As I was thinking about the subject matter I was going to talk about this week it became apparent that the changing of the guard each and every year at Rotary is a good and bad thing.  We have new people, new ideas, changes which are the good.   We also have the ideas from the past that may not have been completed, or forgotten, or brushed away.  Change is good, new is wonderful how do we incorporate the good going forward and leave the bad behind?
          Then I read Rotary International’s new vision statement adopted a few years ago.  “Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change- across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves”.
          Barry Rissen, Rotary International President’s message of “be the inspiration” helps interpret the answer to my question.  We as leaders look to change and inspire moving forward.  We incorporate the good ideas from the past and move ahead, and we look to the future of our Club, Our District and our Rotary International.  As leaders of our clubs we want to be the inspiration for our members to create lasting change, to take action on items, or ideas that are important to each one of us and to unite our clubs and our communities to create lasting sustainable change.
          This year I will be spending a significant amount of time uniting our service communities to join with our vision and work together for the whole of our community.  My goal is to take on the issue of hunger in our schools with the help of the school district, The Lions Club, Lioness Club, Kiwanis and possibly the Chamber of Commerce to help our youth who are less fortunate have a viable meal every day of the week not only the days they are in school.  I want to inspire our children to be the best they can be and if they are hungry it is almost impossible to be the best.  The focus of the 2018-2019 District conference will be focusing on the issue of hunger.  Let Emmaus Rotary be the inspiration and spearhead the opportunity to help our community with this daunting task. 
           Let’s leave the bad behind, take the good, change it a little, and transform the future for our community, and ourselves.  We can be the Inspiration, make small changes, have a lot of fun and "inspire" starting with ourselves. 
Yours in Service
Rick Zayaitz