We are Rotarians. What makes us tick? We believe in Service above self. In the United States we will celebrate Thanksgiving later this month. Many people reflect about what makes them grateful in November. I am so grateful for all of you Changemakers. Who else will be thinking about our service and expressing their gratitude for the Changemakers Rotary Club?But, I also, want to reflect on the opportunities I’ve had to make a difference since I joined Rotary on July 1st, 2023. The easiest and fastest way was to donate to the Rotary Foundation and to Polio Plus. I have visited several local Rotary Clubs asking them for financial support for the Ukrainian-Hungarian Bilingual School in Budapest that Rotary District 6250 is supporting. I made a display board about this school and brought it to TriCon to share in the House of Friendship aka the exhibit and vendor area. I hosted a Philippine Rotarian on a Friendship Exchange to the greater Madison area. I have attended meetings as our club liaison to the Sun Prairie East High School Interact Club. I agreed to become the president of this virtual club and attended PETS training. Once a week during the 2023-24 school year I tutored a Rotary exchange student from Japan to help her improve her English proficiency. My very first Rotary act of service was to visit Family Health La Clínica in Wautoma and to present the funds Changemakers had raised and the matching Local Grant.
An article in the October Rotary Magazine caught my eye. Entitled “Bring Rotary to work” by Bea Boccalandro who is the author of Do Good at Work: How Simple Acts of Social Purpose Drive Success and Well-being. This article made me think! What do I do in my daily life that serves others? I’m retired; but, that doesn’t exclude me. I often bake bread for my neighbors and I tutor adults in Spanish conversation groups. I started reading the author’s examples of doing good at work. I will summarize some of her ideas. A parking attendant who started noticing bald tires and kindly suggesting to his customers that for their safety they needed to get new tires. He put his phone down and started having multiple interactions every day and it made him feel good about his work. In a city where there is lack of clean drinking water, a business offers a free water station for the public and shares its filtered water. A bank invites nonprofits to use its parking lot during non-business hours for activities like car washes and health fairs. A hair salon that offers a free haircut to veterans or to people looking for a job, the ideas are endless. A business could loan a conference room for community meetings or to display local art. 
We can all invite colleagues, friends, and family to Rotary meetings and events. Boccalandro, a member of the Rotary Club of San Clemente, California, states, “Even if your busy work schedule does not allow you to participate in service events, with a little creative thinking, you can serve.”This month of reflecting on what we are thankful for should also be a time of reflecting on how we serve others in our daily life. I am grateful for those who serve me and for all the opportunities in my daily life and through Rotary that I have been given to serve and share with others.