I have always thought it important to bear in mind that Rotary is a volunteer organization, composed of people who are all themselves 
leaders. When addressing such an audience, I have never thought it fitting to exhort or demand. Every Rotary club is and must be 
autonomous: The leadership of Rotary International exists not to control, but to motivate and guide.

And so when we in Rotary speak about the importance of membership, I believe it of the utmost importance to bear in mind that the 
primary experience of Rotary,for the overwhelming majority of Rotarians, is of the club: of club meetings, club projects, and fellow 
club members.

When Paul Harris began the first Rotary club 104 years ago, he did not initially think of service. Instead, he had in mind a place 
where people of good character, intelligence, and morals could enjoy each other’s fellowship and friendship. The service came later, 
as a natural outgrowth of the gathering of such people.

Every good Rotarian, every member who shares our core values, will make a club that much stronger and that much more attractive for 
others to join. Unfortunately,it is also the case that bringing in the wrong person can have the opposite effect. Rotarians are and 
must be people of a certain caliber—people with the capacity to do great deeds, the sense to do them wisely, and the strength of 
character to do them honestly and well.

The membership challenges that we face today are considerable, and in many ways new. There is no denying the difficulties posed by 
the current global financial situation. But in the words of Henry Ford, “If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. 
The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability.” And as long as we all do 
our jobs well, and bring in new members carefully, this is a security we in Rotary will never lack.

--John Kenny, 2009-10 RI President/The Rotarian, Aug., 2009

The Vinitian

The “Plus” in PolioPlus has evolved over time. Today it refers to the global polio eradication legacy that can be applied to future health initiatives.

Lessons learned from this historic 20-year drive include:

• Massive public education initiatives to promote immunization activities;

• Vaccine deployment strategies to reach children in remote or isolated regions;

• Using proper tools, such as vaccine carriers to protect vaccine in harsh temperatures and specimen containers to preserve the integrity of samples;

• Forming public-private partnerships that fortify national governments’ health programs;

• A strengthened worldwide laboratory network will continue to support disease surveillance efforts long after polio has been eradicated; and

• Most importantly, the global polio eradication program has paved the way for cease-fire truce agreements in a number of warring nations, negotiating major humanitarian assistance in fragile environments.