A Farewell Note from District Governor Marty Peak Helman

Dear Rotarians:

It has been an honor to serve as your District Governor this year.  It has been a year of creating Rotary miracles in our own backyard and across the globe, of hard work and good fellowship and in the process, of creating many marvelous memories.

Recently, I was asked to name the one thing that excited me most about the year.  Unfortunately, I cannot.  There have been so many remarkable events:  Starting the year with RI President Sakuji Tanaka as our guest at the multidistrict Changeover and then hosting RI Vice President-elect Anne Matthews at our District Conference! Honoring World Peace and Understanding Day with our District's first-ever Frugal Feast plus District-wide service project carried on in our own hometowns!  Experiencing the excitement as we prepared for the new Rotary Foundation Grants model and so many Rotarians became more fully aware of the possibilities the grants model offers! Partnering the GSE experience with a Matching Grant, as well as the other Foundation Grants that were initiated here in the District this year!  Hosting a Friendship Exchange with the Gulf Coast and a District Service Tour to Guatemala!  The list goes on and on.

And none of these events would have been possible without you.  That's because a District Governor is only as productive as the leadership team and club Rotarians with whom she works.  And I've had the privilege of working with you.

The Rotary work continues: I know that many clubs (including my own) are counting the cash in their Polio Plus cans and making a "last call" for Annual Giving donations to make sure that their goals and pledges are fulfilled.  For it to count as part of this fiscal year's giving, checks must be postmarked by the end of the month; monies given on-line must be authorized before month's end.  If all the pledges I have heard about do indeed come in, this District will post strong giving to The Rotary Foundation this year.  That would be the most exciting event of all, since The Foundation is the basis of all the good we do in the world.

Rotary is a continuum, and, as our Longhaulers Luncheon so clearly proved, for many of us a livelong commitment..  Starting in just over a week, the District gavel will pass to Carolyn Johnson.  Carolyn is a great Rotarian and a close friend: Another exciting event this year was been the privilege of working so closely with her and the rest of the senior team.  I look forward to Carolyn's leadership, and I am excited by the opportunities the new year will bring as we Engage Rotary, Change Lives.   

Marty Peak Helman
District 7780