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have officially included Rotaractors on several committees, and during our term, I will
begin to assign a select group of Rotaractors as president’s representatives.

President Shekhar [Mehta] launched our Empowering Girls initiative last year, and it
has resonated around the world. We will continue this bold effort, recognizing that
empowered girls become empowered women.

We have less than a year and a half to achieve the board-set target of 30% women in
Rotary. We’ve come a long way, and already more than 110 countries have achieved this
goal. That said, we have a long way to go — and 30% is the next stop on the way to 50%.
And you know, our members in Rotaract have already achieved this distinction.

Speaking of embracing the different and unique, new clubs — and especially new club
models — are vital to growing Rotary. I need your help with this, and I am asking each
of you to help form at least two new innovative or cause-based clubs during your term
as governor.

Then, and perhaps most importantly, instill in them, and your existing clubs too, our
comfort-and-care philosophy. Let’s make sure we engage our members so they love their
clubs and their Rotary experience.

While we work to innovate Rotary from within, we’re going to also place a special
emphasis on raising Rotary’s profile in the world, holding a global impact tour that
celebrates our achievements.

We’re going to actively connect with thought leaders and world leaders in dialogue
about how we can work together to address the world’s most pressing challenges.

Rotary opens these doors, and we need to harness our connections to deepen these
relationships and create new partnerships. And the best part is, this can happen at
every level of leadership.
We all feel the impact that Rotary service and Rotary values have on us. Now it’s our
opportunity to share that feeling with others.

I remember attending a Rotary meeting in Korea. And while I didn’t understand the
language, there was this wonderful moment when they started speaking in unison. It
was clear from the staccato rhythm that they were reciting The Four-Way Test.

I felt comfort in that moment — the kind of comfort that comes from familiarity. Our
core values, our traditions, our heritage — these are powerful things that we hold true
yet build upon, as we imagine how we can be so much more.

Fifty years ago, an anthem was recorded that included this beautiful line:

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one.

I hear that lyric as a call to action. We all have dreams, but acting on them is a choice.
And when organizations like ours dream big things like ending polio and creating peace,
it becomes our responsibility to make these dreams a reality.

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