Tom Markos believes that Rotary makes a difference. He joined Rotary for the first time in Rawlins, Wyoming in 1983, but it wasn’t until he moved to Oregon and joined the Kruse Way club that he began to realize its full impact. Along the way to becoming District Governor, he became a charter member of the Rotary Club of West Linn and served in many club offices including Club President. He served District 5100 as Assistant Governor from 2012 to 2014 when he was selected as District Governor Nominee Designate.
The training required of District Governors is intense and time consuming. All who will serve in the position go through three years of training and attend the International Assembly of District Governors Elect. The classes are small and purposely filled with unfamiliar people. Tom recalls noticing a young Filipino woman who continually stared at him throughout one class. When it was her turn to introduce herself, she explained that she had been a youth exchange student in Portland in 1978. The experience changed her life and led her on the path to becoming a Rotarian and District Governor.
Rotary has gone through many changes in the last 100 years. The Duarte Club of CA led the way to include women and began admitting them in 1977. Rotary International pulled the club’s charter but forward-thinking members kept meeting without official sanction. In 1987 the case went to the Supreme Court and women won the right to be official Rotary Club members. In 2017, we will celebrate 30 years of women in Rotary. The first female club president, who served at the Marin, CA club, will speak at the District 5100 conference in Seaside, OR in May 2017. Currently, 15% of all Rotarians are women; 32% of Rotarians in District 5100 are female.
Tom expressed enthusiasm for many Rotary programs including a well-respected youth exchange program, more than 1,000 Peace Scholars, sanitation facilities that improve health for people in developing countries, and partnering with the Gates Foundation to provide Polio vaccinations.
The International Rotary Foundation is Tom’s passion and with cash in hand, he illustrated its significance. A donation of $10, when matched by the Foundation, buys 10 Polio vaccines. He went on to say that only 19 cases of Polio—all near the common border of Afghanistan and Pakistan–have been reported this year. Rotary expects Polio to be eradicated sometime in 2017 or 2018, but we will need to continue vaccinating people three years after it is wiped out. Tom held up a $20 bill and explained that, when matched by another $20 by the Foundation, a donation in this amount will buy 5 smoke alarms. Research has shown that most people never replace the smoke alarms that were installed in their homes (this should be done about every 10 years) and that smoke alarms save lives. Fifty dollars, when matched by another fifty from the Rotary Foundation, can build a sanitation facility that will provide a village with clean water.
As Rotary Club members, we are all obligated to help in various ways including participating in club fund raising and local projects and supporting the International Foundation. We should also be ambassadors for Rotary Club culture and membership. Membership in Rotary helps build business connections and long-term friendships. Rotary is needed more than ever right now. We must remember who we are when making choices in our lives. We are called upon to change lives through service to humanity.