District Governor Tom Brooks
 
     Tom Brooks is a member of the Loves Park Rotary Club where he was President in 2003. As a member of Loves Park Rotary, he served on three District Conference committees and on the Club’s Board for many years. Tom is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. He twice received the “Rotarian of the Year” award from his Club.
     Tom served as the District Youth Exchange Outbound Coordinator for 2006 to 2012 and became the District Chairman in 2012 to the present. As Chairman, he also served on the Board of the Central States Rotary Youth Exchange Multi District Committee.
     At any one time the district has had ten to twelve current Outbounds, ten to twelve current Inbound students and another dozen getting ready to be an Outbound student next year. These thirty-odd families are all connected to Rotary Clubs and their dedicated Rotarians who provide the program to their communities with a true “Service Above Self” attitude.
     Over the years, his involvement with Youth Exchange has brought him as a visitor and presenter at many of the District’s Clubs and District Conferences and training events. He has been a presenter at the last six RYLA events.
     Tom is married to Pamela Brooks, a retired educator and they have two grown sons, Tom and Nick who are both living well in Rockford and DeKalb, Illinois.
     Tom had a twenty-three-year career in marketing and advertising. He then joined the Blackhawk Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America as a District Executive and professional fundraiser for the Council’s Major Gift Development effort, Capital Campaign and Endowment Fund. He successfully retired from Scouting after fourteen years.
     Tom will talk about the goals for both Rotary International and District 6420 and what he expects from Rockford Rotary.  Before the pandemic, Tom was a frequent visiting Rotarian at Rockford Rotary meetings.  This is always an interesting meeting and we would hope that our members join our Zoom meeting to show our support for the District Governor.