Dear Rotarians and friends,
I was sorry to miss last week’s police panel and look forward to hearing how it went from you the next time we are together. Peace in our community is central to our well-being and I am thankful for the close connections STRC has with law enforcement leaders.
Although I consider myself a law-abiding citizen, I will admit to a lifetime of feeling uneasy in the presence of police officers. If I was driving and saw a police car, I slowed down, put my phone away, and made sure any other distractions were out of sight. I kept my distance and avoided contact.
One of the first people I met when I joined STRC was Jim Leary, who was Souderton’s police chief at the time. We were representing STRC at a “Sweatshirt of Hope” event, during which “the Chief” told many stories from his life and work, with the most memorable being the beautiful love story he shared with his late wife, Martha, which brought me to tears. I immediately started to see law enforcement officers in a different light. Later, I met several other officers during the Shop with a Cop event and then met Souderton’s current police chief, Brian Newhall, when he came to speak to us. We also heard from Telford’s police chief, Randy Floyd, when the Rotaplast volunteers returned from Colombia last year. My feelings towards law enforcement officers have changed significantly as a result of these interactions from those of fear and avoidance toward feelings of even greater respect and a desire to collaborate.
I spent last week in Singapore working with government officials, researchers, developers, and manufacturers from countries throughout Asia and Asia Pacific to prepare for future epidemics and pandemics. I expected to see adversarial relationships among attendees because government officials are responsible for the enforcement of many laws regarding vaccine development, manufacturing, and quality on the researchers, developers, and manufacturers and have the power to approve new vaccines and innovative practices. It was not like that at all. Similar to the experience I had in interactions with law enforcement officers through STRC, I observed great respect and collaboration among all attendees at the meeting in Singapore. Representatives from all groups had the chance to tell their stories and reach a common understanding and agreement on ways we can all work together to prepare for future public health emergencies.
The experiences I have had both locally and internationally remind me of the Rotary vision shared at our weekly meetings:
Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe in our communities and in ourselves. I am committed to continuously creating that change.
In Rotary
Kate Hoath
President