But Change Does Happen

Here is the NBC News broadcast on the evening of May 4, 1987.

Bill Brooks was the  president of the Rotary Club of Duarte on the momentous occasion. He is sitting in the middle of the three people shown in this picture.

Bill served another term as President of the Rotary Club of Duarte when I was the District Governor from District 5300 seven years later. I wish I could tell you that the inclusion of women in Rotary allowed the Rotary Club of Duarte to double in size, but that wouldn’t be true. They are smaller today than they were when they admitted those first women as members in 1978. But they did make a big difference in the bigger world of Rotary International.

The woman to the left of Bill Brooks was the President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Duarte. Her name is Sylvia Whitlock and she soon became the first woman President of a Rotary Club. She will serve Rotary as District Governor for District 5300 starting July 1, 1012. Sylvia is a wonderful example of all that Rotary would have missed out on if the Supreme Court had not broken down the barrier that existed for 82 years. 

Charles Keller was the RI President in 1987. I had the opportunity of getting to know Chuck when I represented R.I. President Beechai Rattakul to the District 7330 Conference in, Gettysburg, PA in 2003. He knew I was from the District that where Duarte was located and asked me how they were doing. He expressed regret over saying that the women would come to regret the Supreme Court decision. In fact, he has become a great supporter of the change that came from adding all of those new members. I suspect Chuck Keller was representative of almost all of those who had misgivings over the change that was inevitable.

How could anyone be opposed to doubling the number of members (customers) for our organization. With all of those additional heads, hearts and hands we have taken on new challenges and accomplished things no one thought possible on May 3, 1987.