Last week during a business trip to Mumbai, India, I decided to make some time for Rotary and make up at one of the several Mumbai Rotary clubs. The club president where I was planning my makeup immediately called the District's District Governor Elect for 2009-2010 (my counterpart) and informed him of my visit. DGE Raju Subramanian superceded the club president and invited me instead to address his incoming club presidents-elect at their Pre-PETS meeting and social on Saturday evening. I agreed.
Mumbai District 3140 is made up of 124 clubs which have over 6,000 members. Last year their contributions to the Rotary Foundation via the Annual Giving Program amounted to $2.5 million. I was asked to speak as District 6440 DGE on being a club president. There were 110 PEs present, the district's leadership team, several PDGs, and spouses for a total of over 250. The energy, motivation and dedication of these Mumbai Rotarians is much to be emulated. The meeting consisted of several presentations, role playing, and each club meeting with its respective Assistant Governor.
After the working sessions, we had a sumptuous dinner and concluded the evening with all participating in the famous Indian Bhangra Dance. Not only was this an evening of learning, but the ensuing fellowship was very enjoyable. I met several Rotarians including a PDG whom I had first met in Anaheim during the International Assembly in February 2005. I discussed a potential Matching Grant program with the DGE and we plan to finalize details during our joint District Governor Training at the International Assembly in San Diego, this January. We are also discussing a friendship exchange between our two districts. The world keeps getting smaller, thanks to Rotary.
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