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WHEN PIGS FLY: That day
will come, Dist. Gov. Tom Novotny assures President Steve
Segal, at the District Conference at the Green Valley
Resort next June. The pair hold a banner touting a Polio
Pig initiative called Make the Pig Fly. |
DG Tom
makes it to home base
So why was
Tom
Novotny
wearing a suit and tie all of a sudden? Could
it be that his round of club appearances as district governor
requires a certain amount of sartorial elegance?
Tom, a
charter member of
The Rotary
Club of Las Vegas West,
is governor of
District
5300
this Rotary year. As such, he is required to
visit each club, report district doings and get the skinny on
each club’s performance.
Members who
did not attend Tom’s command performance will be glad to know
we passed muster.
 As DG, Tom sat
in on the board of directors meeting and heard a comprehensive
report on what the club is up to this year.
Then he gave
an emotional and personal talk to the gathered membership
about what it means to be a Rotarian and what being a Rotarian
means to him.
Tom admits he joined Rotary for
what he said was the wrong reason — wanting his then-company
to have a visible presence in his community. But in the years
since, he said, Rotary has given more to him than he has
given to Rotary.
Tom told two emotive stories that
affected his life.
The first, well known to Las Vegas
West members, was the tale of the Wiser brothers, John and
Martin, separated for more than 40 years.
Martin, a homeless alcoholic,
living on the streets of Las Vegas, was reunited with John
through the auspices of Rotary. The reunion happened last year
at a meeting of this club.
 The second story was of a
Taiwanese exchange student who was severely injured in an
accident in the United States. Through the help of Rotary, her
parents came to this country and later took their daughter
home.
 As part of his presentation. Tom
also installed a new member,
Jorge
Schapira, and welcomed
Bernard
Hunt as a
Paul Harris Fellow.
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