PRID Robert Hall

PRID Robert Hall and Global Vice Chair of Countdown to History talks about WHY clubs should donate to Polio even though Districts give DDF. Robert talked about resources, ideas, relationships, and recognizing donors. 

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SPEAKER_02 0:24

Good afternoon, everybody. Nice to see you on Watch Your IQ. Let's talk about impact quotient. And my guest today is none other than King of the World, Robert. I couldn't help it, Robert. I had to say it. He is a RI director, but he's also been working with polio for the countdown to history uh committee. He's the vice chair of the countdown to history committee and fundraising like we all are. So anyway, thank you, Robert, for joining me today. Let's talk about polio. Let's talk about polio. Tell me, let me ask you a question that I had been asked, and we talked about this before. But I had a sitting governor say to me that my district and other districts have said, the clubs are saying, well, the district gives DDF to polio. Why do we have to raise funds for polio? Why do we have to raise the $1,500 or $45 per person? Why? Why do we have to do that? What's your answer to that, Robert?

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Well, I I would hope we know why that person knows why the district gives 20%, or is asked to give 20%. And the district has to do that because DDF is used for local and global grants in the seven areas of focus. Polio eradication is not a grant, but it is Rotary's number one humanitarian project, period. Like membership is Rotary's number one internal project or program emphasis. So we really ask the district to participate with the DDF they have that clubs, individuals are given to the annual fund. It comes back 50%, as you know, and we're asking club districts to give 20%. That's why we're asking the districts to give. It's important. And it's important that we give, period, continue to give, or we will not eradicate polio. Secondly, we look at the club presidents, and we ask each of the club presidents to ask their members to give $1,500. And I believe that's important because I don't think the club members have a real big clue, 90% of the members, on the DDF, and it goes up and it comes down, and we spend on projects. So we're asking the club members to give $1,500 to polio eradication. And to me, that's more about awareness, or as much about awareness as it is about raising funds. Certainly, if every one of 30-something thousand clubs gave $1,500, wow, would we be excited? But I'll tell you, I don't believe, and really only about 11% of Rotarians worldwide give to polio anyway. So we're trying to get Rotarians to participate. As we said, you know, it's not about attending a meeting anymore. It's about engaging. It's about wanting to be somewhere with your friends in Rotary, doing friends they're doing and you want to do in Rotary. And so, you know, I could do a lot of things on my own, but I could do a whole lot more with rotary people. Someone once said, if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. And so when Rotarians as a group in a club now, that's a district, find out more about why they want to get involved in this polar eradication, give personally and give financially, that gets them engaged and involved. And to me, that awareness is more important than the fundraising personally. But uh it does raise a lot of money, the 1500 per club uh they were asking for. And there are ways to accomplish that that you know doesn't have to come directly out of your pocket. You can do fundraising, you can do events, you can, you know, we can talk about other ways to try to do that. But uh it's just, you know, making you aware. And I think that's why we do at the club level with the club members, not with the district governors who give the DDF and the DRFC. We want both to participate. So I don't know. Is that another question that brings up to you, Nancy?

SPEAKER_02 4:44

That is a that's a that's a great answer. I I like that, and because but why do so many people in this area do you think? I mean, so many people in the United States are not interested in in polio. Is it because they've not had a personal relationship with it? Is it because they don't believe in vaccinations? What do you think? Why do so many people not know about it? I mean, Rotarians that I'm talking about. Why what or what are we not calling?

SPEAKER_03 5:14

I I think it's about awareness again. And if you weren't around in the 50s, or you don't have a relative that got polio in the 50s, you don't have a clue. And when I speak to a club or a district, a group, I ask everybody in their hand, everybody in the room to raise their hand if we know do you agree with me it doesn't cost anything in the United States to keep polio from coming here? And we don't spend any money in the United States on it, do we? And then people say, Yeah, we don't know. I said, Well, wait a minute. Do you know that every child that's born gets three or four, whatever it is, drops of the vaccine, and that's about $600 million? Do you know that the United States government contributes about $250,000, $275,000? That's about $900 million. That's about $900 million that we spend. We spend either you or your kids and your grandkids or your insurance or is paying for your kids, and then we pay as taxpayers to do it as the U.S. government. And if the U.S. government didn't do this, you wouldn't have Germany, you wouldn't have Canada, you wouldn't have the UK, they wouldn't follow. We are viewed as a leader. Now, times are different right now, but we're still viewed as a global leader. And when somebody does something that you respect, you say, whoa, that's pretty important. I think I'll do that too. So yeah, I think it's important that we continue to do this because uh if we don't eradicate worldwide, you know, it's no good. It's no good.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

Yeah, we're gonna have some issues here eventually. Look at the measles outbreak, look at the so many people that don't believe in vaccinations. And I'm not saying all of them are wonderful, but if it's gonna keep me from getting a disease and dying from it or being paralyzed from it, yeah, I'm gonna be vaccinated.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

I ask people, look, if this was your child or grandchild, would you be excited about the opportunity to be in the eradication effort? Would you get anything to it? Yeah, you bet you would if it was personal. You know, it's not personal with people today. They don't they don't have a clue what polio is if you're 50 years and younger.

SPEAKER_02 7:27

True, that is very true. But you know, it's it's strange to me because I'd be willing to bet you those people that are not interested in vaccinations have been vaccinated themselves. I bet their parents vaccinated had them vaccinated. So I don't understand, I don't understand that. I guess that's a question for the for the mysteries of the world. But let's jump over to tell me some more about your I know it's fundraising, but tell me some more about your duties as the um as the vice chair, the global, and I know you it's global, and then I'm gonna ask you about your king of the world what that entails too. So, but tell me what does that committee do exactly?

SPEAKER_03 8:13

The best thing about it I can relate to you is when I was in charge of something else that we did here in Atlanta, a convention, et cetera, and somebody come up and say, Wow, what a great convention you had. You did a great job, Robert. Well, you know, I just tell them we had hundreds of people, 12 on the executive committee. I think I pick good people, I think they good work, they do the work. And so we got 40-something people that are regional and polio now coordinators, and I get the opportunity to work with them. And if you have a question, you might call me, or you know, somebody in the in a district may call me. You know, I get involved as much as you want me to get involved. But the 40-something people are the ones that actually are doing the work, have relationships with districts. A regional empolio and all coordinator might work with three to six districts. And I expect them, it'll mean it that way, to have a personal relationship with the district governor chain and the DRFC. I would love it if the district governor of DRFC would call Nancy Barbie or another regional empolio coordinator and ask you to help them do them versus you trying to get to them. And so uh our regional coordinators is 40-something, and uh day by day they have these relationships and they encourage the districts and the clubs, and however, they can work with the district governor and DROC to raise money for polio to build awareness with their members and engage their members for polio eradication.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

I agree, and I think we are very lucky in and I know in zone 33, and I'm sure in zone 34 too, that the empolio and now quarters do have a personal relationship with our with the district governors and the DRFCs and the polio chairs. We're very lucky because we also have a lot of support from you, from John Germ. Not that the other in polio and now coordinators don't, but you're right here, and we can contact you real quick to ask for questions and ask for help.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

So I think we're very all the resources are. So, you know, it surprised me about a month ago. I was talking to one of your peers, and they said, I just explained to three districts I work with about this report we have, the CDR. That's right, the contribution distribution report. And I explained to the DGs and E's and N's, and a couple of them didn't even know what it was.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:48

Then they said, Wow, this is a great resource. So I think it's you who let the DG change because look, that we rotary's got so many resources. How can you know all of them? But you know, you get somebody that you respect and trust, and if they say something's important, you believe Nancy Barbie, and you go look at that CDR and you'll help her work with your polio, because your polio plus chair does not get that, but uh you'll work with a polio plus chair and understand how they can help the 40 to 70 clubs in their district.

SPEAKER_02 11:22

That's right. That's exactly right. So we do have some great resources, and it's right, it's just a matter of getting them out there and and showing them how they can use it too. Um, you've been on a national immunization day, haven't you, Robert?

SPEAKER_01 11:34

You've been on a couple of long time ago.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

Yeah, long time ago. But how did that make you feel when you when you actually gave those drops? Tell me what what the emotion was.

SPEAKER_03 11:44

Well, I mean, it it's it's absolutely life-changing. Uh, I went over there and and Charlene told me one day, my wife, we're gonna do a polio immunization trip. I said, What? I said, I've been all over the world with my professional job, but I've never been to India. And says, Well, we're gonna go. And so we uh called up Rotary and said, you know, when's your next trip to India? And I said, we don't have one planned. And they said, Why don't you head up? Anyway, we headed up 20 people went. One of our Rotarians gave almost $50,000 to fund it in India where we went. And uh I went thinking if I didn't go and I didn't give a drop to a child, they'd get polio. And that is true. What I really went for was to thank these Rotarians in this district, in this community for the 70-something booths they set up, trains they rode on, I mean, intersections they were at, motorcycles, and Charlene rode a motorbike with them. We want to thank them. We think we work hard, we don't do a lot, but they are out there with their lives every day. And it's luckily it's out of India now. We don't have it there. But in Pakistan, Afghanistan, we want to support the Rotarians, we want to support the women and the adults and the village influencers who are the key people, Nancy. You know that. They get you into homes. I mean, I get a man into a home, I get a woman into a home, and we want to tell them thank you. And I think I came back, absolutely changed my life. I was not disinvolved in polio eradication before that. Uh, but it changes a life. And uh, you gotta thank these people for how they're working, they're working hard.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

Absolutely. I agree with you a hundred percent. Um, I didn't know anything about polio either, Robert. Um I didn't know until I got it in rotary rotary and started hearing about polio that my first cousin had polio as a child. She was a couple of years older, well, right, much older than me. But she had polio. I didn't know that. I didn't know anybody. I mean, I got the sugar cube when I was a little kid, but I didn't know anyone that had polio. Yeah, and so uh when I started speaking at clubs, um I had a lot of people come up to me and say, Hey, you know, I had polio, or oh, my father had polio. Oh, my aunt had polio. So they knew somebody. I had no idea. I had no idea.

SPEAKER_03 14:18

And so about 15 years ago, I met a man whose wife had post polio syndrome. And you know, in 1946 or something, he was in New Orleans, Louisiana. She got polio, she got quarantined, they had a baby, they had to take care of the baby. And um, and then later, about 15, 18 years ago, she walked out to get the mail at the mailbox, only 150 feet away, and had to crawl home. Nobody was there. And from that day, she hadn't been out of her chair except uh, you know, walk them a little bit in the driveway. It's devastating what it can come back and do to your life. Oh, it is devastating.

SPEAKER_02 15:05

Yeah, it is devastating. And so many polio survivors are like that. Now, some are some have it from you can tell the telltale signs immediately, they're paralyzed from the legs or something in an iron lung or something, not now, but they were. And you don't realize when you see somebody standing upright and they're working and they're playing games and they're you know doing whatever, that they still have polio.

SPEAKER_03 15:32

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

Yeah, manifesting.

SPEAKER_03 15:34

Ramesh Ferris and and John Nanny, who I know you've had on this before, and Ramesh Ferris, who is a polio coordinator, is going to be a district governor now in uh the Yukon. They're my rotary heroes. I mean, oh my golly, what they bring to this, and uh I mean, it's just unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

Absolutely it is, absolutely it is. So it's all about, like you said, about um knowledge and educating. So, how do we go about doing that more and more? I mean, what can we do if we're not invited somewhere, if we're not invited to a club or not invited somewhere, how do we get the word out? What do you think is the best way to do that?

SPEAKER_03 16:22

Well, I think the regional and folio coordinators, you're one, uh, are the people that can make that happen. I mean, you probably work with eight or nine. How many districts do you work with, Nancy?

SPEAKER_02 16:36

I have eight, but I but I I work with all of them. Colleen and I share it.

SPEAKER_03 16:40

Yeah, that's right. So I mean, if I call up one of your districts, I hate to say this, and somebody told me one time I said when I was talking to a group of volunteers, and somebody said, Well, so-and-so is really working hard. I said, Yeah, but we pay for results. We don't pay for hard work.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

Right.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

So you can't say that to volunteer. So I won't say it. But if I call out one of your district DGs and they don't know who Nancy Barbie or Colleen Bonadonna is, I would be really disappointed.

SPEAKER_01 17:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:09

I think if you can get to the D G E N N D, whatever, where you are, you have got to present this passionate case about polio eradication. You know, I raise a lot of money. I love raising, I don't raise a lot money, but I love raising money though. And I'll sit down with a client, you know, well, thinking about IBM, and I got a solution right now. You got you got something I can help you with. But I'll talk to this person, and when I'm raising money, and I'll uh I'll find out, I'll listen. In fact, effective leaders are listeners, and I'll listen to see where this person's priorities are. And if their priority has to be polio, yeah, I want to help them understand where we are, and then they can make a contribution financially, even. But uh so the DG has to understand why you are passionate about polio eradication. My wife Charlene raises money for Alzheimer's and dementia. She's passionate because her sister-in-law had Alzheimer's, and her brother-in-law is a caretaker. And guess what? Her brother-in-law died 15 months before his wife. And so she's passionate about that, and she can speak to Alzheimer's and dementia much better than I can. Uh, and I I think our polio regional coordinators can speak to DGs and groups, districts, clubs, whatever, about why I, Nancy Barbie, am passionate about getting rid of polio. And it's sure it's about you, sure it's about your loved ones. But if we don't get rid of this worldwide, it will come back to you and your loved ones. And that's why some people don't understand. Why do we get to get of it worldwide? We only had what was it, Rockdale County or Rockland County two or three years ago in New York?

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

How about that?

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Yeah. And it wasn't a young person, it wasn't a baby, it wasn't a young child.

SPEAKER_03 19:04

It was a it was an older person or a very unvaccinated, lowly vaccinated community, though. We talk about here herd herd immunity, a herd, you know, in the state of Georgia, herd immunity are a vaccination like 95% is the definition, 90, 95 percent. We had that here, but here in that community, they were like 40, 45, 50 percent vaccinated. Well, sure it's gonna have a problem up there. Yeah, so you gotta convince everybody why. And that's not an easy job. There's some people just don't want to be vaccinated.

SPEAKER_02 19:40

Right. Again, zones 33 and 34. I think we um we've got uh a step up because I speak a lot. In fact, I I'll be next this week, I'll be I just was in um up in Pennsylvania, spoke at a foundation banquet all about polio. I this was funny. One of the guys came up to me with the program and said, Can I get your autograph? And I laughed. I said, What? I said, For what? I said, he said, you're famous. And I went, wait, tell me where my famous women but he was joking. But anyway, I I I didn't but I said, okay, I'm signed. But anyway, um, but I was there, and then this week I'm I'll be in um Bethesda, Maryland, and then um mid-May I'll be in uh Raleigh. So we we haven't Colleen's done the same thing. She she's going wherever I'm not when I can't go, she goes, vice versa.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

Great team.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

Yeah, we are a great team. And and it's you know, we we get a lot done. Um tell me a little bit about, you know, last year we had an incentive program at the in Pittsburgh. So I want you to explain that a little bit. What happened there? How did we get so many people to to give up and what do we do?

SPEAKER_03 20:58

I think you were a primary um force in that, I know. And and what had happened, uh, as Nancy would want all of you to know, that at International Assembly in 2024, we had lots of people pledge, lots of DGEs pledge to give money come July 25. Give 20% or some number. And so when you get close to whenever your zone summit is, I was having to be October World Polio Day. It'll be World Polio Day again this year. It'll be on World Polio Day again in 26. Um, then we say, well, look, these people made a pledge. Now, I wonder what they've done by October. You think they did it July 1? They could have, that September, October, whatever. Let's do this. Let's have everybody recognize those people who've given actually 20% by prior to the prior to the summit and recognize them. And we did that in Pittsburgh. last year we're gonna do that again Jacksonville Jacksonville this yeah yeah and and so we want to thank it's it's recognizing it's thanking you know I say I love fundraising fundraising is only about three things a a awareness I've talked about that I can't ask you to give money unless you're aware and then I found if you think that's a good deal then I can ask and then if you give I gotta thank you or tell you I appreciate you acknowledge your gift. And so we did that in Pittsburgh and I think it was important to thank people I think it's important to do that again in Jacksonville and we're gonna do that. We haven't exactly figured out what we're gonna do but we're gonna have we're gonna have something really significant uh that I thank all of the DJs now who pledged IA Orlando in February this year in February I think it was yeah the week before Charlotte's um knee surgery uh and we're gonna have a real celebration and so if you're a DJ or you know a DJ this coming to Jacksonville we got what 31 DJs in 33 and 34 um we've done really great on pledging at IA in February this last February and we're gonna recognize and I think you'll you will know you are important you will know a Rory appreciates what you're doing. So we're gonna plan that and we got just a few things left to plan on that. I gotta I gotta make a plug about that I just found out that um it has been planned it has been confirmed it wasn't confirmed until the last couple of days that we will have a breakfast and the ones that transfer the money the pledge is great but they have to transfer that money September the 10th Robert so that they can have breakfast and have one-on-one time with Sanku who is the who would then be the um president left I mean he's a great guy uh I've known him I've been to his home a vacation uh off of uh South Korea with him and his wife uh he's just a terrific I was on the border with him too he's a terrific guy yeah we want to make it special and if if you're a DJ and you don't think we're thanking you enough acknowledging enough making you feel like you're a value in this polar eradication you let Nancy know you let me know uh because it happens where you are it happens where your club presidents are it doesn't happen where we are that's exactly right you're absolutely right Robert and I was it was also confirmed confirmed to me just recently that they would also be thanked on stage uh that is true that's true that doesn't and you're all you're right it's all about recognition and thanking um sometimes we overlook that part but I don't think I don't think we do very much I I think we do a good job of that I mean uh if I ask you to give and you give a million dollars you give ten dollars a hundred dollars if I don't thank you that's not wrong um I personally want to let you know that you are of a value in this effort to eradicate poly yeah exactly exactly Robert this has been a great great um insight to different things that you are doing and I can't thank you enough for for being our our supporter our leader our resource our cheerleader I feel like you're behind us 100% cheering us on and saying you can do it you can do it because we like to be thanked too you know and we like to to get that support and you certainly do give us that um but it it's been a it's been a great conversation I just want to ask you what do you think for the last question what do you think um our greatest our greatest impact will be when not if but when we eradicate polio what what what would the impact be around the world impact uh the celebration certainly be a big celebration I think um I think the impact you know when you think back to 70 nah I think Rothery started this and nobody wanted to join us why would they this is almost impossible uh and back at that time is uh after we started this thing in the Philippines a thousand cases a day basically a thousand cases a day and now we're having a great year so far uh the season's coming up you uh you gotta beware it might be some more cases but we haven't had a case in Pakistan and Afghanistan since January and February one country January one February has a case of Wapolia uh I think the impact's already there a lot but the impact might be that I can say as a Rotarian I was part of this and if I ask you as a group to hold up your hand if you had any part in this I hope that every Rotarian can say I had a part in this I'm proud of what my organization did. And so I guess the impact is uh recognition we did it we've had brought in some great new partners uh we don't do it alone anymore and we got some great volunteers uh around the world uh that actually do all the work um I guess the impact of celebrating that uh we've really made an impact in the world absolutely that's what it's about I I think so too and and um I'm gonna steal a quote from uh Brenda Cressy that uh she said it on her podcast when when I did an interview with her and it really brought it home to me too that these are not just vaccinations or drops this is a child this is a child that's just saving a child from having polio for the rest of the rest of their life Robert thank you so much for being on enjoying being part of this thank you very much yeah thank you so much and and folks this has been watch your IQ let's talk about impact question and we just did IQ I will say this a friend of my question I had some blood work done the other day at my internist office and he called me and said your IQ is 152 all that from blood work amazing thank you Mr.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

King of the world pass brother international director vice chair of the uh countdown to history of polio's radic eradication efforts I'm gonna get that right eradication efforts I'm gonna get that right one of these days so thank you so much Robert thank you thank you I'll talk to you another time soon thank you and everything is good and happy and um this young man a teenage you know walks through all of us to the front of the room and it looked like he was holding a backpack and as he walked by us we realized that it was his grandfather who had no legs and he was carrying him on his back and he got to the front of the room and he gently put his grandfather on a regular chair and then the wheelchair was brought over and then he picked up his grandfather with some help and they put him on the wheelchair. Nancy I gotta tell you it was so amazing to watch and um so a couple of things happened first of all the man was an old older man and he had a handkerchief in his hand and he put his hand up in the air and he started waving the handkerchief and then he started twirling around in the wheelchair um obviously he'd been in wheelchair before but now this was his wheelchair we had given him that day the gift of mobility and he had this big smile on his face tears were coming down his eyes tears were coming down our eyes and we were laughing we didn't know whether to laugh or cry it was just amazing it was an amazing amazing moment but at the same time I noticed the grandson standing up against the wall in the back and he was crying and I thought you know what we did not just change this man's life we changed that grandson's life we changed all the lives of the family of this man so when we change lives don't think of the one individual we have to think of all of those people around that one individual and that's when I really got it I thought my goodness what did we just do for this man a $75 wheelchair changed all these lives wow that is powerful that is powerful and what a great way to put that that you just changed a whole family and a whole community a whole community exactly oh my gosh that what a what how powerful can it be and that is the power of our Rotary Foundation if just every Rotarian and every rotoractor and every interactor could realize what a small small small donation what a small contribution that you have to make to impact a whole community a whole state a whole country a whole world so together we are powerful people thank you so much Brenda for sharing your impact and what what it means to you what the Rotary Foundation means to you and your experiences um I can't say enough the rotor foundation is my heart and soul okay so I can't say enough about the rotor foundation and about polio of course I'm I'm a polio champion as you are too um and everything everything to do with with helping to eradicate that thank you so much for being with me today and and for sharing your experiences and and for sharing your passion. Thank you nancy I really appreciated being here and I hope all the Rotarians and rotaractors and interactors have those who have a chance to listen today understand that as I mentioned earlier giving to the Rotary Foundation is a journey of giving and you you are asked to support it but support it at the level that is comfortable to you. You know we will we don't want to overburden you we know that life is tough and but this is our foundation and I hope some of the stories that we share today really ring true to you and will become part of your thinking and of your heart.

SPEAKER_02 43:54

Thank you so much again Brenda and uh this has been what's your IQ let's talk about your impact question with Nancy Barbie and and uh thank you again Brenda