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Address to a Club Assembly of Rotary eClub One
D5450 By District Governor Steve Cantrell, 20 July 2008 Fellow Rotarians, friends, and to the family of
Rotary, I would like to introduce my Rotary partner, my best friend, and the woman who makes my dream
real - my wife, Mary. I am truly honored to have this opportunity to
deliver my message today. I want to share with you something that is near
and dear to my heart … Passion in Rotary. First, I want to give you our Rotary International
President K Lee from His theme is “Make dreams real”. In addition, President D K Lee’s emphasis is on
water, literacy, health and hunger, and youth. Specifically, those issues related to the
mortality of youth. I was shocked to discover almost 27,000 children
under the age of five die every day from preventable causes. These
children die from pneumonia, measles, and malaria due to lack of
basic medicines, vaccines, and mosquito nets. They die by the thousands every day because they
only have dirty water to wash in and drink. As I mentioned a few moments ago, I also want to
leave you with something today that I am passionate about -
something that is important to me and I hope would be also of
importance to you. A few months ago at the District 5450 Conference
in Vail, This was one of the best presentations I have ever
heard in Rotary. Doug talked about his passion in Rotary, and in a
moment, I will talk more about, our passion in Rotary. But first, what does “Make Dreams Real,” mean to
us? Does it mean we can “make dreams real” by
providing clean drinking water to a community that has none? Did you know 1.1 billion people live without safe
clean drinking water? Do we “make dreams real” by providing food for the
hungry and health care for the unhealthy? Did you know 50% of the worlds entire population
suffers from malnutrition? Do we “make dreams real” by teaching those less
fortunate to read and write? Did you know 70% of the world’s population is
unable to read? Is it our desire to “Make dreams real” by serving
the youth in our local and international communities? Do we “make dreams real” by meeting the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, one-hundred million dollars Rotary
challenge grant and eliminate polio from the face of the Earth once
and for all? I believe before we can do any of these wonderful
things to improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves,
we must have a Rotarian with a passion - a Rotarian with a dream. A member of Rotary will pay the membership dues
and half the time show up to a meeting. A member of Rotary might,
just might, help for an hour or two on a service project, if you beg
them to lend a hand. If a member of Rotary is fortunate, he or she will
find their passion in Rotary and make that transition from being a
member of Rotary to a Rotarian - a passionate Rotarian with a dream
to “Make dreams real”. If he or she does not find their passion in Rotary
they will eventually decide Rotary is not worthy of their time. This member of Rotary will tell us they no longer
have the time to come to the weekly club meetings, or help on a
service project, and they need to spend their time doing this or
that. What they are really telling us is they do not see
the value of spending their time as a member of Rotary. In other
words, Rotary is not worthy of their time. This member of Rotary did not find their passion
in Rotary. They did not have a dream to make dreams real, nor were
they not provided an opportunity to find their passion in Rotary? This is when we need to ask ourselves as club and
district leaders … Did we give this member of Rotary an opportunity
to find their passion in Rotary? Did we give this member of Rotary an opportunity
to serve and improve the lives of those less fortunate? Did we give this member of Rotary the confidence
that they can make a difference and make dreams real? I believe a passionate Rotarian can accomplish
anything and will “Make dreams real”. A passionate Rotarian alone can save lives; a
passionate Rotarian working with other passionate Rotarians can save
thousands of lives.
A passionate
Rotarian
Also, passionate
Rotarians will eliminate polio from the face of the Earth, once and
for all. It is my dream that every Rotarian in our district
will find his or her passion in Rotary, and let nothing stop them
from improving the lives of those that desperately need our help. It is my dream that the leaders of this Rotary
Club will give every one of their members the opportunity to find
their passion in Rotary by being active in all the avenues of
service. Members of Rotary must demand this opportunity from their
club leaders. Have you found your passion in Rotary? If you have
found your passion, is this passion contagious and like a virus and
infecting those around you with the passion to serve? A passionate Rotarian will want to invite those
that are Rotarians in their heart, but just have not been asked to
join Rotary yet. Will you ask someone to join you in Rotary this
year to serve and improve lives by performing one act of random
kindness, every day? In closing, I believe it is difficult for a member
of Rotary without a passion - to “Make dreams real”. To “Make dreams real” is a vision, but a vision
without action is nothing more than a dream. However, a Rotarian with a passion will serve
others and let nothing stand in his or her way to perform the
actions to “Make dreams real”. When I spoke to the Rotary Club of Longmont St.
Vrain and delivered a similar presentation to that which you have
heard today, Rotarian Michael Bellmont told me afterwards he was
inspired during my presentation to write the following poem; “We have to truly serve, for certainly it seems, We cannot change the world by what we feel, If
ever we can hope to make real dreams, We have to find our passion to Make dreams real!”
About DG Steve
Cantrell:
Steve
joined Smoky Hill Rotary
in 1990. Like many in Rotary, his first six months left him
wondering whether Rotary was for him. He finally discovered that
moment when he became a Rotarian, and not just a member of a Rotary
club.
Steve served as
President in 1995-96. In 1998, he was awarded the club Robert W.
Tschappat award (Rotarian of the Year). Steve showed the importance
he places upon Rotary’s activities by maintaining perfect
attendance, which currently stands at 16 years.
He has proposed
and sponsored more than 25 people in Rotary. No less than five
Presidents of Smoky Hill were sponsored by Steve.
Steve began his
lengthy service to the District serving as the District 5450
Programs Chairman in 1995-96. He served as the District Foundation
Chairman for two years from 1996 to 1998 in which he was the
recipient of the Rotary Foundation District Service Award. Steve was
awarded the distinguished Rotary International Citation for
Meritorious Service Award in 1998. Steve served as Assistant
Governor for two years from 1997-1999.
In 2000, Steve
served as the District 5450 Conference Chairman. Under Steve’s
leadership and guidance, Smoky Hill hosted a conference that Rotary
International awarded the Best District Conference in our Zone 25
consisting of 17 Districts!
Steve has been a
trainer for P.E.T.S. for the past ten years, served as the Chairman
for the Quad District Rotary International Foundation Dinner and
served as the District World Community Service Chairman from 2002 to
2005.
Steve’s service
has been recognized many times, but most significantly when Steve
was the recipient of the District 5450 Rotarian of the Year for
2003-2004.
Steve is a Four
Multiple Paul Harris Fellow and an Annual Contributor. In addition,
he made each of his twin children, Nick and Nina, Paul Harris
Fellows. He is a Rotary Foundation Benefactor, and most recently a
member of The Rotary Foundation Bequest Society.
Professionally,
he is a real estate broker specializing in corporate relocations,
commercial and residential sales.
Steve and Mary
were married on March 30, 2008, in the
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