by Andy Lester
7/16/2010 9:53:00 AM
Presidential Farewell
Preparing to become President of the Rotary Club of Edmond, I had a couple of goals in mind: first, to continue all the good things we had been doing; then, to make certain our weekly programs were the best they could be; and, finally, to complete the project with the Rotary Club of Fortaleza-Planalto.
Well, life sometimes gets in the way. We faced some obstacles, some expected, some not. The challenging national economy had finally reached Edmond. Then, just three weeks into our Rotary year, we learned, only a few minutes before our scheduled meeting, our meeting place was no longer available. We moved twice, and underwent a significant price increase, the first in over 15 years.
Yet, despite some false starts, we accomplished a lot. Let’s briefly review what we’ve done.
Our programs are second to none. Speaking to our club this year were our Governor, Brad Henry, our Lieutenant Governor, Jari Askins, our Attorney General, Drew Edmonson, our Insurance Commissioner, Kim Holland, Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud, two State Senators – Clark Jolley and Todd Lamb – and State Representative Ken Miller. We hosted the Chancellor for Higher Education, Glenn Johnson, and the head of the state Medicaid Agency, Mike Fogarty. We had a collegiate athletic director, Mike Holder, a head basketball coach, Travis Ford, a head football coach, Tracy Holland, and a two-time Olympic wrestling champion, John Smith. Former Chief Judge Robert Henry of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, Oklahoma Supreme Court Vice-Chief Justice, Steve Taylor, and Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma all spoke to our Club. A Congressman, a Secretary of State, a Mrs. Oklahoma, two United States Attorneys, a Secretary for Veterans’ Affairs visited us. And, even though we are a non-singing Rotary Club, we enjoyed the musical talents of world-renowned opera diva, Leona Mitchell.
Compare our programs to those of any other service organization. None tops us. None comes close.
We have remained active in our community, both near and far. Consider our service projects. We work with Ida Freeman Elementary School in several ways: reading to students through Rotary Readers; enhancing the school library, with our weekly speaker inscribing a book we donate to the school; and annually recognizing the Teacher of the Year. We applied for and received a District Simplified Grant, which, coupled with our own donation, provided a much needed video camera for Ida Freeman.
We sponsor a Four-Way Test Contest, a Four-Way Test Speech Contest, and Career Shadow Day. We are a sustaining Club – every year, we contribute $100 per member to the Rotary Foundation. We raise funds for scholarships through our annual Golf Tournament, our annual Omelets and Pancakes breakfast, our Sergeant-at-Arms “fines,” and even our weekly search for the Ace of Spades (amazingly, someone always seems to come “close!”). And, we continue to award college scholarships.
We sponsor RYLA students, outbound and inbound Ambassadorial Scholars, and even a foreign exchange student. We pick up trash along a two-mile stretch of roadway in Edmond. We helped at the Endeavor Games. The ShelterBox we purchased last year was deployed in Pandang, Sumatra. And, when disaster struck in Haiti, our Club responded with funds to purchase three additional ShelterBoxes!
Then there is our Brazil project. Our Club, partnering with the Rotary Club of Fortaleza Planalto, our District 5750, that club’s District 4490, and the Rotary Foundation, changed the lives of indigent juvenile cancer patients and their families. The members of this Rotary Club generously gave close to $20,000 which, when combined with Rotary grants, provided a total of $29,944, the purchase price of a beautiful new vehicle which is being used to transport these children and their families for their treatments. Because of Edmond and Fortaleza Rotarians, they will get the help they need, and will have a great chance for a normal life. This project, initiated by our club, has created a long-lasting relationship with our friends in Brazil.
All of this happened because of you, the members of the Rotary Club of Edmond. You regularly step forward and volunteer to do so much and contribute in so many ways. Thank you for demonstrating what it means to put Service Above Self.
I have been blessed with the best board a Rotary Club president could ever want to have. Every member of the board has not only done the job that person was supposed to do – and that is no small feat – but has gone way beyond the call of duty. Please join me in thanking the members of our board for their dedication, selflessness and hard work.
One thing I suspect every Past President knows is that the best way to get to know the members of your Rotary Club well is to serve as president. Well, I’ve done that now, and I think I have gotten to know you even better than I did before. Last year at this time, I said that you – my Rotary friends – are the reason I so greatly enjoy being a member of the Rotary Club of Edmond. That was true then and is even truer now. Thank you for entrusting me with the honor and privilege of serving as your president.