First and foremost, as always, thanks for all you do in your communities as service projects and around the globe as supporters of The Rotary Foundation. You truly are making a difference!
Please join me in offering our condolences to the family and friends (including former Rotary Youth Exchange students) of Past District Governor, George Partlo, who passed away on September 5. His widow, Jerrilynne, was gratified to see a number of Rotarian friends at his memorial service. George served as District 6420 Governor in 1999-2000.
I am the midst of completing the official club visits as is the responsibility of all district governors. By the District Conference on November 8-9, I will have completed 39 of 42 visits. Past district Governors told me that club visits were the best part of the governor experience. I was a little skeptical, thinking about the road time involved, and the hopes I had of completing as many as possible before the district conference. Now that I am about three-fourths of the way through, I can enthusiastically affirm that the PDGs were right! Club visits are the most rewarding experience of being governor. Each club is different, but all clubs are engaged, committed and the camaraderie amongst members is heartwarming to experience. I offer a heartfelt thank you to the clubs for the warm welcomes I have been receiving.
As mentioned, the District Conference is upcoming on November 8-9 at the Embassy Suites in Rockford. Registration is open on the District homepage. Please note that registration will close after October 31, and we are not having on site registrations. The program on Friday afternoon and evening is the annual Foundation banquet. Saturday is the conference program, the theme of which is Rotary Youth Exchange. We will meet our inbound students, our new future outbound students, some rebound exchangers and hear from some current and past host families. We have lined up some extraordinary speakers and the venue is excellent. There are 20 rooms reserved for Saturday night and again Sunday night. There are no conference programs on Sunday. We will have a silent auction to support EndPolioNow. Hopefully clubs, individuals and District committees will provide items for the silent auction. Also, clubs and committees can reserve a table (email PDG Dave Emerick to do this) to showcase their activities and services. I hope to see you all at this year’s district conference!
Speaking of conferences, the next Rotary International Conference is in Calgary, Canada, June 20-25, 2025. Already, 12 District Rotarians have registered. Let’s get at least 20 from the District to attend and we will plan a reunion (read “party”) on one of the evenings in Calgary!
In Rotary service,
John Hurley