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The following is one of our CONNECT LETTERS
Hello Past District Governor Jodie,
I hope you enjoyed your year as Rotary District 9465 District Governor, as much as my husband, Bill, and I did. I was so blessed to have the opportunity to lead our Rotary District 7090.
There are several of our District Rotarians who traveled to your District in 2016 and then, in the spring of ’17 we hosted your group here in our ‘Best of Friends District.’ It was my honour to welcome our Australian friends, on a cold and rainy evening. I will tell you considering their long flight and the time difference they were all one lively bunch. I was most impressed with the whole group who truly were thriving on the new friendships made between Australia, Canada, and the US.
In 2016-2017, I was the District Governor for Rotary District 7090, which is the Best of Friends District. We were named Rotary’s First International District in 1913 when the Rotary Club of Buffalo, New York, USA sponsored their first international new club – Rotary Club of Hamilton, Ontario Canada. This international element in our district is everything to Bill and me. Back in early March 2009 both of us were incoming club presidents and went to Toronto, Ontario Canada to attend a Multi-District PETS training. As karma works, Bill from the Rotary Club of Albion NY and myself from the Rotary Club of Hamilton AM were assigned to the same training group as our clubs were in the same sized group, medium-sized clubs. We agreed that weekend, we should be each other’s sounding board, it led to a wonderful friendship. The long and the short of this tale is in 2010 we started dating following our term’s changeover. In 2011, I immigrated to the US. It has been a wonderful life and a story of true love*. Both of us are still very active in our club with me, the club’s current President-elect. Of course, I remain active at the district level, as Rotary Club Central Coordinator, RLI Facilitator, Finance Chair, Retention Chair. 2019-2020, I have been chairing the Nominating Committee, which has been a challenge as our DGN (DG 2021-2022) resigned just before the close of the DGND nomination back in November, due to her family relocation. That DGND round was put immediately on hold, as it was necessary to fill the DGN open role. We chose a terrific business owner, long-time Rotarian, community leader, and a relatively young Rotarian, as our DGN. Anne has capably filled the role at an accelerated pace – the challenge period wasn’t over until the end of March. April 30th the second call for nominations for the DGND is closing. I am confident we will select a successful DGND. Now, we have the call for our COL representative. We are keeping this ad hoc busy.
I’d love to know more about what you have been doing since your DG year, obviously, you were at the 2018 International Assembly. Congratulations on being recognized for your training abilities. The training of the District Governors-elect is such a vital role in the continued life as Rotary International evolves to remain relevant to our times. And, especially now when due to the global COVID-19 pandemic there are so many unknowns. Hats off to incoming RI President Holger Knaack, he and his team have worked so hard to ensure we all remain safe.
In 2018, our district hosted a VTT team from your country’s District 9790, the Murray Valley. Yes, I realize they are on the other side of your country and this is like someone asking me if I, as a Canadian, knew their friend in Vancouver, BC. – it, too, is thousands of miles, yet, I am going to tell you about our wonderful time with this team who are fruit and horticultural professionals. Our Rotary Club of Albion was working toward being a major player with their Western New York (WNY) tours, accommodation and introducing them to our Orleans and Genesee County’s ag-business – primarily fruit farming, apples, and cherries, with a concentration on our Orleans County muck land (drained marshland making a wonderful fertile black soil that is terrific for market gardening – a major ag-business, mega-dairy farms and the acres of corn grown for ethanol. Last-minute, the dates for US and Canada were reversed with the WNY dates now falling on our first Federal spring holiday, Memorial Day Weekend, it honors our veterans and especially those who gave their lives protecting us. Now, our club members had family and friends coming together or their plans included travel. We rejigged finding host homes for the holiday weekend. It worked. We hosted two, a Holley club member hosted one and our neighbor, Rod Farrow, who is a globally renowned apple farmer and agricultural advocate. Rod wanted to have the group for a day but settled for most of the morning and treated all to a wonderful lunch at his riverside home on the bank of Oak Orchard River. Bill and I ended up very involved, as late in the planning, the dates to Western New York were reversed. Climate change and a new international water treaty have caused flood conditions in 2017 and 2019. We were most fortunate that water levels were good in 2018, as that was the year
*Both Bill and me have some serious health issues so as I end my district terms, I am stepping aside. We, as a couple, are working together to support each other and remain in our home on the bank of the Oak Orchard River at its mouth emptying into Lake Ontario, New York.
I had meant to send you this letter much earlier, my cancer diagnosis threw lots of things askew. My prognosis is good with treatments of immunotherapy for a good quality life to continue. Now, if only the borders will open between Canada and the US so visits with family and friends may resume would make my very busy life perfect.
I am sure DG Bob Artis will be pleased that finally, I am sending you this letter as he enjoys sharing these with all the clubs.
Marlee Diehl, PDG
Rotary Club of Albion