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Dear Rotarians,
I count it a great honor to be the Club’s standard-bearer this year, as the 96th member to preside. I have always appreciated the opportunities the Club has offered me to associate with excellent people I would not otherwise meet, and enjoy their insights; to be broadened by listening to our programs on a rich variety of subjects; and to help in service to our community and people in other parts of the world. Preparation for my year as President has given me an opportunity to see the full spectrum of the Club’s activities, and although I have been a member for 35 years, a lot is going on that I knew only a little about. It has been a great pleasure to learn, and I recommend it.
Not many Albuquerque institutions can look back on 94 years of history, as we can, and few of those institutions continue to be as vital and focused on the future as we are. This continuity is one of the aspects of our club that I treasure—even as young as I am, I remember Charlie Lembke, who was President for 1927-1928—and the continuity has always sustained the vigorous work we do to improve things for the future. Our Club took an important role in some truly consequential features of our community—formation of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, the Natural History Museum, and the Childrens’ Fantasy Garden at the BioPark, for example. These accomplishments should continue to inspire us. It is amazing to me that through our own Foundation we have given some $700,000 to charitable work in the community, and that has been only since 1989.
Of course, as Rotarians each of us is part of the great Rotary International movement, through which we participate directly in good work world-wide. An important benefit, in return, is that we can go almost anywhere and the Rotary club there accepts us at once as friends. It is comforting to think about that network, in our tumultuous times.
The guiding principle this year is to continue to keep our meetings so engaging that no member would willingly miss one. Our lunch together each week is at the core of the Club’s life, and even though the Club’s work is largely done in other contexts, it is sustained and strengthened by the interaction we have each Monday noon. To me, an engaging meeting is both informative and fun, and that will be our emphasis.
Rotary’s theme this year is “The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands.” That has always been true, needless to say, and the future will continue to be bright in the hands of Albuquerque Rotary.
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