At the invitation of PDG David Edwards, Past Rotary International President Barry Rassin spoke at our fellowship meeting of April 9, 2020. Barry, whose theme was 'Be The Inspiration', spoke on ‘Rotary: Covid-19 and Beyond’, Barry outlined some of the global challenges associated with the management of the Covid-19 pandemic and reminded us of our commitment to eradicate polio. While priority must be given to the Covid-19 pandemic at this time we should not stop our efforts to eradicate polio.
He highlighted the need for us to lend a hand as our world and country will turn to Rotary organizations they can trust to assist quickly. He emphasized the importance of adopting the times and noted how our online fellowship is bringing more members to table.
He said everyone is asking “when will this be over? Never! Our world is now changed for the future. We have to wrap our heads around that”. We must prepare for the challenges ahead including economic impact and issues of social unrest. He encouraged Rotarians to stay strong and stay positive and noted that Rotary International is very keen on supporting its member Clubs.
President Barry advised Club that RI Board and Trustees had met via an Online platform for the first time in history and had agreed to put US$1Million into Disaster Fund to allow Districts around world to get a grant USD25K each to put into Covid-19 relief projects such as supply masks, gloves ventilators, PPE to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. A grant will also be put aside for food. Within days of approving the fund 150 applications were received. Trustees have already agreed to inject an additional amount to assist further. He noted that over the next year majority of Rotary global grants will be directed to Covid relief projects.
As it relates to its members, RI is concerned about losing members during this time and Barry encouraged leaders to keep members engaged to ensure that no members are lost due to this crisis. Rotary has been forced into a digital world. Online meetings have transformed our club and are an opportunity to engage members a bit more and an opportunity to bring new persons to the club.
President Barry referenced Michael McQueen, forecaster, business strategist and award-winning conference speaker, who spoke of three key things in navigating this crisis - Activity + Focus X consistency.
- Activity - Inspire ourselves – be active - be intentional in what we do; be productive, Take care of family, friends. Remember to reach out to people, including our fellow Rotarians.
- Focus – switch off and shut out all repetitive bad habits. Think about what you are thinking about – allow ourselves to think positive
- Consistency – opportunity for us to see and do things different