On Thursday August 22, 2013 District Governor Charles A. "Chuck" Arnason, of Rotary International District 7600, spoke at the Rotary Club of Suffolk lunch meeting.  Chuck's inspirational words left one lasting impression, "ENGAGE."  Engage in Rotary, perform the work and ideals of Rotary in everything you do.  ENGAGE!  Chuck spoke of his international travels and first hand seeing how Rotary International directly impacts the lives of so many providing a meal, providing clean water, providing hope and pride in individual accomplishment where none previously existed, and the grand effort Rotary puts forth to eradicate polio across the globe. His words provided perspective as to why we meet every Thursday - sharing Rotary with each other.  I hope the two words of Engagement help Chuck reach his 1,000,000 Engage goal!  Go Chuck!!!  We thoroughly enjoyed his presentation and Chuck and his dedicated and lovely wife Rebecca are welcome back at our club anytime.  

Charles A. Arnason, District Governor 2013-2014, Rotary International District 7600

District Governor Charles A. "Chuck" Arnason was born in North Dakota and spent his youth there and in Washington State.  He moved to Alexandria, Virginia with his family where he attended George Washington High School. Upon graduating from C. W. Post College, a campus of Long Island University in New York, he began a career with the Department of Defense that spanned over 31 years. He began his career with the DoD working in the Navy Submarine Silencing Program.  He career path included positions with Director of Naval Laboratories, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and the Naval Data Automation Command. During this time he was Program Manager for the Navy-wide Computer Aided Design (CAD) acquisition program.

Chuck spent the last nine years of his government service at the Pentagon in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as a Senior Policy Analyst. He was responsible for performing DoD-wide assessments of command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) requirements, capabilities and programs.  During Chuck's second career he was a contractor managing Army Logistic projects at Ft. Lee, Virginia.  After moving to Nottoway County in 2002 he began his current career in 2003 when he started a cow/calf beef operation at Indie Place Farm.

Chuck is a member of the Blackstone Rotary Club where he was President 2005-2006 and Treasurer since 2006.  He has served four District 7600 Governors as an Assistant Governor. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, Major Donor, Benefactor, and Bequest Society member.  His wife Rebecca is also a Paul Harris Fellow, Major Donor and Bequest Society member.  They are members of St. Luke's Episcopal Church where Chuck has served as Senior Warden and currently serves as treasurer. He enjoys hunting, fishing and is an amateur history buff.

He considers it a great honor to be selected to serve District 7600 as its Governor for 2013-2014.