RI Director Pays a Visit to Grosse Pointe

"It's kind of like being on the board of directors of an extremely large global corporation," said Towar, past district governor and past president of Grosse Pointe Rotary, while introducing the speaker. "To get a sense of the enormity, she is one of 17 directors on the Rotary International board. She represents the upper third of the United States and Canada."

 

Visiting Rotarian leaders present at the Grosse Pointe luncheon included District 6400 Gov. Wayne Titus, Canton; District Gov. Elect Susan Goldsen and her husband, Past District Gov. Bruce Goldsen, Adrian; District Gov. Nominees Rick Caron, Windsor, and Barry Fraser, Chatham, Ont.; Past District Gov. and Past President Don Riddell, Troy, formerly of Grosse Pointe; Past District Gov. Robert Sanchez, Grosse Ile; Past District Gov. Liz Smith, Detroit; Assistant Gov. Mary Ann Hosey, Mount Clemens; Assist. Gov. John Chambers, Detroit A.M.; Pres. Joel Menardo, Grosse Pointe Sunrise; Pres. Kris Howell, Mount Clemens; Past Pres. John Prost of Detroit; and Pres. Elect Julie Dragich, Windsor-Roseland, and her husband, Past Pres. Sam Dragich.

 

Towar said she met Jones more than a decade ago and "fell in love with her instantly." It was Jones who inspired Towar to run for district governor. Jones is president and CEO of Media Street Productions in Windsor. "She has spoken all over the world — St. Petersburg (Russia); Bangkok; Australia, Germany — and Grosse Pointe!"

 

"President Fred, thank you for having me," said Jones, referring to Grosse Pointe Rotary Pres. Fred Ollison III. "Kim, thank you for the nice introduction. My best friends are Rotarians, and many of you are here today."

 

As the fog lifted, the rain stopped and the sun peaked through the clouds over Lake St. Clair outside the War Memorial Ballroom, Jones invoked the memory of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs and his "I want to tell you three stories" commencement speech in 2005 at Stanford. She went on to talk about the "branding" of Rotary and the work Rotary International is doing to rebrand Rotary and to explain "who we are and what we do and why does it matter." 

 

"We want young thinkers ... of any age," she said.

 

She pointed out that RI's research has shown that four in 10 people never hear of Rotary, four in 10 maybe heard something about Rotary, and only two in 10 know about Rotary.

 

"For those of us who live and breathe Rotary, that is startling," Jones said. "The reality is that when we tell people stories about what we're doing, they want to join us."

 

Referring to the number of Rotarians worldwide, Jones said the power of Rotary is one times 1.2 billion. 

 

"We're all about connectivity," she said. "That connectivity allows us to work together to accomplish things all over the world. If one Rotarian can change a community, then 1.2 billion can change the world. ... We have our own community, but we have the ability to scale it up globally."

 

While Rotary continues to evolve to meet contemporary needs, Jones said, "The one thing that hasn't changed and that we'll never change is our core values": 

 

1) Service

2) Diversity

3) Integrity

4) Fellowship

5) Leadership.

 

"What Rotary gives us," Jones summed up, "is the gift of Rotary."

 

Alluding to Rotary's motto, "Service Above Self," Jones concluded with a quote from the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: