Eugene Rotary Club President's Message
2/1/2010 The Haiti Earthquake Helps Remind Us that Rotary is International
1/1/2010 A Painless Resolution: Visit Montreal, Get More Out of Rotary
12/1/2009 The Holiday Spirit: Giving Thanks, Reflecting, and Beginning Anew
11/1/2009 “I can guarantee you, it will make you feel great!”
Chuck Strong, 1909-2002
Rotarian, 1963-2002
Mike Fox
President, 2009-2010
My Fellow Rotarians,
A long time long ago, in a galaxy not so far, far away, when I was a newly-minted Rotarian, there was a member of this Club, known and loved by all of us with more seniority than we’d like to admit, by the name of Charles Strong.
Chuck was a retired EWEB engineer, in his mid 70s when I first met him. It wouldn’t be wide of the mark to describe him as elfin, as he didn’t stand much above five feet. His back and neck arthritis gave him a stooped posture. To speak with you, he had to peer up at you sideways over his half-rim eyeglasses. His eyes always twinkled with delight.
Chuck loved Rotary, and all it stood for, and all it accomplished. Chuck knew that for Rotary to achieve its goals of service, Rotarians had to contribute to The Rotary Foundation, and so for many years Chuck was the chair of the Foundation committee. I wasn’t paying all that much attention to the structure of the Club back then, and for all I know, Chuck may have been the entire committee.
Chuck was committed to the Foundation. He was committed to making sure Rotarians contributed. At every meeting while he was on Foundation duty, Chuck brought a cardboard thermometer showing the amount of money contributed to the goal. Chuck would peer at us over the podium, resplendent in white shirt, bow tie, and seersucker jacket. He would tell us something good that had been accomplished with Foundation moneys throughout the world, and then he would end with the exhortation, “If you haven’t given, give! If you have given, give again! I can guarantee it will make you feel great!!!!”
And that was it. How could you resist?
Well, unfortunately for us, in 2002 Chuck passed on to his eternal reward, which I am sure is considerable. But his message can inspire us still.
And, the need is still there.
As District Governor John Cox eloquently reminded us in his October 20 visit to the Club:
“In rural Yunnan, an HIV positive pregnant woman has a 33% chance of passing on the virus during delivery an while breast feeding. A 70 cent test funded by a matching grant from TRF lowers the risk to less than 2%. As you are able to give please do. 70 cents!!!
“There are over 16 million cases of malaria in Tanzania, and 100,000 people die. Most susceptible are pregnant women and infants. For $10.00 or $20.00 you can save a family.
“The leading cause of preventable blindness in children is a deficiency in Vitamin A. Up to a half a million children lose their sight from lack of Vitamin A. This deficiency can be eliminated for two cents a dose. We receive 50% of the daily requirement from one general vitamin pill. Administering 200,000 International Units to a child for two days cuts blindness, as well as mortality rates from diarrhea and measles.
“One in three people in the world lacks access to clean water. and 3.5 million die each year from drinking contaminated water. One child dies every 15 seconds from water-borne diseases. For $35 a bio sand filter which removes all parasites and 95% of bacteria and viruses can be installed in-home.”
And, I might add, the cost of saving one child from polio by vaccine administered through Rotary is 60 cents. For $60.00 you can save the lives of 100 children! Honestly, for very little money, comparatively, you can help End Polio Now!
Don’t you think you would feel pretty good about yourself if you saved the life of a child, if you saved someone from blindness, if you gave someone the gift of clean drinking water?
Well of course you would. That’s why we have the Rotary Foundation. And that’s why I’m asking every member of this Club to give to the Foundation this year, whether it’s to the Foundation’s general fund or to the End Polio Now campaign.
As the great Rotarian Chuck Strong would say, “If you haven’t given, give! If you have given, give again! I can guarantee it will make you feel great!!!!”