Dr Sylvia Whitlock has been in Rotary for nearly forty years. She was the second woman to join the Rotary Club of Duarte and went on to become the first woman Rotary Club president. She was a District Governor in 2012-2013. Sylvia is a recipient of many awards including the Rotary Foundation District Service Award. She has supported an orphanage in Mexico, sunk wells in Nigeria and raised nearly $90,000 to educate girls in India. It is not everyday one gets to listen to a person who made history.

An important achievement this year was the development of a new Rotaract club. In the tradition of its parent Rotary club, e-Global Rotaract is a video conferenced club consisting of international members. Several young members spoke to us about their backgrounds and aspirations. They will change the World and make it a better place!

President Kay Danes ended her year with a beautiful report on the club’s accomplishments. Who would imagine that such a small club could do so much? Rotary Year 2019-20 saw the club win Platinum … the highest distinction … for the first time. All members contributed to this achievement, of course, but it is unlikely that it would have happened without the diligent guidance of President Kay Danes.

Global Trekker Public Image Director Trish Perkins was guest speaker this week. She spoke about her business, Worlds Touch, which performs database development and administration work for charitable organizations throughout the World. Unlike most companies, payment for her services does not happen in the form of money. Instead payment comes in the form of travel amenities – room and board. Why? Trish is a worldwide traveler. At an early age she traveled around the World with the intention of discovering what behaviors are singularly American versus truly universal. She continues to be intrigued by travel. Her work and travel have touched many regions and countries: Ethiopia, India, Cambodia … but I think it is clear that Nepal with the Himalayas always in the background is a bit of a favorite. The presentation covers the charitable work done by the agencies her work supports. And the travel pictures and Trish’s dialogue are simply stunning!

Global Trekker Dave Curby grew up near Alice Springs amongst Aboriginal peoples. And for years he worked with them in remote locations. He has been the Executive of Australia's largest First Nations College and University. He knows so much about these people and shared a little bit of that knowledge with us in yesterday’s presentation. Did you know that these people migrated to Australia 65,000 years ago? Did you know that there were hundreds of different groups speaking a multitude of different languages before Captain Cook anchored at Botany Bay? Did you know that to this day the Aboriginal conception of time and world view are markedly different from ours? This information and much, much more was presented.

It all started with RYLA. This was guest speaker Julian Buttigieg’s first real exposure to Rotary, and it obvious he found it to be fascinating. For those of you who don’t know, RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and as conducted in Australian Rotary District 9640 it is a program that provides excellent motivation and personal development guidance. Julian attended RYLA for 3 years; after the first year taking on a more supervisory role. Julian and fellow RYLA friends, Glen Gorton and Andrew Nolan, pledged to make the RYLA experience available to more people. So they set about doing 2 major fundraising challenges. The first was a trip across northern India. The second was a trip across the Peruvian Andes Mountains. In the process of doing this, they raised enough money to fund the attendance at RYLA of about 20 young people. And they had incredible experiences in doing so.

What a treat! In entertaining and spellbinding fashion that few can approach, gifted speaker Dr Mark Hyman presented “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.” Mark’s profession is dentistry -- one severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, after several months of closure, dental offices are re-opening. However, things have changed greatly. Mark told us that for those who are timid, change is frightening. For those who are comfortable, change is threatening. But for those who are confident, change provides opportunity. So how do we manage change and beat COVID-19? To seize opportunity he prescribed a number of tactics. These tactics apply to dentistry but equally to all other professions and vocations. His prescriptions are timeless and universal.

Jody Susong -- joined by fellow workers Steve Hess and Robyn Ward -- told us about Family Service of the Piedmont. This non-profit organization supports thousands of individuals in Guilford County NC who are struggling with domestic violence, mental health, child abuse or financial instability. Their stories are heartbreaking, but much good is done. Like most organizations, FSP has been adversely affected by the recent coronavirus outbreak, but sound plans have been established to adapt to our changed circumstances. More can be learned from perusing FSP’s website, www.fspcares.org. Also joining us for yesterday’s meeting was Norman Taralrud-Bay, Chair of Rotary’s Action Group for Family Safety, a group that is attempting to marshal assistance from Rotary’s 32,000 clubs to provide service similar to FSP’s worldwide. Norman referred us to https://1stcontact.net/traumatic-stress-relief-exercise-videos/ and www.ragfamsafe.org to learn more. … Unfortunately, a gremlin caused us only to be able to record part of the meeting, but it was a good part. It is well-worth watching.

Our guest speaker, Eddy McGee, treated us to a perfect meeting! Since 2004 Eddy has been Executive Director of the Stokes County Arts Council. He dreams big! Through superior skills at networking and business management, Eddy has creatively put Stokes County NC on the arts map. And all of this is to the benefit of the community and beyond. One fundraising activity is “Reach The Peaks At Hanging Rock State Park,” which is a challenge to climb the park’s 5 highest peaks. Doubters told Eddy that no one would pay to hike trails that are free, but Eddy knew better: Make it a challenge with the money that’s raised going for good causes and it will roll in. And so it has. Another activity is “A Taste Of Stokes” where 400 soup bowls are made by creative artists and sold … proceeds going to Stokes County’s 3 food pantries. And more. Watch the recording and enjoy, and especially enjoy the two songs Eddy wrote and played for us near the end of the meeting.