Each and every Wednesday, you can find the North Platte Noon Rotary Club congregating for their weekly meeting at the Quality Inn and Suites Sandhills Convention Center.
This Wednesday’s meeting was extremely special to Rotarians from all across Central Nebraska, as they welcomed Rotary International President, Gary C.K. Huang, of Taiwan.
Making Huang’s visit to North Platte even more special, was the fact that this is the first visit of his Presidency.
A Rotarian since 1976, Huang has served in numerous capacities in the organization. He has been instrumental in the development of membership throughout Asia. He is the first Taiwanese President in the club’s 109 year history.
Huang is an adviser for Wah Lee Corp. and the Bank of Panhsin. He is also the director of Federal Corporation and Sunty Development Company Ltd.
The theme Huang chose for the year is “Light Up Rotary,” saying he was inspired by the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius, who said, “It is better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness.”
“Light Up Rotary is our theme, but it is more than a theme,” Huang said. “It is how we think in Rotary, how we feel, how we work.”
Huang added, “It is how we make a difference-every day, in every club, every district and every country where we serve.”
Huang has also set an ambitious agenda for his Presidency, leading an international effort to grow Rotary membership by 50,000, and spread membership across Russia and China. He said he seeks to increase membership to a total of 1.3 million members worldwide.
“The Rotary way is the Confucius way,” Huang said. “The Rotary way is to light the candle. I light one, you light one and 1.2 million Rotarians light one. Together, we light up the world.
In true Husker fashion, the Noon Rotary club made sure that Huang would never forget his visit to Nebraska, by presenting him and his wife with a Husker t-shirt and a framed photograph of the Husker basketball team. He was also presented with a key to the City of North Platte by Mayor Dwight Livingston.
If you are interested in becoming a member of Rotary, visit their website, http://www.clubrunner.ca/5630.