On Saturday morning, May 9, John White attended the Zoom meeting of the District 6400 Passport Club. Also on the call from our club were Ashish & Norma Sarkar. The speaker for the day was Holger Knaack, incoming RI President. He will succeed Mark Maloney on July 1.
Holger’s presentation was in line with his year’s theme, “Rotary Opens Opportunities.” Holger’s enthusiasm for this theme allowed him to be very positive about our negative situation and suggested that we now are forced to take novel approaches to support others in the world and our community while continuing to bring value to our own members. He noted that it is important to be among loved ones in times of crisis and felt that Rotary provides an important element of that personal support. In the Q&A session, Bala Murthy, upcoming District 6380 Governor asked, “What keeps you up at night.” Holger’s response was that his biggest concern was keeping Rotary relevant.
The high point of Zoom attendance was about 75. The meeting was also streamed live on YouTube. Next week’s program for this online club is to be a panel of club presidents from within District 6400. The panelists will be sharing their experiences in running their clubs in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more about Passport Clubs in general and how to participate in the District 6400 Passport Club Zoom meetings, go to rotaryd6400passportclub.org. John would be glad to help you get connected. Because of its online format, it is able to recruit prominent speakers from around the country and the world.
