TAKE THIS JOB AND…LOVE IT!

Greg Lynch, President - November 20^th, 2003

It rained hard last night. It’s 8:30 am, but the room is dark and the sky outside slate grey. I’m having a moment of quiet contemplation before launching into the tasks of the day. This morning, I’m reflecting on “supporting our troops at home and overseas”. It’s a cluster of activities my club is carrying out. That’s the Rotary Club of New York, and I’m its President. I turn to my computer and realize that I need to run an anti-virus program. While that’s running, I review my notes about a program we funded for Ethiopia which has yet to get off the ground. Apparently there is missing documentation and complications about its being a “Matching Grant” program with Rotary International. I call our Executive Director for background, get back to a concerned Club member and then call our contact at R.I. I find out that she has moved and that the Ethiopia desk at R.I. is currently vacant. I get out my Official Rotary Directory and find out who are the current contacts in the Addis Ababa East Club. The virus scan has been successfully completed. I prepare an e-mail to all parties, setting a deadline, after which we will seek to divert the funds to another project. A very short window for response is set because, as we bat this thing around, kids are dying.

Next I do a bit of research on buruli ulcers. I find out that the disease is related to tuberculosis and leprosy and occurs mostly in West Africa. Its victims are poor and, more often than not, children. It results in massive skin lesions, amputations and loss of organs, like eyes and genatalia. It’s resistant to antibiotics; surgery is the treatment of choice. Our Club started a joint project with the Milano Aqueleia Rotary Club last year. Last week, we signed an agreement to become “sister clubs”. We are looking into extending our joint project for another two years.

In the meantime my business life intervenes. I have two client crises to solve. A client in New Jersey was flooded yesterday and has had to shut down. They need immediate intervention by their insurer, particularly for document recovery. Another client has been informed that its employees’ medical coverage has been cancelled. It’s a mistake, but will have to be dealt with. We get busy with that for a while. Soon I’m back on the phone with our Executive Director. We discuss a community project in East Harlem, our Club holiday party and the election for next year’s Club Officers and Directors which is fast approaching. We discuss the by-laws and procedures. My own holiday party for Rotary members is at issue, but we find a date that seems not to conflict with any other Club activities. My assistant confirms the booking.

A few minutes later, I’m on the road headed for Westchester County for lunch at the Elmsford Rotary Club. Traffic is clogged. I’m making calls, trying to sort out my clients’ dilemmas. I’m five minutes late but they’re just sitting down. The President and a number of members greet me by name and poke fun. Many of us have worked together on District projects and committees in the past. They are serving turkey today and celebrating Thanksgiving. There are many spouses in attendance and it’s lively. The speaker talks about modern-day slavery and the 24 million currently in bondage throughout the world. This I know, as an attorney, I’d had occasion to invoke the Federal Anti-Slavery Statute and international anti-slavery conventions. Still what the speaker tells us would break your heart.

The bell has been rung. Lunch is over, and I’m headed back to Manhattan. A client calls to tell me her problem has been solved. One down, who knows how many more to go today. Somehow Rotary is helping me not only to serve others but to find the strength and joy to handle my own days work. Heading south, the sun is glinting off the Hudson and the day is bright. I role down my window and take a deep breath of fall air in thanks for all I have been given.

Greg Lynch 11/20/2003