This winter has been relatively warm, but the holiday spirits were still in full-swing at our Christmas Party.  We had a good evening at Port City, and everyone really enjoyed my rendition of “Mele Kalikimaka” in the voice of Bob Dylan.  I even brought my newborn, Henry Earl Brown, to the stage for a little talk too.  At the beginning of the meeting I acknowledged the recent health difficulties of a couple of our older members, and did my best to “keep it together” in front of the crowd.  Throughout the holiday break from Rotary I thought a lot about how many Rotarians are committed to our organization until they leave the world. This concept is pretty amazing, and demonstrates a true level of “service above self” until the end.  The truth is that every Rotarian’s service to our club is part of a 99-year continuation of our original founders.  The second generation of our founding members saw how the works of their elders lingered inspiration for the club long after their physical service was complete.  Therein lies the concept of seeing our club as forest, and learning to see that forest “through the trees.”  A forest is composed of multiple age cohorts, just as our club is.  The older trees may seem to grow slower, but their steady growth provides the mast of seeds for the next generation.  The young trees strive to reach the canopy, and grow ever-fast to do so.  Although it seems like one large competition is taking place, it actually takes this level of teamwork to build a healthy forest.  Typically, the oldest trees in a region are not necessarily the largest trees, but the ones that grew in the toughest conditions. The oldest ones are Junipers and Pitch Pines growing on rock ledges near cliffs at higher elevations, or bald cypress groves growing out of perennial swamps.  As we think about these old trees and how they relate to our club, it’s easy to remember that the generation born in the 1920’s saw a much harsher world than the recent generations.  They fought through the toughest economic depression of the century, and right through the largest war too.  However, despite these struggles, they also got a glimpse of our city at a time when it was booming, only to watch it slip into a multi-decadal slump.  When you sit back and think about these last 90 years of our history it’s worth noting the great people we still have with us today serving our mission to accomplish good for the world. As Bob Dylan sang “They say everything can be replaced, they say every distance is not near.  So I remember every face, of every man that put me here.” These next few years of Rotary service will likely be some of our greatest struggles, as we lose some of our greatest people, but we will also find a deeper sense of purpose to carry-on.  Let’s make our run into the 100th year a good one, and really work together to create a thriving club.   Reece