RI President 2010-2011 : Rtn.Ray Klinginsmith

Rtn. Ray Klinginsmith, of the Rotary Club of Kirksville, Missouri, USA, is The President of Rotary International for 2010-11. He was elected to the post at 2009 RI Convention in Birmingham, England.

Accepting the post in 2009, Klinginsmith thanked the audience, saying that his election completed a long Rotary journey of nearly 50 years that began with a Rotary Foundatino Ambassadorial Scholarship.

It is to be noted that the RI President did start his world tour from Madurai, addressing all members of RI District 3000 on 29th March 2010.

This years RI theme is Building Communities -- Bridging Continents. Klinginsmith says he arrived at the theme after reviewing RI themes of years past. He noticed that only a few spoke to non-Rotarians. As a result, he search for a briefly stated theme that would fulfill two objectives: the first to explain Rotary to non-Rotarians, and the second to validate our work for Rotarians.

Rotary lives and breathes in our 33,000 clubs, and it is the clubs that improve lives by Building Communities – Bridging Continents. If we succeed in helping clubs to become Bigger, Better, and Bolder in the next year, then it will be clear that the best days of Rotary are still ahead.

We are fortunate to be Rotarians! Together, we can make the world a better place!