John Kenny will become the first Rotary International president from Scotland when he takes office in July.

A member of the Rotary Club of Grangemouth since 1970, Kenny served as president of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland (RIBI) in 1992-93 and has served RI in many other capacities as well: director, Rotary Foundation trustee, member at large and parliamentarian at the Council on Legislation, institute moderator, district governor, convention vice chair and group leader, president's representative, and committee member and chair. He is a Major Donor to The Rotary Foundation and a Bequest Society member and has received the Foundation's Citation for Meritorious Service and Distinguished Service Award.

Kenny is a past dean of his local law faculty, a judge, and a notary. An elder of the Church of Scotland, he’s served as session clerk and presbytery elder. Kenny was also appointed deputy lieutenant of his district by Queen Elizabeth II. He is a past president of both the Forth Valley Junior Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Scottish Junior Chamber of Commerce. He is also past general legal counsel of Jaycees International.

When he addressed the International Assembly in San Diego in January, he talked about the responsibility and duty of individual Rotarians to secure Rotary’s future. Vince Aversano, editor in chief of The Rotarian, interviewed Kenny at RI headquarters in Evanston, Ill., USA. Kenny says he is aware of the privilege to serve, and will uphold the dignity of the office and "keep my feet on the ground."

RI: President-elect Kenny, what do you hope to accomplish next year?

Kenny: Quite simply, to leave the organization in an even better shape at the end of the year than I found it at the beginning.

RI: How will you determine if you have done that?

Kenny: One criterion will be membership. I have set realistic goals. It does not profit us to bring in many new members who are not at home in our clubs and do not stay. It will profit us very much in the years to come to focus as much energy on retention as we do in recruitment and on mentoring and training those new members to become true Rotarians. Another criterion will be if more Rotarians have been involved in projects both within their communities and internationally, particularly in the areas of water, health and hunger, and literacy. Rotary is a caring organization involved in helping others. If we can increase that involvement, we have achieved much that is worthwhile.

RI: How do you see the role of RI president, and do you think that role changed over the years?

Kenny: There are two aspects to the role of RI president. The first is that the president serves as the highest officer and the spokesman for Rotary International. The president is the face of Rotary International. But he has also an administrative function in terms of his relationship with the general secretary and staff. I think in recent times, perhaps, the first aspect has been given more prominence than the second, but both are equally important to me.

RI: What do you feel has prepared you to be the Rotary president?

Kenny: I have been fortunate. Like all past presidents, I have been a club president. Like all past presidents, I have been a district governor. Like all past presidents, I have been a director of Rotary International. But in addition to that, I have been a trustee of The Rotary Foundation. I have also had extensive experience in club, district, and international committees, both service and administrative.

RI: How did you get involved?

Kenny: Like every other Rotarian, I was asked. I was asked in 1970 by a business colleague in the town where I was a lawyer. I did not join to get business, because most of the Rotarians in the club were already my clients. But as a result of being in Rotary, they became my friends.

RI: And how quickly did you become involved with your club?

Kenny: Being a lawyer, I think, led me quickly to the club secretary position. I was also involved in service committees before becoming president in 1977-78.

RI: Many new members may be hesitant to get involved in their clubs. Why is it important?

Kenny: The sponsor ought to play a part in the early activities of new Rotarians. I sponsored a number of Rotarians and since I enjoyed visiting other clubs, I used to get them to come with me. It was important that they saw Rotary outside their own club. I also tried to ensure that new members were all pointed towards a committee where they were asked to do something. People get frustrated when they’re asked to join an organization and there is nothing for them to do. Rotarians have left Rotary because they have had nothing to do, not because they had too much to do.

RI: One of the challenges Rotary faces is attracting younger business leaders to join the organization. How does Rotary stay relevant to this group?

Kenny: Each generation is different. As I perceive it, many young people today are eager to support a cause but are not necessarily eager to join an organization. We have got to ensure that our clubs are attractive and our club meetings meaningful to make young people want to join. We must also be careful, however, not to have too many meetings involving too many aspects of Rotary.

RI: Do you feel the weekly meeting, as a requirement, is at all a deterrent to many younger people to joining Rotary?

Kenny: No, if the attendance requirements are properly explained to them. Time certainly is a consideration. It is much more difficult now for a young businessperson to take time off in the middle of the day. I believe we should try to arrange meetings at such times as are attractive to those in the community. For example, if it is more convenient to have the meeting at breakfast, we should have it then. I think that you will find now in most parts of the world, except perhaps America, most clubs are not meeting at lunchtime. In the early days of Rotary, nearly every club met at lunchtime.

RI: Is there any one defining moment for you when you felt "I am now a true Rotarian"?

Kenny: Two of my most rewarding years in Rotary were when I was club president and district governor. As president, you are aware of the fine work being done by Rotarians in the community and beyond it. And as district governor you see this on a wider scale. In 1992-93, when I was president of Rotary International in [Great] Britain and Ireland, I visited Tanzania, where British Rotarians with the support of an NGO were constructing water wells and improving sanitation in a remote part of that country. I appreciated the fine work being done by Rotarians, and how much there was still to do. This is what makes you realize what a magnificent organization we all belong to.

RI: What inspired your choice of The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands as the RI theme for your year?

Kenny: One of my goals is to give Rotary back to the Rotarians. It is as simple as that. It is the service that individual Rotarians give that will ensure that Rotary progresses in the 21st century and into the next. It will be up to each of us that this is so. No one else. There is no outside agency going to help us; we must help ourselves. I also believe that the individual Rotary club is the bulwark of Rotary. If it does not happen in the club, it does not happen.

RI: So you’re putting the responsibility on the shoulders of individual Rotarians?

Kenny: I have faith in Rotarians. The biggest asset this organization has is its members. We have the responsibility to render service locally and internationally, to expand our relevant service locally and internationally, and to expand our club’s capacity for service by inviting professional and business leaders to become members and promoting a positive image locally. Our responsibility also calls for each of us to be an example of ethical behavior in our personal lives, to act as leaders in our club and community.

RI: Do you have any membership goals?

Kenny: As I have said earlier, yes. I am asking each club to ensure that they have at least more paid up members at the end of the year than they had at the beginning. What we need is new members who will make quality Rotarians. I am also emphasizing the importance of retention. It does no organization good to have an influx one year and an exodus the next.

RI: Do you plan on continuing with some of President D.K. Lee’s initiatives?

Kenny: Each president has his own ideas as to how the organization should move forward. But there have been important focuses that have been prominent over the last few years, and I would certainly be continuing with these. I will encourage Rotarians to continue to focus their service efforts in the areas of water, health and hunger, and literacy – vital issues that clubs have been addressing most effectively in recent years. Water is a main emphasis because it is the first necessity for every man, woman, and child. We could, I suppose, live without oil, but none of us can live without water. This is an area in which I have believed strongly and worked consistently for the last 20 years.

RI: And what distinguishes Rotary from other similar organizations?

Kenny: Vocational service, without doubt. And that is something I would particularly want to stress this coming year.

RI: Do you think vocational service has been pushed aside as a focus of the organization?

Kenny: Perhaps. We must keep advocating the need for high ethical standards in business and private life. This is just as important today as it was in the early years of Rotary. Indeed, to realize this, you have only to look at some of the business practices that have been uncovered in recent months and that have helped to contribute to the present economic difficulties we are facing.

RI: What is the Scots view of Rotary?

Kenny: In Scotland, as in many other places, Rotary over the years has been perceived to be a business organization that meets and does good work in the community and an organization in which the public can put its trust. In recent times, Rotary has been more visible in the community with its charitable activities. The public is more aware of its general outreach. Rotarians have publicized their service to a greater extent, and this has increased public awareness. And of course when I was nominated, as the first Scotsman to be president, this received good coverage in the national and local press, which helps Rotary's general image.

RI: At the International Assembly, you spoke to the incoming district governors about the responsibilities of a Rotarian. Please elaborate.

Kenny: We all see ourselves as a part of a great Rotary tradition: as links in a chain binding our future to our past. If the chain is to continue, every link in it must be strong. It is our responsibility that it is stronger next year than it is now, and even stronger the year after. It is our responsibility to fulfill our promise of a polio-free world so that Rotary can with credibility take on other great challenges in the future. The onus is on each and every one of us to continue giving our service as best we can and as long as we can to make our world a better and safer place for us all.