Natchez — As part of their official duties, sitting district governors for Rotary International visit each club in their area to enumerate goals and objectives for the upcoming year.

Rotary District 6820 Governor Joel Clements paid the Natchez Rotary Club a visit Oct. 1.

“This year’s theme is “Make Dreams Real,” said Clements, a Waynesboro banker. “Under this theme, Rotary International has established goals in three areas: health and hunger, literacy and water.”

Rotary programs have focused on these areas for many years at the local level. Therefore, Clements tossed out kudos to the ongoing efforts to provide community service.

“This club has a lot of projects and does a lot for this community,” he said. “But, we must not lose sight of the fact that Rotary is the single largest community service organization in the world.”

Global thinking is what Clements wants local clubs to incorporate into their daily activities.

“Many of us take clean drinking water for granted,” he said. “But I remember hearing a story about a woman in a village who had to walk three or four miles, get 40 pounds of water and carry it back to her children so they would have clean drinking water. We need to support well projects and clean water projects in these areas,” he added.

Recently Rotary teamed up with the Mississippi Public Broadcasting System to implement an early childhood reading initiative called “Between the Lions”.

“You’ve all heard the statistics about our state and its illiteracy and poverty rates,” Clements explained. “We can’t do anything about poverty until we do something to improve literacy. Whether it’s Belzoni or Bangladesh, a child who can’t read usually doesn’t have a favorable outcome,” he added. “Aside from its three central goals for the upcoming year, Rotary will also focus on what Clements called “the two M’s.”

“It’s important to see how the money flows, particularly for our new members,” he said. “I encourage you to make Rotary the charity of choice after your church.”

Clements also urged local clubs to help increase membership, particularly in the U.S.

“We need more young people, more women and people of color in Rotary,” Clements said. “They are some great workers who can help us out.”

Finally, Rotary International will seek to enhance its image by letting the world know what it does in greater detail.

“Now we need to get the word out more about what we do not because we seek any credit, but to attract new members to the organization,” Clements said.