News from the Co-Presidents

Greetings Rotarians,

The "Question of the Month" that Kristi Cross asked us had me stumped. It was deceptively simple: What motivates you to work hard? Yet I stood in front of my computer completely puzzled.

It isn't just money, although that helps. But that's not what Kristi asked. She didn't ask what motivates you specifically at your job. The question was about what makes you work hard in any situation.

Is it some urgent desire to transform the world into more of an ideal place? No, that's not quite it. Maybe it was the discipline my Navy veteran dad instilled in me by showing me how to make my bed to military standards (and yes, he'd pull it all apart if a quarter didn't bounce on it). No, although it didn't hurt to learn that sort of discipline at 6 months of age (just kidding...kind of). Eventually I realized the reason is extremely simple. When I see something that needs to be done, and I believe I can successfully do that thing, I do it. Just like Rotary does. If we think back at all the "things that need to be done" that Rotary has identified over the years, it really is the same. Let's take the pavilion at Willow Park as an example. This was before my time as a Rotarian, but it's a safe bet that there was not an extended discussion about Rotary's motivation for building the pavilion. Rather than an in-depth analysis of motivations, I imagine someone stood up at a meeting and said, "This needs to be done, and I think we can successfully do it." And Rotary did it. Just the way that Rotary did it with the restoration of the fountain in front of the town offices, the way we did it with the creation of the picnic area at the deer park, and many other successful projects. As the Covid-19 pandemic gets under control, as vaccinations increase, and as we edge back toward a sense of normalcy in the way we relate to each other, Rotarians will again begin to stand up and say to the group, "This needs to be done." Then another will stand up and say, "And we can do it." People will look around at one another, nod their heads, and say, "Let's make it happen."

In a recent meeting, each member spoke about what they found important, and we identified 4 domains of interest for community service projects:

1. Addressing basic and urgent needs such as food insecurity and literacy,
2. In-person team projects such as working at the community gardens,
3. International projects such as our support of the Kenyan orphanage, and
4. Promoting and strengthening the area in projects such as the upcoming Battle of Bennington anniversary.

Using this basic framework that came out that meeting, it is time for us to prepare to stand up and say to the group, "This needs to be done." Of course, we cannot do everything, but all proposed projects will be considered and weighed on their merits. So bring your ideas to meetings and let us know what needs to be done. Let us determine if we have the resources to do it. Let us get to the point where we can look back on new projects and say, "And we did it."

Yours in Rotary Service,
Dana
Club Co-President