Opening Ceremony Rotary Convention

Rotary International Convention Opening Flag Ceremony

After spending several days wandering around the massive complex where the Rotary Peace Symposium and Convention were supposed to be held, I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I knew it would be huge.  My jaw dropped as I entered the Registration Hall – which was more like a Registration PALACE…there were over 100 rows of alphabetical letters where people could cue up and wait for their registration.  Having helped with registration for conferences at the UN for upwards of 3,000-4,000 I could not fathom the amount of professionalism, or the sheer volume of what these numbers would look like.

Linda, Noemi and I are all smiles at the opening!

But on the morning of Sunday May 6^th, I witnessed it firsthand.  Together with Jon, Linda and Noemi, we piled into a car, followed the masses into the arena, and scurried to find seats.  I wasn’t even overwhelmed at this point in time, I was just impressed.  You didn’t have to be overwhelmed, because everything was organized – and it was this organization and professionalism and the mass operation of 35,000 people that made it so impressive.

From VIP seats, I was able to witness my first opening ceremony for a Rotary Convention.  As I watched hundreds of flags flood the stage, I realized just how large, expansive and impressive this organization truly is.  And as flags such as Taiwan, India, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and others entered the room, the roar of applause from proud Rotary clubs in those countries filled the room.  I couldn’t help but smile knowing that while each Convention is different, I was proud to that my first Convention was in Asia.

They played one of my favorite songs from The King and I at the opening!