Jennifer Jones, rotary’s first female president, is the perfect leader to spread the word about the good Rotary does in the world, and inspire its members to keep going.
At a training seminar for Rotary club presidents-elect at a Dallas-area hotel in February, sergeants-at-arms wearing yellow vests and Stetsons lead participants, grouped by Rotary district, into a small room for a photo op with 2022-23 Rotary International President Jennifer Jones. As the groups enter, the club leaders mob Jones — the room a flurry of handshakes, fist bumps, hugs, and the occasional squeal. For each photo, the Stetson-clad Rotarians (nicknamed “Rangers”) give instructions on who should stand where, then Jones, who is seated front-row center, stands up, turns around, and warms up the crowd. “Is this the best district?” she asks one. She challenges a district to dance, busting a groove on the tan and gray patterned hotel carpet. Another, she teases, is the best looking. And then there’s the “party” district, whose members give a raucous cheer.
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The groups file out. More than a few people linger to get selfies with Jones and her husband, Nick Krayacich. One young woman, dressed in cobalt blue, shouts, “Congratulations and thank you for being a leader for women in Rotary!” More cheers. She and Jones bump fists as she departs.
“She’s just amazing. She’s a rock star,” says Rhonda Walls Kerby, past governor of District 5890, who has been observing the scene.
When the photo session is finished, Jones signs several Star Wars collectors’ helmets that will be auctioned at an upcoming district conference in Houston. She pulls on a Stormtrooper helmet. The phones of the Rotarians still in the room shoot up in unison to capture the moment.
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