SUNRISE ROTARY has 14 total Paul Harris Fellows in its ranks. Pictured from left, in back, are Pete Vanderpool, Don Rawlins, Bob Anderson, District Governor Jack Bailey; Jerry Shannon, Matt Carlson, Bob Sain, Andy Anderson, Jim Davis, and Alvin Word. In the front row, from the left, are Cheryl Dunson, Barbara Greene, Dunson’s mother and also a Paul Harris Fellow; Sally Poston, Wendy Williams, Poston’s mother and also a Paul Harris Fellow; Pat Fuller and Sonya Crago. Len Graham, an honorary member of the Bradley Sunrise Rotary, is also a Paul Harris Fellow but was not available for the photo.
It is this year’s International Rotary theme directly from the global president, Sakuji Tanaka, Bailey explained.
“And peace is more than just an absence of conflict,” he said.
One of the ways peace can be achieved is by mentoring others, especially those just joining Rotary, Bailey noted.
Another is by continually expanding Rotary’s service projects, from its first in 1907 that built a “service station” or outhouse, to present day and one of Rotary’s priority projects — the eradication of polio, he said.
When Rotary first started working on eradicating polio, 25 years ago, between 125,000 and 300,000 new cases were recorded every year across the globe. Last year, there were only 111.
“There has been no new case of polio in the United States since the late 1970s,” Bailey said. “But it’s just one plane ride away. We still need your help.”
Other goals include making sure everyone has access to clean water, giving everyone a chance for a good education, as well as helping build homes for those who don’t have a place to sleep.
“There is no peace without these,” Bailey said.
To help facilitate peace through service, Tanaka announced he would arrange three International Peace Forums — one in Japan, one in Germany and one in the United States. When hearing about these forums, Bailey, who currently lives in the Oak Ridge area, suggested Tanaka hold one of his forums in Tennessee.
And Tanaka quickly said “Yes,” Bailey told the group.
So, on March 9, 2013, Bailey is inviting all Tennessee Rotarians to Oak Ridge to attend such a forum. The theme “Peace through Service” will be added to a theme of “Peace through Technology” because the National Laboratory energy facility is located in Oak Ridge.
Tanaka, Bailey said, challenged all Rotarians to hold one of these forums. Tanaka also urged members to work on other projects, such as helping to stop bullying, working on immigration issues, and others.
“There are lots of ways to go,” Bailey said. So, the first thing he encouraged members to do is to establish goals. “Without goals, you don’t know where you are going.”
For example, one goal would be increasing Rotary membership. Proactively reaching out to community leaders to invite them to attend meetings is just one way to introduce Rotary to more potential members, he suggested.
“Club membership is an issue in all Rotaries,” Bailey said, adding, however, that “yours has grown dramatically (over the last couple of years).”
Another goal could be to bring Rotary facilitators and members together to help fine-tune their goal-setting.
Still another would be to attend the District Rotarian Conference to be held in Chattanooga on April 19 and 20.
On July 1, 2013, a grant-writing training session has been planned that several Rotarians could attend.
In addition, Bailey emphasized the importance of continuing to support the Rotary Foundation so important current projects can continue and new projects can be added.
In conclusion, Bailey told the group that, years ago, as a young Rotarian, he was issued a challenged by another Rotarian — Lambert Friederich — a retired World War II veteran and the recipient of a Bronze Star, to become much more involved in Rotary and its goals.
Bailey issued the same challenge to the assembled Rotarians.
