TEN REASONS TO INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN ROTARY
By
Norma Taylor Roderique
WHAT IS ROTARY?
ROTARY is a Challenge.
The initial invitation to join Rotary was not sent to me. My co-author invited my
then-husband. He declined, and I called back and asked if I could join. (Dead silence.)
Finally, my friend, Mac, said he “guessed it would be okay.” This was back in 1988
when women in Rotary were only beginning to be recognized. Not only did I meet
many new friends, but I also felt that being a member of a Rotary club and meeting
other professional people, I advanced my own career.
ROTARY is a Match Maker.
My third year in Rotary I was elected President of my club, Phoenix Arcadia. One of
my duties was to attend PETS. I met my current wonderful husband at that PETS
when he announced from the podium that I had lost a library book and asked the
audience to return it to me if found. I had no idea at that time about my future with
Ron. I had told Ron that a disagreement with my business partner that was
upsetting, and he offered to take me to dinner. The rest, as they say, is history.
There have been many more romances and marriages between Rotarians.
ROTARY is a Catalyst for Making Friends.
As Past President (and now Past District Governor) I have met and retained literally
hundreds of wonderful people who are now in Rotary. Some are in Arizona but
many of them are scattered around the world: Scotland, Pakistan, Ireland, Australia,
Mexico.
ROTARY is a Travel Agent.
Rotary helped arrange my trip to Pakistan, which was a very entertaining,
enlightening and educational trip. Also I traveled International Conventions in
Mexico City; Nice, France; Glasgow, Scotland; Singapore (with a side trip to Bali, sort
of a honeymoon for me and Ron), San Antonio, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; and
Barcelona, Spain. These are trips and adventures I likely would never have
experienced were it not for Rotary.
ROTARY helps to trace Ancestry.
When I traveled to Ireland with my three grandchildren in 1994, I did a Rotary
make-up at the Carlow Rotary Club. Carlow is the town where my paternal
ancestors lived. They told me if I could get the names of first immigrants to the U.S.
and the names of their parents, they could take me back 400 or 500 years. Thus I
researched the names of those first ones that I knew of and Ancestry took my
paternal relative back to 1460.
The second trip to Ireland was with Ron ten years later. Once again we attended the
Carlow Rotary Club. (The first time I was told they had never had a woman in the
room before. I advised them that the ones who required resuscitation that time
perhaps should stay home that day because I was coming back as a Past District
Governor with my husband who was also a PDG.) We were seated next to a Nolan
(my ancestral family name) and he turned out to be a member of the Irish
Parliament. He arranged for a private tour of the Parliament Building the following
day, which happened to be my birthday. What a birthday gift! Once again, thank you,
Rotary.
ROTARY builds villages.
A Rotary Matching Grant was put together to build 65 homes in the Sierra Norte de
Puebla. Rotarians in the area raised funds to build additional houses and the last I
was notified there were 112 houses. Instead of shacks made of cardboard and
corrugated tin, the residents live in very nice sturdy homes. They had not only been
given houses; they had been given hope. Now the villagers have paved the streets,
they have electricity and cell phones, and some of the children have gone on to
university, all this because Rotary gave them a boost up in their lives.
ROTARY is healing.
When I had my throat surgery I had letters, e-mails and phone calls from all over the
world. I cannot describe what a difference it made to me to hear from so many
Rotarians. I really believe Rotary helped me to heal.
ROTARY changes lives.
I do not mean only how it has changed my life or Ron’s, or any of you out there, but
how it has improved the lives of many, not just Rotarians, but families whose
children will never have polio because of Rotary, live in new homes instead of
shacks, and young people will continue to come to the USA as Exchange Students
and experience other countries they would never see were it not for Rotary.
ROTARY advances technology of members.
Rotary now has a number of eClubs, and Rotarians from all over the world can
“meet” by computer. Members who are ill and unable to attend their own club or do
a make-up can log on to an e-Club, read the program, see the comments by others,
and make new friends from all over the world. My eClub has members in eleven
countries on six continents. In my case it the Rotary eClub of the Southwest made it
possible for me to remain in Rotary after my surgery and during my recuperation
time.
ROTARY stretches one’s imagination.
As a member of the eClub I have developed an alter ego: Miss Truly Candid, spinster
lady, society editor of the Podunk Pines Weekly Newspaper. Miss Truly has
contributed numerous programs about her area, her best friend, Miss Ima Gossip,
and about how a Rotary Club has formed in her area. Writing these stories has been
the most fun I have had in a long time.
SO………ISN’T ROTARY GREAT!!! INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN!