Greetings from District Governor Kirk Bouchie! 

 RESILIENCE: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

Greetings Southern Indiana Rotarians! Welcome to fall 2021 in our most beautiful part of the world. As we all turn our attention to cooler weather, raking leaves and fall sports like football, volleyball and soccer, I want to thank the 19 Rotary Clubs I have visited thus far. It is hard to believe that the first quarter of our Rotary year is over. I look forward to visiting the remaining 15 clubs in the second quarter. I have learned so much from you all. It is difficult to put into words what I have witnessed during these visits. The one word that keeps coming back in my mind is RESILIENCE. All of us in our families, work places, churches and relationships have been greatly challenged since March 2020 with the effects of the worst pandemic in over 100 years.

Our Rotary clubs are resilient! Where to meet and what to eat? Can we safely meet in person? Should we require masks? Full virtual via Zoom or hybrid? These are common questions throughout our district. A huge thank you goes out to our club presidents! Some are serving multiple terms during these difficult times. All are doing their very best to keep us informed, organized and moving forward. I ask all Rotarians to simply ask your president, what can we do to help? I am so impressed with the overall level of our club’s engagement in our communities. Many traditional fall Rotary events are carefully happening as usual.

 We have 16 clubs executing their district grant projects this year that will create over $100,000 in good work in our areas. It certainly has not been easy and we are not over the issue. We all need to work hard reengaging those members that may have drifted away from Rotary these past two years. One very bright note is that through two months our district is up eight members! We are growing in our support of our Rotary Foundation as well! We are a big tent and I know we can grow Rotary in membership and impact regardless of our current challenges.

Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Being resilient does not mean that we don’t experience stress, emotional upheaval, and suffering. Resilience gives us the strength needed to process and overcome hardship. I am optimistic that our clubs and our members will remain strong through this Rotary year. Please call upon the wealth of helpful resources within Rotary and our district to help you get through these times. This newsletter and our district website are very helpful sources of information and district events. Thanks for all you do for your community and the world as a ROTARIAN, serving to change lives.

Be safe, stay healthy, and remain resilient,

~L. Kirk Bouchie

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Kirk Bouchie began his term as District Governor on July 1st, 2021.  A Rotarian since 1987, he will spend the next year leading our Rotary clubs in Southern Indiana as we 'Serve to Change Lives'.  You can learn a little more about Kirk here!