A Long Awaited Celebration

It was sometime around March 11, 2020, when our club made the decision to suspend in person meetings due to the global pandemic sweeping its way across the world. One of our Durango Daybreak members, in a very hopeful tone said, "it will only be for a couple weeks, don't worry, we will all be back together very soon..."

 

Rotary International President, Hogar Knaack, in his most recent post to the Rotary International Facebook page, said it brillantly: the "Rotary" which some 35,000 clubs around the world experienced in 2020-2021 was nimble, adaptable and creative.  It was a year full of new and trying experiences, one experience which included transitioning away from those in-person meetings to zoom meetings for many Rotary clubs. It was a year where each club tried to maintain: membership, shared interests, knowledge, love and appreciation for the "little things" over computer screens.  Those happy bucks were stuffed away in our pockets, and for some it may have been a nice break financially during a financially trying year.  But those little moments of gathering with friends to celebrate weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, book clubs or just your weekly neighborhood backyard BBQ's were rescheduled week after week, month after month and even pushed out into the next year.

 

Yet, the sun came out again and the lockdown lifted.  People did their part to vaccinate and take care of one another knowing that very soon we could all gather together again and celebrate. 

 

On June 2, 2021, after a long awaited, what-was-supposed-to-be-just-a-couple-of-weeks...turned year, the Durango Daybreak Rotary Club is proud to have reconvened together again!  It has taken approximately 63 weekly-Zoom meetings; a completely new meeting location; the loss of 4 members from membership, but 5 new members gained, and a lot of hope to get to today.  Our members got dressed up, done up, and got together like no time had passed. (We may have brought enough donuts to feed the entire town, though.) 

 

It was so worth it. This was a celebration of so much more than just each other.  It was a celebration of resiliency, flexibility, hope and comradery.  It was a celebration of being more in Rotary, to the District and our communities.  We welcome anyone who wants to experience and get involved with something new.  We welcome anyone who would like to help to continue to make our community vibrant after a long year.  Welcome back, Rotary.