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Portland Rotary welcomes district governor




Rotarian District Governor Laquita Stribling recently spoke at the local Rotary meeting. BONNIE FUSSELL

Rotarian District Governor Laquita Stribling recently spoke at the local Rotary meeting. BONNIE FUSSELL

Laquita Stribling spoke to the Portland Rotary Club on Oct. 31 at Volunteer State Bank.  In July 2018, she was installed as the District Governor for International District 6760, and is the first African-American to hold this position. Stribling’s goal is to visit all clubs in her district during her term. She is compassionate about giving back to her community.

Stribling is senior vice president at Randstad USA, an employment/recruitment agency for temporary and permanent staffing. She is responsible for approximately 1,300 employees and nearly $40 million in revenue.

During her address, she discussed the Rotarian’s goal of eradicating polio around the world. There are 19 known cases of polio in the world and those are in Afghanistan and Pakistan. On Oct. 24, World Polio Day, Rotarians in district 6760 were encouraged to give at least $7 towards the eradication of polio. She added that The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would match 2 – 1 every dollar given towards polio.

She challenged all Rotary Clubs to work toward growth in membership and retention of existing members. She asked all club members to check on those have not been attending meetings and encourage them to come back; and she asked them to invite someone new to Rotary.

The Portland Rotary Club plays an active role in local schools. Beginning in the elementary schools, the club gives bicycles to one deserving child at each school; and each third grade student receives a dictionary from the club.

The club gives citizenship awards to middle school students and gives a Rotary Scholarship to qualifying seniors at Portland High School each year.  In addition, club members sponsored seven students to participate in the Youth Leadership Workshop at Circle M Therapeutic Farms on Payne Road. These projects are funded by the annual Rotary Pancake Breakfast held each year on the morning of the annual Middle Tennessee Strawberry Festival and individual Rotary members. 

The Rotary Club of Portland meets every Wednesday at noon at Volunteer State Bank.

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