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www.whyiam.org …a
service of
RGHF
Rotary Global History
"We live in the present, we dream of the future,
but we learn from the past."
Discuss this feature at
www.rghfforum.org
 Why
I Am A Rotarian - -
Frank Deaver, Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa, AL (USA)
Rotary changed my life, re-directed my career, and opened
to me a world (literally!) of opportunity. As a university
journalism professor (now retired), one of my favorite classes
was "International Media," which correlated marvelously with
Rotary and the RI Foundation. In 1975, I was tapped to lead a
Group Study Exchange team to Sweden. Vocational days with media
people of that society introduced me to both Rotary and
journalism activity, and enhanced what I could share with my
students.
Increasingly, my teaching, research, and
publication became rooted in internationalism. Along with
journalism visits to countries on five continents, I experienced
Rotary Club fellowship in more than 30 countries – learning from
them, sharing with them, and deepening my appreciation of why
Rotarians are Rotarians, in whatever nation or culture.
Why am I a Rotarian? At the beginning, it was because I
admired what I saw in Rotary friends and in my Rotary sponsor.
But as the years passed, I came to realize that I am a Rotarian
because Rotary has done far more for me than I can ever do for
Rotary. I continue to be a Rotarian because Rotary has enriched
my life, challenged my empathy, and expanded my opportunities
for Rotary fellowship and service. It's impossible to imagine
how I could ever NOT be a Rotarian!
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Frank Deaver, Executive Director
Rotary Club of
Tuscaloosa, AL (USA)
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