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 2004-05
President, Glenn E. Estess, Sr., Shades Valley, Ala., U.S.A.; President-elect, Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar, Göteborg, Sweden; Vice President, John F. Germ, Chattanooga, Tenn., U.S.A.; Treasurer, David D. Morgan, Porthcawl, Wales; Directors, Ronald L. Beaubien, Coronado, Calif., U.S.A.; Jocelyn I. Bolante, Parañaque South, Philippines; John J. Eberhard, London, Ont., Canada; Serge Gouteyron, Denain-Bouchain, France; Sushil Gupta, Delhi Midwest, India; Sölve Kernell, Kalmar, Sweden; David Linett, Somerville and Bridgewater, N.J., U.S.A.; Michael D. McCullough, Trenton, Mich., U.S.A.; Yoshikazu Minamisono, Hofu, Japan; G. Kenneth Morgan, Chapel Hill, N.C., U.S.A.; Luiz Coelho De Oliveira, Limeira-Leste, Brazil; José Antonio Salazar Cruz, Bogotá Occidente, Colombia; Sakuji Tanaka, Yashio, Japan; Constant A.G.M. Tempelaars, Vianen-Vreeswijk, The Netherlands; Rodger W. Wagner, Scottsdale, 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 Axel Handevitt-Haar (D9450), John Iriks (D9460), Hugh Langridge (D9470), Katina Jones (D9500), Euan Miller (D9520), Trevor Williams (D9550), John Ker (D9570), Robert Jeffery (D9600), Des Lawson (D9630), Margaret Hayes (D9640), Harry Durey (D9650), Michael McNamara (D9670), Bruce Allen (D9680), Lloyd Roever (D9690), Bruce Barber (D9700), Bob Greeney (D9710), Robert Richards (D9750), Cathy Roth (D9780), Mani Seneviratne (D9790), Judy Nettleton (D9800), Denis Hyland (D9810), David Louden (D9820), Muriel Heron (D9830), Ken Linkhorn (D9910), Beryl Robinson (D9920), Bruce Scott (D9930), Barbara Williams (D9940), Alex Murray (D9970), Martin Chappell (D9980).

The Committee
R.I. Past Director Bill Boyd, R.I. Past Director John Thorne, R.I. Director Jocelyn Bolante (co-opted), Past District Governors Paul Gillett, Vance Hilton, Colin Thorniley, Terry Edwards, Peter Williams 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 Rotarian Rex Morris.

Dear fellow Rotarians, As Rotary's first century draws to a close, I am nearing a personal milestone as well in the end of my presidential year. It has been an incredible century for Rotary and a truly wonderful year for Mary and me. No R.I. president really knows what awaits him when he accepts the presidential nomination. Even after many years of involvement at the club, District and international levels, it’s hard to comprehend the full scope of Rotary without seeing it in action around the globe.

Now, having had this experience, I can truly say that Rotary puts Service Above Self in every corner of the 168 countries where it has a presence.

Everywhere I have visited, I have been struck by one trait common to Rotarians worldwide. That is an overwhelming desire to be of assistance. That desire to help others is what unites Rotarians everywhere, far more than their diverse languages and cultures set them apart. Their commitment to help is what, in the end, has the most impact.

As I’ve visited clubs on every Rotary continent, I’ve seen projects involving tremendous financial input and projects involving very little. But as local Rotarians know, what’s most important is choosing a project that provides a real solution to a problem in the community. To those of us in North America, a project to add a girls’ bathroom on to a primary school might not seem life-changing. But in a part of the world where girls traditionally do not attend school, it can have an enormous impact. There, it epitomises Rotary’s unique understanding of the local community and its needs. Building that girls’ room means welcoming girls to school and to a lifetime of literacy.

The strength of Rotary International lies in its members. Where other humanitarian agencies must travel long distances to bring aid, Rotary, in most cases, is already there. When the tsunami of December 26, 2004, hit southern Asia, Rotarians and Rotaractors were in action within a day, putting their local knowledge of needs and resources to work.

Because a Rotary club is made up of community members, not only is help already there, help never leaves. It is a hallmark of Rotary service that we not only respond to emergencies but provide the long-term humanitarian assistance that allows communities to recover from disaster and move forward.

Long after the news crews have gone home and the tsunami victims have faded from world consciousness, Rotarians will still be there, rebuilding shattered schools, roads and lives. As Rotarians, we have a responsibility to our fellow members, and their communities, all over the world. In the months and years ahead, I ask you to remember that the need in countries devastated by this natural disaster has not disappeared just because we no longer see it on our television screens.

As I prepare to turn the presidency over to President Elect Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar, many people have asked me what I have learned about Rotary in my time as president. I reply, without hesitation, that I have learned that the dedication of Rotarians exceeds anything I could have imagined. Together, as we begin a new century of putting Service Above Self, I ask you all to remember the words of Paul Harris at the last convention he attended: ‘‘The pioneering days of Rotary have just begun. There is as much to be done today as ever.’’

Thank you all for a wonderful year, and for being 1.2 million reasons to Celebrate Rotary!

Glen E Estess Snr. President. Rotary International