November began with RI Board of Directors meetings. We had a full agenda and discussed the 2010 Council on Legislation in April.
Upon the conclusion of our meetings, the directors and I flew to New York City to attend the Rotary-UN Day events. Rotary International has had an ongoing relationship with the UN since 1945, and it was a pleasure to participate in this year’s meeting.
By mid-November, my wife, June, and I traveled to Tokyo for the Rotary institute for zones 1, 2, and 3. Then we went to Indonesia to visit several Rotary projects. While in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, we attended the inauguration ceremony of a health care center in an area devastated by the December 2004 tsunami. Rotarians in District 3400 supported the building of this new facility. (Read more about this project.)
Also while in Banda Aceh, we saw other Rotarian-supported projects, such as a microcredit bank and a traveling library bus.
We then continued to Jakarta and ended November by participating in the Rotary institute for zones 6B, 7A, and 10B in Manila, Philippines, which more than 1,200 Rotarians attended.
In December, we joined Rotarians at two additional Rotary institutes -- one held for zones 11-14, 18B, and 19 in Paris and the second for Zone 20B in Istanbul. In between the institutes, we visited Munich, Germany, where I addressed an intercity meeting of Rotarians.
I am continually impressed with the hard work that goes into organizing a large event such as a Rotary institute. I thank the conveners and organizers of these excellent and successful meetings.
As we come to the end of this year, June and I want to take this time to thank the many kind Rotarians we have met along the way. We have been hosted with enthusiasm and warmth and made to feel welcome all over the world. We were supported by the fine RI staff in Evanston and abroad in our Rotary International offices throughout the year. Thank you one and all!
We look forward to returning home to Scotland for the holidays and wish all of you the very best for a happy and healthy new year!