District governor visits Dowagiac Rotary Club

The old proverb “it’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness,” is an apt description of how Bob Small sees his and his fellow Rotarians commitment to service.

“No one lights a lamp to put it under a bucket, but on a lamp stand to where it gives light to everyone in the house,” Small said, quoting from the gospel of Matthew. “And you must shed your light on your fellow men and women so they see the good that you do.”

Small, the governor of Rotary District 6360, focused on the international organization’s yearlong effort to “Light Up Rotary” during his visit to the Dowagiac Club Thursday afternoon. As head of the district, Small oversees the 58 clubs across Southwest Michigan, including in Dowagiac.

“This meeting is my 54th since July 1, so I’ve been making the rounds,” Small said. “I’ve got to tell you, this has been the most enjoyable two months of my life, to spend this time with such remarkable people as you.”

In his remarks to the over 30 members of the local club present at the Elks Club that afternoon, the governor highlighted the problems that Rotary is working on solving, be that their international effort to stamp out Polio or efforts closer to home to reduce the number of infant mortalities here in Michigan.

For Small, his own commitment to reach out beyond his backyard to make a difference was cemented by his service work overseas, including one in the Philippines. Despite the impoverished conditions of the people of that country, many of them still fought passionately for the joys of life that brought them happiness, which made him reflect on what brings such feelings into his life, he said.

“Doing something good for somebody else makes us incredibly happy,” Small said.

Citing a study published in the latest issue of “The Rotarian,” the club’s magazine, Small said that philanthropic efforts make the pleasure centers in the brain come alive.

“Service above self, the motto of the Rotary Organization, is to do good in the world,” he said. “Pursuing happiness is so Rotary. It’s what we do.”