Spring
 
I saw the first robin the other day. Baseball is on TV again.  We just celebrated another Rural/Urban dinner, an event timed to coincide with the arrival of warmer weather, just before the farmers hit the fields to begin another planting season. Despite the “April Fools” joke of a snow storm last weekend, I am convinced that it must be Spring!
 
As Spring arrives and the lawns start to green, we feel invigorated and renewed; it seems like the year begins again.
 
New members renew Rotary clubs just like the passing of the seasons renews our faith that flowers will bloom again.  The original four men who began the organization in 1905 witnessed its growth to over 2,000 members in only 20 years.  Could they have possibly ever imagined that today there would be 34,282 clubs with a membership over 1.2 million?
 
As we look forward to Spring, we celebrate the new members of our club and new Rotarians throughout the world; they bring new ideas and challenge established ways, fostering change while honoring the value of established practice. 
 
Rotary, like the seasons, is always in change and it’s our new members, the women and men who understand the value of Service Above Self, who will continue to drive Rotary forward and ensure that it remains relevant even as the seasons, and the years, pass.
 
We look forward to your contributions in the years to come.
 
Claire
April 2019