rotary club in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. President Ron Burton
claims that when “you make the decision to truly engage Rotary – to bring
Rotary service and Rotary values into every day of your life –that is when you
start to see the incredible impact you can have”. That is when we see that we
really can change lives.
I have now just begun to make my visits to our clubs. I have
been awed by the stories I’ve been told of projects and activities and funds
raised to support club projects. These are stories of Rotarians living our
theme. Be it ever so.
Engage Rotary, Change Lives
Jack McAllister
Rotary Club of Lexington, Kentucky USADistrict 6740, Governor 2013-14
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