by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Rotary International President’s Representative Bill Fennell began his remarks at Friday’s District 6970 2008 Conference with some memories of his childhood. They were memories that Fennell and his fellow club members have helped make sure won’t be the memories of any more youngsters.
“We couldn’t play outside our own backyards and all the public pools were closed. We all remember the iron lungs and leg braces. Each Rotarian should be proud of being part of the eradication of polio,” he said.
Fennell was the keynote speaker at the conference that brought 60 North Florida Rotary Clubs to the Hyatt for two days of meetings, seminars and fellowship.
Fennell also said despite the current economic climate, contributions from Rotarians have continued to increase each year due to new clubs being chartered.
“Rotary’s gains have come from the formation of new clubs. These clubs have younger members and most meet in the morning. We must grow in order to continue our many service projects,” he said, then challenged each club member to recruit and maintain at least one new member per year.
Jacksonville Jaguars owners Wayne and Delores Weaver were recognized with the District’s Major Donor Award for their contribution to the Rotary “Jaguar Day” campaign.
Past District Governor Tommy Grimes recalled how the program began.
“One of our club members went to the Jaguars trying to get a couple of tickets donated so we could raffle them,” he said.
Grimes added Delores Weaver wasn’t going to let the Rotarian off that easily and challenged him to think bigger than just two tickets. What ultimately resulted was “Jaguars Day” with the team donating $5 from every ticket sold by Rotarians to a home game each season to the Rotary International Foundation.
Since the first game in 2005, the program has raised $21,000, with an additional $34,000 raised with donated seats in the owner’s box and autographed memorabilia donated by the Jaguars that were auctioned by Rotary.
District Governor Cecil Gibson pointed out the team may have received value from the program as well and noted, “The Jaguars have won three of the four games we’ve been involved with, including beating the (Indianapolis) Colts twice.”
Photo by Max Marbut