Dear Rotarians,
Service Above Self. From the day we become Rotarians, we immediately become familiar with the Rotary motto. Its origin is traced to 1911 at the second Rotary Convention in Portland, Oregon where the phrase was inspired. Today those three words connect us to 1.2 million other Rotarians in more than 35,000 clubs around the world.
At the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City, service is at the center of everything we do. We are proud to be the oldest and largest civic club in Oklahoma. More importantly, our commitment to service gives us the ability to be the most impactful. Over the past year we made quite an impact: our annual OnePlege campaign raised a record amount to fund a community playground, scholarships, and our literacy program. We created the Helping Hands program to match member donations to community nonprofits, and we used meal savings to support Oklahoma City’s most vulnerable citizens and frontline healthcare workers. We rang bells for the Salvation Army, and our Service Saturday committee joined with several metro clubs to develop a long-term plan to clean up and restore historic Rotary Park in South Oklahoma City.
Internationally, we were involved with important efforts in Poland, Honduras, Guatemala, and India. And, for the first time in modern history, we are the lead club in a major Global Grant where we will raise significant funds to diagnose and treat malaria in Uganda.
You can see why I believe we are the most impactful civic club in Oklahoma! I am grateful to be a member of a Rotary Club that lives up to the motto Service Above Self. I am so thankful that you are a member of the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City, and I look forward to seeing everything that we will accomplish together over the coming year!
Sincerely,
Jerrod Shouse