Rotary International President William Boyd

Closing a Plenary Session at the RI International Convention

in Malmo-Copenhagen in June 2006

As we embark on a new Rotary year, we look ahead to new responsibilities, new challenges, and new opportunities.

Rotary has flourished for so long because it offers constant values to its members: fellowship, friendship, and doing good work in the world. And Rotary has been welcomed into new communities and new countries because it is not afraid to adapt and respond, to embrace different cultures, and to hold firm to its core principles of honesty, tolerance, and unselfishness.

While the mission and motto of Rotary remain constant, we must always be open to the need for change. Part of our ongoing task as Rotarians is to stay aware of needs — in our own organization and in the communities we serve. Our membership is evolving, and we are welcoming more and more new members who, a decade ago, would never have thought to join Rotary. Our work is evolving, just as our communities’ needs and our ability to address them are.

In a world where so much is in flux and so little can be predicted with certainty, Rotary cannot afford complacency. Challenges are constant; so are opportunities. Today, we need every Rotarian more than ever, because in our diversity lies our strength.

In the coming Rotary year, I ask all of you to join me as we Lead the Way to a better Rotary and better communities. By this, I mean to ask you to be leaders in your communities — to show others that solid integrity, concern for others, and generosity of spirit are ageless values and that good business does not preclude good ethics.

As Rotarians, we are not content to let matters stay the way they have always been, whether in our clubs or in our communities. We are the ones who ask, Why not us? We are the ones with the skills and the desires to build a better future. And we are the ones who must Lead the Way.

Every Rotarian has so much to offer that I wish there were a Rotary office for everyone. But the strength of Rotary is that around the world, all of our tremendous talent flows into the clubs. In the last year, as I have met so many of you, I have become more and more confident that Rotarians are ready and able to Lead the Way — and that the best years of Rotary are yet to come.

Dear Friends of The Rotary Foundation:

The Rotary Foundation is a large and successful international organization. Its many accomplishments are achieved through the efforts of individual Rotarians, their clubs, and districts. Our mission statement to achieve world understanding and peace is a lofty goal that can only be achieved through the sustained action and commitment of Rotarians. Each year, the president of RI chooses a theme as an embodiment of the intentions of Rotarians, and the chair of The Rotary Foundation expresses the Foundation's goals.

Goal setting helps us determine our priorities, get organized, make big decisions, and realize our dreams. Goals have a power of their own when they are specific, manageable, and achievable. Goals can provide motivation and foster commitment. Clearly stated goals provide a framework to measure achievement and can be modified to reflect an organization's accomplishments.

As chairman of the Foundation's Board of Trustees for 2006-07, I am pleased to present the goals approved by the Trustees with an aim to achieving increasingly better results in the organization's operations.

All areas of our Foundation's endeavor — administration, investments, programs, and so forth — are equally important, and we will expend every effort and put every advantage to use for the optimum development of each. However, in order to expedite the work that lies ahead, we have chosen seven goals that will guide us and enable us to Lead the Way in 2006-07.

During 2006-07, The Rotary Foundation will:

1. Focus on the eradication of polio

2. Heighten its profile on the world stage in the field of peace and conflict resolution through its unique partnerships with premier institutions

3. Achieve a worldwide per capita of US$100 in giving to the Annual Programs Fund while establishing a new record for major gifts to the Permanent Fund

4. Collaborate with Rotary International to enhance Rotary's public image

5. Improve grassroots-level training to increase awareness of the Foundation's mission

6. Articulate and implement the future vision of The Rotary Foundation for Rotary's second century of service

7. Strive to administer its programs with speed and simplicity Thank you in advance for your lasting and generous support of The Rotary Foundation, today and into the future. Let us keep in mind that our Foundation is the best present that we can offer to ensure a shining future for Rotary.

Cordially,

Luis Vicente Giay
The Rotary Foundation - Trustee Chair, 2006-07

Over $7,000.00 has been raised through donations from these Rotary Clubs.  Join these clubs in planning for future needs both within and outside our District.  A suggested contribution of $3.00 per capita from each D6760 Rotary Club is requested, but please consider contributing what you can, wheter it be financially or through supplies and/or equipment. 

Contact PDG Glen Vanderford at gv6760@bellsouth.net for more information or to arrange for the Disaster Relief Trailer to visit your area for a festival, parade event or other public relations opporunity.  The trailer is not only a resource in time of crisis, but also movable billboard for Rotary International.  Thank you.