Rotaract Archives

Mr. John Kenny, President of Rotary International sent this letter congratulation Rotaract of Florida’s First Coast on celebrating 20 years of service at the annual Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala.

Below is the text of the letter from Mr. Kenny.

1 May 2010

To Those Attending
The 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Rotaract Club of Florida’s First Coast

Dear Rotaractors:
I would like to extend my special welcome to the Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala where you will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Rotaract Club of Florida’s First Coast.

Your presence tonight in Jacksonville—simply the fact that each of you has chosen to take the time and travel to be at this gala celebration, in itself says volumes about who you are. As Rotaractors, you’ve chosen to spend your time talking about subjects such as water, health, hunger, and literacy. You’ve chosen not to spend time on yourselves, but on others. You’ve chosen to spend it in service. I am proud to have you as part of Rotaract, and proud to have Rotaract as part of our organization.

As the poet Byron wrote, the days of our youth are the days of our glory. And in Rotaract, the days of your youth are the glory of all of Rotary. You are the future of Rotary, and you are the future of your communities. What you choose to do, what you choose to make of yourselves, will not only affect yourselves. It will affect us all.

As you celebrate this important milestone in your club’s history, remember the responsibility for Rotaract (and Rotary) is yours. And once the gala celebration is over, dream great dreams of Rotaract service. And go back to your club and sponsor Rotary Club to discover how to achieve them. The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.

Sincerely,

John Kenny
President, Rotary International

The annual Black Tie and Blue Jeans Gala will be held Saturday, May 1 at the Southlight Gallery, 100 North Laura Street, Jacksonville, Florida. Tickets are $50/person and can be purchased at jaxrotaract.org.

Jo Anne McKinney, Co-Founder and President of The Big Fun Foundation, Inc. will be our guest speaker this Thursday, April 8th.

The Big Fun Foundation, Inc., 501(c)(3) is a charitable organization that raises funds to create activity boxes, “Big Fun Boxes,” that are donated to children in hospitals around the country. Knowing from 26 years of experience with her son, Grant’s health issues, regardless of the reason for the hospitalization, it is a stressful time for children and their families. Big Fun Boxes are given to children for any illness or injury. To date, 6,250 Big Fun Boxes have been given to 71 hospitals in 31 states and more than 75 hospitals await Big Fun Boxes for their patients.

Prior to concepting and developing The Big Fun Box in 2005 with her late son, Grant, Jo Anne was a copy editor and brand manager at Citibank in Jacksonville. Through this experience, she gained much knowledge in product development and branding, which have allowed the Foundation to own four trademarks for The Big Fun Box.

Since the February 2009 death of her son and co-founder, Grant Prather, the work of The Big Fun Foundation is dedicated to his inspiration and spirit.