This month’s issue of The Rotarian begins our promotion of the 2009 RI Convention, 21-24 June in Birmingham, England. As Deputy Senior Editor Janice Chambers points out in her piece, the 2009 convention is number 100. Birmingham, which ably hosted number 75 in 1984, was selected as the host city for 2009 two years ago. Congratulations to all the Rotary volunteers involved in the complicated process of organizing and promoting the upcoming event.

Janice recently spent a week in Birmingham for the magazine and (while on assignment, of course) got to dine at many of the restaurants featuring cuisine from 27 countries and visit nearly all of the 1,000 shops located in the center of town. Seriously, Janice describes Birmingham as a “pedestrian friendly, safe city with everything in town easily accessible. It’s a multicultural city accustomed to dealing with international visitors, since it hosts about 180 conventions each year. Birmingham and neighboring Coventry have reinvented themselves, and I think Rotarians will enjoy spending time in both cities.”

We devote 16 pages to the convention in this issue, with more articles to follow. There is also a convention preview on www.rotary.org. By next spring, our readers will have been introduced to Rotary’s colorful history in England, read about interesting Rotarians from Birmingham and Coventry, heard about important moments at past conventions, and will know all the reasons for Birmingham’s popular appeal for American and European tourists.

Convention attendance is about 15,000 to 25,000 annually, so why do we devote so much coverage to this event? One reason is to prompt Rotarians to fully immerse themselves in a uniquely communal experience. In a few focused days with fellow members from around the globe, attendees rediscover their original reasons for becoming Rotarians. The contagious atmosphere of natural fellowship pervades the House of Friendship, plenary sessions, and social events. Renewing friendships, starting new ones, bonding with interesting people who only days before were strangers, heightens the sense of pride that Rotarians feel about their organization – a feeling that often lasts a lifetime.