District Governor's Message - February 2022

February is an important month with our World Peace and Understanding Event.  Our clubs are adapting, using their creativity in meetings, socials and service projects. Interactors and RYLA participants bring us great joy. Their optimism is contagious.
 

On the Rotary calendar, February is Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution Month and District 7780 had planned a World Peace and Understanding dinner on February 22.  Because of present Covid virus levels in the community, this will be a virtual program.  This is the responsible thing to do at this time. We hope more of you will be able to join us. 
 

I am optimistic about the progress of the Covid virus now and believe we are headed for a significant reduction in the very near future, so I encourage every club to start planning for more in-person meetings, service projects, and social activities.  Service is the lifeblood of Rotary, but the social interactions make it special.  I would love to see this spring be the rebirth of all the wonderful interactions we have with each other and the community.
 

Rotary Youth Leadership Award is a program we have had for many years and District 7780 is recognized as having one of the best programs in the country.  We are recruiting now and want to have a full camp with 12 Leadership Exploration Groups (LEGs) totaling 144 campers.  I have had the pleasure of working with our new camp directors Emily Rumble and Sam Klemarczyk, https://ryla7780.org/our-team/ .  As many of you know, we did not have RYLA last year but we still conducted RYLA training for all the staff, so we have not missed a beat on staff development.  Our target is to have most campers recruited and selected by February 24 so we can plan for camp June 26-30.

Spring will also see several Interact clubs doing Purple Pinky Projects.  During January several club Interact coordinators got together to talk about this fun activity.  York Rotary Club and Yarmouth Rotary have experience with a Purple Pinky event, and they shared tips and tricks with the coordinators.  If you do not know what a Purple Pinky event is, I hope your Interact club invites you to join in one.
 

Club meetings around the district have been evolving to meet the needs of members.  Several clubs now have typical club meetings twice per month and then meet for service and/or social during the off weeks.  Some clubs are experimenting with variable meeting schedules alternating morning, noon and evening.  Other clubs are in person only, many are hybrid in-person/Zoom and a few are Zoom only.  Others report they are trying new venues and changing up the offering at the same time.  Some clubs require vaccinations and masking and others use other options to stay safe.  Some clubs have food and others do not.  I find this to be wonderful as each club is trying to maximize the experience for their members.  We have all heard the saying “Variety is the Spice of Life” but I never anticipated this would also apply to Rotary Clubs.  Change is working, so keep it up to find what works best for your club.