Rotary Governor Visits Boone Shown left to right are: Al Wheeler, Asst District Governor and member of the Blowing Rock Club; First Lady Margaret Aydelotte; District Governor James Aydelotte and Karl Kroeger President of Rotary Club (noon) of Boone. Photo submitted by Jerry Walker James Aydelotte, Governor of Rotary District 7670, made his official visit this week to the Rotary Club (noon) of Boone. Aydelotte praised the Boone Club for its community and international service projects. Rotary clubs have led an aggressive fight to eradicate polio around the world. Before eradication efforts began in 1988, polio paralyzed more than 1,000 children a day, which totaled about 350,000 children annually. The incidence of polio has since declined by more than 99 percent. Only four countries are still polio endemic — an all-time low: Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Rotary International is the spearheading member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and is the largest private sector donor. It has contributed more than $600 million to the polio eradication activities in 122 countries. In addition, tens of thousands of Rotarians have partnered with their national ministries of health, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and with health providers at the grassroots level in thousands of communities.