Rotary International established October 24th as World Polio Day over a decade ago, and last night our Club held our annual Fundraiser (along with thousands of other Rotary Clubs worldwide) to help End Polio Now.
Everyone in attendance at our Pigout for Polio event, run this year by new chair Susan Falodun and her committee, had a great time! Held at Fogolar Furlan Club of Windsor, all guests, including District Governor Paul Sincock and Past District Governor Bob Gallagher (thanks for attending!) enjoyed an evening of fun, great food and fellowship. Thanks to Elder Theresa Sims (traditional Indigenous Knowledge Keeper) as she thanked creation by singing and playing the traditional drum, to Major Paul Rideout for his invocation, to President Elect Gord Faas for heading the toast and to past Pigout chair Nick Bibic for leading us in the recitation of the 4 Way test. The new “Auction Lottery” format was a huge hit, with Greg DeHetre and Peter Hrastovec enticing everyone to participate.
The audience was captivated as Past District Governor Dr. Rick Caron took us through an engaging account of the history of polio, why Rotary has made it it’s mission to eradicate the terrible disease and how far we’ve come. From an estimated 350,000 cases in 125 counties in 1988 to 20 cases in 3 countries today, we’ve come a long way - but we still have a ways to go. Dr. Caron used the analogy of an apple tree - the apples on the bottom are easy to get to, but the few that are located near the top are the challenge. We’re “This Close” to eradicating polio from the world, and because of Rotary’s persistence, and events like ours, we’ll get there soon. 💜