Message from the President

Dear Fellow Rotarians:

At the board meeting earlier this week, we looked at a number of reports that showed our progress during this Rotary year. It's hard for me to be-lieve that my year as president is three-quarters finished, and our next president, Kirk Johnson is already making plans for his year which begins in July. But, we still have a quarter left in which to finish up some of our work. There are still service projects and social activities to plan before our June banquet which formally concludes the Rotary year.

We have done a good job both in raising money for the Foundation, and participating in projects funded by the Rotary International Foundation. Gordon Lansford, who chairs the club’s international service projects, re-ported to the club that Rohan Radhakrishna won one of the two Rotary Ambassadorial scholarships from our district. Our candidate made such an impression on the judges with his presentation that he won handily. His $23,000 scholarship will enable him to study in India for a year between his 3rd and 4th year of medical school, which will greatly broaden his knowledge. He will be a true ambassa-dor for Rotary. Rohan grew up in Topeka and graduated from Washburn Rural High School before attending Stanford University for his bachelor’s degree. He is currently attending the University of California Medical School in Berkley/San Francisco and will join us at a future club meeting. Ro-han’s letter to our club follows in this issue.

By the time you read this, our GSE team from South Korea will have come and gone. Thanks to Staci Williams, they were well cared-for during their visit. The purpose of Group Study Exchange teams is to promote international understanding and good will. Certainly, these visitors will have lasting memories of their Kansas visit and of our Rotarians that hosted them. The club thanks David and Lynette Beck, Webb and Julie Garlinghouse, Maggie and Dale Warren and George and Rita Webb for serving as host families.

Our membership is really fluid. We have brought in 17 new members, but have lost 21 due to death, moving from the city, changes in job duties, and a host of other reasons. The biggest challenge to Rotary clubs across the country is to maintain their membership. Won’t you ask a colleague if they would like to join Rotary? Invite them to a meeting (the club will buy the lunch) and then give them an application form. Rotary opens up a whole new avenue of opportunities for people, but we have to reach out to them first.

Won’t you help?

Joan Wagnon