Greetings from Australia, where Maureen and I are taking a little bit of time off as we enjoy some wine and Rotary Fellowship. Interestingly, we first came to Sydney, Australia in May of 2014 to visit some dear friends. The RI Convention was merely a side benefit. Since then, this will be our 9th convention—yes, we have gone every year, including two online. The Rotary International Convention broadens your perspective and gives you a chance to see beyond your club. We hope that many of you walked away with this same feeling when we were in St. Augustine just over a week ago. What was unique about St. Augustine was that almost every speaker that we had, had spoken either nationally or internationally, which cannot help but broaden your perspective. We spent a great afternoon in the Sydney Harbor with the historic Opera House and bridge before attending the symphony.
A special thank you to Angela Keller from the Rotary Club of Deland for the extraordinary pictures that she took last week at the District Conference.
I am pleased to announce that Past District Governor Rich Cooper from the Rotary Club of Ormond Beach will be District 6970’s representative to the RI Council on Legislation for the next three years. “Coop” will be assisted by Past District Governor Mike Darragh from the Rotary Club of South Jacksonville as the alternate representative. A special thank you to the nominating committee which was chaired by Past District Governor Dave Faraldo from the Rotary Club of Orange Park, Past District Governor Bill Griffin from the Rotary Club of Daytona Beach West and Past District Governor Jeanette Loftus from the Rotary Club of Flagler County.