Rotary 5110 in Action eNews 08-17-2021

Knowing that as Rotarians you have been watching the new surge in COVID – 19 cases throughout Oregon, I know you are not surprised that we are cancelling the District Celebration for the year 2020-21. I do not do this lightly knowing first hand all the commitments and hard work the conference team and speakers have put into this effort. We have accomplished so much this past year and we have much to celebrate, but to do so in-person risks the health and well-being of our members, our communities and our front line health care workers. We had hoped that the surge would diminish as fast as it rose, but this is not likely to happen in the next ten days. Click here to find this PDG Cindi message at the 5110 website.

Many dedicated Rotarians have contributed to the planning for the conference. I would especially like to thank Conference Chair PDG Jim Lussier, AG Gwen DeBernardi, Marv Kaplan, Judy Corwin, Mike Corwin, Julie Brown, Dan Smith, Beth Sheehan, Bill Anderson, Holly Molloy, Jennifer Stephens, Tim & LeAnn Mobley, and Rob Fincham for the multitude of tasks that have been completed.

If you registered for the TRF dinner and paid $26.50 we invite you to consider making this one of your donations to the Annual Fund. Your contribution would be then credited to your Paul Harris. If you wish to receive a refund please contact Governor Gerry Kosanovic.

In Service to Others in Need,

Cindi O’Neil
District Governor 2020-21
Rotary International District 5110

Recall it was over a month ago, on July 1^st that Governor Brown officially reopened Oregon for business and pleasure after more than 15 months of strict rules to limit the spread of COVID-19. About the same time, President Biden celebrated the emergence “from darkness of a year of pandemic and isolation, a year of pain, fear, and heartbreaking loss.”

Regrettably, we may have been done with the virus at that moment, but the virus was certainly not done with us. The rampant emergence of the delta variant has torpedoed our ability to return to the normal routine living.

For the past two years, formal club visits by the District Governor have been largely digital Zoom experiences because of the COVID pandemic. Last month I created a draft District Governor club visitation plan based on data received from club Presidents and Assistant Governors. The in-person schedule was established but never implemented because of the dangerous rise of the delta COVID-19 virus. Thus, at this time, I will continue to maintain a wait-and-see status regarding personal club visitations in District 5110.

Click here to read DG Gerry’s message in its entirety. The delta variant is more transmissible and highly contagious. Because vaccinated people can easily transmit it, scientists estimate that the threshold for herd immunity now requires an 85% vaccination rate.

My personal request, then, to all Rotarians – get vaccinated. Protect yourself and others. We know that vaccines are one of the safest and most effective ways to protect people from life-threatening and preventable diseases. Case in point is the polio vaccine. Rotary has advocated, distributed, and administered vaccines to help reduce polio cases by 99.9% worldwide. Vaccines work. Rotary and its partners at the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have also supported COVID vaccine introduction and delivery.

To those who are unvaccinated, I would recommend two things: First, talk to your primary care physician or trusted health care professional