By Lisa Hebson, a participant in the World’s Biggest Commercial and resident of Evanston, Illinois, USA. Hebson’s brother-in-law is a creative director at SCC, the ad agency that helped develop the commercial for Rotary.
My brother-in-law is very enthusiastic about Rotary’s “This Close” campaign. It is a really exciting collaboration of people.
A few weeks ago, I promised him I would take 100 photos of people for the World’s Biggest Commercial. It would be my gift to him, and a challenging goal for me to strive for in the new year.
On a rare spring-like day recently in the middle of winter, I set out with my camera on the streets of Evanston as everyone and their cousins were out enjoying the unbelievable weather. I started with my neighbors.
Not many people are comfortable in front of a camera. But with a simple explanation of what I was doing, I was able to share with acquaintances and complete strangers the incredible news that thanks to the hard work of Rotarians, we are This Close to eradicating polio. That was enough to convince everyone I asked to allow me to snap their pictures for the commercial. Plus, it is awfully cool to be in the World’s Biggest Commercial.
People would ask me about Rotary. What I found very interesting was that many of the older people I talked to had a personal experience with polio. They beamed to learn that polio cases were diminishing. Many people hadn't heard of Rotary and were intrigued by the organization. A dance instructor at my daughter’s ballet school shared that her father was a member of a Rotary club in Iowa. Another teacher at our elementary school told me that her daughter went to Africa with Rotary to administer polio vaccines.
I was so moved by the willingness of people to participate in the effort to create The World’s Biggest Commercial. Won’t you join us? I know I plan to carry my camera with me for a while.
