District Rotary Conference Honors Marco Rotary Noontime

If you would like to be inspired by how people can change the world for the better you would love to attend a Rotary Conference. This year’s conference was held at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs. Clubs from throughout District 6960, Southwest Florida, have been collecting pajamas, socks and underwear, towel sets, toiletries and bedtime books for children of all ages and arrived at the conference with overflowing boxes of donations for children in the foster care system. SW Florida Foster Care along with TWIG were among the featured speakers at the Conference.

Friday evening was a celebration of the amazing Rotary volunteers that came to the rescue of countless families devastated by Hurricane Ian. These volunteers continue to provide support as a volunteer labor force as well as providing much needed drywall and appliances to the storm victims.

So many of us in Southwest Florida are very blessed - indeed we live privileged lives. Keynote speaker Jason Browne stressed that as the privileged few we have the wonderful opportunity to leverage those privileges in helping others in need. This is the essence of Rotary’s motto “Service Above Self.” Rotary’s 4-Way Test asks, “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?” Students throughout the District participated in an essay contest with the 4-Way Test as the topic. The winner read her essay, “To Post or Not To Post,” expressing her wish that everyone would use the 4-Way Test before they make a post on Social Media. Wow - what a difference that would make in Social Media content. Additional speakers and exhibits included the Florida Pediatric Behavioral Health Collaborative Hotline, HANWASH in Haiti dedicated to transforming the nation of Haiti one community at a time with sustainable clean water and sanitation, Gift of Life which provides heart surgeries for children around the world, the Wheelchair Foundation providing wheelchairs worldwide for people with physical disabilities, CART- Coins for Alzheimer’s Research, JOSH the Otter dedicated to preventing child drownings, and so much more. With 1.4 million Rotarians around the world dedicated to “Service Above Self,” every day Rotary is changing lives around the world and right here at home.

2022-23 Rotary District Governor Neil Snyder presented awards to the clubs for exceptional performance. President Kathy Pasternak and Past President Linda Sandlin were thrilled to accept on behalf of the Rotary Club of Marco Island Noontime, the Governor’s Award with Distinction and the Platinum Award for Public Image, both top awards in their categories.