Mary Keely displays "treasures from 168 districts" -- pins, candies, perfumes -- from DG training in San Diego recently.

March 9, 2010

Members of Putnam Rotary have pitched in with time and resources to share the load with their own Mary Keely as she prepares to take office as District Governor next July.

Six Local members turned out for a team training seminar in Charleston last Saturday. And jeweler Don Broyles sponsored a "Gold Party" at his Teays Valley location this evening to raise funds for travel and other DG expenses.

And not least, husband Bob Keely has been promoted: Instead of "first lady," he was prepared to bear the more gender-appropriate title of "first laddie." But the rising District Governor for 2010-11 has officially designated Bob now as "chief-of-staff."

And e-mails pledging support from others continue to arrive through cyberspace. "Every time I get to work," said the DG-Elect, "another message hits the mailbox."

It's early in the season, as preparations usually go, but Keely has filled most of her committee positions already. "There are still some openings, though," she said today, "if anyone else wants to join the team."

Mary and Bob Keely were inducted into Putnam Rotary eight years ago, and she served as President of the club in 2006-07.

"All the trouble started," according to Mary, when DG Keith Blankenship affixed the official presidential pin to her blouse.

Gold Party: Jeweler Don Broyles ignores a plate of food while evaluating a gold offering.

"When I first got involved in the district," says Mary, "I thought -- wow! -- Rotary is much larger than Putnam County."

District 7550 includes almost 1,300 Rotarians in 28 local clubs across southern West Virginia.

"The next year," says Keely, "Keith and (spouse) Paula Blankenship (a strong district leader in her own right) took me to Evanston, Illinois, to Rotary International headquarters.

"The RI Board of Directors meets there every two months," she said. One side of the meeting room is lined with television screens for directors who participate by internet teleconference. Along one wall are booths for language interpreters.

Administratively, there are 17 directors elected from 34 paired zones. District 7550 is in RI Zones 33 and 34. "Zone 33 extends from Delaware down to South Carolina," said Keely. "Zone 34 is Georgia, Florida, and the islands [of the Caribbean, and Guyana and Suriname].

"There are 26 countries in our zones with 29 districts," she added. "And as I have gotten to know people in our zones, I now have a new family of friends."

Following the visit to headquarters in Evanston, Putnam Rotarian Don Broyles recommended Keely for District Governor. After a series of reviews and interviews at the 2007 district conference, she was elected by acclamation.

Her first training session as DG-Nominee took place in Nassau the next year. "Bob and I always wanted to travel," says Mary. But they didn't get any time for sightseeing in the Bahamas. "You were indoors from sunup until sundown for five days, so you didn't see anything."

Since then, the Keelys have always scheduled a few extra personal days on their trips to allow for sightseeing and relaxation.

Ten months later, there was a second training session at The Homestead in Virginia. Six hundred people were in attendance.

Then three months after that, Mary attended a third training session in San Diego, a highly structured round of meetings with Rotary officers from around the globe.

"The seating was assigned," said her Chief-of-Staff. "If you weren't there, they came looking for you."

"The international world is a lot smaller than you think," Mary observed.

Chief-of-Staff Bob said they had planned to carry gifts and mementos in their luggage, but there was too much. They were forced to ship the goods back to West Virginia.

The gifts and souvenirs from the international community, on display at the meeting today, numbered at last count 168 separate items.

But the new district governor from Putnam will hit the ground running in July. Now she's fully trained, ready to train others, and fully organized. And she's already signed a contract with the Greenbrier Resort for her annual district conference in 2011.

There's one last detail! Putnam Rotarians carried through with a fund raising Gold Party this evening at Broyles Jewelers in Teays Valley, an event which realized a generous income to defray the expenses of the new district governor in the year ahead.

Among those selling their gold to support DG-Elect Mary Keely and Chief-of-Staff Bob Keely (center) are (left to right) Cheryl Rust, Marilyn Pemberton, the Keelys, President Chet Marshall and his spouse Vicki Marshall.