Fellow Rotarians,

     Welcome to the new Rotary year.  There are many new, enthusiastic leaders, new exciting goals at the Club District, and Rotary International level, and new, creative methods to accomplish these goals.  I have seen more actual and potential changes in Rotary recently than I have in my prior twenty-two plus years in Rotary.  However, that does not mean that we will stop doing what we do well.  It means that we will build off our strengths and successes and change where we need changing to assure that Rotary continues to be the best service club in the world.  This is the same process that the corporate world has had to do in these trying times to assure their continued success.

     Our Rotary International President, Ray Klinginsmith, like most of us, has repetitively been asked “What is Rotary?” and “What does a Rotary Club do?”  Our motto “Service Above Self” does not answer either question.   In his search for answers, President Ray thought of words that would explain the purpose of Rotary to non-Rotarians and words that would validate the importance of our principles to Rotarians.  He came up with four simple words, “Building Communities – Bridging Continents.”

     To continue and strengthen “Building Communities – Bridging Continents” President Ray has outlined his areas of emphasis.  First and foremost, we must continue our fight and win the war against the scourge of Polio.  No one thought that Rotary could make it happen.  We have done so much and come so far.  We are so close.  WE PROMISED!

     We must reach out to the youth and young adults, not only within our own communities, but also within the communities of the world.  Youth, nurtured properly, will be the future of Rotary and the hope of the world.  Youth, forgotten by society, will the downfall of society and the world.  This column will not allow the space necessary to fully address this topic but please start thinking more about youth and young adults.  Thoughts can range from, locally, how to get kids involved in a service project to, internationally, how to assure that the youth of the world survive to adulthood.   Keep your eyes and ears open.  There will be a lot more on this topic in the near future.

     We must continue our efforts in the areas of clean water and sanitation, maternal and childhood health, and basic education and literacy.  We must start thinking about and using our Rotarian business expertise to assist both locally and globally in economic and community development.  And lastly, we must continue and increase our Rotary efforts toward peace and conflict resolution.  I truly believe that we can accomplish world peace and that Rotary and Rotarians will be a great part of the cause.

     To accomplish these worthy goals it takes the two “Bs,” bodies and bucks.  We must continue to grow Rotary by increasing our membership.  We must be able to pay as we go by reaching our Rotary Foundation goals.  So as we work toward all of our goals we will simultaneously be “Building Communities – Bridging Continents.”

DG Bob