District Conference 2014
Posted by Doug Detweiler
District Conference full of surprises
Imagine the surprised look on Past District Governor Carol Toomey’s face when she learned at the Saturday evening District Conference dinner that she had been recognized by Rotary International with its highest honor, the Service Above Self award. Only 150 Rotarians are recognized each year for their commitment to helping others by volunteering their time and talents, Carol is only the third Rotarian in the history of the District to receive this award.
The award was given by Past District Governor Robert Palmateer who represented Rotary International president Ron Burton at the District 7910 Conference. “I was looking around the room wondering who the person might be,” Toomey said. “I was shocked that it was me. Thank you for this honor, it is very special.”
Three other local Rotarians were recognized with the Rotarian of the Year Award—Lindsay Dean of the Acton-Boxborough Club, Karin Gaffney of the Nashoba Valley Club, and Satya Mitra of the Worcester Club. Dean is an active member in her club and has supported the district through her job as sales manager at the Holiday Inn making the hotel facilities available for district meetings and events and supporting Rotary events at other clubs. Gaffney who was club president was instrumental in guiding the Nashoba Valley Club through its first year. She has also shown the way by organizing multi-club events bringing Rotarians from several clubs together to do a service project or fundraiser. Mitra has brought renewed energy to the Worcester Club bringing in new members and connecting with the local community to do service projects.
The Rotary Club of Worcester received the Best Club Award and the large decorative bell that the club will use to open and close it’s meetings during the coming year. Runner up was the Montachusett Area Club and the Rotary Club of Bedford placed third.
The District 7910 Conference was a great weekend of celebration where Rotarians could take advantage of opportunities for fellowship and learning. The Conference theme—Fighting Hunger One Meal at a Time—was the culmination of District Governor Doug Detweiler’s yearlong promotion asking District 7910 Rotarians to provide a million meals in their local community soup kitchens, food pantries, holiday meals for senior citizens, and in general raising awareness of hunger concerns.
Friday evening’s Paul Harris Dinner featured stories from three people directly affected by something a Rotary club in District 7910 had done. Lynda Sullivan, a new mother, shared her story of appreciation for the NicView camera that helped her and her family connect with her new born son in the UMASS Medical Center Neonatal unit. Another story was about the Veterans’ Day breakfast put on by the Acton-Boxborough Club. The third story was shared by a teacher who was the recipient of a community award from the Rotary Club of Leominster.
The highlight of the weekend was the Stop Hunger Now packing event where over 100 volunteers, including kids, spent several hours Saturday morning assembling 26,000 meals. The eager volunteers were divided into assembly lines where they filled the plastic bags, then weighed, sealed, and packed the nutritious meals. Rotarians were also asked to bring food items which were donated to Loaves and Fishes, a local food pantry based at Devens and serving the towns of Ayer, Devens, Groton, Harvard, Littleton, and Shirley.
Saturday afternoon, Rotarians followed the “Avenues of Service”—community, club, international, youth, and vocational service. Rotarians could talk with District and committee specialists in the different categories and learn Satya Mitra’s secrets for building membership, or how to access and use club runner or the Rotary International website, or purchase a Father’s Day card in support of polio plus, or what Rotary Leadership Institute is all about, or how to market your club events.
This has been the year to Engage Rotary, Change Lives culminating in the annual District Conference with a weekend of fun, fellowship, and learning in celebration of the 2013-2014 Rotary year in District 7910.