Wilf Wilkinson was new to the town of Trenton, Ontario, Canada, when he was asked to join the local Rotary club in 1962. At his first club meeting, Wilf realized how lucky he was to have been drawn into a group whose ideals so exactly matched his own.

One of Wilf’s four sons, Peter, says, “Dad’s philosophy is ‘to whom much is given, much is expected.’”

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader. - Dalton McGuinty

“I knew that Wilf was a tremendous leader long before I knew about his ascension within Rotary, or his professional success, or his many contributions to the community,” says Ontario’s premier, Dalton McGuinty. “Someone once said that if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, then you are a leader.”

Wilf’s desire to serve has been the key to his becoming a leader in Rotary. In 1971, he became governor of District 707 (now 7070, covering parts of Ontario), and his rise in the leadership of Rotary International had begun. But he was more interested in changing lives, and he would soon get a chance he had never imagined to do just that.

A turning point

Wilf vividly remembers a visit to southern India in 1982 to help local Rotary clubs promote a measles immunization program. At the time, the disease was killing millions of children on the subcontinent. At a club meeting, he watched as a doctor cradled a crying baby in his arms and administered the vaccine.

“It was a life-changing experience,” Wilf remembers. “I saw the tremendous needs, and the dedication of Rotarians there to solve those needs.”

Before the measles project was over, he had been tapped to apply his skills to another issue. In 1986, Gerry Wooll, then chair of the Canada PolioPlus Committee and past RI treasurer, named him vice chair and treasurer of the PolioPlus program in Canada. The task was daunting: to raise C$10 million from Rotarians across Canada. Less than three years later, they had raised $12 million, and based on that success, he was asked to head up the Canadian advocacy effort that has secured more than US$180 million for PolioPlus from the Canadian government.

Centennial convention chair

To celebrate Rotary’s centennial, nearly 40,000 people came from 200 regions of the world, one of the largest turnouts for any RI Convention. Rotary Foundation Trustee Louis Piconi, who chaired the 2005 Chicago Convention Promotion Committee, credits Wilf, chair of that year's convention committee, with much of that success:

“His sincere appreciation for every level of effort is a characteristic not seen as often as it should. He has the [ability to] endear people all around the world.”

But Wilf’s service extends beyond Rotary. In 2001, in honor of his active commitment to his church, he was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal by Pope John Paul II. Right up to the time he became president-elect of RI, he was executive director of the Quinte Ballet School of Canada, one of the country’s leading dance schools.

A member a year

Though his leadership responsibilities keep him away for long stretches, Wilf manages to remain very involved in his home club, where he continues to serve on the membership committee. Perhaps that explains one of his principal goals for Rotarians this year.

I want Rotarians everywhere to accept the responsibility of bringing in one new member each year and mentoring that person to become a committed Rotarian. - Wilf Wilkinson

“I want Rotarians everywhere to accept the responsibility of bringing in one new member each year and mentoring that person to become a committed Rotarian,” he says.

Wilf deeply believes in the power of one person, one Rotarian, to make a difference.

In fact, the effect Wilf has on leaders and ordinary Rotarians alike makes it hard to be skeptical when he reveals his most daring dream for Rotary: “World peace is possible, and Rotary can help achieve it.”

Impossible? Maybe. But when Wilf Wilkinson says he can make something happen, only a fool bets against him.