A special greeting from Rotary Club of St. Croix Mid-Isle members who sponsored this announcement. Thank you for your contribution - you know who you are!

We also thank contributors and advertisers: Governor Kenneth Mapp, Rotary International President Barry and Esther Rassin, District Governor Dr Patrick and Lesline Adizua, Virgin Islands Department of Tourism, Department of Property & Procurement, Virgin Islands Police Department, Buccaneer Hotel, Cardow Jewelers, Tropical Bracelet Co., VIYA, Marshall & Sterling Insurance, Caravelle Hotel & Casino, Plaza West, Oliver Exterminating, Sandcastle on the Beach, Island Therapy, 2 + 2 Restaurant, Top Class Catering, Ay Ay Weddings, Sweet Stuff Cakes.

Today is a special day in the local history of Rotary. We can celebrate the first time a sitting President of the world-wide humanitarian service organization honors us with a visit. With our island having just 80 members of the 1.2 million Rotarian family residing on all the continents of the world, we have reason to be proud. The fact that Barry Rassin is from Nassau, Bahamas, part of the same Rotary District 7020 as we are, explains why he has been here before and is well known and admired among local Rotarians. Recently retired after 37 years as a hospital administrator in Nassau, he brings with him - in addition to his charming wife Esther - the new District Governor Dr. Patrick E. Adizua, a medical doctor, with his wife Lesline, a dentist, both from Mandeville, Jamaica.

St. Croix is one of several Caribbean locations that were hard hit by hurricanes Irma and Maria last September, and this visit was planned as an encouragement and evaluation of the progress of recovery by Rotary Clubs since then.

During the three-day visit, Rassin and Adizua meet with local Rotarians and dignitaries by invitation. A Sunday, August 12 afternoon reception at Government House is broadcast live on Channel 6. Monday morning, they are escorted to sites of local Rotary signature projects such as plantings of public park areas and a playground as well as viewing a major donation of several defibrillators to the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital. A golf scramble Monday at the Buccaneer Golf Course as a fund-raiser for the Rotary Foundation, the charity arm of the organization, brings the official visit to a close. However, District Governor Adizua remains here for the rest of the week for meetings.

Rotary's activities around the world include a dedicated campaign to eradicate polio, a crippling, sometimes fatal disease that once impacted hundreds of thousands lives and is now almost totally eliminated. Since its establishment in 1914, Rotary sponsors humanitarian and peace projects all over the world and its membership represents a broad scope of the communities where it is located. Weekly meetings and annual conferences foster fellowship and generosity towards local and global needs. "Be the Inspiration" is the theme chosen by President Rassin for his year of Presidency, and it can be said that he exemplifies that statement. Rotarians live by what is known as the 4-Way Test that reads: Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?