Dear fellow Rotarians,
August is the Rotary month of membership and extension, an area of great importance to our organisation.

The United States leads the way in total number of Rotarians, with 388,170 members. The second largest country is Japan with approximately 103,700 members, followed by India with about 90,000 Rotarians. A couple of interesting observations are that these three countries alone account for 50 per cent of the Rotary population and they are all around the Pacific, where 60 per cent of the world population is located.

As to the percentage of a country's population who are Rotarians, the picture is quite different. Iceland is the No. 1 country, followed by Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Finland, Denmark and Australia. It's fascinating to note that all seven top nations come from the Nordic part of Europe and Down Under.

More interesting, however, is the general trend of Rotary membership worldwide. The Far East has a general upward trend. Africa has a trend of small gains like Europe, a steady but small annual positive development. All other areas, unfortunately, show another picture . . . a downward one.

In the past, we have had several years dedicated to a special and intensive focus on membership. These have been very successful during the time they were implemented, but due to the lack of continuity, the gains have often been lost during the following year.

I think it is wise to work toward goals. However, goals must be easy to understand and reachable. For 2005-06, I have set a goal of a net increase of one member per club. I believe this goal is reachable and understandable. Unfortunately, we have a loss of members each year in the area of 10 per cent. This may make the goal more difficult to reach, which is why retention is so critical. If the drop-off rate can be reduced, the goal will be much easier to achieve.

It is therefore of greatest importance that we
A – make our clubs interesting through dynamic programs and meaningful projects
B – take care of club members so they feel that their membership is relevant to both them and their clubs, and
C – put an emphasis on fellowship and friendship, two of the cornerstones on which Rotary was built.
We need to be strong in membership so that through Service Above Self we can continue to show the world the great leadership of Rotary International.

Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar
President, Rotary International

Photograph: Clas Carlsson.

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL WORLD HEADQUARTERS
One Rotary Centre, 1560 Sherman Ave, Evanston, Illinois, 60201, U.S.
Telephone: 847 866 3000. Fax: 847 328 8554.

General officers of R.I. for 2005-06
President, Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar, Göteborg, Sweden; President-elect, William B. Boyd, Pakuranga, N.Z.; Vice-president, Serge Gouteyron, Denain-Bouchain, France; Treasurer, Jocelyn I. Bolante, Parañaque South, Philippines; Anthony F. de St. Dalmas, Southgate, England; Frank N. Goldberg, Omaha-Suburban, Neb., U.S.A.; Jerry L. Hall, Reno, Nev., U.S.A.; Horst Heiner Hellge, Hamburg-Blankenese, Germany; Sölve Kernell, Kalmar, Sweden; Kwang Tae Kim, Seoul Gwanag, Korea; David Linett, Somerville and Bridgewater, N.J., U.S.A.; Yoshikazu Minamisono, Hofu, Japan; G. Kenneth Morgan, Chapel Hill, N.C., U.S.A.; Noraseth Pathmanand, Bangrak, Thailand; José Antonio Salazar Cruz, Bogotá Occidente, Colombia; Masanobu Shigeta, Takasaki North, Japan; Carlos Enrique Speroni, Temperly, Argentina; Robert A. Stuart Jr., Springfield, Ill., U.S.A.; Rodger W. Wagner, Scottsdale, Ariz., U.S.A. The death on May 29, 2005, of Rodger W. Wagner, who was elected to the board, is noted with sorrow. His replacement is David J. Hossler, Yuma Sunrise, Ariz., U.S.A. General Secretary: Edwin H. Futa, East Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

R.I. South Pacific – Philippines Office
McNamara Centre, Level 2, 100 George Street, Parramatta, N.S.W., 2150 or P.O. Box 1415, Parramatta, N.S.W., 2124. Telephone: (02) 9635 3537. Fax: (02) 9689 3169. Office hours: Open daily from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except weekends and public holidays. Administration: Manager, John Tucker; Co-ordinator, Leanne MacKenzie; Literature Clerk, Michelle Fuller; Receptionist, Gaye Small. Club and District Administration: Supervisor, Tony Quinn; Co-ordinator, Dele Riley; Correspondent, Sherrine de Silva; Finance Co-ordinators, John Jiang and Wendy Tran; Assistant, Felicity Fong; Junior Finance Assistant, Brooke Sanders. The Rotary Foundation: Supervisor, Terry Davies; TRF Assistant, Amabel Pante. How to e-mail staff: Start with the staff member’s last name (up to seven letters), then add first letter of the first name, except John Jiang (jiangx) and Tony Quinn (quinna) followed by @rotaryintl.org. R.I. Internet address:www.rotary.org

Rotary Down Under – The Council
R.I. Past Director John Thorne, District Governors Bill Benbow (D9450), Peter Brown (D9460), Phil Cordery (D9470), Colin Thorn (D9500), Arthur Manser (D9520), Peter Kaye (D9550), Kevin Hickey (D9570), Charles Guesdon (D9600), Ailsa Hay (D9630), John Tregurtha (D9640), Jane Bradford (D9650), Donald Whatham (D9670), Greg Muldoon (D9680), Bill Little (D9690), David Roberts (D9700), Noel Trevaskis (D9710), Patrick Roberts (D9750), Wayne Barrett (D9780), David Yap (D9790), John Wigley (D9800), Philip Hedley (D9810), Ray Stewart (D9820), Paul Grubb (D9830), Graeme Bellingham (D9910), Colin Nicholas (D9920), Brian Revell (D9930), Rodney Wong (D9940), Kelvin Cordes (D9970), Martyn Jensen (D9980).

The Committee
Past District Governor Peter Williams (chairman), R.I. Past-Director John Thorne, R.I. Director Jocelyn Bolante (co-opted), Past-District-Governors Paul Gillett, Vance Hilton, Colin Thorniley, Terry Edwards, Stuart Heal and Bob Aitken (secretary) and Rotarian Barry Antees (general manager).

The New Zealand Rotary Down Under Promotional Committee
R.I. Past Director Bill Boyd (chairman), R.I. Past Director Grattan O’Connell, Past District Governors Geoff Dainty, Rob Crabtree, Fergus Cumming, Allan Birrell and Stuart Heal and RotarianRex Morris.