Melissa Stewart: INDEPENDENCE – More than a year ago, John Salyers suddenly found himself outside his comfort zone.
He was at a health care center in Cameroon, Africa. He had traveled there on Rotary business with the United Nations Foundation and congressional staff members.
Salyers had been participating in polio immunization and was observing HIV and malnutrition treatment at the center. He found himself standing before a 3-day-old baby, who was HIV positive. He was asked to hold the child.
“I still feel awful about this, for a moment I hesitated,” he said. The stigmas associated with HIV crept through his mind. He felt uncomfortable and afraid. Recognizing his ignorance, he took the opportunity to leap out of his comfort zone and embraced the child.
“Oh, the smile on his face,” Salyers said. “That’s a life-changing experience. I think sometimes we sit in our comfortable places here in Kentucky or wherever we are and we don’t realize what’s going on in other parts of the world.”
Resting at the kitchen table, glancing out the window of his Independence home, Salyers reflects upon his time in Africa – wondering about what’s going on there now.
“I don’t know how much I did for them while there, but they did a lot for me,” he said.
Salyers recently returned from a trip to Ethiopia, again on Rotary business – polio immunizations and clean water projects.
“Rotary is a good place to be,” Salyers said.
Salyers joined the Florence Rotary Club in 2005. He and his wife, Connie, are Rotary Foundation Major Donors and members of the Rotary Foundation Bequest Society. In 2006 and 2007, he was named the Florence club’s Rotarian of the Year. He currently serves on the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the United Nations for the U.S. He is also district polio chairman and district governor for District 6740, which includes Northern Kentucky, Lexington, Somerset and eastern Kentucky.
His utmost goal as a Rotarian is of course the Rotary International motto: “Service above self.” This motto is lived out through the Rotary’s fulfillment of the promise to wipe polio from the face of the earth. The goal, lofty, is expected to be complete by 2018.
“A lot of blood, sweat and tears have been shed for this promise,” Salyers said. “Polio is Rotary’s No. 1 priority. When you ask what’s next, we don’t know. We don’t go to what’s next, we’re concentrated on polio.”
There are now only three countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria — that are not polio free. These areas include some of the most remote areas in the world. However, Salyers is not deterred. He believes that Rotarians will raise the $1.2 billion it will cost to eradicate polio by 2018.
Salyers’ passion for the cause, as well as his passion for people, are inspiring, according to Florence Rotary Club president Adam Howard.
Howard and Salyers have been friends for more than 10 years. They met through their work with senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, respectively.
“Whether it’s advocating for funding in Washington, D.C., or giving a polio vaccine to a child in Africa, John is very passionate in whatever he pursues,” Howard said. “He channels that passion into his work as a Rotarian and humanitarian through his fundraising and personal work on behalf of Rotary’s effort to eradicate polio.”
Howard said Salyers has made the effort to eradicate polio from an international fight to a “very personal” one.
“I get the feeling that I’m right there with him when he speaks about his time in Africa providing the vaccine to young children,” Howard said. “As a Rotarian, John has exemplified our motto of service above self through the energy and enthusiasm he has displayed when organizing our regional efforts or inspiring other clubs into action. Each Rotarian strives to make the world a little better each day, and John is one who stands above the rest through his personal dedication of service above self.”
Changing the world is something that weighs heavily on Salyers’ mind. He has dedicated his life to service to others. From his involvement with various community causes to his professional career as a police officer in Erlanger, Salyers has worked diligently to make the world a better place.
“For me personally, I think Scripture instructs us to be that way,” he said. “At my church, Lakeside Christian, our mission is to love Jesus and love like Jesus. It’s hard to say you love Jesus if you don’t love like Jesus.”
Salyers said he has a heart and understanding for those who are downtrodden because growing up he was “really poor.”
“I don’t just say that,” he said. “I ate a lot of pinto beans and fried potatoes as a child. However, I also understand that it’s sometimes tougher on the one who carries the groceries to the household that needs food on Thanksgiving than those who are inside needing the food. It’s so important to extend yourself and to be uncomfortable. We need to be uncomfortable.”
