A Very Considerate and Thoughtful Gift for a Past District Governor
It is an old tradition for the Incoming District Governor to give recognition in form of a gift to the Outgoing District Governor at the Change of the Guard, usually held in June. This year was, like most other events, a little different. The recognition was handed to PDG Steen Sanderhoff by DG Craig Burnett at his official Club visit to Racine Founders. What a beautiful canoe paddle with the inscription “Thank you for guiding Rotary International District 6270 as District Governor – 2019-2020” and the Rotary and “Rotary Connects the World” logos. (Quite an art to engrave this message in a wood paddle!)
So, some might ask…Why a canoe paddle to a big city boy like Steen? Boy Scouts with my son, Alan, and later with my daughter, Anne, taught me to love and appreciate canoeing in the wilderness. Each year for the last 20 years, I have enjoyed crisscrossing The Boundary Waters Canoe Area- a wilderness area in Northern Minnesota- with my kids, the Scouts, and later old Scout leaders when the kids went off the college. What an amazing opportunity to bond with each other and connect with wilderness at its best. Besides, Janice and I love to canoe the local waterways each summer.
Although “My Rotary Paddle” belongs on a wall, I have promised Craig to dip the paddle in the waters of BWCA and move my canoe forward – just like we all move the mission of Rotary ahead.