Rotary District 6760 Governor Judy Tyree had important news for the Murfreesboro Rotary Club on Tuesday (8/20/2013). She said Rotary's almost 30-year fight to rid the world of polio could be realized by 2018.

Tyree noted, "America has been polio free since 1979, thanks to immunizations introduced in 1955." 

Rotary International's efforts could mean the last new case would be next year, and total eradication within four years." 

She said, "This is an expensive proposition. There are only three countries in the world with new cases of this dread disease, and it will take an estimated $5-billion to wipe it out." 

Earlier this year, Bill Gates said that he would match every dollar, "two to one", that's raised by Rotary to end polio, up to $35-million annually. 

Tyree commented, "That makes the light at the end of the tunnel visible, and the Rotary's Polio Plus slogan 'we're this close' takes on new meaning."

The Murfreesboro Rotary Club was formed 94-years ago, and meets at noon every Tuesday in the Stones River Country Club.