DG BILLY'S MESSAGE TO WELCOME RY 2011-2012

Welcome to Rotary Year 2011-2012.

In Rotary Year 2011-2012, we, Rotarians, have accomplished our mission of promoting the Object of Rotary by “Building Communities and Building Continents.” In this coming Rotary Year, we will continue our mission by “Reaching Within to Embrace Humanity.”

Are we ready to carry on this task?

As Rotarians, we will “Reach Within”, meaning, examine one’s inner self and find out if we have enough motivation and commitment to “Embrace Humanity” through service. Attaining this level of motivation and commitment will be our challenge this year.

We will be able to meet this challenge by promoting fellowship regularly, by involving ourselves in service activities consistent with our skills and preferences, by developing in ourselves a sense of pride in belonging to our clubs, and by providing ourselves with continuing Rotary education.

We, old and new Rotarians, need to be provided with the necessary nourishment in order to be more rooted in Rotary, Foremost of all, we need fellowship activities where we could develop friendships with our fellow Rotarians. These activities should be planned and conducted regularly so that friendships among ourselves could be further cultivated. Importantly, our fellowship activities should be expanded to include the entire Family of Rotary - our families as well as those of deceased Rotarians; our partners in service: Rotaractors, Interactors, and the Rotary Community Corps; and our Rotary alumni: those who have participated in Rotary International and Rotary Foundation programs.

We, Rotarians, want to make valuable contributions to our clubs. We will, therefore, continue to discover what skills we can develop for service, what our preferences are for community work, and what opportunities for Rotary growth exist in our clubs. Importantly, we will help ourselves discover the value of our vocation in conducting Rotary service.

We, Rotarians, want to feel a sense of pride in belonging to our Rotary clubs. We will, therefore, endeavour to create a positive public image of our clubs in our communities. It is always impressive to see successful fellowship activities and service projects in clubs’ souvenir programs or weekly bulletins. Equally impressive is to see Rotarians happily at work with their partners in service - the Interactors, Rotaractors, and the Rotary Community Corps. When we, Rotarians, are proud of our clubs, we unite ourselves together with a shared sense of spirit and meaning.

Finally, we, Rotarians, need continuing education. Without the opportunities to learn more about Rotary, we will be just like a dying plant, wilted and wasted. Attending scheduled seminars offered by the Rotary Academy would certainly be beneficial to our self-development. A few minutes of Rotary education in weekly club meetings or simply the sharing of Rotary experience among club members would also improve our knowledge of Rotary and make our Rotary service more worthwhile.

Let us, therefore, rejuvenate ourselves and develop the required motivation and commitment to enable us to “Embrace Humanity” through service in Rotary Year 2011-2012.