Happy Rotary New Year! It is a great honor and privilege to have been elected to serve as your 2018-2019 President. Thank you for your confidence and for your support as we all work to energize and lead our club through the coming year.
On behalf of the membership, officers and board of trustees, I congratulate our 2017-2018 President Jerold R. Smith on an exceptional Rotary year. Under Jerry’s stewardship our club leadership and membership have become more engaged than ever before. He has also worked hard to prepare the next generation of club leaders so that the Rotary can continue its important mission. Thank you, Jerry, for your dedication, guidance and commitment. We look forward to your continued leadership in this club for many years to come.
Thank you Executive Secretary Sharon Lerch. We ask a lot of Sharon and she always exceeds expectations. We appreciate your dedication to our membership and to our service projects.
Last year, Rotary International adopted a new vision statement: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” We unite, because we know that we are far stronger together than we could ever be alone. We take action, because we are not dreamers, but doers. We work to create lasting change that will endure long after our involvement has ended – across the globe and in our communities. And perhaps most important of all, we work to create change in ourselves – not just building a better world around us but becoming better people ourselves.
Rotary International President Barry Rassin selected the 2018-2019 theme Be the Inspiration. Our club, like many others, has for several years experienced a reduction in membership. Not enough people fully understand who we are and what we offer our members and our community. In order for us to Be the Inspiration and thereby increase membership we need to: clearly define our value proposition; enhance our public image; improve our brand and finally develop a sustainable strategy to both keep and increase membership. I look forward to working with all of you on this. We need all our members to Be the Inspiration to preserve and enhance our club’s impact in Cleveland!
Thank you,
Bryan D. Schauer