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BBRC Represents at the 5030 District Conference in Portland

PORTLAND, OR — May 18, 2010 - A team from the Best Darn Rotary Club in the World showed up in Portland ready for learning, voting, and fun. They left with much, much more — new relationships, new aspirations, new ideas, new understandings and REnewed inspirations for all things Rotary. "For anyone who attended, you couldn't help but be inspired by the speakers and presentations. There were so many great stories and ideas on ways to improve individual clubs, get more personally involved, and inspire others," reports President Margie. "I also think we gave as good as we got. John Martinka and Steve Lingenbrink shared about the service projects we are doing with Computers for the World. The display that Elena and her committee put together looked great in the display hall (see our models below). Jon, our exchange student from Spain, was seen being followed by women from various countries. And, Past President Jenny Andrews only danced a little."

Also attending from the BBRC were Chuck Kimbrough, Howard and Judy Johnson, and first-time attendees Jonathan Koshar, Wendi Fischer, Ann Norman, and Aisha Kabani. Howard Johnson participated with 20 other Rotarians from the District in a community service project on Friday, in conjunction with the Oregon food banks.

Former BBRC member and Past District Governor Jim Givens was also there, bringing his collection of flags, which decorated the main ballroom for all of the many sessions.

Computers for the World came up for renewal as a District Project. The vote was unanimous, so expect Morris, Steve, and John to be in Antigua working again (for the most part).

Marvin Hamlisch was entertaining and fun but had a serious message: arts and music have a place in the education process. He shared his story and his belief that since arts are the first thing cut by governments, it is up to the private sector to support the arts. He pointed out that the main benefit of this is that the private sector tends to do things right because it is their money.

The keynote speaker, Deepa Willingham, was unable to attend due to a serious illness, but her replacement, a former District Governor from California, Sally Applebloom, delivered Deepa's speech in a sincere and passionate way. From the beginning you were gripped by the seriousness of the problem facing 1.3 billion people who are trying to live on less than a dollar a day. It was hard to hear of how some parents would deal with feeding 4 out of 5 children by selling the fifth into the sex trade. The speech showed how Deepa started PACE Universal, which works to nurture the education, nutrition, health, and social development of young girls around the world.

There were many other presentations, panel discussions and other activities, but there is really only one way to truly understand a District Conference: attend one. Next year, the event will be held in the same hotel in Portland, and everyone is encouraged to attend.