We certainly did that during the 2020-21 Rotary year – a tougher task because of COVID and the health and economic challenges it presented. Thanks to District Governor Kirk for his strong leadership, and to our district team and club presidents, and each and every one of you who kept us in the game – finding ways to stay connected and keep making a difference in our communities.

We embraced the Farmers to Families program, connections with local foodbanks and money from missed Rotary meetings to feed thousands in our district. We delivered PPE to local hospitals, fire and police departments just when they needed it most. We bought computers, enabled wi-fi connections and tutored students on Zoom … all to keep supporting Rotary’s mission during the pandemic. We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments more as we gather in Sandestin in August.

That said, it’s time to get back in the game in a big way – returning to meetings, , expanding our reach and our impact. Your district leaders, club presidents and boards have been using the “preseason” for the new Rotary year to get our game plan in order. One strategy focuses on increasing our impact through the Youth & Peace in Action (YPA) initiative.

Youth & Peace in Action is the largest local peace initiative in Rotary International history - providing virtual peacebuilding training to high school students and their teachers – and engaging them in identifying and carrying out projects to support peace. This project is a tremendous way to generate lots of excitement at your Interact Clubs this fall and NOW is the time for ACTION! See the article later in this newsletter.

Expanding Our Team: One of our biggest focuses for the year will be on membership. Our rally cry is “Grow More to Do More” – we want to attract new Rotarians and keep all members – old and new – enthusiastically involved in what we do. Incoming Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta challenges each Rotarian to bring in one new member in 2020-21. As we kick off this membership initiative, we count on each of you to serve on the membership committee. As you prepare for Rotary's Membership Month (August), take a look at the questions later in the newsletter.

We’ll be talking more about these initiatives as we move ahead with 2020-21. I look forward to meeting many of you in my travels around the district. Thank you for all you do and for helping us Serve to Change Lives.