Talking Rotary Zones 28 & 32
Talking Rotary Zones 28 & 32 is a podcast that features the work of Rotary International, the service organization. The podcast features the good works of Rotary clubs in the district, the zone, and the world.
Talking Rotary Zones 28 & 32
The Ride to End Polio With Gary Hirsch
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Gary Hirsch member of the Rotary Club of Tucson and Chairman of the Ride to End Polio, talks to us about this fundraiser.
The ride takes place this year November 20th in Tucson. Not going to be in Tucson? You can take part in a local indoor ride or make a donation. Find out more on their website:
https://polioride.org
Welcome to this episode of Talking Rotary. I'm Peter Tonge and I'm a member of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg Charleswood
Rotary Ad:and I'm Mandy Kwasnica Past President and also a member of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Charleswood. We are so happy you have joined us here and I are so excited for this new podcast and thankful to our many listeners. Let's start talking Rotary.
Peter Tonge:Mandy, we just talked to Gary Hirsch about the right to end polio. It was quite an interesting conversation.
Rotary Ad:Yeah, absolutely. I think many of our listeners are going to learn a few things maybe about polio and the fundraising efforts that go on. But what really surprised me was hearing a little bit about his Tucson Club and the success that they have.
Peter Tonge:It's been a very successful event over the years. Clearly, I don't want to give away any details, our listeners can tune in and find out just exactly how mega successful it has been so and all the different ways that they can participate.
Rotary Ad:Yeah, absolutely. This is an opportunity not only for those that are interested in riding a bike, but really anybody can get involved with this if they if they feel inclined to do so. So enjoy this wonderful talk with Gary Hirsch.
Peter Tonge:Hi, everyone. Welcome to another episode of talking Rotary. I'm Peter Tonge.
Rotary Ad:And I'm Mandy Kwasnica.
Peter Tonge:We're here with Gary heard from the Rotary Club of design.
Gary Hirsch:I'm doing quite well. Peter. Thank you.
Peter Tonge:Good. Glad to hear it. So because this podcast goes out? all around the world. Can you tell us a little bit about Tucson and where it is?
Gary Hirsch:Sure. Tucson is Arizona's other city. Everybody is familiar with Phoenix, it's I think the sixth largest metropolitan area in the country. Tucson is about two hours south of Phoenix, not nearly as developed quite a bit more rural, I would say quite a bit less formal than Phoenix. And the economy is also different than Phoenix. But people come here for the weather. So I spoke to someone today in Madison, Wisconsin who said it was 29 degrees, we probably hit about 89 or 90 degrees today. So what's actually relevant for the for the ride is it's a place for people come to work out in the winter. So it's not unusual to see folks who are riding in Tour de France, winter over in Tucson so they can train every day. And it's a very, very outdoors city. In terms of cycling, we've got a loop that follows many of the river washes, that is off the beaten path. So you can actually ride about 112 miles in Tucson on this loop with almost never having to ride on a surface street.
Peter Tonge:That sounds like a dream.
Gary Hirsch:It really is a dream. And so Tucson in a lot of ways is about the outdoors. Except for the summer. That's when we all hide for three months. And the temperatures range around 110 115 degrees at times. Big Retirement Community lots of people choose to retire here because costs are low and living is easy.
Peter Tonge:That sounds really nice. Well, just to give you a contrast, we're based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, we had snow the other day, so ...
Gary Hirsch:My heart goes to you.
Rotary Ad:Yeah, but we quite enjoy our summers. We just hibernate in the winter time. So it's a little bit opposite for you in the summers you you hibernate.
Gary Hirsch:Here during the summer is when people go to their other homes.
Peter Tonge:Sure. So can you tell us a little bit about the Rotary Club of Tucson?
Gary Hirsch:Sure. I'm actually very proud to say we are the largest club in Arizona. We kind of compete head to head with I think it's called Phoenix one the original club up in Phoenix, we've got about 240 250 members. It gives us a tremendous amount of potential to make a difference in the community and and in the world. In fact, we just finished I think it's our 14th annual Classic Car Show, which we started well 13 or 14 years ago to provide a really big shot in the arm to charities that we select. And so this year's show was very, very successful. Our club has pledged pledged $250,000, to an organization called J, Ted JTD, which you can think of as a Technical High School. So students can come to get their, their get their academic information that they can learn welding, auto repair aviation, it's for folks who don't plan to go to college. And so we have a very, very generous club. Our members are very, very generous. And I think that that's probably the essence of it. We've done projects all over the world associated with with other rotary clubs. And some of the ones that come to mind are wheelchairs for people who are needy down in Mexico. We routinely work to revamp the YMCA is summer camp, we have our own executive director, which makes it possible to be this large, and to do this many good works. It's just a great, great club. And we're we're a super participant in the local community.
Peter Tonge:That sounds fantastic. So I assume the Executive Director is somebody that continues on from year to year for the continuity?
Gary Hirsch:The Executive Director and not to be confused with the club's President, we actually have two salaried positions. One is an Executive Director, the other is an assistant. And they really kind of run the day to day machinations of being a rotary club for us. And I don't think we could do what we do if they didn't do it. Probably the greatest single project we've ever done. And I was not a member of the club at the time, was basically buy a raffle ticket when a house and the club literally built a home. And so tickets, I don't remember how much but I think the home was valued at about $150,000. And basically, we did that to raise a bunch of money to give away and somebody walked into a brand new home.
Peter Tonge:Wow, really cool.
Rotary Ad:I must have missed it. How many members?
Gary Hirsch:About 250 members. We have several corporate members, a lot of honorary members. We tried to get people who are influential in the community into the club as at least as an honorary member, just because it broadens our reach. Wow. That's a lot. Yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot of people to keep track of it took me about three years to learn everybody's name.
Rotary Ad:I'd say.
Peter Tonge:That sounds like a bit of a project just in itself. So what what we wanted to do this podcast for was to talk about the Ride to End Polio. And I know that's one of your loves. So what can you tell us about that?
Gary Hirsch:So it's a great, great project, obviously, I believe we started back in 2009. And the gentleman who had the idea, and I think this project is just a perfect example of what one person in rotary can do with a good idea and a bit of tenacity. So Michael J. Harris was the name of this Rotarian. He was a member of the Casas Adobes Rotary Club. And he had an idea is his. His goal, if you will, was to provide a way for smaller Rotary clubs that did not have a tremendous amount of resource to be able to take advantage of the match from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for contributions to PolioPlus. And it just so happened that we have this bike ride in Tucson that occurs every November, and typically has drawn between 5000 and 8000 cyclists. And the thrust behind this bike ride was for nonprofits like Rotary to participate to field a team of cyclists who would then go on to raise money from friends, associates, colleagues and other Rotarians. So 2009 was the first year. Mike was very tenacious. In dogging perimeter bicycling, which is the nonprofit that puts on tour to Tucson to please include Rotary as one of its beneficiaries. That's how they refer to the nonprofits and in 2009, Mike was successful. Mike's wife, Charlotte Harris, was a member of my Rotary club. I was trying to arouse interest as well in getting cyclists to participate. Well, Charlotte kind of did tap on the shoulder and said, Hey, you may want to talk to Mike. So I had a conversation with Charlotte's husband, and he talked me into being co chair. And so immediately, you know, you open your mouth in Rotary and what happens is you get put to work. And many of us have experienced that. And so the first year you know, I don't remember exact numbers. We maybe had 25 cyclists riding for rotary and maybe raised 10, 15, $20,000. You know, it's a long time ago. So fast forward a couple or three years. And one of our Rotarians named Ernie Montine, was at an international conference. And his wife encouraged him to talk to John Hewko, our General Secretary, because he had learned that John was an avid cyclist. So again, I think we're talking 2012, maybe 2000. I'm pretty sure 2012 And so, Ernie approached John and John said, Yeah, I'd love to come ride. Well, something really insane happened. So when Gary tries to raise money, you know, it's friends and families and suckers who have asked me to contribute to things in the past. Well, the General Secretary of Rotary, as you would imagine, has a global reach. And so when John and his team from Evanston started to participate, the fundraising just went ballistic. You know, where, where I might have people donating $100 $500, John would get clubs writing checks from around the world for $20,000 $25,000 $30,000. And all of a sudden, our fundraising started adding zeros. Now in 2013, John's previous fundraising had been so successful, that Perimeter Bicycling the sponsor for El Tour de Tucson, named John as the dedication recipient. Now, what does that mean? Each year, and I don't think they did it this year, because they've changed the management of perimeter bicycling, but each year, they would name somebody who had something unique about them, reative to cycling. What was unique about John Hewko was John was the single largest fundraiser in the history of 35 years ago tour to Tucson. So that year 8000 cyclists as they crossed the finish line, got a really nice metal on the beautiful ribbon, with one side being able to El Tour de Tucson, and the other side being an engraved picture of John Hewko. And so, it was a great, great honor. And it really is one well deserved, not only by John, but by the entire group that has participated in the ride and polio. And I'm guessing you're familiar with what we've been able to accomplish. In the 12 years we've been doing this, but including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation matches, we have raised $53.3 million for for polio eradication. And so when Perimeter Bicycling kind of boasts about their fundraising success, over 35 years, 90 something percent of the number that they cite, is money that's been raised by Rotary and the Gates Foundation. So the ride has just the fundraising aspect of the ride has ridden truly exponentially. A lot of people say that without knowing what exponential means. We have gone from the early years of 10, 15 $20,000 to three, four or five, I think at our peak we had one year we're including the Gates match, we total close to $10 million in one year.
Rotary Ad:Possibilities are all around us. We see potential in unexpected places. And when we share our knowledge, vision and connections, we turn great ideas into action. Together, we can make real change happen. We're Rotary, we are people of action. Get involved today at rotary.org/action.
Gary Hirsch:But we believe it's the largest single fundraiser in the history of Rotary.
Peter Tonge:Wow. Wow. Those are certainly some great numbers. Yeah.
Rotary Ad:A little bit about the ride itself. How long is the ride? And what are the expectations of each rider that that comes in?
Gary Hirsch:Great question. So it's a little bit different each year this year. Cyclists can ride 57 miles, which is what my wife Kandi and I will do. The full ride is a little bit over 100 miles. There's a 28 mile version that's largely flat or downhill, which sometimes I wish I had elected. And then there's even a one mile fun ride for people who just don't ride that often but would like to participate. From our side. You know, we don't really set a fundraising goal per cyclist. In past years, we have set a fundraising goal for the entire ride. This year, I've elected to not do that, only because it's as much a reunion this year after skipping last year because of COVID as it is a fundraising event. And so we're just hoping to bring together 100 cyclists maybe raised a couple million dollars, and have fun and food and fellowship and just a really good time.
Peter Tonge:It sounds really good. Now it's November 20th this year, right?
Gary Hirsch:That's correct. It's always the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
Peter Tonge:Okay, and is it still open for registration?
Gary Hirsch:It is, it is. So people who people who would like to register, if you visit our website, in the sounds like you have, there are links to register, there are links to attend to dinner, you know, we really try to focus on the fellowship piece. And so on Friday evening, November 19, we'll have about 100 people for a dinner. And the point of the dinner is to have a little bit of a program. In fact, this year, we're really blessed. The gentleman who is the in the field rep for Rotary's polio effort for Pakistan and Afghanistan, obviously could not come for the dinner, because he's over in Asia. But he's doing a video for us. And you may have heard in the last couple of weeks, that Rotary has or the World Health Organization has reached an agreement with the Taliban in Afghanistan, which is one of the only two remaining countries left were Polio is endemic. He's going to talk about how that agreement with the Taliban came about. So at the dinner, we try to provide a nice little informative program, but then it's mostly fun, you know, door prizes, we want people to have a chance to celebrate what they're about to do. Because it's pretty profound when you think about it.
Peter Tonge:I understand that Rotary clubs that aren't sending people to Tucson can also participate. Right? How does that work?
Gary Hirsch:Exactly right. And I believe, as of today, we have 10 or 12 teams. So you know, we really have very few rules, Peter, so we call it the indoor ride and polio. So if you happen to be in Manitoba, you're probably not going to go for a 50 mile ride outside on November 20. And so we encourage people to go to their gyms or if they have an exercise cycle at home to ride a bike at home. And what's really happening and I wish there was some way to catalogue this. There are, I would say little, but not always little, there are rides and events that happen now all over the world. We started by designing a jersey that our cyclists would wear and now clubs all over the world. They're designing their own cycling clothing, they're having their own events. Some people are doing bike rides, some people are doing marathons. And we have 12 teams that are hopping on indoor bicycles, you know, train, stationary bikes, instead of instead of keeping track of the miles they ride, they'll keep track of the minutes they ride. And they will collect donations for that. And that's always been very popular.
Peter Tonge:Gary, I understand that people can also contribute to the ride, even if they don't want to ride. Is that correct?
Gary Hirsch:Absolutely. I mean, we will have close to 100 cyclists this year. And if somebody knows someone who's riding they can certainly make a donation. If they don't know anyone know anyone who's riding they can go to. It's called raise for rotary and they can they can pledge for John Hewko's ride, we don't really care who supports whom what we care about is how much money we can use to buy polio vaccine. But it's a way for people to participate without having the hassle of shipping themselves in their bike to Tucson. They can just do it in the comfort of their own home or their local gym.
Peter Tonge:That sounds really fair. Fantastic. Now, you've been doing this for a number of years. Hopefully Polio is is on the wane. Where do you see this event going in the future?
Gary Hirsch:That's a great question. And I'm happy to speculate because I think of the different initiatives that rotary is involved in. And I kind of think of the spirit of the people who come to ride and what they're looking for, in addition to the fellowship and the good food, you know, Rotarians we're looking to make a difference. And so when I think about the answer to your question, I go to clean water and sanitation. Because so much of the world is without that. And you know, in the 21st century, nobody should have to drink out of a sewer, you know, or go to the bathroom in the middle of the street. But that's just Gary's thinking, you know, I don't know what rotary is thinking. But when once Polio is declared free, and we're pretty darn close, we're gonna ride for something because we you know, we've got the momentum going.
Rotary Ad:Talking Rotary is a proud supporter of Shelterbox, which is an international disaster relief charity, that hand delivers the emergency shelter, and tools families need to self recover, after natural disasters and conflicts around the world. Shelterbox is proud to be rotary International's project partner in disaster relief, further strengthening a global circle of friendship. Together, Shelterbox and rotary are transforming despair, into hope for families after disaster. Learn more by visiting Shelterbox canada.org.
Gary Hirsch:One thing maybe worth mentioning, I don't think I mentioned this yet. I think in 1985, when the World Health Organization started this initiative, there were something like 350,000 cases of polio every year. And how many there been so far this year? To
Peter Tonge:Two
Gary Hirsch:That's exactly right.
Peter Tonge:I do my research.
Gary Hirsch:Not many people would know the answer to that question. And so you know, I just want to drop back again, to to comment on the folks from Evanston and John Hewko and their involvement. When we started this, you know, we didn't really have a big vision. What I didn't mention is Michael Harris, who founded the ride, only lived about another year and a half he could he contracted pancreatic cancer, oh, no, and passed very quickly. And so I inherited the chairs position from the quote from the assistant chairs position, and then went on with a partner of mine, Darrell Stewart, who you met, you probably saw his picture featured in the article with me, Darrell, and I ran it for probably eight years. But the folks from Evanston really turned it from a local Tucson event to a global event. Because John Hewko, you know, there's a little bit of magic, always surrounding the CEO of large companies. And really, John, our General Secreta ry, very much like the Rotary CEO. And not only did he goes to the fundraising, but everybody wanted to come ride bikes with John Hewko, you know, with the General Secretary. And so the reason I focus so much on those folks, is they really turned this from a local event into a global event. Really, I mean, it's difficult to overstate their contribution. Not only that, there's something else about John. So in Il Tour de Tucson, there's kind of the regular slumps like me who get on the bike and take four hours to ride 50 miles. But then there are the people in John's class. And these are the platinum riders. These are cyclists who do the entire ride, which has ranged from 100 to 112 miles now tell you, if you've been on a bike, sitting on a bike for five hours, gets really, really tiring. But these platinum cyclists are cyclists who complete the full 100-110 mile ride in five hours or less. And I know one year, and this would have been interesting to talk to John about as well. He missed it by about three minutes. But in years prior to that John has actually completed the entire ride and five hours. And so as a platinum cyclist, he gets to start at the front of the bunch of 5000 cyclists. He's very accomplished in his wife, Margaret arrives with us as well.
Peter Tonge:That's fantastic. You're expecting him this year as well?
Gary Hirsch:Well, we know he's coming to ride. Now. You know, we had a little bit of a hiccup with our Friday Night Dinner. And we decided at the last minute to actually require vaccination or proof of a negative test, because several of our really important cyclists run willing to come to the dinner. Unless we did that. Yeah, John will be coming to ride and we're hoping that he and his folks from Evanston will join us at the dinner. He comes out right about the same date normally as El Tour to Tucson. And so a couple of years back, we surprised him. And we brought his sister and I think his daughter, and managed to surprise him right up until they showed up at the dinner.
Peter Tonge:We only have one standard question that we asked all of our podcast participants, even in murdery for a number of years. Why do you keep coming back? There's lots of reasons about the things you could be spending your time and your energy on. Why Rotary?
Gary Hirsch:So the altruistic reason is, in Hebrew, there's a phrase called tikkun olam it means to repair the world. Somebody has got to do it. and rotary sure has a leg up when it comes to doing that, but there's a selfish reason as well. So my wife and I are students of Eastern philosophy. And so we're big believers in karma. And my thinking is that with the work that I do, cheering this ride and helping get these donations collected if I'm going to get into heaven that's probably going to be my ticket.
Peter Tonge:I have to remember that. I will have to be wearing my Rotary garb I think.
Gary Hirsch:We're hoping St. Peter is a cyclist right?
Peter Tonge:There you are. Thank you so much. This has been fantastic.
Rotary Ad:Thank you so much for joining us on another great episode of talking Rotary. We would love to hear from you. Please send us your comments and story ideas and you can share with us easily by sending us an email at feedback at talking rotary.org Let's keep talking Rotary.