#WestervilleStrong? Indeed we are
It has been a tough couple of weeks. On Feb. 10, our town of Westerville lost two great men – Police Officer Eric Joering and Police Officer Anthony Morelli. When a tragedy hits, you see what people are truly made of. Our community is made of love and concern. All around town are blue ribbons, blue lights, special flags and signs that tell us we are #WestervilleStrong. Indeed we are.
The Rotary Club of Westerville found a way to show our support. I heard a quick commercial that Channel 4 was going to have a special donation collection to support the Joering and Morelli families. I asked our Treasurer, Dave Coffman, what can we donate from our club? The club Secretary, Wendell McCurdy was next to be asked, can we share this event with our club membership? The Secretary’s email blast was picked up by our District Governor, Shane Pyle. Shane shared the blast around our whole Rotary District 6690.
By air time at 5 p.m. Tuesday evening, Feb. 13 – just 36 hours later – we had collected $20,000. It was an honor to represent our club on air and present Channel 4 anchor Ellie Merritt with the Rotary donation. As of last night, Feb. 22, we have pledges totaling $25,750 for the families of the two fallen officers.
This is from our club ($1,000), our membership and Rotarians around Ohio that heard about our cause. The Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” is lived out every day by our police men and police women.
Tomorrow, Feb. 23, is the birthday of Rotary International. At 113 years old, it is just getting started! (Just ask Alexa!) There are 1.22 million members in 35,000 Rotary clubs around the globe. We are Rotary Strong! The annual Rotary International convention this year will take place June 23-27 in Toronto, Canada. You can meet your fellow Rotarians from around the world by registering for the convention online at riconvention.org.
Happy Birthday to all!
Lisa
Lisa Janszen is the 2017-18 President of the Rotary Club of Westerville.
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