District Conference
“Have you ever been to another District’s Conference? No? Then you don’t know how good you are!” Remark made by R.I. Representative and Director John Smarge, during Closing Comments at Saturday’s Awards Luncheon
We received 2 awards - Premier Club with Distinction and Best Attendance (97%).
By all accounts and feedback, District 6970 is a stellar district, both nationally and internationally. So it is no surprise that this year’s District Conference was a big success, with all aspects running smoothly. Combining District Assembly with District Conference proved to be a welcome change, reducing time and money invested by participating Rotarians. Also, the addition of Webinars for each club leadership position to the District website provides easily accessible educational materials for new Chairs.
Several Remarkable/Noteworthy Points from the Conference
- Our District 6970 had committed to donating $750,000 to TRF’s End Polio Now Campaign for the 2010-2011 Rotary Year, but we did not. Instead our District donated $1,051,022.00! Congratulations to all clubs and District Leadership, especially DG Cynde, for making this an exceptional “giving” year.
- The Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Sunset earned 2 awards – the Presidential Citation with Distinction and BEST ATTENDANCE. Go ahead and congratulate yourselves, Sunsetters. You deserve it, but don’t get hurt trying to pat yourself on the back.
Because she started planning her Conference Speakers over a year in advance, DG Cynde lined up 2 outstanding speakers for the luncheons on Friday and Saturday.
At Friday’s luncheon we were honored to hear Ramesh Ferris, a polio survivor, speak to us. Never have the devastating effects of polio on individual life been more poignantly presented. Ramesh developed polio before he toddled and his mother made the decision to give him up in the hopes that we would receive good care and a better future without her. Indeed, that was the case. After spending one year in an orphanage for disabled children, Ramesh was adopted by a Canadian couple, who nurtured and encouraged him throughout his life. With the aid of specially designed crutches, he is able to walk. But that wasn’t enough for Ramesh. He wanted to raise awareness of polio’s continued threat, so he challenged himself to bike all the way across Canada, a more than 4,000 mile trek pedaling with his hands, which he accomplished with much acclaim and support, raising more than $300,000 by himself. More about this very motivated and motivational speaker, author, athlete and polio survivor can be found at www.CycletoWalk.com.
Saturday’s speaker had a tough act to follow, but he succeeded in capturing our attention completely. Joseph Dittmar was on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center’s south tower on the morning of September 11, 2001. His detailed and sometimes graphic description of events that fateful morning brought chills and tears to his rapt listeners. He is one of only a handful of survivors who were in the insurance executives meeting that morning. Some of his colleagues waivered about evacuating and some thought to go to the bathroom before heading down, both decisions costing their lives. But Mr. Dittmar plunged ever downward, clearing the 86th floor and the second plane’s impact by mere moments. The concrete and steel staircase rippled like a giant ocean wave. The breaking point in the speech was when Joseph told about seeing the faces of the firemen and EMTs heading up the staircase, knowing they would likely not come down alive. We’ve all read the eye-witness accounts of that day but none as moving as our speaker’s first-hand account.