District Governor's Message

Greetings Rotarians,

I hope this finds you well and celebrating March Madness and the rituals of spring. Here in the Copper Country, spring means ... well, it can mean anything from snow to ... well ... snow. We are hoping that the snow will be melted in time for the conference although our RI Representative, a native of Hawaii, would enjoy a bit of powder!

Speaking of the conference, I am pleased to announce that we have another exciting speaker, Fred Maynard,MD, a practicing psychiatrist from Marquette, Michigan, who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. He has published extensively on a wide range of topics, especially those related to spinal cord injuries, post polio syndrome and aging with chronic disabilities. Dr. Maynard will spend some time with us on Saturday morning, providing a Plenary Session as well as joining several other panelists in a breakout session.

March Madness for Rotary includes our annual President Elect Training Seminar (PETS) again held in Itasca, IL outside of Chicago. This location allows us to participate in a seven district PETS, thus bringing in a variety of speakers and a wealth of Rotary knowledge. Reports indicate that over 500 Rotarians gathered for this annual event. Thanks go to PDG Steven Selvick for his work two years ago in negotiating a multi-year contract with the Westin Hotel in Itasca.

Rotary Clubs have continued to support the Brain Game. Approximately 15 clubs (36% of the district) have reported activity with this project. To date we have purchased over 1500 Brain Games! If you are looking to conduct a community service - large or small - this is an easy, turnkey project. We will have more information in the House of Friendship and through a breakout session on Friday of our district conference.

Don't forget to register for the conference and tickets for Bill Cosby are still available. The Community Dance Committee is hard at work putting together a spectacular event we are calling "Dancing Through the Decades." This event will be our service project as proceeds will be donated to the Dee Stadium Renovation Fund. The "Dee" is the home ice for our Houghton Gremlins High School Hockey team and the birthplace of professional hockey.

Here's hoping for some April showers to melt this snow and bring us some May flowers. Whatever the weather, I look forward to hosting the District conference here in Houghton and seeing you all for this annual gathering of District 6220 Rotarians.

-Bob Sharkey