Installation of Officers and Gerald Marvel. 2019-2020 Club President, Address to the Club Membership

LEXINGTON, KY – The Rotary Club of Lexington held its weekly meeting Thursday, July 11th ,  at the Red Mile, 1200 Red Mile Road. The  day’s program was the installation of Officers and Directors for 2019-2020 and the membership heard from the club’s 2019-2020 club President Gerald Marvel.

From President Gerald Marvel:

The new Rotary year has begun and I hope you are as excited as I am for the positive impact that we, both as a club and as individuals, can and will have in the year ahead.  Your contributions of time, talent, energy, and resources to our various fundraising events and efforts and to The Rotary Foundation benefit many thousands of folks in our community and in the world.

Mark Maloney, our Rotary International President for 2019-2020, has fittingly chosen “Rotary Connects the World” as our theme for the year.  As he points out, Rotary connects us locally and in the global community.   The collective efforts of the connected members of over 35,000 Rotary clubs around the world living our motto of “Service Above Self” is truly a powerful force for good.  I am incredibly proud to play a small part and you should be as well.

As your club president for the year, I am honored and humbled to follow in the footsteps of Sharon and all her fellow Past Presidents who have so ably led our club.   I feel privileged to work with Peggy, our enthusiastic and dedicated Executive Director, our Endowment Board Chair Debbie Tudor, our club and Endowment Board officers and directors, our committee chairs, and each of you.   The Rotary emblem of the wheel, the current version of which was officially approved in 1929, has spokes signifying strength and cogs signifying power.  You, the members of this Rotary club, and our 1.2 million fellow Rotarians around the globe are those spokes and cogs.

As I contemplate the year ahead and the job I hope to do in this role, I am looking at this as an opportunity to if not reinvent then at least reinvigorate my Rotary wheel.    I’m a firm believer that with Rotary, as with all things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.   While we all benefit from coming to our weekly meetings by keeping informed from our outstanding guest speakers and from time spent with our fellow Rotarians, I am confident we can all benefit more by focusing more on what and how we can benefit others rather than what’s in it for us.  I ask and challenge you to think about your Rotary wheel as well.  Which if the six Rotary Avenues of Service are you most passionate about?  Are you doing what you can to show and share that passion with fellow and prospective Rotarians?

We all know that there is strength in numbers.  The Rotary Club of Lexington remains in the top 25 clubs in the world in numbers of members but could be stronger still.  Are you telling the Rotary story to your friends and colleagues and pounding your chest as a proud Rotarian while you do so?   If not then why not?  We’ll soon be convening the chairs of our various membership related committees and welcome your ideas on how best to share the impact and value of Rotary membership as we look to grow our ranks and ultimately our positive influence.

I thank you for your past Rotary efforts and for those yet to come and look forward to working together to make this another impactful year!

President Gerald

For additional information, or to attend this meeting, please contact Peggy Trafton at [email protected]. 

401 West Main Street • Suite 305 • Lexington, KY 40507 • (859) 389-8100