 R.I.President Glenn Estess Sr. |
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District
7150 Staff & Committee Chairmen (2004-2005)
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ln turn, I expect that you will remember you are working for Rotary's membership - not the Board of Directors, the Trustees, or me. If you view our organization as a pyramid - you must think of the top serving the bottom, not the other way around. We must support the clubs and their members because they are the ones who will do the work to carry out our program and Celebrate Rotary in our Centennial year. When I consider the possibilities of Rotary's second century, I think of a statement made by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his 1964 acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. He said and I quote, "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits." As I stand before you today, I have the audacity to blieve that Rotary and its Foundation can help make it possible for peoples everywhere to have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. That is why, first and foremost, we will Celebrate Rotary next year by putting Service Above Self - by showing the world what Rotary can do to Lend a Hand to the millions of people who remain trapped in poverty - illiterate, unskilled, without access to decent medical care, without basic needs like food and water. During my time as a Trustee of your Rotary Foundation, I visited Rotary project sites all over the world. I participated in a PolioPlus National Immunization Day in India when 134 million children were immunized in just one day. I saw water dam projects in Mexico and Panama that brought fresh water to towns and villages - not only for drinking but for sanitation and irrigation as well. I saw health projects in remote jungles in Brazil that provided basic medical care for people who had not once in their entire lives seen a doctor. But if I had to pick just one project that made the greatest impact on me - it would have to be the Lighthouse for Literacy program in Thailand. As we all know, this project started in just one school district, spread from school to school, and was ultimately adopted by the Thai Ministry of Education. Seeing Rotary in action all over the world had a powerful impact on me. Whenever I think about the wonderful projects I saw, I am reminded of a saying - it goes like this: "What you are speaks so loudly, I can not hear whay you say." We do not carry out our ideals by talking about them - we carry them out through our actions. Our actions are the essence of fellowship - our actions are the essence of service. And our actions are the essence of high ethical standards. One of the most important things we can do in the coming year is to set an example of the highest ethical standards and inspire our fellow Rotarians to do the same. To support that effort, I am very pleased to announce a new recognition program for next year - the Rotary Centennial Service Award for Professional Excellence. This award will recognize non-Rotarians in your communities for exceptional professional achievement consistent with the ideals of Rotary. I will be counting on the active participation of each district governor to use this new award program to recognize and promote exemplary professional conduct in communities throughout our world. My friends, this exciting week has merely been an introduction to the excitement that lies ahead. As Centennial Governors, you will lead the worldwide Family of Rotary through an historic transition. As we complete our First Century of Service, your leadership will inspire the world's 1.2 million Rotarians to Celebrate Rotary in the most meaningful ways - Together, as the family of Rotary, we will Lend a Hand to bring water to the thirsty, to heal the sick, to feed the hungry and to educate the illiterate. Together, as the family of Rotary, we will reach our Centennial Goalds - to work toward a polio-free world, to strengthen our membership and to build our Foundation with the support of "Every Rotarian, Every Year." Together, as the family of Rotary, we will uphold and promote ethical behavior both within our organization and in our communities and our world. And together, as the family or Rotary, we will enter a new Century of Success - our hearts overflowing because we are proud to be a part of Rotary and because we have to many reasons to Celebrate Rotary! |
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