Klinginsmith welcomes the 2010-11 district governors and announces the theme he chose: Building Communities -- Bridging Continents .

Meet Rotary’s man from Missouri through stories from the friends who looked up to him in high school, his fellow Ambassadorial Scholar in South Africa, associates throughout his professional life, and the Rotarians he inspired on his rise to the RI presidency.

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Matthew Eichor, past governor of District 6040 and a member of the Rotary Club of Kirksville, Mo., USA. Klinginsmith, a Rotarian for 50 years, joined the Kirksville club in 1974, after membership in the Rotary clubs of Unionville and Macon, Mo. Eichor, as director of the Justice Systems program at Truman State University, worked closely with Klinginsmith, who served as dean of administration, business professor, and general counsel.

I don’t know that Ray has a hobby other than Rotary, but then, of course, he’s very involved with his family. If I saw him on a golf course, I’d be shocked.

He is tenacious in getting things done. He took the initiative to help our rural county get a full-time prosecutor, and we’re better for it. I could repeat that sort of story on any number of issues. He also is an incredibly good speaker. His great sense of humor causes audiences to perk up, and then he delivers the substance. Ray will bring to Rotary International the notion that we don’t have to be afraid to change. A lot of RI presidents are content to allow things to function as they always have; Ray is not going to be that way.

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Elsie Gaber, president of the Rotary Club of Kirksville-Thousand Hills, which Klinginsmith helped charter

In 33 years, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ray without a tie. You get a look at his informal side when he loosens the tie and unbuttons the top button of his shirt. He enjoys a good story (or even a bad one) over a beer or two. With him, a casual conversation can transform into a possible idea, and then into a full-blown strategic and tactical plan of action that can’t wait until the next day. He taps you on the shoulder, based on your skills and passions, and enlists you to join in a great adventure to make life better.

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Ralph Cupelli, president of the Rotary Club of Kirksville

When Ray couldn’t find adequate services for his developmentally disabled son, he worked to get laws established and started the Chariton Valley Association to help other people who were facing a similar challenge. That is his modus operandi: See a problem, figure out an action you can take to solve it, and work on it until it is solved. Instead of complaining, he makes things happen. 

He has an international perspective, going back to when he was [a Rotary Foundation] Ambassadorial Scholar. Ray is a very active leader; he doesn’t follow a routine. He doesn’t do things because they’ve been done that way before. He looks for fresh ideas. I think he will make people outside of Rotary more aware of the organization and how much we contribute to making the world a better place.

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Pauline Philman, Ambassadorial Scholar who studied in South Africa with Klinginsmith at the University of Cape Town in 1961. She lives in Bell, Fla., and was a teacher for 36 years.

Ray and I met in New Orleans because we were taking a ship to Cape Town. He was a very nice young man. I did not have a visa because the travel agency didn’t tell me I needed one. Ray helped me get one at the British Consulate.

Right away, he told me he had just gotten engaged – he was so in love. On our trip to South Africa, he spent a lot of his time writing Judie letters. In Cape Town, we compared notes, and we got to know each other’s host families. We found one English-speaking Methodist church. We walked there every Sunday and sat by each other. I depended on him a lot. I knew that if I ever needed him, I could call him.

He was very active in the Boy Scouts down there. Whenever he got a new badge, he brought it to me to sew on for him. I looked on him as a brother; that was the way I felt about him. With his intelligence, patience, and kindness, I thought he was the kind of politician we need. But I knew he was going to become a lawyer. I am not surprised at all that he is the president of Rotary – he had that type of leadership. I expected him to soar to the top.

When he found out he was going to be the new Rotary president, he called me, and we had a long talk and caught up on news. Rotary is honored to have Ray Klinginsmith as its president. He’s one of my heroes.

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Bill Gaines, chair and president of Macon-Atlanta Bancorp. Klinginsmith, a practicing attorney who serves on the board of directors, lived in Macon, Mo., for several years before moving to Kirksville in 1974.

I’ve known Ray a long time. He was an exceptional young man. He has the qualities of an outstanding businessperson, which have brought him a long way. He’s extremely honest and trustworthy, very prompt and organized. He’s able to get people to work with him and for him. He’s a really good leader.

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Karen Murr, executive secretary, Macon-Atlanta State Bank

Even though he and Judie travel a lot, they still come back to Macon to go to a community play or a chili supper for the basketball team, and to see people they knew from the 1960s and 1970s. He’s very comical; he can really entertain. We love it whenever we can get him to emcee a retirement party.

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Rusty Neill, past president of the Rotary Club of Macon County; president and CEO, Macon-Atlanta State Bank. Klinginsmith was a director of the bank for 38 years, retiring in 2009.

Even though he hasn’t lived in Macon for years, Ray is still very well respected and has a lot of ties to the community. That’s what is unique about Ray and Judie: Once they commit to something or establish a tie, they find time to maintain those relationships. Ray will stay involved even as he’s going out and taking on the next project.

He’s not the first one to speak up. It’s not uncommon for him to start with, “This reminds me of a story,” and then tell an anecdote that brings everything into perspective, and we’re able to create a solution that everyone can get behind.

Rotary has been a huge positive influence in his life, and if you spend any time with him at all, he’s quick to point that out. As an ambassador for Rotary, he does a wonderful job of exemplifying the traits and qualities that it attempts to instill. In particular, Ray exemplifies the principle of Service Above Self in everything he does. He hasn’t been one to speak about his accomplishments; it’s always about what Rotary has done for him. It’s about him giving back to Rotary, making it better than the day before. He would tell you that he would want his legacy to be re-energizing the clubs and making them realize the power we have. Together, we can do some pretty amazing things.

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Larry Wickless, president, American Osteopathic Association; gastroenterologist. He graduated from Unionville High School four years after Klinginsmith, who was class president and on the varsity football team.

He was always looked up to. He was a top student – he did all the right things. If you wanted a role model, Ray was the person. Everything he’s done, he’s done well. If he hadn’t chosen to practice law in a small town, he could have practiced corporate law in any big town. Everybody’s so proud of him.

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Terry Combs, past president of the Rotary Club of Kirksville-Thousand Hills. Combs also is executive director of the Chariton Valley Association, founded by Klinginsmith, who served as president from 1982 to 2008.

Ray seeks out all interested parties and recruits like no one else I have ever known. He makes sure that every last person is given the opportunity to provide input. On a Saturday night, you’re likely to find him having a cold beer with his friends at the DuKum Inn in Kirksville – unless, of course, he is in India, working on polio eradication, or in California, leading the International Assembly, or off on some other Rotary commitment. My guess is that he will be the most approachable individual ever to serve at the helm of Rotary.

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Darrell Krueger, interim president, Truman State University, and member of the Rotary Club of Kirksville

Ray had a dream to someday become president of Rotary, and now it is coming true.

He conveys a feeling of warmth. He’s respectful of others, and he really listens to what people have to say. It is just his nature to make people comfortable when they are around him. He has a great ability to listen and a capacity to care about other people. He’s a true family man. He’s greatly involved and gives all of himself to the community. Around Missouri, he is the face of Rotary.

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Traci Hill, executive assistant to the president at Truman State University

There is no one I respect more than Ray Klinginsmith. He has a tremendous work ethic and a quest for excellence in everything he undertakes. He is honest in all of his endeavors and has a kind and generous heart. Judie has always played a huge part in his success. They make a wonderful team. He values organization, and he likes to have things planned in advance. He’s a perfectionist. But he has terrible handwriting. He makes multiple drafts of each document. And he keeps every one, which is something we have teased him about for years.

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Ron Gaber, past president of the Rotary Club of Kirksville and longtime friend of the Klinginsmith family, which includes Judie, one son and one daughter, and three grandchildren

Ray has an incredible memory and the skill to associate names and people with topics, memories, relationships, and experiences they share. This results in quick bonding and lifelong friendships. He solicits ideas by finding different ways to ask the same question. Plus, he spends an inordinate amount of time one-on-one and in small social groups. A cold beer and popcorn has created opportunities for hundreds of service projects. I think Ray’s legacy will be as a leader who was a catalyst for a culture of change, which resulted in the growth of Rotary clubs around the world.

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Eileen Eckhouse, assistant to RI President Ray Klinginsmith

Ray is very much a do-it-yourselfer. He accomplishes a great deal. Personally, I don’t know when he sleeps. He arrives at the office between 5 or 6 in the morning and, depending on what’s going on, is here until 6 at night. But there is often laughter coming out of his office. And as driven as he is, I’ve never seen him be short with anyone. He has the patience of a saint.

People find him inspiring – I see the notes that come in after he’s made a speech or met with a group of people. He has attracted such a following of younger folks in Rotary who are inspired to make changes.

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Ed Futa, general secretary, Rotary International

When I started here 11 years ago, I learned to appreciate his leadership style and great talent. What impressed me was his ability to grasp the minutiae of any situation, yet fit it into the broader picture. His most important trait is to make people feel at ease. I see this almost as a necessary trait. Maybe because of his casual, down-home nature, he has the ability to be disarmingly approachable. Rotarians will take to that.