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 you open this issue, final preparations for the 2005 R.I. Convention in Chicago next month are well under way. Those who have been to R.I. conventions in the past will understand when I say that there is no experience like it. For those of you who have yet to make your first convention journey, there will never be a better time than this summer.

The R.I. Centennial convention will be the greatest celebration in Rotary's history. We already anticipate the largest attendance of any North American R.I.. convention and have planned several events new even for seasoned conventiongoers, including a Centennial parade in Chicago.

Of course, there will also be the inspiring presentations, exciting outings and unmatched opportunities for fellowship you will always find at an R.I. convention. This annual meeting is always the best way to meet Rotarians from around the world, and many lasting friendships and club partnerships have had their beginnings at these wonderful events.

As a father of four and grandfather of eight who plans on bringing the entire family to the convention, I encourage you to consider making the trip a family affair. I look forward to bringing my grandchildren to the Field Museum, which Rotary has reserved for an entire evening. It is an amazing museum with collections showcasing the diversity of cultures and civilisations across time and distance. What better way is there to visit such a place than with Rotarians from all parts of the world?

Rotary crosses geographic and cultural barriers like no other organisation, and the convention is a living demonstration of how international Rotary really is. As Host Organisation Committee Chair Richard Galitz notes . . . ‘‘A Rotarian doesn’t understand the true meaning of the International on their Rotary pin until they attend an R.I. convention’’.

Since becoming president of Rotary International, I have been privileged to be a part of Rotarian gatherings in many parts of the Rotary world. No matter how many I attend, I am excited about each and every one because every one is a unique window into a new community of Rotarians. At every The Rotary Foundation dinner, Presidential Celebration and club meeting, I have been welcomed into the lives of Rotarians and their families, learning about countries and cultures in a way no tourist ever could.

Your Rotary pin is a passport to a kind of travel that most people will never know, one that values people over places, homes over skylines.
Through Rotary, you can voyage around the world just by visiting one convention through the House of Friendship, the booths and exhibits and simply the opportunity to chat with Rotarians from dozens of countries you might never have thought to visit. At the convention, they will come to you.

There won’t be another Rotary Centennial for another 100 years, and we are privileged to be a part of Rotary in this landmark year. I look forward to seeing each of you as we Celebrate Rotary with service, fellowship and good friends in Chicago this June.

Glen E Estess Snr. President. Rotary International