We had a very successful Annual Dinner a couple of weeks ago.  We met outside, on the grass and under the trees at the south end of the Shrine Club.  Everyone was appropriately spaced apart (social distancing), and everyone wore masks, except when at the podium or when eating (nobody has designed a mask that you can eat through).  Rollies delivered delicious pre-packaged dinners, Duke led an auction that netted $1,287.  Rotarian of the Year and Paul Harris awards were awarded, and board members and committee chairs were recognized.  It was a very successful event (even under normal circumstances), and particular thanks go to Kristine Wentworth and Mary Mortier for putting this all together. 

 

We have been having our Wednesday meetings on Zoom for the past several weeks, and they have been very successful. We have a full slate of guest speakers, thanks to Larry Theye. Everyone has to be responsible for their own lunch (we haven't figured out a way to serve lunch over Zoom), but we usually see at least a couple of attendees eating during the meeting.  If you haven't attended any of these Zoom meetings, please give it a try; they're a lot of fun, and it's really great to see each other's faces.  If you need some help with Zoom, feel free to contact me or John Golden and we can help you. 

 

This is going to be a very odd year.  (I guess that means that I'm going to be a very odd president?)  There will be a lot of challenges ahead (aka opportunities).  We don't know how long the present state of affairs is going to last, but we can expect that it will be a while before we can start holding our regular events the usual way.  I think it will be important for us to replace our normal fundraising events with some sort of alternatives; this maintains continuity from year to year and keeps people connected and involved.  And this is where we can be creative, having fun thinking outside the box.  I mentioned some possible examples at the Annual Dinner.  How about a virtual golf tournament, with golfers reporting their scores (under oath, of course!).  Duke has already discussed some HarborFest ideas, such as a how-to-build-your-boat instructional video.  Perhaps we can replace the pancake breakfasts with a Belfast Rotary cookbook, full of everyone's special recipes.  There are all sorts of possibilities for each of our events.  So until this COVID-19 emergency is under control, I challenge everyone to think creatively and come up with some ideas.  Please let me know of any suggestions you might have.  Together we can have some fun with this and make this a very good year. 

 

Yours in friendship and service,

Richard

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holger Knaack, a member of the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany, has been selected to serve as president of Rotary International in 2020-21.  Knaak has been a Rotarian since 1992 serving in several capacities including as district governor and as a representative for the Council on Legislation.  To build a stronger membership, Knaak says Rotary must focus on Rotaractors into Rotarians and increasing female membership. 

 

Joel Philibert has been selected to serve as District Governor of District 7790.

The theme for Joel's year of service is Rotary Opens Opportunities. Joel encourages clubs to "continue to innovate and be flexible. We need to increase our membership, and to do so we will adapt to today's needs and realities."