On April 14th, Rotary Toronto Eglinton hosted a special Lunch Meeting with Jennifer Jones, the Rotary International President Nominee for 2022-23, as the speaker. Members of Rotary Etobicoke with almost 100 other participants from other Rotary Clubs throughout Canada, Turkey, Great Britain, and Brazil were there to listen to her message.
In her speech, Jennifer Jones highlighted how Rotary and Rotarians are people of action when the world is in need.
“We know it is a time where we have to maintain physical distance from each other and even though we have been able to do so much in so many communities around the world. When the world kind of shut down, we didn't need to ask to step up and be people of action. Rotarians showed us that you already were”, said.
Jennifer spoke about her plans and goals as Rotary International President Nominee. During the online meeting, she was questioned on several topics, such as the environment, health, diversity and equity - just to name a few.
Jennifer underlined the fact that Rotary has a significant depth of knowledge and experience, cultivated through the efforts in the fight to eradicate Polio, and this knowledge and experience can be brought to bear against Covid-19.
“This is a gift that we have been able to give to the world, and we are now looking at ‘How do we amplify the efforts that we have?’, ‘How do we take the lessons learned from Polio?’. We are immunizers, we believe in vaccinations, we know that vaccinations works. So we are using our voice to say that, first, vaccines are safe; and using our voice to advocate for fair and equitable distribution across the globe making sure that the countries that are not receiving vaccines at this time are being addressed”, explained.
Who is Jennifer Jones
Jennifer is the Founder and President of Media Street Productions Inc., a twenty-five-year-old, award-winning media company in Windsor, Ontario. She is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, in Windsor. Her talents have strengthened Rotary reach and impact through many roles, including as Trustee of the Rotary Foundation, RI Vice President, and co-chair of the End Polio Now: Make History Today campaign, raising funds alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates and their Foundation. She has received many honours and recognitions, including Rotary’s Service above Self Award and the Citation for Meritorious Service and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.