Dear River Camp Friends: One year from now, my Rotary District 7410 will be in the midst of celebrating our District Conference at the end of my year as District Governor. As background, we have 1100+ members from all across northeast Pennsylvania. In recent years, while the attendance has been OK, I want to put on a not-to-be-forgotten conference which absolutely rocks! No mediocre speakers or activities allowed! However, here is where I need your help.
To make this an absolutely spectacular weekend, I need to get commitments from a couple of big name draws as keynote speakers. Friday night of the conference will focus on our Rotary service, and honoring citizens (Rotarians and non-Rotarians) from across northeast PA for their service to the community/world. This is the more “serious” night.
Saturday night will be a big party (Rotarians-only and special guests), and will be focused on fellowship and fun. Planned is an Elizabethan Feast, and I’ve contracted with the Virginia Renaissance Faire for 10 of their principal actors to come in period costume and “work the crowd” and provide the entertainment. The bishop will be selling indulgences, and the flower wenches will be selling carnations, with every cent going to Rotary International’s ongoing efforts to rid the world of the last remaining strain of the active polio virus. For those of you who don’t know, Rotary has been in this fight for 30 years, and through these and our partner’s efforts, polio can be found “in the wild” in only three countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. Nigeria has not had an active case of polio for over 6 months, and if they get through an entire year, then their name will be removed from the list of polio-endemic countries, leaving only two. Not a small fete!
So, here’s today’s question for you: I’d like to use the power of the river camps’ network to see who knows someone who knows someone who might consider being a keynote speaker at this event. It will have to be someone on the east coast (drivable), unless I can find a sponsor for their travel. We’ll cover their lodging (2 nights) and all meals, and reimburse for mileage, as needed. Since Rotary is a non-profit, and we’re not talking about terribly wealthy clubs in northeast PA, I’m going to have to rely on “connections” to work their magic in finding someone who will commit to April 29-30, 2016 in Wilkes-Barre (Mohegan Sun Conference Center). With that background, if you would be willing to do some investigating/querying your friends/family/business associates to find some likely candidates, please email me directly at bjbelon@gmail.com.
I’m hoping for a minimum of 175 attendees, but am shooting for 225 each night. That depends on how good a salesperson I will be during this coming year to get folks excited about attending! A big name draw would definitely help. So, authors, statesmen/women, astronauts, TV news anchors, IT moguls, would all be “likely candidates.” We do have a connection to the new director of the Peace Corps within our district, which would be fine for Friday night, but I have no idea whether she is a good speaker or not. Actually, I want AN OUTSTANDING speaker. Why settle for less?
Thanks in advance for any help with this quest.
Regards,
Barbara Huffman de Belón
610.377.6103
bjbelon@gmail.com
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