Building Communities, Bridging Continents

Dave Connelly began his first meeting as Dublin AM Rotary President by giving thanks, making a pledge for the upcoming year, and making a plea for help.

"I thank the outgoing board for their dedication and service and the incoming board for agreeing to serve. I extend a special thanks to Claudia Trusty for putting her heart and soul into the Installation Dinner and for all her great work for the Club, and I'm profoundly grateful that I won't have to follow her as President. Thanks, finally, to Jim Burness, a great mentor and one of the first people I was involved with in Rotary. His presentation at the Installation Dinner was a moving tribute to all the great work done during his term by the highest quality of people.  I'm humbled to stand in front of you when all 124 other people in the Club might be more qualified, but I will work hard so you will all be proud.

We do not have a single signature program.  Our signature is that we are so diverse and deep in our commitment.  Our theme for the year is 'Building Communities, Bridging Continents.' Our depth and diversity make us uniquely qualified to help realize this theme. Thanks for the gifts of your time, talents, and treasures. I hope that as the year goes on, we will all think of how we can be involved in one of our many projects."

Mike Moulton (Dublin Worthington President), Dave Connelly, Pat Knott (Westerville Sunrise President) and District 6690 Governor Calvin Gebhart at the RI Convention in Montreal.

Dave continued by describing his visit to the Rotary International Convention in Montreal.   

"Montreal is a trendy and international city," said Dave. "I'm profoundly grateful for the chance to represent us there."

One highlight of the trip included meeting Rotary International President Ray Klingsmith (3rd from left with Assist Dist. Gov Larry Jenkins, Pat Knott and Dave), "who wanted to know how he could  help all of us at the club level-for the club is the most basic and important unit of Rotary."

Another highlight was hearing the speakers: Queen Noor, "who has been working with Global Zero to help bring a nuclear peace and whose dream is a Rotary chapter in Jerusalem that could bring together the different factions in the city"; Dr. Bruce Aylward, "who announced that he didn't have bad news about polio being on the run.  He had great news:  there were only 30 new cases in the world last year. Rotary may soon realize one of its greatest projects:  the end of polio"; Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea, who explained "how education, especially education of women, will do more than anything else to bring peace to Afghanistan and the world." [Please visit Rotary International to read more about these and other speakers whom Dave discussed: http://www.rotary.org/ .] 

Dave also discussed building friendships in a "city in which to wear a Rotary pin was to make a friend." The members who heard Dave all came away certain that the Club is in good hands. His photos and message were a tribute to Rotary's international message and an inspiration for all of us to be equal to his commitment locally to help "build our community and so to bridge continents."