The year began with a visit to Pasadena, California, USA, for the annual Rose Parade . My wife, June, and I watched the industrious volunteers of Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact clubs prepare a beautiful float for the parade, which won one of the premier prizes . Another highlight for me was meeting the presidents of the Kiwanis, Lions, and Optimist service organizations, who also attended the event.
June and I continued our travels with a visit to Denver, Colorado, where we attended a meeting and luncheon for seven clubs in District 5450 and a Rotary Foundation dinner. Then it was on to San Diego, California, for the 2010 International Assembly for the training of the incoming district governors.
The end of January was devoted to a full week of meetings with the Board of Directors at RI World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois. During one of our meetings, the mayor of Evanston, Elizabeth Tisdahl, presented us with the key to the city in recognition of Rotary International's commitment to the community. It was a pleasure to accept this award on Rotary's behalf.
In February, June and I traveled to Clearwater, Florida, where we joined three past RI presidents and their spouses in a tribute that District 6950 club members held for Past RI President Herb Brown. It was a tremendous success -- and a surprise for Herb!
From Florida, we joined Rotarians in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As always, their warmth and enthusiasm welcomed us.
On 18 February, we went back to the United States for the 100th anniversary celebration of two clubs in Minnesota. While there, I visited two centennial projects. One was a Rotary Club of St. Paul project in which club members partnered with the nonprofit organization Feed My Starving Children to pack a truck with food for starving children throughout the world. A second project was carried out by the Rotary clubs of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which donated thousands of dictionaries to the students of FAIR School Downtown . It was a priceless experience to watch the students' faces light up with smiles of appreciation.
Soon after that, I went to Haiti. I felt a tremendous need to go to there and demonstrate my support to the local Haitian Rotarians who are working under difficult circumstances to alleviate some of the suffering there. It was perhaps symbolic that I was able to be there on 23 February, the 105th anniversary of Rotary. The visit was possible because of the help of the many key Rotarians in the area who were already involved in Rotary's humanitarian efforts in that country. I am grateful to them. They face a heartbreaking situation: So many lives have been lost, and many of those who survived -- including the children who were orphaned -- confront the problems of being sick and in need of food and water. Furthermore, I was advised that in the capital, Port-au-Prince, there are more than one million people without shelter.
Because of all these problems and many more, Haiti needs more than short-term help; it requires long-term assistance. Rotary -- particularly District 4060 in the Dominican Republic and District 7020 , which covers Haiti and 10 other Caribbean countries and areas -- has been working with the government authorities and Red Cross volunteers to ensure that aid is being properly distributed. Read more about other Rotarians' experiences in Haiti. You also can download a PDF about The Rotary Foundation's Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.