President Report on R.I. Convention

The Rotary International convention held June 24th through 27th in San Antonio Texas was an extremely impressive event with some 25,000 Rotarians from 131 countries attending the four day event. The convention was punctuated by keynote speeches in the huge Alamodome from outgoing President Frank Devlyn, RI President 2001-2002 Richard King, strategic partners represented by Goodwill Industries President George Kessinger and the Unicef Executive Director Carol Bellamy. An extensive display area was set up at the convention center floor for displays of selected Rotary clubs, task forces, as well as vendors - all promoting in one avenue or another, Rotary or the ideals or programs and support of Rotary.

Amidst the din of the many speeches, messages, workshops, and entertainment interludes by such entertainers as Glenn Campbell, Vikki Carr, Miss Texas, and a variety of local bands and showpeople, the spirit of Rotary, of giving service above self, and of making Mankind our Business permeated almost every conversation as plans and contacts were made amongst the many District Governors, Club Presidents and fellow Rotarians all gathered for this event. Most of all the Convention demonstrates first hand how truly international Rotary is and the widespread fellowship of so many diverse Rotarians who share our common goals.

Some key points noted at the convention were:

1. The importance of keeping our membership growing. New members are the lifeblood of our clubs, and it is important, especially in small communities such as Guam which doubly challenges us with having a large transient business community as well as having a difficult economic situation. It is very important for us to continually look to our community, our friends, and business associates to find new suitable candidates for club membership. This is part of RI President's "Global Quest" program and a cornerstone of RI's directive for this Rotary year.
2. Rotary can be effective in partnerships with other organizations. We have successful programs already with such organizations as Goodwill Industries in providing jobs to the disabled, and Unicef in promoting the health and welfare of children worldwide. It remains important however that Rotary must be a true partner, taking an active roll in the project and receiving appropriate recognition for it as well. Additional programs such as partnership with WheelChair foundation which works with local Rotary clubs to provide 50-50 matching funds ($150 per wheelchair - or $75/split) to supply wheelchairs to needy individuals who cannot otherwise afford them
3. The new RI President Elect - RI President for 2002-2003, is Bhichai Rattakul, from Bangkok Thailand. He was a 9-term member of Parliament of Thailand, and also served as Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand for 10 years. He had a brief introductory speech at the convention and was an extremely articulate speaker, with a focus on worldwide issues during his term.
4. Also stressed was the importance at the club level of keeping the club interesting, and active and involved in the community. President King encourages clubs to start up at least one new project with the members getting actively involved to help activate the clubs and make an impact on our community.

RI Convention is something I would highly recommend for any Rotarian to attend at least once - Next year's Convention will be held in Barcelona, Spain, and even though this may be difficult for many of our members to attend, it would be a good opportunity to see even more so the international aspect of Rotary. The following year Convention will be held in Brisbane, Australia, and I hope that with that closer proximity, more members of the Pacific Basin group and of our Club may be able to attend and participate.

June, 2001

District Conference 2001 - 2002
will be held on
October 25th and 26th, 2001
at the Shin Takanawa Price Hotel in Tokyo