R.I. President's message

President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson's MESSAGES


















July 2007 The Rotarian

Dear fellow Rotarians,

It is the privilege of every incoming president of Rotary International to choose a theme for his year in office. For each president, the challenge is to find a theme that will encapsulate how he feels about Rotary, convey his message, and motivate Rotarians around the world for the year of service ahead.

Immediate past president Bill Boyd chose Lead the Way, and this was a wonderfully appropriate theme. His timely call to serve as the “heroes, not celebrities” that our communities need has inspired us all, and his leadership has given us a stronger Rotary.

For me, Rotary Shares was the natural choice as the 2007-08 theme. I have always felt that the essence of Rotary is about sharing. Every day, in every club, Rotarians share with others in too many ways to count. We share our time, we share our talents, and we share our resources. We share our kindness, and we share our love.

In Rotary, sharing doesn’t mean giving away the things you don’t need for yourself. In Rotary, sharing means giving of yourself, freely, for the good of others. It means taking the time to see what our communities need and to decide which of those needs we can meet most effectively. It means sharing what we have with those around us, as well as with those we will never have the chance to meet.

All of us came to Rotary to share what we have with others and to share our friendship and fellowship with other Rotarians. We share Rotary with others through bringing in qualified new members, and we share Rotary with the next generation by focusing on youth.
Rotarians have so much to share, and there is so much that the world needs from us. Our vocational classification system ensures that every club contains a full range of business and professional skills. Within every Rotary club, there is a world of talents, skills, and abilities. Each club has the resources to tackle nearly any obstacle – if there is the will and the commitment to do it.

This year, I will ask all of you to say yes to the challenges that being a Rotarian will bring you. Through this year’s emphases of health, literacy, water, and family of Rotary, we have an enormous range of opportunities for service. Those projects, those possibilities, those open doors all await us in the months ahead. All we need to do is say yes.

Yes, I will turn that idea into a project, and I will lead the project to completion.

Yes, I will share my skills, time, and resources with my club and with those who need my help.

Yes, I will share Rotary with others, by bringing a qualified new member into my club.
I look forward to a year in which we demonstrate that Rotary Shares, by sharing the best of ourselves with our clubs, our communities, and the world.

Wilfrid J. (Wilf) WilkinsonPresident, Rotary International Read more messages from President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson -->