99th Rotary International Convention
Los Angeles California - June 12-18 2008
The Polio Survivors & Associates excursion to the Rotary 99th International Convention, June 12-18 has been pronounced a success by almost any measure.
Chairman, Ann Lee Hussey was a speaker/panelist at the Monday Breakout Session entitled "The RAGS to Results Story: The Impact of Rotary Action Groups on World Community Service. This was the very first time Rotary Action Groups were listed in the official Convention program with a breakout session open to all attendees.
At a later session of the Health and Hunger Committee she received a standing ovation for her account of her own battles with polio and her ultimate triumph by participating in thirteen NID Campaigns in recent years as a team leader or a co-leader with Dave Groner, PSA Director from Michigan. She concluded with a summary of our rehabilitation projects and plans. It was an enlightening and moving speech that had significant lasting impact on the audience. It was a star performance.
Adding to her triumph as a speaker, she brought Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of the World Health Organization to our booth to get a clearer picture of what PSA is doing. Dr. Chan not only applauded what we are working toward, but has pledged to help us with our program to open Community Based Rehabilitation Clinics, initially in areas where polio has been recently prevalent and where early intervention with victims have the greatest chance of success.
But wait, there is more. Ann Lee was able to get a $25,000 donation to assist with the funding of our future projects such as polio corrective surgeries, bicycle wheelchairs and a rehabilitation clinic in Delhi, India. We plan to put these funds into a Rotary Advised Fund as soon as the proper applications have been approved.
Another distinguished visitor to our booth was Past RI President, Cliff Dochterman. Cliff has been an outspoken advocate for Rotary Fellowships and was a principal supporter of the idea of building on the inherent enthusiasm of Rotarians in Fellowships to form what soon became Action Groups. Action Groups began to grow with the help of PRIP Frank Devlyn and today we occupy a significant place at the table of Rotary programs.
At the booth we welcomed scores of Rotarians from all over the world. We had a chance to tell them the PSA story as well as to reinforce the PolioPlus commitment by our members. Our partners, Post-Polio Health International and the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute, had generously supplied us with a variety of print material that supplemented our revised PSA brochure.
As a Convention "special" we endowed each person who filled out a membership application with a beautiful new PSA pin. We signed up over 75 members and probably talked with over 250 people during the convention to say nothing of the hundreds more who saw our logo and well decorated booth. In short, we are much better known than we were before and those of us who worked in the booth know that the effort was a success.
The PSA Board of Directors did announce one change that will give our Rotarian members a greater opportunity to participate. Effective in the year beginning 1 July 2008 we will have a new dues structure of $100 for a Life Membership.
An accurate measure of the positive impact of a presence at a Convention cannot be done. Nor is it possible to measure the impact that participation at a Convention has upon the individuals who attend. We urge every Rotarian who reads this article to consider making the pilgrimage to the 100th Rotary International Convention in Birmingham England in 2009, or to the Montreal Convention the following year. You will be doing yourself, PSA and your Rotary Club a great service if you do attend
We take this opportunity to thank Fred Otto and his associates in the Law Fellowship and the Rotary Heritage and History Fellowship for their help in sharing the booth. We had an excellent corner location where we enjoyed twenty feet of open space that could be seen from many directions.
We also want to send our sincere thanks to those who worked our booth at the LA Convention. Often times these volunteers included our Directors as well as other willing Rotarians.
Chairman Ann Lee will be announcing details of three new projects for which we will be seeking partners. These will give each of us a chance to participate in rallying funds to our cause.
Ann Lee also announced the completion of our first project; the purchase of soccer uniforms for professional soccer teams in Kano Nigeria. The chosen colors were Rotary gold and blue and they carried the PSA logo on the front. The teams are unusual in that ALL the players are polio survivors.
We have now achieved orbit and are ready to make our impact in our quest to bring hope, health and happiness to a polio damaged world. Our ultimate success depends entirely upon you, our members, in our ability to rally significant funds and manpower to make a difference.
Ray Taylor, Founder/Secretary
