As Rotarians, we will not stand idly by My fellow Rotarians: It is traditional in Rotary that each Rotary International President is given the opportunity every month to write a message to all Rotarians in the pages of this magazine. I am grateful for this tradition, which gives me the opportunity to communicate with every one of you directly, for it is my firm belief that The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands. It is a great honour to have been chosen as the first RI president from Scotland in the 104 years of this organisation, and to have the privilege of serving the Rotarians of the world. Because there is no RI – no Board of Directors or President, no world headquarters or Rotary convention – without the ordinary weekly meeting of Rotarians in our own home clubs. In Rotary, everything we are, and everything we aspire to become, lies in the hands of Rotarians in their clubs. If our clubs are congenial and our meetings well run, if our service is carefully planned and competently carried out, if our members are qualified, honest, and respected in their vocations and communities, then all of Rotary will thrive. This is why I say The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands. Water, health and hunger, and literacy will be our emphases in the year ahead. In this Rotary year, I ask Rotarians everywhere to continue to learn from our experiences and to build upon our successes. I ask you all to continue to work for the health and well-being of not only children but their families and people everywhere. I ask you particularly to focus on water and sanitation, as the scarcity of clean water is an increasingly serious issue in many parts of the world. In Scotland, we have a saying that I’m fond of quoting: “We must look beyond our own parish pump.” It means that we must look beyond our own home and our own community. We must be aware that ours is only one community, of one country, of the many communities and countries in this world. In every one of those communities, there is work to be done. As Rotarians, we will not stand idly by. As Rotarians, we will accept our responsibility. We can, and we must. For we know that Rotary is only as great as its clubs – and our clubs are only as great as the members within them. The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands. John Kenny President Rotary International		John Kenny became the first Rotary International president from Scotland when he took office in July. A member of the Rotary Club of Grangemouth since 1970, Kenny served as president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) in 1992-93 and has served RI in many other capacities as well: director, Rotary Foundation trustee, member at large and parliamentarian at the Council on Legislation, institute moderator, district governor, convention vice chair and group leader, president’s representative, and committee member and chair. He is a Major Donor to The Rotary Foundation and a Bequest Society member and has received the Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service and Distinguished Service Award. Kenny is a past dean of his local law faculty, a judge, and a notary. An elder of the Church of Scotland, he’s served as session clerk and presbytery elder. Kenny was also appointed deputy lieutenant of his district by Queen Elizabeth II. He is a past president of both the Forth Valley Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Scottish Junior Chamber of Commerce. He is also past general legal counsel of Jaycees International. When he addressed the International Assembly in San Diego in January, he talked about the responsibility and duty of individual Rotarians to secure Rotary’s future. Vince Aversano, editor in chief of The Rotarian, interviewed Kenny at RI headquarters in Chicago, USA. RI: President-elect Kenny, what do you hope to accomplish during this year? Kenny: Quite simply, to leave the organisation in an even better shape at the end of the year than I found it at the beginning. RI: How will you determine if you have done that? Kenny: One criterion will be membership. I have set realistic goals. It does not profit us to bring in many new members who are not at home in our clubs and do not stay. It will profit us very much in the years to come to focus as much energy on retention as we do in recruitment and on mentoring and training those new members to become true Rotarians. Another criterion will be if more Rotarians have been involved in projects both within their communities and internationally, particularly in the areas of water, health and hunger, and literacy. Rotary is a caring organisation involved in helping others. If we can increase that involvement, we have achieved much that is worthwhile. RI: What do you feel has prepared you to be the Rotary President? Kenny: I have been fortunate. Like all past Presidents, I have been a club president. Like all past Presidents,

I have been a District Governor. Like all past Presidents, I have been a Director of Rotary International.
But in addition to that, I have been a trustee of The Rotary Foundation. I have also had
extensive experience in club, District, and international committees, both service and administrative.

RI: How did you get involved?
Kenny: Like every other Rotarian, I was asked. I was asked in 1970 by a business colleague in the town where I was a lawyer.
I did not join to get business, because most of the Rotarians in the club were already my
clients. But as a result of being in Rotary, they became my friends.

RI: One of the challenges Rotary faces is attracting younger business leaders to join the organisation. How does Rotary stay relevant to this group?
Kenny: Each generation is different. As I perceive it, many young people today are eager to support a cause but are not necessarily eager to join an organisation.
We have got to ensure that our clubs are attractive and our club meetings meaningful, to make young people want to join. We must also be careful, however, not to have too many meetings involving too many aspects of Rotary.

RI: Do you feel the weekly meeting, as a requirement, is at all a deterrent to many younger people to joining Rotary?
Kenny: No, if the attendance requirements are properly explained to them. Time certainly is a consideration. It is much more difficult now for a young businessperson to take time off in the middle of the day. I believe we should try to arrange meetings at such times as are attractive to those in the community. For example, if it is more convenient to have the meeting at breakfast,
we should have it then. I think that you will find now in most parts of the world, except perhaps America, most clubs are not meeting at lunchtime. In the early days of Rotary, nearly every club met at lunchtime.

RI: Is there any one defining moment for you when you felt “I am now a true Rotarian”?
Kenny: Two of my most rewarding years in Rotary were when I was club President and District Governor. As President, you are aware of the fine work being done by Rotarians in the community and beyond it. And as District Governor you see this on a wider scale. In 1992-93, when I was President of Rotary International in Britain and Ireland, I visited Tanzania, where British Rotarians, with the support of an NGO, were constructing water wells and improving
sanitation in a remote part of that country.
I appreciated the fine work being done by Rotarians, and how much there was still to do. This is what makes you realise what a magnificent organisation we all belong to.

RI: What inspired your choice of The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands as the RI theme for your year?
Kenny: One of my goals is to give Rotary back to the Rotarians. It is as simple as that. It is the service that individual Rotarians give that will ensure that Rotary progresses in the 21st century and into the next. It will be up to each of us that this is so. No one else. There is no outside agency going to help us; we must help ourselves. I also believe that the individual Rotary club is the bulwark of Rotary. If it does not happen in the club, it does not happen.

RI: Do you plan on continuing with some of President D.K. Lee’s initiatives?
Kenny: Each President has his own ideas as to how the organisation should move forward. But there have been important focuses that have been prominent over the last few years, and I would certainly be continuing with these. I will encourage Rotarians to continue to focus their service efforts in the areas of water, health and hunger, and literacy – vital issues that clubs
have been addressing most effectively in recent years. Water is a main emphasis because it is the first necessity for every man, woman, and child. We could, I suppose, live without oil, but none of us can live without water. This is an area in which I have believed strongly and worked consistently for the last 20 years.

RI: Do you think vocational service has been pushed aside as a focus of the organisation?
Kenny: Perhaps. We must keep advocating the need for high ethical standards in business and private life. This is just as important today as it was in the early years of Rotary. Indeed, to realise this, you have only to look at some of the business practices that have been uncovered in recent months and that have helped to contribute to the present economic difficulties we are facing.

RI: What is the Scots view of Rotary?
Kenny: In Scotland, as in many other places, Rotary over the years has been perceived to be a business organisation that meets and does good work in the community and an organisation in which the public can put its trust. In recent times, Rotary has been more visible in the community with its charitable activities.
The public is more aware of its general outreach. Rotarians have publicised their service to a greater extent, and this has increased public awareness. And of course when I was nominated, as the first Scotsman to be president, this received good coverage in the national and local press, which helps Rotary’s general image.

Theme for 2009-10 year