March 23 – Fred Cowan, Partnering for Peace

LEXINGTON, KY – The Rotary Club of Lexington will heold its weekly meeting Thursday, March 23, at the Mane on Main, Chase Bank building on Main St. The program’s guest speaker  was Fred Cowan.

This meeting was also be on Zoom. For the Zoom link please email, trafton@rotarylexky.org.

If you would like to have lunch, please contact Jenny@rotarylexky.org  to reserve your meal.

A quick check of the Rotary International web page reminds us that “Rotary is dedicated to causes that build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever.  Promoting peace Rotary encourages conversations to foster understanding within and across cultures.”  Today’s speaker, Fred Cowan, is here to give us an update about the Partnering for Peace initiative, an important step in fulfilling the Rotary mission.

Partnering for Peace (PFP) is an all-volunteer nonprofit entity with a goal of fostering relationships between Rotary International and the United States Peace Corps (USPC).  A formal partnership between RI and USPC was first established in 2015 and was recently renewed.  This collaboration was sparked by Rotarians who were former USPC volunteers who recognized that the two organizations have almost identical goals.  Currently, nearly 150 Returning Peace Corps Volunteers are counted as PFP members.

In the fall of 2022, PFP held its second annual virtual, week-long celebration with the theme of “Peacebuilding on the Ground.” The week focused on the service partnership between Rotary and USPC.  The Rotary community was invited to join and learn about how PFP can support the peacebuilding and service projects of our many Clubs.

Our speaker serves as Vice-President of PCP, is a member of the Louisville Rotary Club, and is perhaps known to many of you as Attorney General of Kentucky in the late 1980s.  He was previously a state representative from Louisville and was in the private practice of law for many years.  He has been active in Rotary for many years and is currently the Peace Fellows Chair of District 6710, which as you know, covers the western half of Kentucky.  Last year, as an outgrowth of his membership in the District International Service Committee, and at the suggestion of former District Governor Bill Miller, Fred helped initiate a District chapter of PFP. Our Club’s own Eric Brooks is an active participant in that District chapter.

With Fred today from District 6710 is Rick Harned, past Foundation Chair for 6710 and currently chair of the District International Service Committee. Rick has worked with our district on several international projects.

For more information, email events@partneringforpeace.org or visit the Rotary-Peace Corps Week site