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."

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    I am a Rotarian because by being a Rotarian, I am able to do more good in more places around the world than I could do in any other organization.  By being a Rotarian, I am able to help teach children to read; I am able to help people who need clean water get clean water; I am able to help Chicago Public School students get their first jobs; I am able to help a child in China born with a cleft palate get the surgery needed to correct his deformity; I am able to contribute to a better sense of global understanding through support of Rotary's World Peace Fellowship; and I am able to help rid the world of polio, once and for all.  And I can do all of this by being active in my club, and by supporting the Rotary Foundation.

    But I could not completely answer this question without also saying that I am a Rotarian because my father asked me to join Rotary.  You see, my father, John Loumbas, joined Rotary in 1985.  That is him with me in the picture at a Rotary installation dinner.  Almost 20 years later, he asked me to consider joining Rotary, and when I said that I would, he made arrangements for a member of ROTARY/One who he knew well to sponsor me as a member. That is when I joined Rotary, but it is not when I became a Rotarian.

    Several years later, my father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.  When we learned of his diagnosis, the doctors told us that he would need radiation treatments, one a day for 10 straight days.  We needed drivers to get him to and from his treatment for several reasons.  We needed help.  At first, I did not know where to turn. 

    And then the answer became obvious.  I called a couple of Rotarians who knew my father.  To each I said, “I need help.”  I told them I was looking for retired Rotarians who would be willing to take a day to pick up my dad, drive him downtown for his treatment, and then drive him home again.  We would pay for gas and mileage. I asked for retired Rotarians because we did not want to ask someone to take a day away from his or her job or business for this purpose.  I did not get what I asked for.  While we did get some very generous retired Rotarians who graciously volunteered, and to whom we are very thankful, we also got working Rotarians who took a day away from their jobs or businesses to drive him.  Some of these working Rotarians knew my father, others hardly knew him.  They gave their time because there was a need and they were asked.

            I believe that my father knew about the terminality of his illness during six months between the time of diagnosis and his death.  He told my sister, during one of their conversations, that he had had a good life.  He had had a loving wife, two children, five grandchildren, a successful career, and 8 or so good years of retirement.  I had many conversations with my father during those last six months, and in only one of those conversations did he become emotional.  That was the conversation in which he described to me how thankful he was for the help he received from so many Rotarians.

And it was during that conversation that I completed my journey and I became a Rotarian.  For if a 74 year old man who by his own admission had lived a good life, had lived to see his childrens' children, and was able to see the end of his life as a beginning, could be so moved by Rotary service, then how must families and children around the world feel when they get the help they need, because of what we Rotarians do.

Angelo J. Loumbas, President 09/10 Rotary Club of Chicago, District 6450, Zone 28, RGHF member