RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson arriving at the Rotary membership conference in Delhi, India.
November 2007
As the month of October ended, the RI Board meetings began. These
meetings, which concluded Friday, 2 November, were productive thanks to
the effective work of the board committees and the excellent support
provided by RI staff. I won’t outline the results of our deliberations,
as they can be found in the highlights of the board decisions, but I
would comment that while every director worked very hard, there was
time for fellowship and fun thanks to our self-financed Board
Hospitality Committee.
As the month of October ended, the RI Board meetings began. These
meetings, which concluded Friday, 2 November, were productive thanks to
the effective work of the board committees and the excellent support
provided by RI staff. I won’t outline the results of our deliberations,
as they can be found in the highlights of the board decisions,
but I would comment that while every director worked very hard, there
was time for fellowship and fun thanks to our self-financed Board
Hospitality Committee.
The board finished its work just a few hours early on 2 November,
thus allowing the members attending the annual UN Day in New York an
opportunity to catch their planes. The UN Day was another smashing
success with great crowds, guest speakers, and some excellent
question-and-answer sessions. More than 1,300 Rotarians, UN officials,
Interactors, and Rotaractors from 48 countries attended the event. The
place was filled to capacity, and I was particularly delighted by the
Rotaractors’ turnout.
By 5 November we were in Toronto, where I met with Rotarian Vince
Walter, who told me about the great success he is having regarding
Computer Assisted Literacy. I also met the founder of the Right to Play
Foundation, and I learned a lot about their work.
Later that day, I addressed the attendees at the annual Terry Fox
Foundation luncheon in the downtown Toronto Sheraton Hotel. At the
luncheon, I witnessed three wonderful people being installed as members
of that foundation, which has done so much to raise the profile of
those living with serious disabilities.
Afterwards, my wife, Joan, and I flew to Rome. It was our first
visit back since we attended the 1979 RI Convention there. Everything
seemed to have improved, particularly the shining airport. We attended
a multiclub dinner on 6 November. The next day, I had the great honor
of meeting Pope Benedict XVI, and conferred the RI Award of Honor on
him for his efforts to improve relationships between Muslims and
Christians. I won’t soon forget this significant event. I thank all of
the Rome Rotarians for arranging the papal audience.
The next day, it was my turn to be honored by the government of
Italy. At the office of Giorgio Napolitano, Italy’s president, he
conferred on me L' Ordine al Merito della Repubblica ItalianaGrande Ufficiale
(rank of Grand Officer). After that, it was a quick flight to Sorrento,
Italy, to be with many of the RI directors as we gathered to attend the
governors-elect training seminar and the Rotary Zones 11-13 Institute,
the zones represented by directors Raffaele Pallota d’Acquapendente and
Bernard L. Rosen. (The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic),
Sorrento
is a beautiful place and a perfect setting for the Rotary institute.
The program and leaders were first class, and the food and
entertainment were superb. It was hard to leave, but on 12 November we
flew to Washington, D.C., where the following day we had breakfast,
lunch, and dinner with Rotarians from the many Washington, D.C., area
clubs. Dinner was a spectacular event held at the beautiful Canadian
embassy building. It was here that the Canadian ambassador, Michael
Wilson, became an honorary member of the Washington, D.C., Rotary club.
On 14 November, Joan and I attended a Rotary Foundation dinner in
Mansfield, Massachusetts. It was a gala affair with nearly 1,000
persons in attendance! It was great to see some of the fall colors,
which were on display when we flew the next morning from Providence,
Rhode Island, to Chicago.
Back in Chicago, it was not my desk in Evanston that I got to see
this time. Rather, I went directly to the Marriott Hotel to attend the
Service Club Leaders meeting, which was sponsored by Rotary
International and Zonta International. It was a good meeting, with 17
international service club representatives in attendance. We exchanged
views on a number of issues and shared data on a host of matters.
On Saturday, 17 November, it was a long flight from Chicago to Tokyo
in order to attend a zone meeting that included clubs from four zones.
The hospitality and the institute were excellent, and the fellowship
was great. It was a large institute, and both the program and the
discussions were stimulating. It was a high point and a fine tribute to
RI directors Yoshimasa Watanabe and Kazuhiko Ozawa that 17 past RI
directors attended. Rotary Foundation Chair Robert S. Scott also
attended, giving a truly Canadian flavor to the meeting. The venue at
the Meridien Grand Pacific Hotel was a real dream. They had the most
courteous staff and made it a real joy to visit!
It was hard to leave the hospitality of Japan, but on Monday, 26
November, we flew to Kuala Lumpur to another Rotary institute. Neither
Joan nor I had ever visited Malaysia, but it did not take long for us
to find out what a dynamic place it is. Things started fast with an
interclub meeting that saw many sister clubs from South Asia in
attendance. There was a training leaders’ refresher course followed by
GETS, governors-nominee training seminar, a district trainers’ training
seminar, and a Rotary Foundation seminar, which was followed by the
Rotary zones 4B, 6B, and 7B Kuala Lumpur Institute. This packed program
included an opening banquet attended by King Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin
of Malaysia, who officially opened the program. On the second day, the
crown prince delivered a speech titled Globalization, A Humanitarian Challenge.
The last week of November has been historic, starting with the announcement of the US$100 million challenge grant
from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and ending with a visit with
former Malaysian prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir, who had the vision to
promote the 88-story Petronas Twin Towers. It was there that the GETS
graduation dinner was held. During my discussion with the former prime
minister, he outlined his position on the criminality of war, and I
explained what Rotary was doing for peace.
It was another great week and wonderful month, and sets the stage
for our third visit to India this calendar year. December looks like
another busy month, and we look forward to sharing it with you.