Speakers
| Speaker | Date | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| Kirk Driver - RI Peace Fellow | Aug 05, 2023 8:30 AM |
Peace Matters
 District 5790 A 31-year veteran of the Fort Worth Police Department, Captain Kirk Driver is currently assigned as the commander of the Traffic Division, responsible for the Traffic Enforcement Unit, the Traffic Investigations Unit, and the Patrol Support Unit, consisting of Air Support and the Tactical Medic team. Captain Driver is an honor graduate from the Southern Police Institute Administrative Officers Course, and he holds a Masters of Criminal Justice degree from Tarleton State University and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Texas Christian University. Captain Driver is a 2016-2017 Rotary Peace Scholar, selected to attend the Rotary Peace Fellowship at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, where he completed his studies in 2018. ### Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals to become effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship and field-study expenses. We see peace not as an abstract concept but as a living, dynamic expression of human development. Peacebuilding is a cornerstone of our mission as a humanitarian service organization and is one of Rotary's areas of focus — the channels of activity through which our members make their mark on the world. Our programs, grants and fellowships focus on creating environments where peace can be built and maintained. Rotary believes that if concerned citizens work together to create peace locally, lasting change can happen globally. Where Rotary Peace Center alumni work |
| PRIP Barry Rassin - TRF Trustee Chair in 2023-2024 | Aug 05, 2023 12:00 PM |
The Transformational Nature of The Rotary Foundation
 Barry Rassin served as Rotary International President in 2018-2019 with the theme "Be the Inspiration", and helped to elevate Rotaract during his presidency. In 2023-2024, Rassin will serve as The Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair.
Before becoming RI President, Rassin served at all levels of Rotary including Club President in 1987-1988, and Governor of District 4040 during 1991-1992. He also made a big mark leading Rotary’s relief and recovery efforts after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which included 105 separate projects funded by Rotarians. “I had a spreadsheet with 132 pages andevery detail of every project,” he says. “People look at it and say, ‘How do you dothis?’ But I enjoyed that.”
Rassin’s leadership abilities served him well in his professional life as a hospitaladministrator. The first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives inthe Bahamas, he retired after 37 years as president of Doctors HospitalHealth System, where he still serves as an adviser.
Rassin has been a Rotarian since 1980 of the East Nassau Club (Bahamas) and received Rotary’s highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, for his work. He and his wife, Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.
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| Stephanie Urchick - RI President Elect (2024-2025) | Aug 05, 2023 7:30 PM |
Making the Rotary Experience Irresistible
 Rotary Club of McMurray, Pennsylvania
Stephanie A. Urchick retired as partner and chief operating officer of Doctors At Work LLC, a consulting and training company, in 2022. She holds a doctorate in leadership studies from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is active on numerous community boards and committees, and has been honored by organizations including Zonta International and the Sons of the American Revolution.
A Rotarian since 1991, Urchick first joined the home club of Past RI President Chuck Keller, who served as her mentor. Urchick has served Rotary as Rotary Foundation Trustee and RI Director. She has served RI in numerous capacities, including training leader, Regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and RI president’s representative. In addition she was a delegate and member-at-large for three Councils on Legislation. She has also served as a member of various RI committees, including Rotary’s Election Review Committee, the Operations Review Committee, and as chair of the Rotary Strategic Planning Committee and The Rotary Foundation’s Centennial Celebration Committee.
Urchick has participated in a variety of international service projects, including National Immunization Days in India and Nigeria. In Vietnam, she worked with clubs to help build a primary school and traveled to the Dominican Republic to install water filters. The speaker of several Slavic languages, she has mentored new Rotary members in Ukraine, and coordinated a Rotary Foundation grant project for mammography equipment and a biopsy unit for a hospital in Poland. Urchick is currently helping to partner clubs and districts in the U.S. with Rotary clubs in Kosovo, Albania, and in Ukraine for humanitarian and educational services.
Urchick wants to see 100,000 more Rotary members in 2024-25. She believes that the magic of Rotary happens at the club level, where the people are serving their communities.
“We need to make our club experiences simply irresistible,” says Urchick. “We want people to feel that there’s value in getting involved in Rotary to create changes in themselves, in their communities, and in the world.”
She is a Major Donor and a member of the Bequest Society of The Rotary Foundation.
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