Summary Report of the District Conference 2015

The plenary sessions on Friday April 16 and Saturday April 17 were filled with great speakers. Below is a summary of some of these presentations.

Hank Moore talked about how Rotarians inspire each other, which results is significant global impact. In line with his new book about Houston legends, he stated that Rotarians have the quality of legends within them; we have a significant impact on communities, and we do it from the heart, not for recognition.

RI President’s Representative Allan Jagger shared examples of how a Rotarian’s idea is being embraced and implemented by a group of fellow Rotarians, resulting in global impact. Share your ideas, together we can realize them! He further talked about the fact that Rotary membership is dwindling in North America, Japan and Australia, it is steady in Europe, and other geographies are growing. Every year Rotary welcomes more than 120,000 new members, but loses more than that. The average club size is currently at 34 members. RI needs to change to appeal to younger generations, they like making contributions instead of joining a club, and communication needs to be adjusted to catch their attention.

Darren Hightower of the Children’s Music Foundation shared the amazing work they are doing with and for children. They for instance hand out guitars at Ronald McDonald houses and teach children to play. This brings enormous joy to the children, who go through very difficult phases in their lives, and it is proven that the brains of people who play music are different, resulting in a higher success rate.

Melissa Williams shared the work she is doing with Read 3 Zero to bring books in children’s lives. The ultimate goal they work towards is to get children to write, and to get their work published. They organize book signing events for these children, to celebrate their success. 

Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia talked about his challenges to keep Harris County safe. He for instance uses technology (an app) to minimize the impact of the reduced number of officers due to budget cuts. He also explained that about 30% of the people in Harris County’s jails suffer from some form of mental issue. Texas is among the states who spend the lowest amount of money on mental health care. After 30 days in a correctional facility people for instance lose Medicaid, and therefore access to their medication. They have to reapply and requalify, which in quite a few cases is unsuccessful and results in recidivism.

Irene Hickey presented the data on sex trafficking in Houston, which is the highest in the nation. This impacts American women as well as women from other geographies. The huge amount of money that this activity generates makes it difficult to fight. The task force Irene is leading is currently identifying options on how Rotary can help.

Besides these thought provoking presentations and discussions there of course were the Second Line Band Escort through the city, a boat ride on the mighty Mississippi, great meals with friends, a pub crawl in the French Quarter, and the Governor’s Masquerade Ball.  And as always, great fun and fellowship with fellow Rotarians throughout our great district!