To be the DG of our 60+ club District you have to not only have been deeply enmeshed in Rotary but also demonstrate a commitment to service, to leadership and to be worthy of the position. Lu meets these criteria and shared his vision for the District over the next year.

He joined in 1983 and has been President of the Walnut Valley Club THREE times… that speaks volumes right there!!! In his career he has had several successful businesses and ended up in education.

He describes a “Rotary Moment” when he was on a Rotoplast trip in Sonora, Mexico and a child was too sick to have the cleft palate procedure.  Without a word, Rotarians stepped up to provide funds for a two week stay for the mother and child in a hotel, food and transportation… and later the procedure was performed and successful.

DG Lu sees the District’s role to assist, support and strengthen the clubs.

He also has the duty of passing on the vision from RI:

  1. MEMBERSHIP remains a perennial concern.  Membership has held at 1.2 million worldwide but in the U.S. numbers are down.  Our district is increasing but our own club is down from 100 to 87. GOAL – to return our club to 100 this year.
  2. CELEBRATE 100 years of Rotary Foundation – established at the 8th RI convention, June 1917 in Atlanta. The Paul Harris Fellow donations allow members to initiate project ideas, work with others and make changes happen with projects all over the world.
  3. POLIO PLUS is a “10 year project” in its 30th year.  This year is expected to be the final year with zero new cases.  3 more years are needed “Polio-Free” for it to be considered eradicated.

In the District arena Lu’s vision includes:

  1. MEMBERSHIP – increase 4%.
  2. YOUTH – increase RYLA and TLC participation. Strengthen and involve Interact and Rotaract programs.
  3. DISTRICT CONFERENCE in Palm Springs: 5-19-17 to 5-21-17.  Include an Interact conference.
  4. DG PROJECT is the support of Flying Doctor’s of Mercy.  They fly cardiologists into rural Mexico to do life saving heart surgeries on kids.  To serve the patients the clinic needs  better water and power.  Our Membership contributed $2000 to the project.
  5. RI PRESIDENT VISIT – For sure December 30, 2016 associated with the Rotary Parade Float and possibly a second date for a Foundation Dinner.

Lu reminded us service and helping others has been shown in numerous studies to improve happiness… which is why Rotarians tend to be a happy bunch.