Join Pres. Germ for Live-streamed EndPolio Status Update on Oct. 24th

By John F Germ, President, Rotary International

In 1979, James Bomar Jr., the president of Rotary at the time, traveled to the Philippines as part of Rotary’s earliest work to immunize children against polio. After he had put drops of vaccine into one baby’s mouth, he felt a child’s hand tugging on his trouser leg to get his attention. Bomar looked down and saw the baby’s brother looking up at him, saying earnestly, “Thank you, thank you, Rotary.” 

One thousand World Polio Day celebrations is 24 October 2016 target for Rotary clubs

By Kalyan Banerjee, Foundation Trustee Chair

In our work to end polio, we’ve noticed a disturbing ­development: People in many parts of the world think polio no longer exists. Even some of our members, especially younger Rotarians who were born after the development of the polio vaccine, assume that because the disease doesn’t afflict anyone in their country, it’s no longer a problem.

Our Foundation in support of literacy worldwide

by Kalyan Banerjee,Trustee Chair 2016 – 17

A few months ago, I read a story in this magazine about a man named Carl Sanders, a member of the Rotary Club of Kenosha, Wis. Sanders had developed a successful painting business despite the fact that he could not read – a shameful secret that he struggled to keep to himself.

The power of combined effort knows no limitation

by John F Germ, RI President 2016-17

In the summer of 1917, only a few months after the United States entered the first world war, Rotary held its eighth annual convention in Atlanta. Although many Rotarians at the time thought the convention should be canceled, the Board of Directors ultimately agreed with Paul Harris that it should continue as planned. In the midst of such uncertainty and fear, Harris penned, as part of his convention greeting, some of the most-quoted words in Rotary:

How company time has changed, a recruitment challenge

By John F. Germ, R.I. President, 2016-17

Forty years ago, a man named George Campbell, the owner of the company I worked for, invited me to join Rotary. Back then, that was a common practice in the United States. Your boss invited you to join Rotary because he thought it would be good for business and good for the community, and you said yes. It’s not surprising that our membership surged during that period.

Growing membership means a stronger Foundation

By Kalyan Banerjee, R.I. Trustee Chair, 2016 – 17

Our Rotary Foundation depends on a strong and thriving Rotary membership. It is, after all, our members who provide the generous support that enables our Foundation to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems. As important as that support is, it’s not the only contribution Rotarians make to our Foundation.

TRF: from $26.50 to 1 billion in assets in 100 years

By Kalyan Banerjee, RI Foundation Trustee Chair

The start of a new Rotary year is always an exciting time. We have a new inspirational theme, new club officers and exciting new projects to work on. In 2016–17, we also have a very special occasion to celebrate: the 100th anniversary of our Rotary Foundation.

Since 1917, when Arch Klumph proposed an endowment “for the purpose of doing good in the world,” The Rotary Foundation has grown into a world-class humanitarian organisation. Few other charitable foundations can claim a 100-year history — all the more impressive when you consider its humble beginning of only $26.50.

As a Rotarian, “Everything you do matters”

By John F. Germ, President Rotary International 2016-17

Today, we look ahead toward a Rotary year that may one day be known as the greatest in our history: the year that sees the world’s last case of polio. Wild poliovirus caused only 74 cases of polio in 2015, all of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As we continue to work tirelessly toward our goal of eradication, we must also look beyond it: preparing to leverage our success into even greater successes to come.

A wall of flame will burn forever in my memory, dancing with light, shifting in shadow

By K R Ravindran, President 2015 – 16

British writer and Royal Air Force pilot Roald Dahl was also an avid photographer who carried his beloved Zeiss camera on his many adventures. At a time when each photograph had to be laboriously developed by hand, on film or glass plate negatives, he amassed a collection of hundreds of images. In later years, these photographs served as a visual record of his travels, a way to document his experiences and share them with others. Yet he always spoke of his memories as being far more vivid than the photographs could ever reflect. So many events and experiences, he said, were simply impossible to capture; they could not be adequately conveyed in images or words.

It’s the end of the movie & Ray Klinginsmith as the cowboy rides away

By Ray Klinginsmith, Trustee Chair 2015 – 16

Western movies were the most popular film genre for several decades, and they were well known around the world. In many of them, after a victorious battle between the good guys and the bad guys, the hero would accept the appreciation of his friends and supporters – and then ride off alone into the sunset.