Thank you Rotary Club of Philadelphia for your support and service over the past two years!
By Jay Pennie
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the Rotary Club of Philadelphia for their support over the past two years. It’s been quite a journey.
I asked for help from so many members. What is so remarkable is that not one person hesitated or said “no.” For that, I will be forever grateful.
When asked more than two years ago if I would consider serving as club President, I tried to anticipate what challenges I might face. I can tell you that I never planned on a global pandemic, economic cratering, and international social unrest. Like many people, I have concluded that the pandemic did not cause these issues. It shined a light on the problems that were already there.
As a club, undeterred by the pandemic, we transitioned quickly to virtual meetings and events. We continued with service projects in a safe and productive manner.
Together, we actively worked on challenges in our own club. We surveyed the membership to obtain a candid opinion on the club’s strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. Our strengths and opportunities are many. But, we also needed to evaluate weaknesses and potential threats so as to better plan for the future and position ourselves to maximize our impact in the community. This led to the creation of a 3-year strategic plan.
Together, we reinvigorated connections with our youth clubs, and established a new Interact Club at Liguori Academy. We raised funds to aid in the mission to eradicate polio, support local food banks and provide high-quality tutors for struggling readers. We donated much-needed medical supplies to a public hospital in Jamaica. Our club’s foundation, the Rotary Foundation of Philadelphia, awarded nearly $60,000 in grants to 34 local and international nonprofit organizations over the past two years.
Providing financial support for professional tutors for struggling readers.
Most remarkably, our club members contributed more than 700 volunteer hours in direct service to the community over the past two years ranging from preparing meals for people in need to cleaning and beautifying the public parks.
Those volunteer hours do not include the hundreds of hours donated for planning and event preparation, meetings, creating a new website, designing digital billboards, creating a members-driven promotional video, launching and updating social media platforms, developing curriculum for and conducting new membership orientation sessions, and building a long-term plan.
I’m energized by and grateful for a 30% growth in membership over the past two years! I’m looking forward to serving with our new and highly accomplished members and hearing how they want to impact our community.
I’m thrilled and grateful that we now have new highly-qualified club presidents lined up to serve over the next three years. I’m looking forward to seeing their contributions to the club and our community! I know you will provide them with all the support they need as they lead the club in the upcoming years.
Please view and share our video Rotary Club of Philadelphia Year In Review, 2020-21. It provides a great overview of the accomplishments of our members. Also, take a moment to thank and recognize the leadership and members who helped make this past year successful.
My one overall goal was to have made our club stronger and a better organization than when I began. I hope you feel that together we accomplished that goal. Thank you for your support and help over the past two years. I’m honored to have served.
Yours in Rotary service,
Jay Pennie
President, 2019-21