As we embark together on our year as Rotary leaders, I ask for your support in making 2009-10 a very successful and fulfilling Rotary year. One of my main objectives is to remind Rotarians of their personal responsibility to Rotary and its ideals, as exemplified by our theme: The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.

We have some ready resources to help us undertake this responsibility. Our roadmap to the future of Rotary is the Rotary International Strategic Plan 2007-10. The plan is made up of seven priorities that Rotarians worldwide determined to be the most important concerns for Rotary in the years ahead. This year, I am asking your club to put the plan into action and, by working together, to ensure that we achieve our goals.

This year’s Presidential Citation program provides a menu of challenging activities related to the first six priorities of the strategic plan. As you will see, these activities also offer opportunities to address each of the four Avenues of Service, as well as my emphases in the areas of health and hunger, literacy, and water. By focusing your efforts within the framework of RI’s strategic plan, your club will also help Rotary succeed in addressing the plan’s seventh and final priority — to fully implement the strategic planning process to ensure continuity as an organization.

To qualify for a citation, your club should complete the membership goal and an activity from three of the six categories as described in this brochure (three activities in total) between 1 July 2009 and 31 March 2010. The scope of the activities should be in proportion to the number of members in your club and their abilities, interests, and skills. Once your club has met this challenge, complete the certification form and submit it to your district governor by 31 March 2010. Governors must submit a list of all Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact clubs that qualify for the citation to RI World Headquarters by 15 April 2010.

I encourage you to use this citation program as your guide for 2009-10. Consider which projects your club will undertake, and work to address real needs in a cooperative, sustainable, and responsible manner. I am confident that by working together in 2009-10 through the strategic plan, we will strengthen our capacity to serve and prepare ourselves for the even greater challenges that lie ahead. The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.

John Kenny