Editor's Message - Edward A. Charlesworth, Ph. D.

Today I am your e-club editor and your past president. Sofie took over the helm as our president July 1 and I am excited about her year of leadership. In the first four months since we have been chartered we have grown as a club in numbers and service to humanity. Our Membership Chair Dree has done a fantastic job sharing Rotary.  I thought I might give you a long speech about all the great aspects of Rotary and try to convince each of you to  also “share Rotary.” This might be similar to how Sam sold Bibles in his church. Sam’s church fell on hard times and their flock had declined in membership and financially. The pastor got a group together to commit to selling 10 Bibles each to raise funds and meet new members of the community. Sunday afternoon, after the regular service the group of volunteers went out to start selling Bibles. The pastor was very worried that Sam had committed to help with this project, since he had a speech impediment, stammered and stuttered. As the dedicated volunteers returned to the church in the late afternoon, they reported their success. In general, two to four Bibles were sold. Sam had not returned and it was getting late. The pastor was worried, when finally Sam shows up. The pastor asked had he did and Sam replied, “I..I..I..so..so..so..ld a..a...a..ll th..th..th..em.” The pastor looked incredulous and said, “That’s great Sam. How did you do it?” Sam replied, “I..I..I.. a..a..a..sked i.i..if th..th..th..ey wa..wa..wa..nted t..t..to b..b..b..buy a…a..a.. Bi..Bi..Bi..ble or ..f..f..f..or m..m..me t..t..t..to r..r..r..ead it to them.

 

So with Sam in mind,  would like to know who is the most important Rotarian in our club and in Rotary? Is it our club president? Is it our District Governor? Is it Rotary International’s President? Do you remember the Rotary International President from when you were inducted into Rotary? Do you remember the theme for the year you were inducted? I will be honest, I am lucky to remember this year’s president and theme, much less a theme from 20+ years ago when I joined Rotary. But I do remember who invited me to join Rotary. Tom Jackson invited me to give a speech at local Rotary club and later invited me to be part of forming a Rotary club. I don’t remember what the theme was or who the president was, but the most important person in Rotary was the person who asked me to join. If not for that invitation, I have no doubt my life would be less meaningful, my friendships would be less genuine, my travels would have been fewer and less rewarding, and I would have more “I wish I had’s” echoing in my mind on my death bed. I am so grateful I was asked to join Rotary. The most important person in Rotary is the person who asks you to join!

 

Let us consider the importance of membership development and let’s begin to think about who and what a good new Rotarian should be.  Let me borrow a metaphor from a black orator to make some points about why I feel it is so important to grow this club. There have been many black orators that have had the talent to stir our souls. Through the resonance of her voice and articulate use of the language, I never grew tired of hearing Barbara Jordan discuss a topic or even comment on the behaviors that led to the impeachment and resignation of a president. Martin Luther King, Jr. could stir us to a committed action to create peaceful change. Another black orator spoke of his grandmother’s creative use of scraps of cloth from a myriad of sources as diverse as silk and burlap. These scraps alone were not “big enough” to protect and warm her children or grandchildren from the cold winter nights, but when combined together these diverse scraps could form a beautiful and functional quilt.  I wish to borrow this metaphor to make a point about the importance of promoting a growing and diverse membership. Each of us, in our own way, may only be a scrap of cloth “that is not big enough,” but together we can form the beautiful tapestry of Rotary.