The Action 2 Impact Podcast Season 1 EP.7 Talking Peace with Rotary Peace Builder Dennis Wong

There has never been a better time to check back in with our friend and Rotary Peace Builder Dennis Wong. Peace in the world and in ourselves can be hard to find, and we all need to work PEACE is our job in Rotary.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:00

Hi everyone, I'm Gwen Jones and welcome once again to the Action to Impact podcast, the weekly podcast where I introduce you to those amazing people who are turning their actions into impact. So over the last couple of weeks, we've reconnected with some old friends, everyone from Evan Burrell way across the world in Australia to just a few weeks ago, we revisited the Rose Parade. Well, I had another friend I wanted to bring back to the show. Why? Because these are some really, one could argue, scary times. We in Rotary are peace builders. In fact, we build entire universities just for peace. But if you're looking at any news feed or evening news show, what are we seeing? Well, not a lot of peace. So who do we bring back to the show? Who do we revisit? Our dear friend, Dennis Wong. He is one of the original Rotarian peace builders, and he has some wise words for us, some calming, soothing words for us, and some challenges for us. That's right, some challenges. One, just for a hint, is turning our four-way test uphill. side down. Literally. Let's talk about it, shall we? Dennis Wong and peace through the world is our topic today. And as always, I'm so glad you've joined us. Welcome back to the show, everybody. The Action to Impact podcast is back. And the last time this man was on my show, it was the I'm a Rotarian podcast. So he's been on both podcasts, I guess, technically. His name is It's Dennis Wong, and he was one of my earliest guests. And the reason why I brought him back is because he is a Rotarian peace builder. And I was laughing with Dennis before the show because before when we interviewed, there was no such thing as a war in Gaza, a war in Ukraine, people taking potshots at each other, back and forth, a struggle with peace with ourselves as well as others. And I sent him out an email saying, Dennis, I need you back on the show because I'm not quite sure what has happened. And so I need some sanity. Dennis Wong, welcome back to the show. It's lovely to see you again, sir.

SPEAKER_02: 2:42

Well, thank you, Gwen. And it's good to be back and good to see you. And yes, just peace has been, you know, the area that I've been focused on. And I think there's a lot that we as Rotarians can do.

SPEAKER_01: 2:59

Well, Sina, and that's the greatest way to start off a show because my intro is like, I know Gwen, God. And for you to pipe up immediately and say, there's hope and with peace, with hope comes a lot of peace and with peace comes a lot of hope and bringing hope to the world was just one of our, being the hope in the world was just one of our slogans not too far, not too long ago. But remind everybody what you started and why you call yourself a Rotarian peace builder.

SPEAKER_02: 3:32

Well, there's two things. One is the fact that I really believe in Rotary. And since we talked, Gwen, a few years ago, really I've evolved as far as my thinking, as far as peace and also being a Rotarian and what we could do. And I'm always reminded about our mission. is the events, understanding, goodwill, and peace. And then, of course, there's our vision about creating change and lasting change. So really, that idea, as far as our mission, I looked at what we can do as Rotarians. And one of the things that I discovered over the last few years is the fact that we always talk about the four-way test. But I think we don't really fully embrace the Rotarian code of conduct. And the Rotarian code of conduct says, by the way, as a Rotarian, I will. I will act with integrity and high ethical standards. I will deal fairly with others and treat them with respect. And I will help those with special needs. And I will... improve people's quality of life and well-being in my community and in the world. And I will mentor young people. And I add, especially by example. So really, in a sense, that commitment to do what we're supposed to do, I think really touches on what we have the tools. We have the mission and we have the tools to be peace builders. And peace builders are really, again, bringing people together, solving problems. And also, again, I think one of the things that is missing today is trust. And if you look at everything as far as conflicts and they talk about trying to bring people together, there's a lack of trust. And so really, I matched up this idea of being a Rotarian, the Rotarian using the Rotarian code of conduct, and also our other tools, the four-way text, et cetera. And I said, you know, that's who we are. And if we use these things, we could be peacebuilders. And since we're Rotarian, how about a Rotarian peacebuilder? And so I'm really, you know, feel comfortable with that concept. with that identity that we can do something in moving towards the peace and just being a Rotarian.

SPEAKER_01: 6:22

Well, and I think what's always quite amazing is that compared to other nonprofit civics organizations, as far as the trustworthy issue, I've brought up on this show many times that the Taliban doesn't trust anybody, but they'll trust Rotarians to put drops of vaccines in their children's mouths so that even the Taliban is willing to stop and work from a place of peace for the benefit of their children. And that's how trustworthy, using your words, Rotary is. And do you think people don't really understand that or remember that? Well,

SPEAKER_02: 7:02

again, I think we don't stress this enough. I think we don't stress the benefits. And as I mentioned, that's why I really feel I love the Rotarian Code of Conduct. Remember the last couple of things about helping those in needs and then improving people's lives and well-being. And everybody around the world would say, yes, yes. And that's part of us. And that's what we're committed to. So I think it's really, sometimes we forget and forget. And moving forward, sometimes who we are, we look for, you know, the fancy answer or whatever it is, you know, or looking for the, you know, as I said, the hero who's going to take over and tell us what to do with the, you know, the magic of, you know, whatever it is. And we forget that within ourselves, we're committed and we can do things that can make a difference on a personal, personal level and also in groups. And this is where, you know, I've added the fact that in addition to being trustworthy, is really what the impact is when we lead by example. And like you said, you know, in Gaza, when we lead by example, where we show that we care about the kids, we care about people, and we're actually willing to go into conflict zones to do help, That really proves the fact that we really care and are willing to do what's right.

SPEAKER_01: 8:40

You know, Dennis, you brought up, do we kind of use the four-way test as like a crutch? Because I think it's very interesting to say that the four-way test is not officially a rotary motto. It is, you know, you can go to a Walgreens right now. and see the four-way test back in the break room because the person, the gentleman who started Walgreens actually wrote, was one of the writers of the four-way test. But do you think people go, oh, the four-way test, that's all we need. And I ask my listeners, do you think a lot of people have no idea what the code of conduct, when was the last time my listeners read the code of conduct? I'm throwing myself under the bus here, Dennis, because I cannot remember the last time I read the Code of Conduct. I think it's in my folder when I became a member 10 years ago.

SPEAKER_02: 9:30

Well, you're right. And it's unfortunate in a way. There's two things. First of all, yes, not many people know the Rotarian Code of Conduct. It's in your

SPEAKER_01: 9:40

magazine. Everybody can give you the four-way test. I mean, there's flags all over the place of the four-way test.

SPEAKER_02: 9:46

And also, by the way, I've been a student of the four-way test. And When I first joined Rotary, I saw the four-way test and then understood basically, you know, coming from a business background and strategy, you know, the four-way test was where Herbert J. Taylor really created the four-way test as a business strategy.

SPEAKER_01: 10:09

Absolutely. It

SPEAKER_02: 10:11

was a business strategy to, you know, say this is what makes my company different. This is what... And you can... You can trust my company to do the right

SPEAKER_01: 10:21

thing. Which is why it makes sense to be in a break room at Walgreens drugstore. Right.

SPEAKER_02: 10:27

Exactly. So it's really, it's a complimentary to the libertarian code of conduct. And I, but then I think, yes, it's easy. I think what people, you know, In fact, when I first started, I think 10 years ago, not many people knew the four-way test. Really? Yeah. I mean, you ask most people. I don't think they know the four-way test without looking at their banner.

SPEAKER_01: 10:56

I would say I get at least three out of four of them because there's two that are really close together that I mix up.

SPEAKER_02: 11:04

Yeah. But that's okay. I mean, in a sense, because also, again, I looked at it a little differently. Most people, which is good, they see the four-way test as something about being honest. And I look at, again, as a business guy, I look at it as an approach to problem solving, which, again, what Herbert J. Taylor looked at as solving his business problem. And also the fact that I think I've written, I had a brochure on the four-way test. I've written a blog on the four-way test. And what came up to me was the fact that we struggle to use it in a sense of being a problem solving. And I just, you know, because starting with, is it the truth? I think it's somewhat true. Good idea.

SPEAKER_01: 11:52

Vast. But it's kind of vast because what's truth for you, Dennis, may be different than truth for me, right?

SPEAKER_02: 11:59

Exactly. And so that's the problem with, you know, how to use it. And if we start with, is it the truth? There's different truths for different people. And I found it easier, not easier, but maybe more effective. If you flip the test and flip that it started out, well, it'd be beneficial to all concerned. and start there, what would be beneficial to all concerned. And then the next one is, you know, will it build good, will it build friendships? If you just took those two of the four weight tests, I think it's more, I think, productive and more interesting conversations. So instead of being an adversarial advocate, who's got the truth, who hasn't, here's our shared goal. Here's our shared outcome that we want. You know, wherever we are, this is where we want to be. And so I think that's the thing about the four-way test. And also then, when you complement it with the Rotarian Code of Conduct about the integrity and everything else, and also the fact that, once again, it reaffirms the fact that improving people's quality of life and well-being. And really, that's the thing that also the four-way test should be pointing at as far as, you know, improving people's lives. And of course, the biggest thing about improving people's lives is hopefully is having peace, be it peace in the community, peace in the world, and also peace within ourselves.

SPEAKER_01: 13:35

So, I started the show by saying these are very interesting times. When we spoke before, like I said, Ukraine hadn't happened. And the stuff that's going on in Gaza and Israel hadn't happened. And the mental health crisis that we're having right now. You just mentioned peace in ourselves that we're having right now is just awful. Do you think it's as easy as... Be trustworthy, lead by example, find the opportunity and the challenges. Is it as easy as those simple rotary basics that could help all those countries find peace? Is it that simple? Am I being too naive in that question?

SPEAKER_02: 14:23

It's simple in a sense that I think in lasting, like I say, in any lasting change, any lasting change for people is when you get people involved and also people actually solving the problems themselves in many ways, as opposed to somebody coming in with an answer how to do it. And the thing is, in order to solve problems, I think you have to have being able to identify the underlying causes and have the, you know, I guess...

SPEAKER_01: 14:57

And do the research. Why is there a war? Why is there a conflict? Yeah,

SPEAKER_02: 15:03

because not only do we want to solve the immediate problem, we want to solve the long-term problem. And I think when you have trust, you can, you know... bring in a lot of different ideas because it really is you're not trying to judge who's smarter than the other person etc but you trust each other to that we are sharing the same goal and when and then we're looking at certain options and things and one of the things that i think in in in uh Trustworthy and being trusty is also this whole idea of innovation and creativity. And one of the quotes that I'm always reminded of is the fact that trust opens up new and unimagined possibilities. Because right now, sometimes we look for the quick answer or whatever it is. But when you trust each other and you're willing to go the next step, the extra options and things, because, you know, we're trying to do the same thing. I think it opens up creativity. And so this is one of the things that, and, you know, and also just there's a couple of quotes that I'm, you know, Think about this whole idea of trust. Without trust, there can be no genuine peace because you can have treaties. And you've seen it. People have treaties, but then they break them. Right. And

SPEAKER_01: 16:39

that particular day and that second, I agree

SPEAKER_02: 16:43

with you. Exactly. So it's treated themselves. And it's really, it's about being trusted. And we know in our own relationships, people you trust and people you don't trust. And even when you have disagreements, you can open up and talk with people you trust and try to find solutions or whatever it is. And the other thing which is amongst countries is the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, because when I was at the UN and they were talking about the nuclear weapons and the Security Council, and he mentioned, you know, trust is in short supply. And we can see it now with what's happening, you know, with be it Ukraine, Gaza and things, where the United Nations is supposed to be really a world body that addresses these issues, you know, are sort of like important as far as, you know, getting the solutions because people don't trust these other nations, et cetera. So I put trust really high in the list as far as, and I think being Rotarian and bringing our mission, vision, our values and principles really lead to being trustworthy. And also I like, you know, what the, Stephanie Urchik, The Magic of Rotary. I really got, really love it because also her conversation, I think her story about how she got the magic of, you know, Rotary is the fact that she was on a service trip in the Dominican Republic and a clean water project. And so they poured dirty water into this water filter and out came clean water. And the boy said, wow. That's magic. And I think this is what we as Rotarians and using our tools that we have really can transform, transform conflicts and division into belonging and trust and changing hate to love. And this is, I think we have a very powerful message But we're not necessarily telling it in a powerful way yet. And this is one of the things that I'm trying to do as far as people can feel comfortable about being a Rotarian peace builder and using the magic of Rotary to transform bad to good things. et cetera, and war to peace. And I don't, well, I don't have all the answers. I think I might not even have any of the answers, but I know I have the ability to maybe provide a platform where people who are involved can get together and and try to find the right things where everybody, and when it's beneficial, all concerned, to improve people's lives. And I think that that's our, you know, Rotarian, in a way, mission. Again, I go back to, you know, advancing, understanding, goodwill, and peace. So...

SPEAKER_01: 20:06

So, you said at the beginning of this, Dennis, that we don't brag enough. And so, could you tell our listeners... What is Rotary doing right now for peace? I mean, we hear about these peace universities that we help sponsor, if not build. We hear about peace polls. But what are we actively doing as Rotarians to build peace? What can you brag a little bit about us?

SPEAKER_02: 20:35

Well, I think there's the last few years, by the way. I think what peace polls have done is engage a lot of Rotarians, members, to be active, to doing something, and also to being, thinking about what it all means. And one of the things, you know, my dream has been, when I started with Al Jubitz, the Rotarian National Group for Peace, a dozen years ago, my dream was the fact that we have two million Rotarian peacebuilders. Every member of Rotary is a peacebuilder. And that was my dream, the fact that everybody is involved in what they can do. So I think the Peace Pulse has engaged a lot of people to do something. And I think there's more and more people are doing it, which is good because, you know, I pick up my, I guess... Google alerts on the Peace Poll, and I see every day that there's some Rotary Club has planted a Peace Poll somewhere in their community. So that's really very positive because not only does it engage people in the idea of peace, it publicizes it.

SPEAKER_01: 21:53

Right, and not just the Rotary. And for those of you who don't know what a Peace Poll is, they are these, first of all, look them up. Google them, as Dennis just said. And you'll see several pictures, literally from all around the world, of these beautiful posts that go in the ground that are rotary peace poles, designating that every time you go by this pole, think of a world of peace and harmony, as well as other things. Please.

SPEAKER_02: 22:19

Yeah, no, and not only planted, it planted anywhere you go, because I've got a personal... that I can take with me anywhere I want.

SPEAKER_03: 22:30

Yay!

SPEAKER_02: 22:30

And also, so we plant it, quote, at a lot of the events, wherever we go. And also, we had a full-wave speech contest at an auditorium. We can have a Peace Bowl there. If you have a district conference or whatever it is, you can have a Peace Bowl there. So it's really, in a sense, amazing. As I said, half peaceful will travel. So that's one thing. So that's been a very, very positive element as far as getting people involved. I think more and more it's becoming the leadership, especially with starting, I guess, Stephanie Orchek. And peace has always been important. But it's never necessarily, you know, had the spotlight on it. Which

SPEAKER_01: 23:25

is so funny because there's part of me that thinks to myself, if we fix the environment and we had peace, then people would have jobs. People would have clean water. People would have, you know, safe hygiene for their children. People would have food to eat. I mean, to me, it's like, why is peace the... Oh, yeah. And by the way... Oh, yeah. By the way, maybe we should be peaceful now. It just seems like we're going backwards in that department.

SPEAKER_02: 23:55

Well, in some ways, you're right. And Gwen, you're a believer. And the thing is, and, you know, one of the things that, like, is, you know, the idea is if you had peace and a lot of other things would be a lot easier. Wouldn't they now? And I think... As you mentioned, even be it Gaza and Pakistan and the Rotary thing, is when they stopped the three days in Gaza to administer the vaccine, Antonio, again, UN Secretary Antonio Guterres said, you know, peace might be the ultimate vaccine for polio.

UNKNOWN: 24:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 24:40

Because you notice the last few places where we had polio and we were administering polio, it's really been in conflict zones.

SPEAKER_01: 24:54

It has been.

SPEAKER_02: 24:55

Yeah. Yeah. So you think about it as the fact that it was a more peaceful area. It just makes it easier to administer anything, to do anything, to get agreements on a lot of different things. Yeah. So anyway, what I think Stephanie Urchak and now the new president, Francisco, has mentioned the fact that the top three priorities are polio membership and peace. And so now that peace is on, I guess, on a higher plane, it's an opportunity to talk about what does that mean? What does peace mean to you? What does peace mean to the club, district, et cetera? So it's now... Again, once you can have a dialogue, it makes a difference. And it makes a difference when people's thinking, makes a difference in how creativity comes in. Also, the fact that I'm glad the last or the most recent program of scale, which I just noticed is the fact that where Rotary instituted, what, three years ago, a$2 million grant program. This year was awarded to a peace program in Colombia, which was, I think, organized by two peace fellows, and in bringing peace to about four counties in Colombia. And so I think that's bringing this whole idea of what peace means and what we can do in peace is coming more to the forefront.

SPEAKER_01: 26:39

And in your area, you do that with a position called a peace chair for your district. And I found this really interesting because my district doesn't have one of these. And so, Dennis, you have a district chair like position as the peace builder and our other clubs kind of bringing this on as a, what, what is a peace builder position or chair?

SPEAKER_02: 27:11

Well, I think it's really, again, one is bringing attention to the thing. And also I think then it provides an opportunity to put together programs and, and the like. And one of the things that I said earlier, When we started, first of all, in our district, it helped to have a district governor who was behind this idea.

SPEAKER_01: 27:39

And let's just say district governors that are hearing my voice, Dennis is saying, it's lucky we had a district governor that was for Pete's building. Like, this shouldn't be a rarity, Dennis. I'm sorry, but that's like the funniest thing. Every district governor should be going, Yeah. Why don't we all have peace chairs?

SPEAKER_02: 27:59

And also, you know, again, it's really the peace chair brings to the district different ideas as far as what's happening in the Rotary world about people doing peace. And, you know, there's, again, so as a peace co-chair, we brought together the idea of the Rotarian Nation Group for Peace Peace Builder Club program. And from that, a number of clubs joined in to join the Rotarian National Group for Peace as members and also have their clubs as peace builder clubs. And one of the unique things, actually, our district governor here is 7980. There

SPEAKER_01: 28:41

you go. Shout out to 7980 that has

SPEAKER_02: 28:44

a

SPEAKER_01: 28:45

peace chair.

SPEAKER_02: 28:46

And D.G. called him a Robert friend. He had a special spin to peace. And he had a program, it's called Opus with Peace. Opus with Peace. Which really brings music and the arts to peace. And, you know, and we know that there's in music and the arts and things, it's a way of bringing people together and enjoying talking about peace. And so I think we've, so they added, so it's not just, you know, quote, conflict, resolution, conflict, transformation, but it's really something that touches people, their own lives, and why peace comes. is important why peace is also beneficial to one's own life and also you know like we say we had you know we addressed what two years ago whatever with uh about mental health and you know

SPEAKER_01: 29:48

yeah Under Gordon McAnally was very much under

SPEAKER_02: 29:51

peace within ourselves. Inner peace is very important. And so I think there's a, so what it is, it's a, you kind of like brought a lot of different ideas and said, you know, just add it. Maybe there's a quote, what we do in peace could touch and improve what we're doing in other areas too. And so it's really, I guess it's a commitment and that we want to, now that it's, One of our top three priorities, you know, some areas and district governors, et cetera, will start saying, oh, it's important enough that we appoint somebody to say, you know, be a peace chair. Is peace

SPEAKER_01: 30:38

really quite easy and we make it hard?

SPEAKER_02: 30:42

No, it's, you know, it's really, it's been, it's been an interesting journey. I guess, gig in moving forward. And again, I've learned so much as far as getting involved with this idea of peace. And again, like I said, there's things in the moving into the music and the arts with Peace. And also, I've learned certain things about even, you know, psychology and other things about, you know, trauma and different things and how you can do it. And also, again, like I said, with Peace, he can make a lot of other things, you know, more practical as far as being successful. And I think so.

SPEAKER_01: 31:31

So, find this all again where this passion for peace comes from dennis i mean you you well and you and you laugh but i mean maybe anybody can say you know that they want but i mean there are some people who are i mean you're very passionate about it where does that passion for peace come from

SPEAKER_02: 31:53

well i think well first of all you know i

SPEAKER_01: 31:56

i

SPEAKER_02: 31:57

I'm a 20-year-old veteran of Rotary. Okay. And my first few years, I was able to get involved. And I got involved with a lot of different things, water projects, education, and everything else. And then I read, you know, this article in Rotary magazine and read about... It was a peace issue. Okay. You know, I think it was in, you know, 2012 or whatever it is. And I said, you know... Again, I said, you know, if we're at peace, a lot of things could happen that would be very, very positive. And also, I guess it was partly my background, my upgrowing. I was very fortunate to be born and raised in Hawaii. Aloha. You know, diversity was an interesting thing. And I like to say in Hawaii that everyone's a minority. Everyone, everybody, different nationalities, different generations, and et cetera, et cetera. And so I saw a lot of people getting together, getting along together. And so it's a combination of being grateful, being partly of service, and also finding that maybe this is an area that we should really explore further or, you know, do more than we'll be doing so far at that particular thing because we're doing service. And also, by the way, there was that year our international, you know, president was Tanaka, his theme was peace through service. And so that kind of also helped propel my course of, you know, where I was looking at. And And I think, again, I evolved. So I started the Rotarian National Group of Peace, which is interesting. And also that's when actually the Rotary Peace Centers was kind of like growing up and we were getting more peace. So also I found that's where the action was. And

SPEAKER_01: 34:15

the Peace Building was where the action was. Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 34:18

And then that's where I could probably contribute more and better to In other areas, there are other people who are better than I as far as, you know, the other areas of service. And so, you know, I saw this area as kind of like interesting and I could excel at it.

SPEAKER_01: 34:38

I love it. I love it. So I've only got one more question for you. And I thank you. I know you're a busy guy waking up on the West Coast to talk to a woman on the East Coast. So I thank you so much. But let's say that the Peace Builder chair, becomes a position all in Rotary. Like every single district, talking to you district governors, every single zone leader, there are peace builders as part of everybody's board. When that happens, what does Rotary look like with all of those peace builders? What is that gonna make? What's the concrete evidence we're gonna start seeing if we have that many peace builders Millions of them all over the 2 million peacebuilders that you had talked about. What is that going to be doing?

SPEAKER_02: 35:28

Well, I think, again, I think it really provides the visibility of who we are as Rotarians and what our goals and purpose are. And when you add that numbers, and the thing is, I say, you know, the talents that we have, 2 million people, the talents in problem solving and the like, mediation in social work and things that are connected with bringing peace, it would be enormous. So I think the impact on our communities and also the impact of The associations that we're part of, you know, we're part of the United Nations, we're part of UNESCO and other things. So you got Rotarians and just, you know, the whole identity and brand will make a big, big difference as far as Art Brody itself, attracting people. who are interested in what we're doing and want to join in what we're doing, which is what more can you do than being a peace builder? And also this whole satisfaction. So I think it would be a new age of Rotary in many ways. We've been at it for talking about polio and being identified as far as the second disease that's eliminated. So just think of what So we are very, as we should, pride, be proudful, pride as far as our work at Polio. Just think, the next decade, whatever it is, if we bring peace to a lot of different areas, I mean, how big of a success story would that be? And one of the things, by the way, Rotary has, we have a lot of tools that the that we're not using as much as, you know, which is another session, probably, the tools that we have, the tools that we have that maybe, and also, by the way, which is one of the things that we also have a lot of money. You know, we got a lot of money in the coffers. It's just a matter of how we use it and how we direct it. And so we've got a lot of things that potentially we have that if we focus on, this area of peace, I think it'd be amazing. And we would amaze even ourselves as far as what we can accomplish.

SPEAKER_01: 38:16

Wow. So maybe the first disease was war and maybe the second, you know, and how to solve all the diseases after that is peace. Maybe it's just that simple.

SPEAKER_02: 38:28

Well, you know, what we had, you know, is polio, is preventing polio. And what we hope It's just like any disease. How do we prevent it? And not necessarily just cure it. How do we prevent it? And that's peace. Again, one of the peace fellows was quoted in saying, you know, I became, you know, joined Rotary, became a peace fellow to prevent wars, not just to address the consequences of war. So really prevention is really, really what can we do to prevent violence? What can we do to prevent wars, et cetera, et cetera. And I think this, again, going back to who we are, our values, our principles, our mission, it's really directed to preventing things, bad things from happening.

SPEAKER_01: 39:29

I love it. Dennis Wong, thank you for coming back on the show. Thank you for being a rotary peace builder. And I do a shout out one more time to all my district governors. Let's have some peace builders. I know Dennis would help you if you're interested in having that be a board position, even if we start at the clubs, don't you think? Even if we just had a person at every club that was in charge of peace and peace building, what an amazing rotary it would be. Dennis, thank you so much for joining me. It's always wonderful to see your face, sir. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02: 40:05

You're welcome. And as I said, I welcome any inquiries, whatever I can help. And so, you know. Please, you know, give a shout out to me as far as your interest. I love to hear from Peace Builders because, again, sometimes I hear some people doing amazing things out there.

SPEAKER_00: 40:28

I love it. Yeah, let's do it.

SPEAKER_01: 40:34

So I'm bringing up that topic again. Presidents, boards, district boards, international boards. I mean, come on. Do we have a position for peace? Do we have a constant 24 hours a day, 360 position that just wants peace? Because I stick with Dennis. The way you're going to cure polio, the way you're going to cure anger, the way you're going to cure starvation, the way you're going to cure clean water and sanitation, the way you're going to cure people being scared, just being scared is if we find peace, not only in the world, but in ourselves. Thank you, Dennis, for bringing a joyful conversation, a peace-filled conversation. And again, a challenge to you presidents, district governors, zone chairs. I think more peace positions would be awesome. And I think you listening is also awesome. If you know a Rotarian or non-Rotarian that is turning their actions into impact, I want to know about it. please please RotarianPod at gmail.com and you know the routine tell a friend download us give me reviews you know with this name change it's just that little tweak that helps the world know that we're out here alright then until next week take care of yourself and the world around you and we'll hear you next time on the Action to Impact podcast thank you as always for listening. We'll talk to you soon. Bye-bye.