Fellowship Friday
A big thank you to Aziz and Zahabiya Akbari for opening their home and hosting this past week’s Fellowship Friday. It was another great evening of food, laughter, conversation, and, most importantly, fellowship. A special shout-out to Paul Cardoso for bringing the six-month-dormant fire pit back to life! I’m not sure if Paul considers that a service project, but we certainly appreciated it. This Friday is our final Fellowship Friday of the year, so if you haven’t had a chance to join us, please make an effort to come out. These gatherings are a great way to get to know your fellow Rotarians outside of our Thursday meetings. Service brings us together. Fellowship keeps us together.
Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit
Wow, what an amazing day! A huge thank you to District Governor Geeta Kadambi and her team for putting together such a fantastic Rotary Collaborative Impact Summit. It was wonderful to walk through the nonprofit showcases and learn about so many organizations doing incredible work in our communities. The speakers were outstanding, and the performances added another special dimension to the day. One of the things I love most about Rotary is being reminded that we are part of something much bigger than our own club. There are thousands of Rotarians throughout District 5170, all bringing different talents, ideas, experiences, and passions to the same goal making a difference. So, get outside of our club. Meet other Rotarians. Learn something new. Share ideas. Bring those ideas back to Niles. You never know when one conversation with another Rotarian might spark the next great idea for our club.
The Video Message from Richard D. King
In the words of a great mentor of mine, past Rotary International President Richard L. Evans, it sometimes seems that we live as if we wondered when life was going to begin. It isn’t always clear just what we’re looking for, but some of us sometimes persist in waiting so long that life slips by, finding us still waiting for something that has been going on all the time. There is no reason to doubt good intentions, but when in the world are we going to begin to live as if we understood that this is it? This is life. This is our time, our day, our generation, our one chance to do something for somebody else. This is the life in which the work of this life is to be done. This is it, whether we are thrilled or disappointed, busy or bored, givers or takers. This is life. It’s
all we’ve got, and it’s passing. What in the world are we waiting for?
Keep Serving. Keep Connecting.
That message is a powerful reminder of why we are Rotarians. We don’t have to wait for the perfect time, the perfect project, or the perfect opportunity to make a difference. The opportunity is right in front of us. As we continue this Rotary year, let’s keep doing what Niles Rotary does best: Show up. Get involved. Build friendships. Support our community. Serve others and most importantly, let’s continue to live our theme: Serving All Mankind! Thank you for everything you do for Niles Rotary. I am honored to serve alongside each of you, and I am excited about what we will accomplish together during the year ahead.