The annual Law Day program on Tuesday was superb in every respect. I can tell you that standing on the podium overlooking 100 law enforcement professionals in full uniform as they sat with 100 Rochester Rotarians was totally awesome. Add in the special guests and we had over 250 in attendance for this very special tribute to the Rochester Police Department and all law enforcement officers representing the State Police, County Sheriff's Department, and several towns and villages. I could not have been prouder to represent you as we paid tribute to this year's Henry H. Jensen Memorial Award winner, Investigator Otto Harnishfeger. Lt. Governor Bob Duffy, Mayor Thomas Richards, and Chief James Sheppard each gave outstanding reflections on their long term relationships with Otto. And then, the comments by the two officers who nominated Investigator Harnishfeger were filled with humor, emotion, and genuine love for the friend they were supporting.
Otto, however, topped it all with a spellbinding acceptance speech. When the speeches were over, no-one in the room doubted that Otto was the perfect and deserving recipient of this prestigious recognition. If you missed being there, you missed a chance to be overwhelmed with pride that you live in this community and are served by these remarkable professionals. Each of the 100 officers attending personifies and exemplifies Service Above Self every minute of every day. Let's not forget that our theme this year is Peace Through Service, and the new motto of the Rochester Police Department is "Policing in the Spirit of Service." I can think of no better example of a shared value system and no group of professionals more deserving of our honor!
PRE-SENT ARMS!
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Tracey and I attended the District 7120 Annual Conference this past weekend in Lake Placid with about 400 other Rotarians. Amidst all the learning, fellowship and frivolity, there were a couple of serious highlights for Rochester Rotary. At the banquet on Friday evening, our club was awarded a Presidential Citation from RI President Sukuji Tanaka. We received this honor for supporting his theme of Peace Through Service in an exemplary way with our programs, projects, and community service teams.
On Sunday morning, the District conducted a beautiful memorial service to honor the Rotary service of those who have passed since the last conference. We were presented with very touching "In Memoriam" plaques for Harry Blaeser, Bob Hurlbut, Gay Maney and Vince Stanley, and these will be delivered to their families in the coming week.
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Wearing your Pin: Think about this the next time you get dressed to meet the day. Wearing your Rotary Pin goes way beyond just letting people know you are a Rotarian, it sends a message about your character. Your Rotary Pin declares to everyone that you are a person Who Gives More Than you Take!
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Membership Message. In the spirit of being generous and giving, I think we should give more people we know the opportunity to check out who we are and what we do at Rochester Rotary. We need to let them experience a luncheon and see if joining us might be beneficial and valuable for them. So, I am hereby declaring Tuesday, June 11th as an official GUEST DAY AT ROTARY. I encourage every single one of you to bring a guest to lunch on that day who you think might be a good potential member. The speaker that day will be UR Professor Emil Homerin, who is a recognized expert on the Muslim Faith. He will talk about the facts, fables, understandings and misunderstandings that we have all heard or believe. This topic is timely, informative, and important!
Please book it right now on your calendar. Start to consider who to invite from your company, your customers, your vendors, your friends . . . whomever! I promise there will be no heavy sales message from me, just a thank you for kicking our tire and checking us out.
Special Guest Luncheon - Tuesday, June 11, 2013.
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Join us Tuesday, May 14th at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center for the 76 Annual Rotary Award luncheon to honor Bob Witmer. 
