January 2010 Message from RI President John Kenney
My fellow Rotarians:
January is the month the Romans associated with their two-headed god Janus: one head looking backward to the year that has just passed, and the other looking forward to the year ahead.
In Rotary, January is the halfway point of our year of service, and it is also a time for us all to look at both the past and the future. It is the time of year to take stock, to review the goals that we have set for ourselves, and to evaluate how well we have fulfilled those expectations. It is a time to look honestly at our progress and our challenges and to consider the steps we will need to take to complete our planned service successfully.
I am sure there is much you can be proud of achieving in the last six months. In my travels, I have already seen how much Rotarians can accomplish when they are determined to do so. You have helped bring safe, pure water to those who lacked it, provided food and shelter to those who needed it, and assisted in the educations of those who could not read or write. You have promoted the ideal of service within a context of fellowship, friendship, and high ethical standards.
Rotarians are able to make changes that will shape the course not only of the months but of the years and decades that lie ahead. This is our privilege. It is also our duty as Rotarians – as caring members of society who are in the fortunate position of being able to help those living in conditions we can barely imagine.
So there is much to be done these next months. Do not waste a moment of that most precious commodity: time.
We are all volunteers serving in a volunteer organization. None of us was compelled to become a Rotarian; each of us chose, and was chosen, to become a member. Every year, every day, each of us chooses to continue the task we have begun, and to continue to put Service Above Self. It is not always the easy path, but I know it is the right one.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for the Rotary service you have given, the service you are giving, and the service I know you will continue to give in the future.
The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.
John Kenny
President, Rotary International
January is the month the Romans associated with their two-headed god Janus: one head looking backward to the year that has just passed, and the other looking forward to the year ahead.
In Rotary, January is the halfway point of our year of service, and it is also a time for us all to look at both the past and the future. It is the time of year to take stock, to review the goals that we have set for ourselves, and to evaluate how well we have fulfilled those expectations. It is a time to look honestly at our progress and our challenges and to consider the steps we will need to take to complete our planned service successfully.
I am sure there is much you can be proud of achieving in the last six months. In my travels, I have already seen how much Rotarians can accomplish when they are determined to do so. You have helped bring safe, pure water to those who lacked it, provided food and shelter to those who needed it, and assisted in the educations of those who could not read or write. You have promoted the ideal of service within a context of fellowship, friendship, and high ethical standards.
Rotarians are able to make changes that will shape the course not only of the months but of the years and decades that lie ahead. This is our privilege. It is also our duty as Rotarians – as caring members of society who are in the fortunate position of being able to help those living in conditions we can barely imagine.
So there is much to be done these next months. Do not waste a moment of that most precious commodity: time.
We are all volunteers serving in a volunteer organization. None of us was compelled to become a Rotarian; each of us chose, and was chosen, to become a member. Every year, every day, each of us chooses to continue the task we have begun, and to continue to put Service Above Self. It is not always the easy path, but I know it is the right one.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank you for the Rotary service you have given, the service you are giving, and the service I know you will continue to give in the future.
The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.
John Kenny
President, Rotary International