Good deeds never need advertising. . . . If the public needs to be educated as to Rotary, let that education come from what we do and not from what we say of ourselves.. — Paul Harris
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT FOR 2008-09

R.I. President Wilf Wilkinson has said: "Rotary is uniquely privileged to be a well established, religiously and politically neutral organization with no governmental ties or obligations. We are known and respected as a group of men and women who simply come to help by bringing clean water and food, teaching literacy and numeracy, providing assistance after a disaster, ending polio." Isn't it great to belong to such a group! And it's great to belong to Rotary 21, a group who does so much in our community and around the world as well! An even greater honor is to be the President of such an organization as Rotary 21! I am keenly aware of the long line of former Presidents and the leadership they have provided and am humbled to be in their midst.

The work that we support through our gifts to the R.I. Foundation and RCS Inc., and the Spokane Rotary Foundation, as Jason Miller reminded us recently, is tremendously important. Your generosity always amazes me. The support of the Market Children and the work of our committees brings a great deal of good to Spokane and our world. It is amazing what we can accomplish as we work together.

As you may recall, my sister had polio as a child. She was 8 years old and was helped by the Sister Kenny Treatment and aggressive physical therapy. She suffers still with post-polio syndrome, a constant reminder of how devastating the results of the illness. Her difficulties are modest compared with the crippling of many and the loss of life of still others. But ending polio is very important to me personally as it is, I am sure, in varying degrees, to all you. On my birthday this year, I made a contribution to the R.I. Polio Eradication Fund, to help toward that end. As your birthday comes around this Rotary year, I hope you will honor your birthday with a gift to the fund as well.

We will begin this year to work toward the celebration of the Centennial of Rotary 21. There is much to celebrate as we remember all that has happened because of Rotary 21 and the clubs that we have sponsored in the area. We can be proud of what we and those who have gone before us have accomplished. Even as we remember that if you're sitting on your laurels, you're wearing them in the wrong place! So we look to the here and now and the future to the even greater good we will be able to do together.... and the fun we'll have in the process. Here's to a great and fun year!

Homer Todd
Website design and development by Spokane design company, Design Spike, Inc., Spokane, Washington