There is no denying that 2019-2020 has been an eventful year.

There were the earthquakes that rocked the city of Ridgecrest and the wild fires of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Yet this year will be defined by the last four months.

When we faced COVID-19 and Rotary faced our greatest challenge, how to observe physical distancing and yet stay connected.

You responded rapidly and with ingenuity. You launched virtual meetings and kept the clubs connected. In our communities there were new and urgent needs and you sprung into action.

There were the hungry to be fed and you contributed selflessly and generously. You did food drives, fill up food banks and hand out thousands of food package.

There were the lonely and the elderly who needed support. You partnered with them, did their errands and comforted them.

There were people to be protected and you donated countless protective gear.

There were essential workers who needed moral support. You bought food for medical staff, for the delivery drivers, You missed no one.

You placed signs in front of business reassuring the worried business owners that you will support them when they reopened.  

You bonded together and you were no longer individual clubs you became one Rotary.

Rotary has never been more alive and visible in our communities. This crises brought out in us our highest purpose. 

You proudly displayed the Rotary wheel on banners and shirts and caps. 

Saying without the ambiguity of words ”you matter and we care”.

We always have difficulties describing Rotary and the difficulty will continue.

How can you box into the limitations of words, a movement of good, an energy of compassion, a feeling of care. How can you describe in limited words, the limitless work of Rotary. 

The description of whom we are, will continue to be best told in our actions. 

This is a historic year and we will be asked by future generations how did we survive. The story that we tell will be one of inspiration. We took the greatest challenge and turned it into the greatest triumph.

Thank you for allowing me to share this journey with you. I am taking with me unforgettable memories. Memories that you made possible .

As we close the curtains to 2019-2020 let us welcome and support our new District Governor Deb Linden and her team, as they lift the curtains to  Rotary year 2020-2021.