Two weeks ago I gave my first official presentation as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. I talked about my family and my state, the civil rights movement, and some southern authors. It was a big hit. After some minor technical problems, everything was up and running, and they had lots of great questions in the end.
About three days later, the weekend before last, I spent an amazing two days at my district Rotary Conference.
All I can say is that once again I am immensely proud to be associated with Rotary International, and extremely thankful that I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing, thoughtful Rotarians.
The conference was more than informative: it was charged, passionate, invigorating, enlightening, thought-provoking, and inspirational. And I am not trying to brown nose. The Rotarians I met care deeply for each other. It was almost like being at a family reunion. Although they were always composed and formal, they embraced each other upon meeting, seemed continually thankful to be a part of such an amazing network.
Like the Rotarians in Birmingham, these Rotarians mean business. They take their roles in the community very seriously and amid all the laughter and memories, they were there to talk about serious issues. I have to admit that I was a little worried that I might be a little snoozy in some of the sessions, but it was quite the contrary. I was extremely impressed by All the speakers. I learned about things like the Chilean Education system and possible reforms, the Chilean Family structure and its implications, the Chilean navy, and much more. And I was continually impressed by the eloquence of the Rotarians who spoke-the representative of Rotary International's President-a past district governor from Argentina made several speeches which were thoughtful and impressive, summarizing the role of Rotary, its interconnected nature, and the places it is going.
In short, I was moved by the weekend. Moved by the relationships I saw-the projects that are happening--and the people that are involved. "Senalamos el Rumbo" (We) Lead the way. an appropriate slogan for an international group that has touched the lives of so many people, and continues to break down new barriers and internationally cooperate to make change.
Here are some of the pictures I took over the weekend (ignore the shoes and clothes-those were from my mom):
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