Bruce Cowan D.G. Rotary District 9980 - Rotary Guest Speaker 26 September 2017

Bruce gave an enthusiastic presentation on Rotary – Making a Difference.

He told us he had joined Rotary about 17 years ago and told us about the high pressure training schedule he went through in the previous 2 years leading up to becoming D.G.

Bruce expressed his pride at the fact that District 9980 had the highest net gain in membership in New Zealand.

Some facts:

1.239 million number of Rotarians worldwide

112 number of years Rotary has been in existence

220 number of countries worldwide with a Rotary presence

16 million low estimate of total voluntary hours given by all Rotarians

35,660 Rotary clubs in the world

31 Rotary clubs in 9980 excluding Interact, Rotaract etc

Bruce talked about the multitude of projects worldwide that Rotary is involved in. We have come a long way since the first Rotary project……..a public toilet in Chicago.

Bruce spoke of the importance of the Rotary Foundation started by Arch Klumph. We were reminded of the success of the Polio Eradication project and the club was encouraged to meet or exceed the contribution of $150 per member to Rotary Foundation

Bruce reminded us that current Rotary International President Ian Riseley would like every Rotarian in the world to plant at least 1 tree this year.

Finally Bruce reminded us with the use of a very artistic video that Conference next year was between 4 – 6 May in Dunedin.