"Celebration of Rotary Gold"
Rotary District 7690 - Piedmont, North Carolina
Dr. Stuart B. Fountain, District Governor
District Conference Highlights
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
April 9-11, 1999

To District 7690 Scrapbook Index

The Photos              A new Rotarian's experience

The Photos

(to top)

Through the eyes of Conference Photographer, Hal Tysinger (supplemented by Karen Morris)

(Click on the thumbnail to enlarge)

km	District Conference always starts with a visit to Keith Sedberry.  He has managed registration duties since Stuart Fountain was a little boy.  He's the middle!
Conference Manager, Steve Cobb, outfits District Governor Stuart Fountain with the "golden" gloves in preparation for a knock-out of a conference.	ht
ht	DG Stuart outlines the agenda, stalling for time, while Keynote Speaker John Allison of BB&T was delayed by crosswinds in his approach to the Myrtle Beach Airport.
From the President of Rotary International, Dr. Thomas J. "Jack" Martin brought us greetings and encouraged us to take advantage of the opportunities for services presented by Rotary.  Jack is the President's Representative.	ht
km	We are urged to focus on the struggle to balance the world population with the world's resources.  Werner Fornos is President of the Population Institute in Washington, D.C. and a Rotarian as well
District Foundation Chairman and PDG Arnold King preaches to the choir as he outlines the progress District 7690 has made in its effort to fund the Rotary Foundation..  Examples of the good works of the Foundation surrounded the District Conference.	km
km	John Womack (Furnitureland) receives a certificate of thanks for the work he has been doing with the District's Rotary Scholarship programs.
Clemmons Kathy Mosley, Sgt.-at-Arms, extracts a serious payment from a Rotary parent who was late for a conference session. . . or was this another form of "Youth Exchange?"	km
ht      km	These friends of Rotary and District 7690 represents many difference countries.  Youth Exchange is a major effort of Rotary.  These are the people who will lead the world towards peace and understanding.
Rotaractors from around the District told of the work they have been doing this year in rhyme compatible with Dr. Seuss.  If you think Rotaract is Rotary-Lite, you got another think coming.  Rotaractors are high-energy, imaginative, enthusiastic adults who make most Rotarians look like snails!  They are your future, District 7690!	km
km	And right behind Rotaractors are the Rotarians of tomorrow who are in high school Interact clubs right now.  They are just as enthusiastic, imaginative and active as Rotaractors.  Network with these guys, and with Rotaractors today and they will be Rotarians tomorrow.  What a promising future.
A jewel in the Rotary Foundation crown is Group Study Exchange.  Here members of the team visiting District 7690 from Chile tell of their country and of their experiences in our District.  Our team visits Chile during the month of May.	km
km	The Sgt.-at-Arms club, Clemmons, was given the task of guarding the ever obstreperous Everett Padgett, who spent most of his District Conference 99 career in jail.  Bail was set at $1,500!
Bail was paid and Everett was permitted his freedom during the morning of the second day of the conference, but . . .	km
km	. . .  a unanimous decision was made to return him to jail to collect an additional $1,500.  Rotarians will never learn when to leave well enough alone.  They bailed him out again.
Here Everett rests with his wife, Margaret Padgett (who is also Executive Secretary of District 7690) and his lawyer, Jack Green (DGNN)	km
ht	District Conference 99:  A wonderful way to unwind, renew acquaintances, meet new friends, discuss Rotary and energize for the year just ahead.  I didn't see anyone having a bad time.
A tradition at Conference is Furnitureland Rotary Club's annual canoe regatta.  Here, Dick Thomas, Director of Piedmont Environmental Center, instructs participants.  We learn important techniques, such as which end of the paddle to stick in the water.   Proceeds will help Rotaract fund their Asheville conference this fall.	km
km    ht	Finally, it was DG Stuart's pleasant job to recognize clubs who have excelled in their effort to support Rotary International and District 7690.   He is handing the Governor's Golden Club Award to Gate City Rotary Club of Greensboro. Triad's proud president, Brian Donley, places the Golden Club Award symbol on "The Rotary Club of the Triad's" Banner.

(to top)

District Convention Update—A Celebration of Rotary Gold
(from The Oak Hollow Acorn, Karen Morris, editor.)

Four Oak Hollow Rotarians—Tony Bertschi, Brandon Blair, Charlene Green and Karen Morris—represented our club at the Rotary District 7690 Convention at Myrtle Beach last weekend. Its theme, A Celebration of Rotary Gold, summed up the tone of the weekend. It was a time to recognize what we’ve done this year and become re-energized for the year ahead.

Friday’s sessions stressed community service, the things Rotarians are doing to make life better right where they live. Keynote speaker for this part of the convention was John Allison, Chairman and CEO of BB&T, whose avocation is philosophy. His talk enumerated the ethical principles he’d drawn up to guide the employees of his bank and equated them to the principles that will help the youth of today—and us older folk, too—to lead successful, integrated lives. Various clubs presented examples of community service projects which they found to be especially successful for them. During this part of the program Oak Hollow was honored with the bulletin award for weekly bulletins put out by small clubs in the district.

Saturday’s session was devoted to international service. Keynote speaker was Werner Fornos, President of the Population Institute, who advocated responsible population growth and use of natural resources to preserve and enhance the quality of life for generations to come around the world. During this session we were introduced to the many opportunities Rotary offers to serve and promote understanding throughout the world. We met Group Study Exchange teams, youth exchange teams, ambassadorial scholars, and cultural ambassadorial scholars in a dizzying array of programs available through Rotary that I haven’t quite sorted out yet. We were given examples of international service projects being done by clubs in our district. And we got to meet and hear about the activities of future Rotarians—the Rotaractors (young adults) and Interactors (high school students).

There was time for fun, too. Saturday afternoon was free to enjoy one of the fellowship activities sponsored by the Conference or just to relax on the beach or in the nearby malls. Phil and I took a canoe trip on the Waccamaw River, a trip sponsored by Dick Thomas of the Furnitureland Rotary Club and Director of the Piedmont Environmental Center. Dick is a knowledgeable and patient teacher, both about the natural attractions to be seen on the river and about the secrets of successful canoeing for the non-athletic, and the weather was beautiful. It was a great return on the investment of an afternoon.

Details of the weekend will fade with time. So what did I REALLY take home from the conference—and wish you’d been there to take home, too? Most of all, it was the feeling of being a part of something much bigger than myself or of my little club. Many of you in your biographical notes said you’d joined Rotary to make friends and/or to make a difference in your community. Rotary can give you that, but it can give you access to so much more. Through the Rotary Foundation you participate in making life better for people around the world, which can sometimes seem a remote benefit to us in High Point, North Carolina. But we learned that with the help of Rotary Foundation matching grants we in the Oak Hollow Club could be doing such things as

• Helping to set up a Hospice in Russia as the Greensboro Club is doing, or
• Sending aid to an orphanage in Haiti as we helped the Triad Club to do.

These are just a few of the programs that are being done, not in some big city club with lots of members and money, but in clubs right here in our district. And they’re things we can DO, not just finance. All we need are your ideas. Going to conference is a great way to realize the potential of Rotary. I hope all of you will have the opportunity for that experience at least once in your Rotary life.

(to top)