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ROTARY OFFICIAL EMPHASIZES PEACE, SERVICE

Sept. 17, 2001 – Addressing the combined Rotary Clubs of St. Thomas and St. John, Rotary International's Northern Caribbean District governor, Richard Grant, emphasized the organization's priorities and shared his goals for the district.
Grant prefaced his luncheon remarks Thursday at Marriott's Frenchman's Reef Beach Resort by telling his fellow Rotarians that there were no disaster relief notices posted on the Rotary International website from members in the terrorist attack areas — New York and Washington, D.C.
He noted that blood collection efforts to aid the injured in New York and Washington were under way on the mainland while air transportation remained unavailable locally. He said that current world affairs "only emphasize the need for renewed energy in our quest to promote world peace and understanding. It's absolutely essential that we don't forget that."
Grant, a St. Croix resident, noted that this year's Rotary International theme is "Mankind is our business." It follows, he said, that "Service is our product." And, he said, "it always has been since our first Rotary project in Chicago in 1905."
He called upon his audience to make two commitments to Rotary International this year: First, to "extend compassion and practical aid to those whose lives are afflicted by poverty, disease, ignorance and natural disasters." Second, to enlist new Rotarians by "reaching out to qualified business and professional leaders who have been given the opportunity to help their fellow citizens."
According to Grant, Rotary's "Global Quest" is for each club to induct one new member every month and for every club to increase its membership by at least ten percent this year. He called Rotary membership a "privilege and a responsibility" and said that it comes with an "obligation to share Rotary with someone new."
Grant enumerated the Rotary International Global Quest membership drive incentives. Each of the top 100 clubs worldwide will receive a Global Quest globe made with "precious stones." On the district level, there will be "a special gift" for each Rotarian who brings in three new members this year as well as "Global Quest" awards for the individual club and individual Rotarian who bring in the most new members.
Additionally, Grant said, his "commitment" to the membership drive is to award one raffle ticket toward two round-trip flights to the 2002 Rotary International convention in Barcelona, Spain, for each new member that any District 7020 Rotarian (excluding himself) enlists The drawing is to be held at next year's Rotary district conference.
"Finally," Grant said, "we need to enhance our public image." He cited recent survey findings that only 10 percent of respondents knew "who we are and what we do." Very few people, he said, knew that Rotarians do charitable work in the community, including blood drives and health fairs.
District 7020 comprises 57 Rotary clubs with 2,000 members in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, the Bahamas (except for Grand Bahama), Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barths and Haiti.

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