“Rotarians are people of action” exclaimed District Governor John Hutcherson to an attentive audience of major donors at what was billed as a Million Dollar Dinner on January 17th.  Slightly shy of a million that night, six days later the total topped the goal. 
Rotarians from across the district participated.  At dinner we had PDG’s seated alongside people with less than a year in Rotary.  Celebrants included an Arch Klumph Society member and those who for the first time in their lives put Rotary in their estate plan.  It was a feel-good gathering, highlighted by a talk about polio by Ann Lee Hussey that held the audience spellbound.
 
 “Ann Lee told the story of the two young girls in iron lungs —it was in the 1950’s when My Fair Lady was a hit and its music was piped into their polio ward—and the girls sang “I could have danced all night” even though their legs would never dance.  When she told that story there wasn’t a dry eye in the room” said event chair Jerry Hardy.
 
If you missed the Million Dollar Dinner and want more information about Rotary major gifts and planned giving, a good start is an internet search and next best is contacting the author.  We have Rotarian volunteers with vocational backgrounds in the business and a Rotary major gifts officer working out of Dallas who helped several contributors in this campaign.