October 24 is World Polio Day. I know that several clubs have plans to celebrate, including the Youngstown club. I am looking forward to attending their ceremony on the 24th. I encourage clubs to recognize World Polio Day, perhaps with a brief program at your regular club meeting. Whatever you decide to do, let the media know. This is an incredible Rotary story. Just over 30 years ago, Rotary declared their intention to wipe out Polio, and over those 30 years, we have cut the rate from just over 360,000 new cases a year to less than a dozen (a 99.97% reduction). We worked with more than 100 governments, inoculated 2.5 billion children, negotiated cease fires to allow us to go into war zones to an inoculate children, and in the process we built an infrastructure and set of procedures that will be the model for fighting global disease for decades. Need another reason to be a proud Rotarian? This certainly is a good one.
If your club does not have someone who is comfortable being a media spokesperson for the Polio Plus effort, let me know as soon as possible. We have several knowledgeable people in the district who would be delighted to spread the word beyond Rotary. The program held in Youngstown last year got excellent press coverage.