This is the final edition of the 2020/2021 District Governor’s report as my term comes to an end, and I hand the reigns over to DGE Max Duplant.  Max is eagerly awaiting her turn as District 5810’s Governor.  I ask that you join me in giving Max your complete attention and cooperation for her term, as you did for mine.  Max’s installation party will be held at 6:30PM on Tuesday, June 29th at the Las Colinas Country Club, 4400 N O'Connor Rd, Irving, TX 7506.
So many people did so much to help our District be successful this year, however one person did so much to help me.  I don’t think the year would have been as “easy” without her.  My Governor’s aide, Sandra Moudy Devlin devoted so much of her time and energy to make the district run smoothly, I just cannot thank her enough.  Sandra—you’re magnificent. 
 
At this year’s District Conference, we held a wildly successful service project to create hygiene kits to help the homeless, families and veterans.  After the conference we found ourselves in possession of enough donations to have a second round to create kits…a continuation of the first service project.  We plan to have this session on Saturday, June 26 at 9AM, at the Haggard Party Barn, 5948 McKamy Trail, Plano, TX 75024.  Look for more information to follow.
 
We are going to combine this month’s Roundtable meeting with the aforementioned service project at the Haggard Party Barn.  The actual Roundtable portion of the meeting will be shortened to allow time for the service project.
 
A couple of year-end notes. 
First, please take the time to clean-up your club rosters BEFORE July 1.  July 1 is the date RI uses to create your annual dues invoice.  You don’t want to be billed for members who have left the club.
 
Second, we are currently running short in our donations to both The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund and the End Polio Now Campaign.  As of today, 6 clubs have not contributed to the Annual Fund, and 28 have not contributed to the End Polio Now Campaign.  I realize some clubs wait until the last minute to forward their donations, but please, I urge you to go ahead and send them in now. 
 
Third, please do not forget to submit your Club Awards nominations.  You can find the Awards information and forms on the District Website (www.rotary5810.org) under the “About” tab.  The Awards ceremony will be held on Friday, August 5th at The Edison, 1724 Cockrell Ave, Dallas, TX 75215.  This is one event you won’t want to miss. 
 
The month of May did deliver one very nice surprise.  District 5810 gained a new Rotary Club…The Rotary Club of Collin County became the District’s 62 club.  The 21 charter members were previously a satellite to the McKinney Sunrise Rotary Club.  They achieved that critical mass whereby they decided to be their own club.  The new club meets the first and third Thursday at Caddo Offices Reimagined, 6401 Eldorado Parkway, in west McKinney, 6:00 PM. 
 
Membership has also delivered a nice surprise.  I had expected the Covid-19 Pandemic to have a negative impact on our total District membership.  On July 1, our District had 2459 members.  During the year, that number dipped as low as 2350, however due to your tireless efforts, that number has risen to 2424 (as of 5/24/21).  Sadly, the majority of member losses this year was from the passing of loyal Rotarians.  We lost more than 52 members this year alone.  But, thanks to clubs such as Plano West who added 42 new members, we seemed to have turned the corner and are seeing our membership grow again.
 
June brings a very important event, The Rotary International (Virtual) Convention.  The 2021 Virtual Convention will be better than ever, opening more innovative opportunities to learn and to engage with the family of Rotary, near and far. You’ll be able to network in virtual lounges, meet new partners in service, and join fun activities with Rotary members from around the world.  Register at https://convention.rotary.org/en.  Here’s a hint.  The 2022 International Convention will be held in Houston, and since it’s close, we all want to attend this party.  Those registered for the 2021 convention will get the first opportunity to register for the 2022 event AND the first choice of convention hotels. 
 
Club Presidents:  Please do not forget the Rotary Citation.  This is an easy award to achieve however to achieve it, you must complete your goal accomplishments in Rotary Club Central.  So far, only 7 of 62 clubs have satisfied the requirements for the award and I know we can do better than that.