My name is Juju Stringfield and I am your new 2023-24 President.  Sometime ago, anthropologist, Margaret Meade, was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization.

The student expected her to talk about ancient artifacts or clay pots. But no, Mead said, the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture, was a 15,000-year-old femur that had been broken and healed and was found in an archeological excavation site.
She explained that in the animal kingdom, you break a leg. . . you die. You can’t run from danger, search for water or hunt for food. You become meat for other animals. No animal can survive long enough for a bone to heal.
 

A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken the time to stay with the injured one, bound up the wound, carried that person to safety and tended that person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts.
 

As Rotarians, we are proud to follow in the footsteps of the visionaries who 118 years ago decided to Serve Above Self. We look forward to Lend a Helping Hand whenever is needed and we take pride in identifying ourselves as members of this Humanitarian Organization.
Some of you don’t know but it wasn’t until 36 years ago that United States Rotary accepted women as members and today I am very proud to stand on the shoulders of the wonderful women who paved the way for me: Kathy Preddy, Leah Peacock, Jo Liston, Edna Tamayo, Jessica Belschner, Connie Salas, Lucy Cadenas and many more. . . Thank you.

I am proud of our new Board of Officers and Directors who I thank for keeping me balanced and thus helping us at moving forward our Club which Rotary International has entrusted us to care for. President Joseph, thank you for your leadership and for keeping us busy with amazing service projects ahead. Our Club has the most amazing, kind, diverse and fun members and I want to exhort you all to work together with a firm commitment to ameliorate the purpose of our Club and serve our community that we love so much.
 

I extend a big thank you to our friends and family for supporting us, our projects, our events, and our fundraisers. It is with your help that we can continue to collaborate in the education of our youth by granting scholarships and we can donate to charities who assist members of local communities lacking a safety net.
 

Now, as we enter the second century of our Club, let’s all keep in mind the words of Margaret Meade when she described the start of civilization and who without knowing was describing Rotarians. She said: “We are at our best when we serve others”.
 

Let’s do this.  Thank you! -- Juju