Our District Public Image team suggests we "tell our story" so that we might engage others in what Rotary is all about. Below is one Rotarian's effort to share Rotary's story. 
 
We have all been taught the who, what, where, when, why and how method of writing a story. We need to get a point across, teach something new, tell a story or promote an event. 
 
As the only service club in Putnam County my goal as President this year was to get the people in our County to know WHO Putnam County Rotary is, WHY we still thrive after over 50 years of service, WHAT we are doing this year and HOW we work.
 
Light bulb!! 
I’ll write a newspaper article…no I’ll write 12! Of course, my Club members rolled their eyes, but at least they weren’t going to have to plant 50 trees on a cold, rainy day…so, my letters were a go!  To get my plan to promote Putnam County Rotary in action, I spoke to the reporter who covers Putnam County news for our local paper, “The Putnam County Record”  He was all for it and suggested I do it as letters to the editor each month.
 
My first letter explained how, why and who started the Club and that we had evolved from the farmers and businessmen to the diverse club we are.
 
Other topics included my plans for the year, our two Interact Clubs, Polio Awareness, being grateful, giving back, battling loneliness, and our upcoming grant project “Soup for Seniors”, in which we will be making soup for 600 seniors! 
 
When writing about our impact on students and literacy, I shared the story of my Grandpa Steve, an Italian immigrant,  who instilled in me a love for reading when I was four years old.
 
And the first donation of books we received this year, from a former Putnam County teacher and author who told us stories and taught so many of us to love history and not to be afraid to ask questions as we learned! 
 
When I shared our Club's history I recalled several of our Club's more colorful founders and their spouses, still remembered by many of our local citizens.
 
And when I wrote about Rotary's near-eradication of Polio in my October letter, I spoke of my first grade principal who was a polio survivor.
 
I wrote about being thankful in November, and the challenges for many of us during the holiday season in December.  In my letters I talked about my personal experiences hoping others might relate, and I guess they did!
  
The feedback from my letters has been great! 
 
No new members yet, but a better understanding of how our small but mighty club works! Putnam County Rotary may not have a lot of members, we may not have businesses on every corner or the tables full at every meeting, but with my letters I found how we have a county full of caring people who support our Club at every turn and who enjoy reading about Putnam County Rotary from my little corner of the paper. (I even had 5 new books appear at my doorstep after talking about the Book Project!)
 
We all have to remember that our Clubs DO make a difference, not just in our communities as a whole, but in the lives of people whose stories we share.  When Rotary Foundation tells the story of our impact, even though the project might be global, we may instead read about just one child, one family, one school or one small county in Illinois that was made better by our work. 
 
Everyday we can all be proud of the stories we tell and the work we do.
 
Debbie Buffington
President
Putnam County Rotary