Members of the Rotary Club of James River, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
By Richard Cunningham, Rotary Club of James River, Richmond, Virginia, USA
To be continually successful in membership development through good times and bad, a club must know who it is – its appeal. It is important to have a vision statement (what the “end state” looks like) and a mission statement. Continue reading
Kay Fisher, bottom row far right, with her Interact Club in Clemson, South Carolina, USA.
By Kay Fisher, a member of the Rotary Club of North Mecklenburg, North Carolina, USA
Growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta, I never learned how to swim, how to play the piano, or how it would feel to go to church on Sunday mornings. The opportunities were there. The new YMCA offered swim lessons, my grandparents bought me a new piano and offered to pay for lessons, and churches were close to my house. But these were all things my dad felt only “plastic people” did. Continue reading
By Richard J. Fox, Rotary Club of Charlotte-Shelburne, Vermont, USA
Since joining Rotary in 2011, I have been impressed by its commitment to eradicating polio from the world through its End Polio Now campaign. That said, polio never resonated with me as a significant cause.
I was generally aware of polio’s impact throughout history: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the March of Dimes, iron lungs, and the polio panic here in the United States. But it wasn’t personal to me; it was something of the previous generation, abstract, to which I had no emotional investment.
And then my mom went and showed me how wrong I was. Continue reading
“We humans are creatures of habit, and it is just as easy to acquire the habit of speaking kindly as it is to acquire the habit of speaking unkindly”
— Paul Harris, 1935
When he spoke at the 1935 Rotary Convention in Mexico City, Paul Harris had only recently returned from a journey though Asia and the Pacific. He reflected on the opportunities for friendship he encountered on his trip and reminded members of their duty to act as ambassadors of goodwill. Read the full speech.
Editor’s note: 19 April marks the anniversary of Paul Harris’ birth. Learn more about Rotary’s founder.
By Chelsea Mertz, communications specialist, Rotary Service Connections
Does your club manage members and officer updates online? Did your district buy a club management system for the clubs in your district, such as DACdb, but your club uses a different vendor, like ClubRunner? Continue reading
Masao Mizuno meets with a Rotary Peace Fellow.
By Masao Mizuno, Rotary Club of Ageo West, Japan
Hosting a Peace Fellow substantially changed my life in Rotary. Since joining Rotary, I have been running a company that imports industrial tools, mostly from Israel and Europe, so I am familiar with talking to people from other countries. Continue reading
Bethany Lerch, right, takes notes while speaking to a female attendee during a national mine awareness conference in Kabul.
By Bethany Lerch, former Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, 2010-2011
I knew little about Rotary eight years ago when my former high school counselor encouraged me to apply for an Ambassadorial Scholarship. He was retired, but still active in Rotary, and knew a master’s was my next step. At the time, I had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and knew I needed to go to graduate school. But where and how? Continue reading
Peace Fellow Lindsey Doyle (far right, first row) and other prize winners with Vice-chancellor Eva Åkesson
By Magnus Elfwendahl, Rotary Club of Uppsala Carolina, Sweden
In January, I had the honor of watching as Rotary Peace Fellow Lindsey Doyle from the United States received Uppsala University’s foremost award to teachers and students supporting human rights. Doyle was awarded the Martin H:son Holmdahl prize at Uppsala’s doctoral conferment ceremony. Continue reading
Talking to villagers in western Ghana.
By Nana Konduah Dickye, Rotary Club of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana
On 12 November, I led a three-member team to visit seven communities my Rotary club is responsible for as part of the multi-year Rotary-USAID International H2O Collaboration in Ghana. The aim of the collaboration is to provide water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure and advocacy to deprived communities.
The total journey to these seven communities – Akwaso, Samfifire, Amoada, Kyeikrom, Nkakaa, Bonuama and Anyabream – began at Takoradi and covered a distance of 800 kilometers. It is one thing to hear about communities without basic water supply and sanitation needs. Actually having been to these communities and experiencing the kind of hardships they go through is quite another. Continue reading
Jasmine Segall, right, and her best friend in Monterrey, who entertains children as a clown.
By Jasmine Segall, former Rotary global grant scholar
I have heard a variety of interesting stories about why the rural Costa Rican town I live in as a Peace Corps volunteer is called Monterrey. My favorite is the literal translation: “King of the Grass,” explained by a wizened elderly gentleman as the place his family settled to farm cattle because of its nutritious vegetation. On a good day, I can get a clear view of the Arenal Volcano and see the lush farmland that stretches endlessly below. The view is breathtaking. It truly is a green kingdom. Continue reading
