Some things in life you don't get to decide, some things you do.

I was the president elect of my small Rotary club in August of 2000. I looked forward to our weekly lunch meetings. We had a very lively and fun loving group, and the meetings sometimes bordered on anarchy...fun anarchy. I had been a member for four years, on the club board of directors for three, and was looking forward to serving as President. My view of Rotary did not go much past the boundaries of our small mountain community, or our 30 members.

Then my life changed forever when I got the call that all parents dread. Some things in life you don't get to decide: my beautiful 15 year old daughter was killed in a car wreck. Some of you may have experienced the unexpected loss of a child or close family member and understand the soul searching and contemplation that this kind of thing causes in a person. "Why did this happen?" I asked myself a million times (and still do). It is hard to describe the incredible frustration of wanting, beyond any power imaginable, to change reality. I wanted to somehow reach back in time to influence the fateful events that led me to this horrific new reality. But that of course is not possible.

My little Rotary club reached out to me and my family. Along with so many people in our community they offered comfort and consolation in every way they could think of. Without that support, I am not sure I, or my family, could have survived. I didn't get to decide that my Emily would not be taken from me so young. However, thanks to all of the support from people who cared for me, I came to realize that I DID get to decide how my life would reflect her short time with me. I decided then to dedicate the rest of my life to making a positive difference in the lives of others in Emily's name.

Seven months later I attended PETS. All of a sudden it was like a door opening, or a floodlight illuminating the night. Here was a different Rotary from the one I had grown to love in my little club. Here was a huge international organization with reach to virtually every corner of the globe. Instead of 30 members, here were 1.2 million members all dedicated to improving lives in their communities and elsewhere. Here was an organization that had pledged to rid the world of the scourge of polio, and was making dramatic progress. Here was an organization through which I could reach out and give hope to the hopeless,  to give children around the world at least a fighting chance to rise above abject poverty. Here was a way, to reach out beyond my little home town, and make a positive difference to humanity in a bigger way than I had ever imagined.

I was stunned and incredibly inspired to take advantage of the immense opportunity that Rotary presents. Of course I was busy thinking about how, as President, I would work with my club, to do more than we had ever done before. But I couldn't help but think about how I might get more involved in this bigger world of Rotary.

I made another decision that day. I decided that the best legacy I could build to honor my daughter was to become more involved in Rotary leadership. To do whatever I could to promote and forward the incredible work of Rotary. To take advantage of this opportunity to make a far greater positive difference in the world than I ever could have on my own. Today I stand here on another threshold about to take on the incredibly high honor of becoming a District Governor. Let's get it done!