President's Message June 2012
June in Ohio, what a great time of year. Everything is green, flowers are blooming everywhere you look, people are starting to gather outside again and everyone seems to smile a little more or a little bigger for no reason other than the sun is shining.
For Rotary, June is also a changing of the leadership of our club. I must admit I am sorry to see this year pass so quickly. When I look back over the last 335 days of my life, they have been some of the most rewarding and inspiring I have ever experienced and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
You people are simply amazing to me and for a person like me to be associated with people like you is a distinct honor and sincere pleasure. All you good people do is accomplish everything you put your mind, body and soul to doing, which is quite a talent to have.
In the last year, I have had the privilege of watching this club soar to some amazing new heights: the Chili Open had its best year ever, we inducted 25 new members into the club, we raised over $12,000 for the Rotary Foundation (above and beyond what we raised for the Chili Open), another record by at least 2x the previous amount, we completed the renovation of every cabin and our bathhouse at the camp, we put dictionaries in the hands of hundreds of Akron Public School Students (many of whom it is their only book), we raised a lot of money for the Salvation Army, we gave away more high school scholarships that I can ever remember, and we helped the district secure a major PR grant. While those are just some of the highlights, that certainly is not an exhaustive list of all the good work our club or our individual Rotarians have accomplished over the last year, and quite frankly, those accomplishments are just too numerous to mention in a newsletter.
Many of you have heard me say that sometimes in life the words “Thank You” seem incredibly insufficient for the acts of kindness, compassion and commitment I experience on a regular basis at Rotary and that sentiment is certainly true of my experience as your President.
While admittedly not sufficient, I hope you will accept this newsletter as my “Thank You” for all that you have done, how strong you have made this club and for all that you have done for others this year. You have touched me in a way that I can never explain or repay.
While my time as President is coming to a close, I am so very excited about Bill’s term and all the new energy and ideas he and his team will undoubtedly bring. Bill delights in telling everyone he takes my lackluster ideas and makes them exciting and exponentially better and honestly he is right. I cannot wait to see how impressive this club is 365 days from now.
Let’s all support Bill and his team next year and see what new heights we can achieve in the 2012-2103 year.
Lastly, please never stop telling the story or protecting the legacy. Our clubs story is compelling, impressive and downright outstanding and every time we tell it, people want to be a part of the team.
Way to go everyone. Thanks again for an awesome year! I am humbled and honored to have served.
All my best!
Download the website sponsorship guide