Rotary
International John Kenny's August Message
August 2009
My fellow Rotarians,
I have always thought
it important to bear in mind that Rotary is a voluntary organization,
composed of people who are all themselves leaders. When addressing
such an audience, I have never thought it fitting to exhort or demand.
Every Rotary club is and must be autonomous: The leadership of Rotary
International exists not to control, but to motivate and guide.
And so when we in Rotary
speak about the importance of membership, I believe it of the utmost
importance to bear in mind that the primary experience of Rotary,
for the overwhelming majority of Rotarians, is of the club: of club
meetings, club projects, and fellow club members.
When Paul Harris began
the first Rotary club 104 years ago, he did not initially think
of service. Instead, he had in mind a place where people of good
character, intelligence, and morals could enjoy each other's fellowship
and friendship. The service came later, as a natural outgrowth of
the gathering of such people.
Every good Rotarian,
every member who shares our core values, will make a club that much
stronger, and that much more attractive for others to join. Unfortunately,
it is also the case that bringing in the wrong person can have the
opposite effect. Rotarians are and must be people of a certain caliber
– people with the capacity to do great deeds, the sense to
do them wisely, and the strength of character to do them honestly
and well.
In the end, I believe
that the best way to bring new members into Rotary is the way it
has been done for generations: One member invites a carefully chosen
friend, client, or colleague to a meeting and, if the match is a
good one, proposes that individual for membership. This is the way
that our clubs remain harmonious; it is the way that new clubs become
old clubs, and new members become Rotarians for life.
The membership challenges
that we face today are considerable, and in many ways new. There
is no denying the difficulties posed by the current global financial
situation. But in the words of Henry Ford, "If money is your
hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security
that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience,
and ability." And as long as we all do our jobs well, and bring
in new members carefully, this is a security we in Rotary will never
lack..
The Future of Rotary
Is in Your Hands.
John Kenny
President, Rotary
International
TRF Chairman's
August 2009 Message
Fighting polio with
urgency and hope
The Rotary year we
have just begun will be pivotal in determining the course of our
Foundation in this, Rotary's second century of service. There are
new challenges before us – challenges that we must rise to
meet in order to keep the promises we have made. The first of those
promises, of course, is to eradicate polio. This is our number-one
priority as an organization, and it will remain so until the job
is done.
Last year, more than
1,600 cases of the disease were identified around the world. This
is a great improvement from the worst days of polio epidemics, which
many of us remember from decades ago. But it is not good enough,
and it will not be good enough until the number is zero. We cannot
pause or slacken our efforts. We know all too well what happens
when we do not reach every child. We saw it in Nigeria in 2003 and
have seen it again in the Horn of Africa.
In March, Rotary approved
US$500,000 in emergency grants to UNICEF and the World Health Organization
to help contain the outbreak of wild poliovirus that had spread
from war-torn South Sudan into parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda.
This funding allowed for increased immunization activities in the
three countries affected by the spread, and separate rounds of immunization
have continued in South Sudan to halt the source of the outbreak.
We are optimistic that
this outbreak will be contained, and remain confident in the viability
of eradication. These recent events only serve to highlight the
importance of our continued work. It is not enough merely to keep
the number of new outbreaks low. We must bring it to zero.
Glenn E. Estess Sr.
Foundation Trustee Chair
Source: Rotary International
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