Canadian Rotarians will host the Rotary world next June in Montréal. From coast to coast to coast, 2010 will be an exciting year as we celebrate 100 years of Rotary in Canada. The Montréal convention is our opportunity to parade the achievements of Canadian Rotarians and the numerous remarkable service projects undertaken locally and internationally.

I hope every Rotary club in Canada is represented in Montréal by a team of club members. We have a lot to be proud of and this will be an opportunity to put aside our reluctance to boast. We should applaud our accomplishments and not be timid to tell the thousands of Rotarians visiting Canada what we have achieved in the past 100 years and how far we will reach in the next 100.

The first Rotary International convention I attended was in Portland, Oregon in 1990.  As a president elect I could not soak up enough information or ask too many questions. I was amazed by what was being accomplished by clubs and their members in every corner of the world. It was the first time I saw an iron lung and understood the scope of PolioPlus.

I have a unique memory from each convention I have attended since Portland and at each I have made new friends. The informal contacts, person to person, build effective partnerships with people from around the world. Numerous exchanges and projects start with chance meetings at conventions. The first object of Rotary is, “ The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service. ’’

Most Rotarians will include tours of Canada before and after the convention. This is our chance to welcome new friends to our clubs and our homes.

The 2010 Montréal convention will be the seventh time Canada has hosted the convention. We will again be terrific hosts.  When our visitors leave Montréal we want everyone to have had a fantastic experience and go home with memories of friendly helpful passionate Canadian Rotarians.

See you in Montréal.