Rotary
International Ray Klinginsmith's Sept. 2010 Message
September 2010
My fellow Rotarians,
Bigger, Better,
Bolder
This year marks a significant
anniversary for Rotary! Although the Rotary Club of Chicago started
in 1905, the first convention of Rotary clubs was held in August
of 1910 with 60 Rotarians representing 16 clubs. Our history as
an organization of Rotary clubs started with that meeting in 1910,
and we are now commencing a second century of service for Rotary
as an association.
All of us want this
century of service to be even more successful than the last. Therefore,
this is an opportune time to ask: Are we taking the right steps
to ensure that success? Are we doing the right things? Do we have
a clear vision of the future? In the words of " America the
Beautiful," can we "see beyond the years"?
As Rotary's 100th president,
I believe we are moving in the right direction. Our 33,000 clubs
are Rotary's biggest asset, and our success in the next 100 years
will depend on the ability of our clubs to remain vibrant and vital.
Their strength will determine our success!
The RI Board has taken
several steps to offer more assistance to our clubs this year, including
creating the Rotary Coordinators program to assist district governors
in providing information about Rotary International's programs and
best practices to the clubs.
I firmly believe that
if we help our clubs to become better and bolder, then the clubs
will become bigger – both because of the increased pride of
our Rotarians in their clubs and the increased awareness of Rotary
by prospective members. Therefore, my goal is to help the district
governors to help their clubs to become Bigger, Better, and Bolder!
This is a great time
to be a Rotarian. Together we can make this century of service even
more exciting than the last!.
Ray
Klinginsmith
Building Communities
/ Bridging Continents
President, Rotary International, 2010-11
TRF Chairman's
September 2010 Message
Youth Programs
help enhance Rotary's public image
Rotary has many youth
programs. The programs for younger participants, such as Interact
and Rotary Youth Exchange, are not funded by The Rotary Foundation,
but they all give Rotary a very positive public image, which The
Rotary Foundation benefits from.
They are also very important
to The Rotary Foundation, as the participants get their first contact
with Rotary, which can lead to future membership in a Rotary club
and, hopefully, becoming a contributor to The Rotary Foundation.
The programs for older
participants, such as Ambassadorial Scholarships, Group Study Exchange,
and Rotary Peace Fellowships, are funded by The Rotary Foundation.
Of special interest to me is the Rotary Centers for International
Studies in peace and conflict resolution – a program that
one day might become the jewel in the Rotary programs crown. We
have a fundraising effort running for this program – the USD95
million campaign – which must not be forgotten in our ambition
to increase contributions to the Annual Programs Fund and Permanent
Fund and to meet Rotary’s USD200 Million Challenge.
All our youth programs
are peace programs. In particular, our Youth Exchange participants
act as ambassadors of peace when going to a totally new environment.
We ask a lot from them, and we can be very proud of them.
All our students –
younger or somewhat older, at home or abroad – participate
in local projects, thus Building Communities – Bridging Continents
through Service Above Self.
Carl-Wilhelm_Stenhammar
Foundation Trustee Chair, 2010-11
Source: Rotary International
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