Barb Skurdall and David Sylvester gave a report of the highlights of the Great Lakes Rotary President Elect Training Seminar (P.E.T.S.) they attended n Kalamazoo March 19, 20 & 21.
 
Barb and Dave represented our club at the event which was attended by members of over 300 clubs representing 6 Rotary Districts. P.E.T.S. is designed for Presidents Elect as well as President Nominees.  Some of the highlights of the event for Barb and David were:
  • Rotary International President Elect Ravi Ravindran gave the Welcome Address.  Mr. Ravindran is member of the Rotary Club of Colombo Western Province, Sri Lanka.  During his address Mr. Ravindran discussed how all successful people have had help from others over the years and that for him it is "payback time", his time to give back and to help others.  We should strive to "be a gift to the world".
  • An fund raising event raised over $17,000 to support Rotary's Polio Eradication Program "Purple Pinkie Project" thanks to a 2:1 matching contribution from the Gates Foundation.
  • Barb shared an example of the power of Rotary.  In India Rotary held a Polio Vaccination Day and in 1 day over 125 million babies and children were vaccinated. 
  • "Every Rotarian Every Year". The goal for 2015 is for each club to average $75 per member in giving to Rotary International.  Giving is easy and can be done on line by visiting www.rotary.org.  Monies donated to Rotary make a real difference as funds given to Rotary have the highest percentage of the donation go to the cause.  Rotary Leaders are volunteers and are not paid for their work. 
David and Barb felt is was a privilege to attend P.E.T.S. and thanked the club for sponsoring their trip to the event.