Fellow Rotarians of 6510:

Each of us is given many blessings and opportunities every day. Our focus this year is to grow in Rotary. Maybe this means attending a training session for membership or the Foundation. Or maybe you will take advantage of attending this year's District Conference with its free registration for the first time. If you do not attend events outside of your Club you will have a hard time of seeing the power of Rotary.

This year, Rotary International President Kalyan Banerjee has three areas of emphasis. The first one is the "family." This is where everything begins. When was the last time you told your children or a loved one how much you care for them or appreciate them? Strengthening relationships at home will also improve you as an individual. Strengthening your Rotary family relationships will also make your Club a better place and will also attract future members.

The second emphasis is "continuity." We need to find the things that we do well and take them to the next level. Each Rotary Club has outstanding projects it completes each and every year. Continue to do these projects, but think about a way to improve how the projects are done. Build on your successes so that we can help even more people in the future. We need to continue to work for cleaner and safer water, mitigating disease and illness, spreading literacy, working with and for the new generation, and striving for peace.

The last area is on "change." Mohandas Gandhi said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." All of us in Rotary are looking to change the world, for why else would we be Rotarians? We believe that our world can be happier, healthier, and more peaceful. We believe that the future can and will be better than the past. We are idealist and we bring our ideals to life through our Rotary service.

I challenge each of you to think out of the box! I only have two goals for the District this year. The first is to score a touchdown with the District! Each new member that a Club recruits will represent a yard of our goal - 100 net new members will achieve the goal! The second is to improve our awareness about the Foundation. How does the Foundation use the resources that each of us gives? Does your Club take advantage of the opportunities that the Foundation can give to your community? Do you have an idea for helping someone in a different country? How can you use the Foundation to help?

The 2011-12 Rotary theme is Reach within to Embrace Humanity. If each of us looks within ourselves during this Rotary year we will be able to write a number of things in the Book of Good works. The more good work that our Clubs complete the better our world will be. This is what Rotary is all about. I hope you will join me on this year's journey!