Talk about a busy year for the members of my home club, the Rotary Club of Pictou! Not only did they coordinate the staging of the extremely popular musical “Mamma Mia”, they also were a key part of the organization of this year’s District Conference in Pictou. For three nights the “Mamma Mia” musicians and cast performed for sold-out audiences who were thrilled to hear the music and see the talented young musicians of Pictou County. Proceeds from the production will go to support projects in our community, as well as around the world. Rotarians in this club are very supportive of the Shelterbox program and continue to fund the purchase of the boxes. Pictou has been beautified in part through the planting of a red maple in the downtown area with six more plantings to follow. Our local 4-H club is supported through the purchase by the club of two baby changing tables. Our club recognizes the value and importance of contributing to community projects.It takes commitment to run an auction for 46 years! It has changed somewhat over that time and is now an on-line auction run by the Rotarians of the Labrador City – Wabush Rotary Club. I encourage you to go to their Facebook page to see a photo of the beautiful clock they have installed in their Rotary Peace Park. With the addition of the gazebo, a number of community groups use the park regularly for their celebrations. The club has recently purchased over $20,000 of sound equipment for use by groups using the park. Some of the proceeds of their various fund raising events support the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program in the schools. They continue to provide scholarships to deserving students in the community. Their numbers are growing! The club just welcomed a new, young woman into their ranks! Plans are well underway to sponsor a music festival for the community which will be launched later this Spring. The club is very generous with their donations to the Rotary Foundation. This dedicated group of Rotarians are still optimistic about the plans ahead even though there is still a meter of ice on the local lakes!
It was fascinating to see various clubs at the District Conference display their projects. We are People of Action and whatever we can do to raise the awareness of Rotary at work in our District is well worth the effort. I would encourage Rotarians throughout the District to tell their stories on their Facebook pages but share the big news stories on our District page as well.
Since this is my last People of Action article for this DG year, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to show and explain your club projects to me during the visits. I am in awe of the work being accomplished in our District! Keep up the excellent work so that we can truly BE THE INSPIRATION!