Governor elect, Mr. Vance Lewis, expressed that he is delighted to be able to serve in the capacity of District Governor of Rotary.

Rotary clubs existing in the Virgin Islands are devoted to the works of Rotary, in Haiti they helped built schools, provided clean water and provided the victims of the earthquake with prosthetic limbs.

In an exclusive interview with Mr. Lewis, he expressed that he is delighted to be able to serve in the capacity of District Governor of Rotary and has put together a very good team to host the District Conference next year, here in the VI, and is looking forward to seeing other Rotarians from other districts and around the world and to showcase the VI.

Governor Elect, Mr. Lewis has recently journeyed from Haiti, where he participated in their annual District 7020 Conference, held at Hotel Indigo, Cotes Des ar Cardins, from Tuesday April 17 to Saturday April 21, 2012.

The four-day conference was divided into three parts, said Mr. Lewis. The first part was called P.E.T.S, acronym for Presidents Elect Training Seminar, and within P.E.T.S, he said it was his job as incoming District Governor to train all incoming presidents and secretaries who will be coming in for the new Rotary year.

The second part of the conference was the District Assembly, where the meetings and discussions were open to any other officers or Rotarians who attended the conference.

The third part was the District Conference, this part of the conference was opened with a formal ceremony, where motivational speakers spoke and engaged in conversations on issues within the district.

All the flags of the countries existing in District 7020 were displayed at the District Conference.

District 7020 consists of 10 Countries: the Virgin Islands, Cayman islands, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Martin and St. Barts.

Mr. Lewis stated that the Rotary clubs existing in the Virgin Islands are devoted to the works of Rotary and helping the other district members. “In 2010 we raised $270,000 to help out in Haiti, where we built schools, provided clean water and provided the victims of the earthquake with prosthetic limbs.”

He added that within the VI, the Rotary clubs have done a lot with the schools, where they introduced an Early Act programme with students at the Isabelle Morris Primary School and the Enis Adams Primary school, ages 5-12, where they helped build leadership qualities in young people and promote high ethics.

For the new Rotary year, July 1, 2012- June 30, 2013, governed by Mr. Lewis, the theme of District 7020 will be ‘Peace and Conflict Resolution’, “especially in the youths,” said Mr. Lewis.

Mr. Lewis stated that Rotary around the world is best known for the eradication of Polio, a project fostered since 1985.

“Through the Polio Eradication Project, India was indicated to be Polio free as of January of this year, while there are still cases of the disease in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria and recently emerged in the republic of Congo.”

The Governor Elect stated that because Rotary is so devoted to the eradication of Polio, Billionaire and Philanthropist, Bill Gates has merged with Rotary on the project for the last three years.

Along with eradicating Polio, he added that the Rotary Organization is also known for its work on promoting literacy, where actress and singer Dolly Parton have also partnered with the organization.

Rotary is an organization that consists of business professionals, who devote their time to humanitarian services around the world.

Rotary was formed by a gentleman called Paul Harris from Racine, Wisconsin and has been in existence since 1905, and in the Virgin Islands for 44 years.