Posted on Jul 02, 2017

With at least 6 members in attendance, District 5400 was well-represented at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta June 11th-14th.

One of the highlights included Rotary International President John Germ announcing that eradication efforts would require another $1.5 billion dollars, $50 million of which would come from Rotary over the next three years. Following this announcement, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged a 2 for 1 match, making a collective commitment of $450 million. Other agencies and countries followed suit and in total, $1.2 billion was raised to end the fight against Polio. Gates noted, "It's easy to forget why this fight is so important, but to me, there is one particularly important statistic; 16 million people can walk today because they didn't contract polio."

Coca-Cola's CEO James Quincy made his first public appearance at the RI Convention, voicing Coca-Cola’s commitment to clean water, empowering women and other humanitarian efforts. This was followed by shared Cokes among supportive attendees.

We are proud to say that Rotary Club of Nampa member Kenton Lee was featured on the front page of the RI Convention program for efforts of his nonprofit The Shoe that Grows. He also hosted a booth at the House of Friendship.

Another highlight included the inaugural Women in Rotary awards at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum, which featured homage to Sylvia Whitlock, the first woman Rotary Club President in 1987-88.

Jennifer Deroin and Rhea Allen, Rotary Club of Nampa