Dear Rotarians,

Everywhere you go you hear about COVID-19. Your Club and District have been listening and discussing ongoing situations in our district 7630, which spans across Delaware and the Maryland Eastern Shore. I am recommending as your Club President and on behalf of our District Governor Bill Ferguson to cancel all-district club meetings and events until Sunday, March 29, 2020. I would recommend being cautious and be mindful of all situations or circumstances.

Our District Governor and I will continue to monitor the situation and will issue another directive the week of March 27th.

Promote safe preventive actions:

• Frequently wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soa...

Speech given by Hugh Atkins
Rotary Meeting 3/28/2019

My mission here today is nothing less than to convince you to begin to reconceive the ways in which you think, particularly about the foundation of our culture. All our aspirations and presumptions are predicated on the notion of education, of our imbuing generations of students with the knowledge and values that will allow them to succeed in later life. But how often have we challenged ourselves to ask whether those concepts of knowledge, success and values have stayed current and relevant? What are we teaching, why and how? For instance, why are we still teaching the same subjects that we taught 100 years ago? In a world that has change...

Written By David Hoopes

The following was prepared in 2015 when I was an Immediate Past District Governor at the request of a friend from Madras/Chennai, India. A Past RI Director of Rotary International and a very successful business executive, he was preparing a book of compiled Rotary Moments reflecting experiences of Rotarians from around the world who had belonged to clubs from different societal areas and cultures.

I first started attending Rotary meetings during my second overseas tour with Citibank in New Delhi as a periodic guest, but it wasn’t until my next assignment – to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as young new VP for another American international bank – that I be...

Inspired By John Newlin

In six years, the Wilmington Rotary Club will celebrate a second 100-year anniversary—the establishment of our Scholarship Program. The program began in 1924, instituted originally to provide educational loans to deserving college-bound high school seniors. Since then the program has become one offering scholarships (in 1975), and has expanded from having an extremely limited principal to one of over $1,100,000 today, thanks to the generous contributions of our membership. We award approximately $52,000 annually, presently in the form of three four-year scholarships of $3,500, meaning that each year we are helping as many as 12 deserving students...

Written By David Fleming

As I waited in the seemingly endless line, watching the clock tick inexorably toward the moment when I would again be closed out before getting the check mark that I so desperately needed to avoid going back to prison, I felt my heart racing, my frustration rising and my anger building. It no longer seemed like just a game. The people around me were no longer friends and friendly faces, but rivals and BLOCKERS whose presence meant that I would fail even though I wanted so hard to succeed – this week, this time.

The District Attorney called “time!” and we all had to go back to our home-seat. Some of us had succeeded, some had failed spectacularly, a...

Written By Matthew Beardwood, CFP® – Director of Wealth Management, Westover Capital Advisors

I’ve been fortunate for the life lessons I was taught by my parents. Both the big ones and the little ones. The one I have the earliest memory of is the one I learned the most from: Giving.

When I was young, we gave through volunteering as a family. My earliest fond memory of this was through Rotary when we would sell Christmas trees in the tennis court next to the Boys & Girls Club on Union Street and ringing of the Salvation Army bell on Market Street. Those experiences were the way the Beardwood family got into the Christmas spirit. Giving helps to pass along important values, in...

Written By Dwayne Adams

My name is Dwayne Adams, founder and executive director of Breaking Barriers, a nonprofit organization aimed at improving the health of the Wilmington community by encouraging healthy eating and exercise, particularly on the (ERG) rowing machine.

On July 19, 1998, I was accidentally hit in a shootout between rival drug gangs. A stray bullet entered my left eye, leaving me with only partial sight and no sense of smell. During my long recovery, I was introduced to the sport of rowing, and nine months after leaving the hospital I took second place in my first rowing event. In 2002, I won the bronze medal in the World Rowing Championship in Seville, Spain.

Three years lat...

Written By Pete Booker

It is a great honor to guide our district for the next year. This year, we will ‘Be the Inspiration”, and we will “Celebrate our Clubs!” You can “Be The Inspiration” in everything we do every day!!! With your loved ones, walking down your street or in your office. When you get to the Rotary part of your life, you can inspire your fellow Rotarians, our youth organizations, our community, regional and international partners and ultimately inspire yourself with confidence and a vision to achieve great things you never thought possible.

Rotary International President Barry Rassin has developed a very strong vision that supports our theme...

Samantha Diedrick Harris, President 2017-2018
End of Presidency Thank You speech at Dave Fleming’s Installation on July 12, 2018

Good afternoon. Thank you for being here today. Always an exciting day for our club when we have a new president taking over the reins.

Dave and Lisa – it has been a pleasure working with you, and I always look forward to our meetings. You are both going to be strong presidents, and our club is lucky to have you.

My leadership team – I wish I had the time to thank each of my committee chairs individually. Many of you helped me tremendously, and I truly thank you for that.

A million thanks to Sue, who I already embarrassed two weeks ago when I thanke...