District Governor Marta Knight (right) with Assistant District Governor Susie Callahan (left) and President Brett Mattei (center)
District Governor Marta Knight was our special guest at the September 26, 2019 meeting. She asked us to consider our Rotary “Aha” moment- the moment when we realized that Rotary was an important part of our lives. Marta’s “Aha” moment came as she was preparing to become president of her club, Rotary Club of Chula Vista Sunrise and was attending the Rotary International Convention held in Los Angeles in June 2008. In the convention hall she saw thousands of Rotarians from across the globe and listened to the Rotary International President speak about how Rotary allowed ordinary people to do extraordinary things. As she watched the parade of flags from each country in which Rotary had a presence Marta realized: this is my Rotary family!
Marta is a third generation Rotarian. Her grandfather was a founding member of a Rotary club in Mazatlán, Mexico and her father, Dr. Adalberto Rojo, a radiologist, served as District Governor for District 4100 twice, once for Rotary Year 1957-58 and again in 1972 when he stepped in for a District Governor Elect who died suddenly shortly before beginning his term. Marta tells people that her father was so devoted to Rotary that if there had been Rotary diapers, she would have worn them.
As team leader of Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange that traveled to Ecuador for one month, Marta lived her “Aha” moment. She saw a “mechanical cow” funded by a Global Grant secured by her club and Rotary Club of La Mesa that provided much-needed nutrition to local children and their families. Rotary logos marked bathroom facilities for one of the schools they visited. At all schools they brought the children pencils and sharpeners. Marta said the children were fascinated by the sharpeners, and at one school, a young boy demonstrated how they used to use a knife to sharpen their pencils. Examples of the ordinary becoming extraordinary.
For her Rotary Year, Marta’s main goal follows that of Rotary International President Mark Maloney: Grow Rotary. She challenged each club to find community-minded people who are passionate and fun, and practical and resourceful to join us in helping Rotary fulfill its mission. But most of all, Marta wants Rotarians to have fun while working together to make good things happen.