A Message from the Club President

First of all, I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your President for this coming Rotary Year.  Our theme for the year as chosen by RI  President D. K. Lee is Make Dreams Real. 

In President Lee's speech during the closing session of the RI convention, he said the following:  "All over the world, Rotary means hope. It means health and literacy. It means honesty and fellowship. It means the courage to make things better. All over the world, there are people whose lives are different, whose lives have been touched, and transformed, because of Rotary. But as much as Rotary service changes the lives of others, it changes our own lives more.  Rotary changes who we are because it changes how we see ourselves and the world."

Those words spoke volumes to me.   I am proud to call myself a Rotarian, not because I belong to a Rotary Club, but because of what we as Rotarians have accomplished and will continue to accomplish in the coming years.  I often comment that I was inducted into Rotary in the year 2000; however, many of you have heard me say, that I became a Rotarian in 2005.   I give that credit to Bob Kendrick.  

You see, during those first 5 years, I came to the weekly meetings; my attendance was pretty good, and I volunteered for committees, but I never quite got what it meant to be a Rotarian.  In 2005 Bob Kendrick asked me to co-chair the New To You Sale, which was the start of an annual fundraiser.  The object was to re-sell used sporting goods equipment.  This was the first time I helped chair anything and frankly, I didn't know what I was doing.  But Bob was right there by my side all the way. 

Now I think most people would say it wasn't a huge financial success, but it was a great success in a lot of ways.   For me, it was the day everything turned around.   Friendships were made that are still in place today, and I have no doubt will be in place for many years to come.   Most of all, it was a great success in that members of our Club pulled together to plan and implement a fundraiser, and it took a lot of people to make it happen.   Just like it takes a lot of people to build a house, have an auction, fly veterans to Washington DC.  None of these activities can be done with a few people.  As a friend of mine likes to say......"it takes a village".   And I like to think of our Club as my village.

When Jim Efland called and asked me to accept the nomination as President-Nominee for the Club, it was not a decision I made lightly.  I wanted advice from some of the past presidents, and all of them had the same thing to say:  "This is a great Club, with a lot of talent, with individuals who will support you and will do what they can to help achieve the goals you set for your year.  All you have to do is lead them, and let them do it."

Well, the goals this year are simple.  I want this year to be about you as an individual and you as a Rotarian.  I want this year to be about fun and fellowship.  I want all of you to get to know each other better.  And I think this can be done by participating in socials and working side by side with each other on some of our service projects, projects that benefit not only our local community, but our international community as well.  I can tell you, you will not get to know your fellow Rotarians, and you will not become a Rotarian by coming to the weekly meetings.  You get this by participating outside of these meetings. 

During the first few months of our year, we are going to be very busy.  The Dictionary Project, the Habitat House, the Honor Air flight, and the Auction, all take a tremendous number of people.  As I mentioned, it takes a village.  We have a large club with a lot of individuals who enjoy rolling up their sleeves and working side by side with each other.  I am confident that all of these projects will be a great success as they have been in the past.

Internationally, the opportunities to serve are limitless.  Go to an international conference and you will see and hear stories that are both heart-breaking and inspiring.  

RI President D. K. Lee's focus this year is on child mortality and child hunger.  Every year 30,000 children, under the age of 5, die each day from preventable causes, such as pneumonia, measles, and malaria.  Thousands die from the lack of a basic resource, clean water, something we take for granted.  You want to know what your dollars do at the foundation?  For start, they can help these children.  Can you imagine your child or grandchild dying from something as simple as the lack of clean drinking water or sanitation?

In Buncombe County, we are not immune to child hunger or poverty.  Statistical data shows that in 2005 19% of our children lived in poverty.  In 2007 47.7% of children in our schools received free or reduced-priced breakfast and lunch.   When some of these kids leave school on Friday, they may not have anything to eat until they go back to school on Monday.  These children are identified through school counselors and Manna has initiated a program called the MANNAbundance BackPack Program.  Manna packs and delivers to the schools bags of nutritional items for each of these children.  The food is intended to last through the weekend.  This past year, Manna started servicing 6 additional schools in Buncombe County, but the need is growing.  Last year the program reached 1,345 children in 8 WNC counties; however, the need was to reach 37,000 children.  I plan for us to partner with them, and you will hear more about this in the near future.

It is an honor for me to serve as your President and I am grateful to all of you who are going to make this a successful year.   Hear me loud and clear.....It will not be a success because I am standing up here at the podium.  It will be a success because of you and what you are doing to make this world and our community a better place to live in.

Lives are forever changed when we step out of our comfortable shoes and walk in the footsteps of those who have no shoes. 

Lives are changed when we contribute to the Rotary International Foundation, our Charity.   

Lives are changed when we hold out our hands to give and not to take. 

Lives are changed when we give children hope for a better tomorrow. 

As we leave here today, let's remember our motto....Service Above Self.  Let's go out in the world, in our community, and Make Dreams Real.

Thank you,

Cindy Causby

President