In true Rotary tradition, clubs in the area held their fiscal year-end celebrations by installing and reinstalling presidents and board of directors of their respective clubs prior to taking on their duties for the ensuing twelve months.
Officiating at the various ceremonies were District Governor Eknarong Kongpan, District Governor Elect Onanong Siripornmanut, Past District Governor Premprecha Dibbayawan, PDG Thongchai Lortrakanon and PDG Pratheep Malhotra.
At the ceremonies, Rotarians were reminded of the wise words of John Germ, President of Rotary International who said, “Club presidents and your Rotarians, recognize that the opportunity to join Rotary is the opportunity of a lifetime. A great opportunity to change the world for the better, forever, through Rotary’s service to humanity.
“We are at a crossroads in Rotary. We are looking ahead at a year that may one day be known as the greatest year in Rotary’s history: the year that sees the world’s last case of polio. We need to make sure that everyone knows the role that Rotary has played in making the world polio-free. That is tremendously important. Because the more we are known for what we’ve achieved, the more we’ll be able to attract the partners, the funding, and most important of all, the members to achieve even more.
“We need clubs that can not only attract new members but engage them in Rotary service – clubs that are welcoming and active, that truly follow The Four-Way Test. We can’t forget that the reason Paul Harris founded Rotary 111 years ago is still very much the reason people come to Rotary today: to find people who share their values. People who believe in honesty, diversity, tolerance, friendship, and peace, and who believe that serving humanity is the best thing they can do with their time on this earth.
“Whether we’re reading to schoolchildren or building a blood bank or holding a dental clinic, even as we change and adapt and move forward, the essence of who we are and what makes a Rotarian doesn’t change.
“We’re still based on a classification principle, because our diversity is our strength. We still hang The Four-Way Test on the wall, because high ethical standards don’t ever go out of style. And we still believe, as Paul Harris believed, that serving humanity is the most worthwhile thing any one of us can do with our lives.
“And that is why our theme in 2016-17 will be simply Rotary Serving Humanity. My friends, we are doing so much incredible work already… but we could be doing so much more.”
