Rotary Club of Thomasville members probably all agree that the last few months have been quite challenging. Zoom meetings are a far cry from in person meetings. But we are Rotarians, and Rotarians do not run away from challenges. Rotarians accept challenges and make the best of the situation. In other words, when Rotary Opens Opportunities, Rotarians take advantage of them. We were reminded of this at last week’s meeting when Andy Jones used English poet William Ernest Henley’s poem Invictus for his Sunshine talk.

“Invictus” is about resilience in the face of suffering, challenges and the ups and downs of everyday life. This resilience comes from the courage to embrace life and refuse to despair. As we struggle to figuring out what our Rotary meetings of tomorrow will look like, let us not despair. Let us be encouraged and inspired by the opportunity before us to use our creativity to build a better tomorrow. This is what I took away from Andy’s Sunshine message.

Bonnie Hayes did her 1.0 and we thank her for allowing us to get to know her better. Bonnie share with us her journey to Thomasville and how Thomasville has quickly before her home away from home. Bonnie, we are excited about having you in our Rotarian family. We are looking forward to working with you to as we strive to make a difference in our community.

Many of us know something about Second Harvest of South Georgia. But how many of us knew their involvement in our community? How many of us knew the impact Second Harvest in having in south Georgia during these challenging times? Our program speaker Eliza McCall not only enlightened us about Second Harvest, she even let us know how we can become involved as individuals in the work they do. For those who may not know, the Rotary Club of Thomasville donated $850 to Second Harvest. That is the equivalent to 7,500 meals. We all have a part to play in our community. We do this best when we work together as a team.

Second Harvest of South Georgia serves an area of almost 12,000 square miles. They have 400 Network of Partners assisting in the distribution of food. From 13 March to 1 August Second Harvest distributed over 10 million pounds of food. That is about 9.7 million meals. In the age of Covid, Second Harvest will double their distribution this year over last year. With such an increase Second Harvest is in need of volunteers. If you are looking to be more involved, this could be your opportunity.

Even though our weekly meetings are not what we prefer, let us be thankful that we are able to meet. Let us focus on doing the best we can, with what we have, where we are. Just because things are not what they once were, is no reason to despair and do nothing. May we all have the mind and attitude of Helen Keller. She is credited with having said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” Rotary Opens Opportunities, what will we do with them? Following the Four Way Test answers that question. Have a great week fellow Rotarians and I hope to see you at Thursday's meeting.

"The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make a difference that you have lived and lived well."    Ralph Waldo Emerson