The Houlton Rotary Club met for its luncheon meeting on Monday, July 16. The guest speaker was the District Governor of 7810, Silvana Bosca, who was introduced by Rotary President Nate Bodenstab.
Part of Bosca’s job for Rotary is to visit all of the clubs in the district. From Bathurst, New Brunswick, she joined Rotary in 1995 as the first female in her club and was the first female president of her club in Bathurst. She is very proud of her family and their support of her work in Rotary.
Bosca spoke to the theme of Rotary International for this year, which is “Be the Inspiration.” She thanked the Houlton club for the great work that they do and for taking action to make positive change in the world. The Houlton Rotary Club is 98 years old this year and Bosca encouraged the club to begin planning for their hundredth-year celebration.
She wondered what Houlton would look like had there not been a Rotary club all of these years and encouraged the club to look back at their accomplishments and share those with others.
The common bond of Rotary is the inspiration to build a better world. This year’s Rotary International president is Barry Rassin, who is from East Nassau, New Providence in the Bahamas. He speaks to the concept that the work of Rotarians is inspired by something or someone, and this is the true motivation in the work done by Rotarians, even those who do not have the biggest resources.
Bosca also mentioned two women in the Presque Isle Rotary Club who can be very helpful. Rachel Rice and Joy Barresi have resources to share with other clubs for public relations and programs. Public image is the key to building membership in Rotary. Three categories involve supporting and strengthening clubs, focusing on and increasing humanitarian service, and enhancing public image and awareness of what Rotary does for the world.
A club should not have a stagnant membership and should always be attracting new members. Bosca recommended the learning center on Rotary.org. Examples of inspiring work would be the efforts of author and Rotarian Sally Armstrong and polio survivor and Rotarian Lucie Raiche.
Six areas of focus by Rotary International are clean water, health, literacy, education, helping pregnant women and community building.
Bosca also mentioned the upcoming District Convention in Bathurst in October which has the theme “Inspiration at Every Turn,” and invited Houlton Rotarians to attend.
She shared her experience visiting Wellington, New Zealand. Eighteen oak trees had been planted by the Wellington North Rotary Club, and a sign placed at the grove shared the club’s information and an invitation to join the club. There was even a bar code for folks with smartphones.
Learning about other cultures is a vital part of being a Rotarian. There are also Rotary Fellowship Groups and Rotary Action Groups to join and these can be found on the Rotary International website.
