Rotary Global History Fellowship
Authorized by Rotary International
www.rotaryhistoryfellowship.org
 WHY I AM A
ROTARIAN? By:
Carrie Dao Allan
October 2009
www.whyiam.org
After twenty
some years of being a “RotaryAnne”, I joined
the palm springs breakfast
rotary club in 1987.
I have been accused of having two rotary wheels instead
of eyes in
my head.
My most
powerful rotary moment did not happen for me until I was
attending my International Assembly at Anaheim at the end of my training to be a
district governor.
As I was
rushing around carrying my governor’s blazer and greeting so
many familiar faces, I was stopped in my tracks.
I stood there at the entrance to the Rotary Foundation
hall. I stood there
staring at the large green iron lung.
It brought back so many memories of my first year as a
physical therapist.
I can still see my patient Beverly in that iron lung and
remember the loud siren, every time there was a power failure.
As tears
poured down my face, my husband tried to assure me that it could
not be that same iron lung.
We walked up
to the iron lung and it had a label on it.
it said Rancho los Amigos Hospital
1959-1964. Yes,
that iron lung was Beverly’s.
What an
impact Rotary has had in the world.
It is hard for me to even visualize the 450,000 people
per year that have been saved from polio.
Polio has not yet been eradicated but more than 5 million
cases have been prevented.
I know that
moment at the international assembly will always be with me.
It will always motivate me to continue working for our
Rotary Foundation because our programs have changed the world.
I also know that with our dedicated partners, polio will
be eradicated in the near future.
PDG Carrie Dao Allan
2003-2004 District 5330
carobpt@dc.rr.com
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