Rotary District Governor Dr. Charley Gilliland was the guest speaker for the Rotary Club of Livingston Thursday.
Gilliland spoke about the opportunities presented by becoming more active in Rotary, such as building relationships and friendships and meeting people that you would never have the opportunity to meet otherwise.
He said he thought it was a lot to visit the 41 clubs in his district until he became friends with Lonnie Leslie, a district governor from Clovis, N.M. whose district includes the entire state of New Mexico and part of West Texas.
Gilliland said he has been to four international Rotary conventions – in Portugal, Houston, Hamburg and Calgary.
He also expressed his desire to inspire local Rotarians to think about becoming more involved in district events. Two he mentioned specifically are the District Foundation Celebration slated for Nov. 15 at the Houston Marriott North in which Hugh Summers will be honored, and the District Conference slated for May 1-3 in College Station.
Gilliland also touched on the good that Rotary does, including a variety of grants, as well as the youth exchange program.
A native of Colorado, Gilliland grew up on a cattle ranch and graduated from Regis College in Denver with an A.B. degree, later earning M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Texas A&M University. He holds an appointment as a Research Economist with the Real Estate Center in the Office of the Provost and an appointment as Adjunct Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. He also served as Clinical Professor of Finance in the Master of Real Estate program in the Mays School.
The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers bestowed its Golden Quill Award on Gilliland and the Farm Credit Bank of Texas inducted him into the Academy of Honor for significant contributions to agriculture.
He has served as president of the Bryan, Texas Rotary Club where he is a member of the Paul Harris Society. He also has served as Assistant Governor for Rotary District 5910. In addition, he also serves on the Youth Exchange Committee for Rotary District 5910 and Governor Nominee.
He has an extensive publication record, including a book entitled Buying Rural Land In Texas published by the Texas A&M University Press.
