Rotary
International John Kenny's November 2009 Message
November 2009
My fellow Rotarians,
The playwright George
Bernard Shaw once wrote, “Imagination is the beginning of
creation. You imagine what you desire; you will what you imagine;
and at last you create what you will.”
There is no shortage
in this world of people able to imagine a better future. But in
Rotary, we do not just imagine that future – we will it, and
we work to create it. This we do through our two great strengths:
our Rotary clubs and our Rotary Foundation.
Over the years, I have
been privileged to witness firsthand the fruits of the outstanding
work carried out by Rotarians all over the world, supported by the
programs of our Foundation. One thing that impresses me is how these
programs focus not on short-term satisfaction or reward for the
giver. The best Rotary programs and projects focus on building for
the future – and making lives better for generations.
Two decades ago, we
Rotarians made a promise: to make life better for the entire world,
forever, by eliminating polio. It has always been an ambitious goal,
but it has always been a realistic one. And now, thanks to our Rotary
Foundation, we are closer than ever to reaching it.
It is my hope that with
the help of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rotary’s
US$200 Million Challenge, there will soon come a time when we will
be able to say that we have made polio a thing of the past. For
if we fail now, we will fail all those who have gone before us,
and every child to whom we made a promise. If we fail, we risk our
own good name, and the good name of all the Rotarians who came before
us.
We will not fail. We
can and we must succeed. I know that each one of you recognizes
that The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands – and that the
future of our Foundation is as well.
The Future of Rotary
Is in Your Hands.
John Kenny
President, Rotary
International
TRF Chairman's
November 2009 Message
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My wife, Mary, and I have three children and eight grandchildren.
Looking back on many happy years of raising a family, I recall most
clearly the days that stood out in some way from the others. I remember
the day my son had his tonsils out – and ate a cheeseburger
the same night! I remember the weddings, the graduations, and the
births of each child.
But when I talk to my
children about what they remember of their own childhoods, the answers
are so surprising. They remember events that Mary and I have long
forgotten – the simple moments that happened as part of normal
life yet still created profound memories. These are the moments
that define who we are. What we see, what we hear, and what we experience
as we grow older shape the person we become. Everything we do as
parents has an impact, whether we realize it at the time or not.
As Rotarians, we have
a similar responsibility to consider the consequences of our every
action. We cannot predict how significant our words and decisions
will be. But we do know that everything we say and do has an impact.
Our responsibility is to ensure that the cumulative effect is a
positive one.
When we give to our
Rotary Foundation, we know that the result will be positive. When
I served as RI president, I saw the truth of this in so many ways.
The poorest parts of the world are the places where the local clubs
have the fewest resources. By giving to our Foundation, we bring
help to the places where Rotary is needed the most – and fulfill
the Foundation’s mission of Doing Good in the World.
Glenn E. Estess Sr.
Foundation Trustee Chair
Source: Rotary International
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