Newberry Observer

Rotary New Year

When you say, “New Year” most people think of January 1, but, for those in Rotary, we know that the new year really starts in July! Just like January 1, July 1 is full of possibilities, new resolutions and new plans for Rotarians.

Rotary is an international organization and the yearly vision starts with the President of Rotary International, “RI.” This year, RI President Barry Rassin has a vision for Rotarians to “Be the Inspiration.” As he wrote in his theme address, “Rotary service transforms lives and communities. To achieve even more of that truly transformational service, we need to think differently about our role in Rotary, and Rotary’s role in the world. … we need to be the inspiration for positive change, inspiring our clubs, our communities, and our organization to face today’s challenges head on, with courage, optimism, and creativity.”

The vision from Rotary International is meant to focus our attention and efforts both locally and globally.

Each local Rotary club is part of a district and the district has an annually elected Governor. Similar to counties and states. Carol Burdette is our District Governor this year and I’m very excited about Carol being our Governor because this is her second time serving as Governor. She served 10 years ago, in 2008-2009, and this time she has a very clear understanding of her role and responsibilities for the coming year. She said, “Goals are very important to me, and my highest goal this year is to inspire each of you to join me in reaching new heights.” She has developed her own goals for our district and has challenged the 55 clubs to raise $100,000 for CART (Coins for Alzheimer’s Research Trust) in addition to building a ROPES course at Erskine for Rotary Youth Leadership. She knows these are team efforts and is encouraging our club to join with others in our district to develop a district-wide community with a focus on accomplishing large goals.

Your Rotary Club of Newberry has new leadership as well. Mike Reid, inspired by Barry Rassin and Carol Burdette, has taken on the challenge of leading the club for the 2018-2019 year. In his vision, we need our local and regional communities to know more about the Rotary Club of Newberry and its humanitarian services. Additionally, he intends to increase membership engagement and participation in our various service projects. To help him on his journey is Vic Terrana (Director of Club Administration), Ambria Lanteigne (Director of Membership), Laura Garland (Director of Club Relations), Scott Bellows and John Glover (Directors of Community Service) and Beverly Leslie (Director of Vocational Services and New Generation). The officers this year include Christy Pomeroy (President Elect), Kimberly Kitchens (Immediate Past President), Kathy Fuller (Secretary) and Debbie Hartness (Treasurer).

As a member of the board, I believe this is going to be a great year because we have amazing leadership and, more importantly, we have a fabulous team of Rotarians that make up the Rotary Club of Newberry. I look forward to reporting back to you on upcoming service projects, amazing events and club accomplishments. If you are interested in learning more about the amazing team or participating in one of our projects, reach out to us on Facebook, or stop me on the street (this is a small town you know!) and just ask me how you can get involved.

https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/web1_bw-profile-original.jpg

Christina Pomeroy

Contributing Columnist

Christina Pomeroy is the chair of the public relations committee for the Newberry Rotary Club.