President's Message - Aug. 2, 2013

We have several things on our Rotary plate this week.  First, we need to collect backpack money this Friday.  Please bring your checks and cash to Heather.  Heather should be easy to find as she will be set up and taking orders for Rotary attire.  She will have several samples to order from for both men and women ranging from golf shirts to dress shirts and about anything you can imagine she can get. I think this a great way to show your support of Rotary when attending events and out in the public. 
 
Speaking of Rotary out in the Public, how about the Old Soldiers Day Parade in Alpharetta this Saturday?  This event has been a staple of our club for many years and after we show our support in the parade we all meet at Wills Park where we are treated to a traditional Alpharetta Rotary picnic.  Bring your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, kids, neighbor's kids, etc., and help hand out candy to the crowds as they watch the parade. See Joel Canada for more details this Friday morning.
 
This weekend is also the big pro-am tennis fund raiser at CC of Roswell benefitting Stand up for Kids.  Please see Mark Spiegel or Mike Lowry for details and tickets.
 
Just before I became your President for this Rotary year I was asked for a history of the club for the District Governor.  I did a lot of asking around and I got similar answers. About thirty years ago a group from the Roswell Club formed the first Alpharetta Rotary BOD and from there it grew.  There are some archives around for the specific details of the annual wood cut back in the day or the historical GRSP program over the years and it’s not hard to walk over by the donut table on Friday morning and see a list of every past president but what really is the history of our club?
 
I say its backpacks, parades, picnics, mission trips, fundraisers, community projects, cocktail parties etc. etc.  I will go on to say the history of this club is in the memories of the members and past members.  How many do you have?  More than you can count?  I do.  How many conversations in the room on Friday start with “Remember that time…” or “Tell me about that trip…”   I mention the old fundraiser where the club would split firewood and sell it to the community and there are still a handful of members and former members that will smile and say “those were the days.” 
 
My challenge for all of us to make some really cool memories of Rotary.  It maybe the year we blew away our fundraising goal and wrote a zillion checks.  Or the year you took your kids in the parade for the first time or saw the look on somebody’s face after we presented them with a check.  It could be a local mission trip or an international one that changed your outlook on life.  These are often referred to as “aha” moments but it’s OK to have a lot of them.  Those are called memories.
 
See you Friday.
 
Yours in Rotary Service,
 
Dan