Dawn Jackson

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Guilford, CT.   The theme this year for Jennifer Jones, our first female President of Rotary International, is “Imagine Rotary.” Jennifer has asked that Rotarians take a step back and imagine what else we could be doing, or what we could be doing better. This year’s theme also makes me think about a quote by Albert Einstein, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” During my term as President I have asked our club members to think about how they feel about being a part of our club and to imagine and act upon how we can engage more in our community as we emerge from the pandemic.  

Rotary is an international organization that means different things in different parts of the world, but we are all united by our core values and by The Four-Way Test, which is one of the world’s most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics. The Four-Way Test, was actually created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy.  This 24-word test, that was created for employees to follow in their business and professional lives, was adopted by Rotary in 1943.  The Four-Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred languages asks the following questions:

“Of the things we think, say or do:

Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Our club is made up of committed, talented and inspiring members of all ages. On any given day Guilford Rotarians can be seen volunteering at the neighborhood food pantry, conducting local clean-ups, coaching students and leading major fundraising projects that include our annual New Year’s Day Frosty 5K and Lobster Fest in June. These fundraisers allow our club to provide financial assistance to Rotary International’s work toward the worldwide eradication of Polio and on the local level providing grants to assist the meaningful work of charitable organizations and scholarships to Guilford High School students who exhibit the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self.” 

We have important work to do and an exciting year ahead.  Please email me if you are a visiting Rotarian to the CT Shoreline, or if you would like to be a guest at one of our meetings.  We have interesting speakers lined up and a lot of fun planning our upcoming events and community volunteer work.