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The Magic of Our Silver Bell ~
Catch Rotary's Spirit & Release It |
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 2009-10 BSWH President Byron Holloway reminded Rotarians of the real magic of our club's unique silver bell in his remarks at our annual banquet, which are 'captured and released' here to help us ring in another new Rotary year:
I would like to end my remarks with a short story about a recent encounter during District Conference. While I was placing our club bell on a reserved table,
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I looked up and saw what appeared to be an exchange student watching me. (He looked like he was about 17 years old and spoke surprisingly good English, but he obviously was from a third world country, like maybe Louisiana or Oklahoma.) He said, 'Your bell is different, it is not like the others.' I told him that, yes, it was different and thanked him for noticing. Since he appeared to be waiting for further explanation, I told him that our bell not only was different, but magical . . . Here is what I said: 'The first time our bell rang, I hadn't celebrated my first birthday, and in all likelihood your parents weren't even born. Since 1957, that Bell has rung my club to order, waited quietly through our lunches, then signaled the end of every Bellaire / SW Houston Rotary meeting. That bell has witnessed our members' joy when their children and grandchildren were born and shared our club's sorrow when a member or a loved one passed away. It called us to order when all the talk was about Alaska and Hawaii becoming states and also rang when America put its first man in orbit. It rang again just 8 years later when an American walked on the moon. It rang when Dr. Martin Luther King gave his I Have A Dream speech, and it witnessed our members' hushed tones when President John Kennedy was killed just a few hundred miles North of us. It called us to order when the Berlin wall went up and was still ringing 28 years later when it came down. It rang when we went to war in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan. It started our meetings during times of great civil unrest, as well as during times of great progress in the fields of medicine, technology, and peace.  The bell rang when our club first discussed women coming into Rotary and again when our first female member joined. She rang it as Club President a few years later. It has called our club together during natural disasters and witnessed members helping each other through trying times. Our Bell is a symbol of our history, our common principles, and it reminds us of the unique character of our Club. It preserves our Rotary spirit. Because our bell is so special to us, in 1982 we encased it in purest silver to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Then in 2007 to celebrate our clubs 50th anniversary, we sealed the Rotary emblem on top in the finest gold. And the bell rings truer than ever. So you see our bell is different,' I told him.'But you said it was magical', he said. So, to try to show him the magic, I rang the Bell with a soft tap, grabbed the spirit, and tried to hold it for a minute before I continued.'This bell CAPTURES THE ROTARY SPIRIT,' I told him, 'and the magic is there every time our Bell rings. It calls us together in the spirit of Rotary, and it rings again to send us out to do good. You can capture the spirit for a moment, but no one person can own it because the real magic comes from RELEASING THE SPIRIT of Rotary out into the world.'He looked a little puzzled but thanked me and walked away. 53 different Presidents have rung our bell ~ they have all caught the Rotary Spirit, held it, and then released it for the greater good. We ring it loud, and we ring it proud ~ as a symbol of all we were, all we are, and all we aspire to be as Rotarians. Yes, it's a truly magical silver bell!....~Byron Holloway, 2009-10 President Bellaire Southwest Rotary Club, June 17, 2010, Remarks |
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Bellaire / Southwest Houston Rotary Club
