This month's feature is Ellen Book, a past president of the Rotary Club of South Miami and who has been with the Miami Dade Public Library System for 30 years! Her work both as a South Miami Rotarian and as Miami Dade Public Library Branch Manager continues to serve as a source of inspiration and motivation for everyone she meets!
RCSM, "Who or what brought you to Rotary?"
Ellen, "Past President Joanna Barusch asked me to speak to the club in January of 2000. The trend was to have Library Branch Managers participate in community organizations. I went from speaker, to guest, to member, to Secretary to President in five years. Joanna brought me, Rotary kept me."
RCSM, "What is your favorite Rotary memory?"
Ellen, "Not favorite, but most meaningful. 9/11/2001. That traumatic day is burnt into Americans' collective minds, but when I think back to that day our club meeting replaced fear with hope. We hosted a Group Study Exchange team. Five professionals were visiting from South Africa. Each member gently spoke about the upheaval within their country and its survival. The blood that had been spilled, the injustice that had to be overcome, the tolerance and forgiveness which had to be learned gave a possibility that what was happening on that awful Tuesday might not lead to World War III."
RCSM, "What would you like to see our club do going forward?"
Ellen, "With seventeen years of membership, I've seen so many Rotarians participate in an array of good works. Each put their own spin on how it should be accomplished. Ed Fischer, a beloved member who devoted decades to our club would impart wisdom nuggets at every meeting. My favorite, clicks into how Rotarians think. "Whatever you share multiplies, and whatever you withhold, diminishes." Each year there has been fresh insight into where we should focus, yet we always maintain a shared vision to solve problems and impact our community. That continues to be our club's legacy."
Thank you Ellen for your service to our community!
No comments:
Post a Comment