Salt Lake City Convention 2007
Posted by Pieter Stam
Dear Fellow Rotarians,
Edie and I just returned from the Convention and following are some of the things we have experienced.
We arrived on Saturday.
Sunday morning we listened to the Mormom Tabernacle Choir who have a regular Sunday morning radio broadcast. An amazing building which seats 22,000 people. (The choir wasn't bad either)
That afternoon was the opening session of the Convention. Along with introductions of the board, including R.I. president Bill Boyd, there was fantastic entertainment by Donny Osmond, who still hasn't lost his charm. (says Edie)
The rest of the week we attended the morning session which had excellent speakers, to name a few:
Rotary World Peace Fellow, Brigitta from Germany told her story how Rotary has changed her life through a scholarship; William H. Gates Sr.,http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/convention2007/stories/20070619_plenary3.html the father of guess who? who told us to think big(he said, you are seeing now what happened to Polio because you were thinking big) Jenny Horton, from Australia. A success story which started because of Rotary youth exchange and got her involved in Polio.
Edie and I just returned from the Convention and following are some of the things we have experienced.
We arrived on Saturday.
Sunday morning we listened to the Mormom Tabernacle Choir who have a regular Sunday morning radio broadcast. An amazing building which seats 22,000 people. (The choir wasn't bad either)
That afternoon was the opening session of the Convention. Along with introductions of the board, including R.I. president Bill Boyd, there was fantastic entertainment by Donny Osmond, who still hasn't lost his charm. (says Edie)
The rest of the week we attended the morning session which had excellent speakers, to name a few:
Rotary World Peace Fellow, Brigitta from Germany told her story how Rotary has changed her life through a scholarship; William H. Gates Sr.,http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/convention2007/stories/20070619_plenary3.html the father of guess who? who told us to think big(he said, you are seeing now what happened to Polio because you were thinking big) Jenny Horton, from Australia. A success story which started because of Rotary youth exchange and got her involved in Polio.
Andrew Goldring:Going from exchange student to Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Emine Yuzay, (who writes with her feet) from Istanbul, who at the age of 17 got into a literacy program sponsored by Rotary.
Also a Rotarian from India that wanted to build a dam for fresh water for a village and needed $600,000 but the club only had $7,000 and succeeded.
The Convention was a huge success, even though maybe the numbers weren't that high. About 17,000 people attended, but the speakers and the programs were the best that we have heard in years. It is really neat to speak to so many people from so many different countries, who all have the same common goal: Helping people in need.
When you listen to the stories(with moist eyes) that the speakers(who were mostly youth, who changed because they got involved in Rotary programs and Rotarians) told, you realize why you are in Rotary and only want to become more involved.
In our club you never get to hear these stories, so it is essential for all of us to attend conventions.(you will not regret it).
We were so thrilled with the convention that we signed up again for the next one.
Please copy these www addresses and paste them in your browser and read the storeys. http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/convention2007/stories/20070621_wrapup.html
Also a Rotarian from India that wanted to build a dam for fresh water for a village and needed $600,000 but the club only had $7,000 and succeeded.
The Convention was a huge success, even though maybe the numbers weren't that high. About 17,000 people attended, but the speakers and the programs were the best that we have heard in years. It is really neat to speak to so many people from so many different countries, who all have the same common goal: Helping people in need.
When you listen to the stories(with moist eyes) that the speakers(who were mostly youth, who changed because they got involved in Rotary programs and Rotarians) told, you realize why you are in Rotary and only want to become more involved.
In our club you never get to hear these stories, so it is essential for all of us to attend conventions.(you will not regret it).
We were so thrilled with the convention that we signed up again for the next one.
Please copy these www addresses and paste them in your browser and read the storeys. http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/convention2007/stories/20070621_wrapup.html