Foundation Meeting

We were also joined by Robin Varley, President of Rotary Aberystwyth during the timew of Travis' visit, and past District Governor Steve Jenkins who was District Foundation Chair.

Past President Alan Reeks PHF, Leader of the Foundation Team, introduced Travis Conova who had Zoomed in from Houston Texas to be the keynote speaker in the Club’s Foundation event. 

Alan explained that along with most Clubs Rotary Bridgend celebrates Rotary Foundation in November – the Rotary Foundation month. Prior to the pandemic Rotary Bridgend would celebrate the occasion with a special dinner and a “Foundation” themed event. Dinners are  clearly out of the question at present but Rotary Bridgend has continued throughout the pandemic restrictions to meet through the medium of Zoom! 

This has allowed us to cast our net much further afield than hereto and the Club has enjoyed conversations with folk in such places Beirut, Carson City, The RMS Queen Mary in Florida,  Colorado, Lindsey Bergstrom and Arctic Norway. 

Travis’ CV is exceptionally impressive. He graduated from the University of Georgia as a Master of Accountancy. As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at University of Wales Aberystwyth he made his mark as a notable member of the University’s Basketball Team and still graduated with an MSc Econ in Intelligence and Strategic Studies and then again at the University of Georgia followed this up with a BBA in Accounting. 

He currently is the Managing Director Advisory Services at KPMG. Where, in the Houston office, he heads  KPMG’s Risk Advisory Solutions practice, specializing in Forensic services which include complex investigations of fraud and misconduct. He commenced his professional career with KPMG’s Audit practice in Washington, where he became a Certified Public Accountant. He then joined a large publicly traded government contractor, where he became a Certified Fraud Examiner, and conducted international financial, operational, and compliance audits.

Immediately prior to joining KPMG Forensic in November 2013, he served as a Special Agent with the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), where he specialised in white collar criminal investigations.

Travis has extensive experience providing clients with forensic accounting and investigation services to address allegations of fraud and misconduct. He also provides proactive anti-fraud and compliance program services designed to help clients prevent, detect, and respond to such occurrences, and foster compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.

He has served clients in diverse industries such as Energy, Natural Resources and Chemicals; Financial Services; Healthcare; Industrial Manufacturing; Technology; Telecommunications; and the Federal Government.

Some Rotary Foundation anecdotes 

How does the Rotary Foundation help the world? 

The Rotary Foundation is Rotary’s own and only charity delivering our vision of a better world. The Rotary Foundation is supported solely by contributions from Rotary members and friends of the Foundation. Those contributions, gifts and donations are transformed into service projects that change the lives of thousands of people across the world. 

In 1980 Rotary committed to eliminating polio through immunisation. 

The Rotary Foundation has spent in excess of $3 billion on programs and projects supporting humanitarian efforts and scholarships through its 100 year plus history. 

The Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, made the first contribution to Rotary Foundation in 1917 - $26.50.