Bob Parkinson (Lexington Park club) began his talk with comments about his recent visit with the new Rotary International Japanese president SakuJi Tanaka whose theme for the year is “Peace Through Service.” At the local level this means people using their time and skills to help other people—each doing what he does best.

“In our district there are 60+ Rotary clubs,” said Bob. ”Annapolis is the largest with 162 members, and there are six clubs with under 10 members.” During the past year, membership admissions and attritions have both been about 240 people, hence a static membership account. Bob hopes that the North Bethesda Club can raise its membership to 45 during the coming year, and that other clubs will be able to add to their ranks. District 7620 will continue to support the International Rotary project of conquering polio with funding for vaccinations, and our District is also obligated for the completion of a grant to Gallaudet College in D. C. This $500,000 project began about 15 years ago with a grant of $250,000 from a single donor, and today there is $65,000 still outstanding

• [fancy_link color=”black” link=”https://nbrotary.org/dg-video-2/”]Watch the video from his speech[/fancy_link]