President's Message - Feb. 7, 2014

If you have ever seen an interview with professional golfer Lee Trevino you know he is a very energetic and colorful guy who came from nothing.  At age 6 he was picking cotton in a Texas field to help support his family.  He later took on construction labor jobs and after work he would practice his golf game and play golf for money.   And, in his words, he was getting pretty good at it making more money on golf  than he was as a laborer.  He quickly determined that the better he got at golf the more he made and that practicing picking cotton or practicing being a laborer was not going to get him any farther in those fields.  So off he went to practice every day and an incredible career took off.
 
I found this to be very insightful in that certain areas (cotton picking) you can only do so much.  You can only go so far and only get so much better (I know he could invent automation for picking or saved up and bought a cotton picking farm but hear me out). We have seen this in some of our charitable organizations over the years. Sometimes we can only help so much.  Throwing more money or more time at certain organizations becomes a dead end as the progress or goals are either not attainable or misguided. In following the great Rotary Foundation  presentation we had last week from Past President John Hipes I want to assure you that the money you direct to the foundation is making a difference.  The projects are well scrutinized and measured for maximum effectiveness.  We will not build a medical center in a foreign country if we have not secured a plan and solidified its implementation to man it and fund it for the future.  Like other organizations (and Lee Trevino), Rotary International has figured it out through trial and error and found a path that really makes a difference in lives with a great deal of efficiency.  Please consider the offer from John Hipes last week.  Become a Paul Harris Society member with an annual commitment of only $84 a month.  All you have to do is forward this e-mail to John Hipes at jhipes@hbilawfirm.com and say “Sign me up.”  He will take care of the rest.  I hope to see you Friday. 
 
Yours in Rotary Service,
 
Dan
 
“We have enough ‘youth’ – How about a fountain of ‘smart’”