[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 563

[Garry and Anne Krischock]

There is 1 message in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

      1. 1154: President's May Message
           From: "Sunil K Zachariah" <sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk>


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

Message: 1
   Date: Tue, 02 May 2006 04:15:32 -0000
   From: "Sunil K Zachariah" <sunilkzach at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: 1154: President's May Message

President's Message

May 2006
The Rotarian

Dear fellow Rotarians,

Cooperation is a key word for the future of Rotary. Every area that
we work in, such as education or water management or hunger and
health, is big - very big. Rotary has already proven the importance
of working with other organizations through our polio eradication
program. We have set a precedent for how a service organization can
cooperate with other organizations, governments, communities, banks,
and foundations to reach an important goal.

Rotary has two great assets: our network of more than 1.2 million
Rotarians and our trademark, the Rotary gearwheel emblem. These make
our organization very appealing to other entities who might want to
collaborate with us. But we must be very careful when we choose our
partners. In the business world, huge companies buy other huge
companies not because they want another factory or 10,000 more
employees but for the simple fact that it can be a less expensive
way of getting a product with a well-known brand - a trademark, if
you will. Rotary has such a trademark in our Rotary emblem, and we
must protect the integrity of that wheel. It must never be for sale.

When we talk about cooperation, there are some Rotary leaders who
are afraid of such a step. They are afraid that in cooperating with
others, Rotary risks losing its identity. I do not believe in this
fear. We have not lost our identity in working with the United
Nations to eradicate polio. To the contrary, we have strengthened
our identity. There is no question that we would never have been
able to make so much progress toward eradicating polio by ourselves.
Likewise, the United Nations would never have been able to do it
without our support - a good example of cooperation at its best.

Cooperation, however, must not only take place on the global level.
I have seen a great many examples of how clubs and districts work
together with various local entities, and I can assure you that in
no case has Rotary lost its identity. Again, Rotary has won with
cooperation.

I urge Rotarians, clubs, and districts to continue to look for
partners when conducting a project, large or small. There is nothing
but profit in partnering as long as we remember that our network and
our trademark remain forever ours and that they are not for sale.

Rotary is a wonderful organization, and we are certainly moving
forward in this first year of the second century of our history. Let
us continue to do so through Service Above Self , showing the world
the great leadership of Rotary International.

Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar
President, Rotary International

Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________


_______________________eFlash is an electronic newsflash on Rotary edited by
PDG Sunil K Zachariah, D 3200, India.

Kindly feel free to disseminate the information in eFlash_Rotary to any
Rotarian or Rotary Club. Kindly acknowledge eFlash_Rotary while forwarding
such information. Rotarian or Rotary Club. Kindly acknowledge eFlash_Rotary
while forwarding such information.
------------------------------------------------------------------------