Pandemic pivot, rotary style

The Sandusky Register's footprint covers much more than Sandusky. So, too, does Rotary. Six clubs are closest, each different in size — yet, at their core, we are all Rotary. It began with a big cancellation. In Ohio, incoming club presidents spend a weekend in March training in Columbus: 284 presidents-elect and 80 speakers/facilitators were ready. That Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine canceled as a speaker. You know what happened next. The hotel was notified. No one, not even the Rotary International president-elect traveling from Germany, would be checking in. Within weeks, all Ohio clubs were on pause. No club regardless of size was immune. Rotary International also had little choice. In April, the pandemic pivot was made. Rotary International's headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, shifted to satellite offices. Rotary International's president-elect returned to Germany, and all staff worked virtually. Disease prevention is one of Rotary's areas of focus. In-person meetings were not an option. The message to district governors and clubs was clear: Pivot to Zoom and remember our mantra: Service Above self. And pivot we did. • Milan Rotary delivered immediately, donating six Amazon Fire Tablets to area nursing homes so residents could connect with families. Now members are collecting laundry detergent for struggling families. Soon, the spring reverse raffle will go virtual, and Memorial Day's chicken barbecue will be a drive-thru event in a new location to avoid a village traffic jam. • At Christmas, Edison High School's Interact Club collected 100 gift boxes for children.These same students met before school in masks and physically distant to pack "care" boxes for a men's group home and for elementary students for Valentine's week. Volunteers also donated food, placed into backpacks, for area children. • Sandusky Rotary Club conducted a spring park cleanup, getting members outdoors and together. • In August, Sandusky Intermediate School Global Peace Center — fully and digitally equipped for STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — education — opened thanks to the donation honoring Sandusky's 100th anniversary. Rotary Clothes Kids still happened with masks, COVID protocols and the help of OHgo. • Next month, members will help OHgo at the Sandusky Easter egg hunt and conduct scholarship interviews for area high school seniors. • Despite pausing meetings, Rotary Club of Port Clinton immediately stepped forward with a $5,500 donation to Bistro 163 to feed those in need, volunteered with the United Way of Ottawa County, providing meals to residents, and collected toiletry items for United Way's Head-to-Toe Self Care Pantry. In November, that support continued with Thanksgiving drive-thru meals and more canned goods for Bistro 163's Community Food Table. • Fundraising was reimagined to virtual raffles supporting the Imagination Library. • Vermilion Rotary Club's donated "shoebox gifts" to underprivileged children, participated in the Honduras Clean Water Projects and added a cemetery restoration to its worklist. • Norwalk Rotary helped supply kids with food via the Weekends Without Hunger initiative. And, members filled "Stuff The Bus" backpacks in August. Its literacy project assures children 12 books in their first four to five years of life. HOLA families in the Hispanic community and children enrolled at the board of developmentally disabled in Huron County are of special interest. • With Huron Rotary's president working at the chamber, businesses were top of mind all year. Partnering with the Huron Lions Club, 30 sanitation stations were delivered to area businesses and restaurants. And an emphasis on youth meant scholarships to Huron High School seniors. • District 6600 helped too. Dues were waived so members would have more to share. A "We Are One" grant was offered to clubs pursuing COVID-related projects with a local nonprofit or service club. Two of my favorites: — Milan Rotary Club, with Berlin Heights Kiwanis Club, donated $1,000 to Berlin Heights' clothing bank and $2,000 to OHgo in Erie County. — The Vermilion Plan delivered 33 free sanitation stations to businesses with the Erie County Community Foundation and piggybacking off Huron Rotary's similar project. And, each club received a 10-by-10 pop-up tent for use with local organizations Rotarians found ways be get social, too. In August, the wine fellowship gathered in a Sandusky backyard, well-distanced, with a sommelier giving tastes, and our host provided deliciously paired food. Even more, growing in frequency, clubs hosted drive-thru barbecues and happy hour meetings. Earlier this month, 284 Ohio presidents-elect with 80 facilitators met on Zoom for training. The current Rotary International president spoke from Germany and next year's Rotary International president from India. With Zoom, our international friends can be at any meeting. Still, nothing can replace the depth of friendship and joy of being together. If we did not know that before, we surely realize it now. • Brenner is past president of Sandusky Rotary, 2018-19, district governor, district 6600. For information, visit RotaryDistrict6600.org or connect with the Rotary Club in your community.