One of the long-standing goals of Rotary International is to wipe out Polio from the globe.

Rotary International 30 Answers

1. The Rotary International theme for 2000-01 is: CREATE AWARENESS AND TAKE ACTION.
2. Frank J. Devlyn of the Rotary Club of Mexico City Anahuac, Mexico, is RI president for 2000-01.
3. President Devlyn has appointed 20 task forces. Their names, mission statements and contact information are listed in the Official Directory and on the president's Web site (www.frankdevlyn.org.
4. Herbert G. Brown of the Rotary Club of Clearwater, Fla., USA, is 2000-01 chairman of the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation of RI. (By the way, do you know which member of your club is its Foundation chair?)
5. Richard D. King of the Rotary Club of Niles (Fremont), Calif., USA, is president-elect of RI.
6. You should know this one. If not, ask your club president or consult the Official Directory.
7. As we go to press, 163 countries are represented in Rotary International.
8. 1905 (23 February was the date), in Chicago.
9. The Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
10. Approximately 29,500. (Obviously, the number fluctuates from month to month.)
11. Approximately 1.2 million.
12. Rotary clubs have been in all of these cities, although there are no clubs in Havana, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) or Beijing at this time.
13. For 1999-2000, Germany gained 16 clubs and 1,035 new Rotarians-the highest net gain in membership for alt Rotary countries. Regionally, Europe/Africa was the membership growth leader. In fact, Europe/Africa was the only part of the world that posted a net gain in the number of members.
14. Global Rotary club membership declined about one percent in 1999-2000, or 12,911 Rotarians. Although worldwide membership in new clubs grew by 14,855, membership in existing clubs dropped by 27,766. In 2000-01, clubs are participating in President Devlyn's 21st Century Challenge, with a goal of adding five new members to every club. Membership retention and growth will also be a major emphases in 2001-02.
15. U.S. $120 million was the original goal, but at the 1988 RI Convention in Philadelphia a grand total of $219,350,449 in contributions and pledges was announced with great fanfare. With subsequent contributions and interest earned, Rotarians have raised more than $400 million for Polio Plus. By 2005, Rotary's financial contributions will amount to $500 million.
16. Since Rotary launched its Polio Plus Program in 1985, the number of annual cases has been reduced by 95 percent. In 1985, 125 countries were polio-endemic. At the beginning of the year 2000, there were only 30 endemic countries, and it is expected that the number will have dropped to 20 by the start of 2001.
17. The target date set by the World Health Organization for final certification-no reported cases of polio for three years-is 2005, Rotary's lOOth anniversary.
18. The next Council on Legislation will meet in April of this year in Chicago. The Council, Rotary's legislative body, meets every three years.
19. True. Attendance may be credited. So you don't have to worry about missing your club meeting if you're in San Antonio for the Rotary "fiesta" from 24-27 June.
20. Barcelona, Spain (23-26 June).
21. The grand sum of-ta da!- $26.50. (It was worth much more then than now-but not that much more.) This was the surplus from the 1918 RI Convention in Kansas City, Mo., USA. Outgoing RI President Arch C. Klumph first suggested the creation of a Rotary "endowment fund," forerunner of the Foundation, at the 1917 RI Convention in Atlanta.
22. At the end of the 1999-2000 Rotary year, total contributions to the Foundation reached U.S. $1.168 billion.
23. The Permanent Fund of The Rotary Foundation is an endowment fund from which only the earnings are spent in support of Foundation programs. Its objective is to provide a supplement to annual Foundation support, thereby providing a minimum level of program activity and facilitating new or expanded programs in the future. At the end of the 1999-2000 fiscal year, the fund totaled $119.9 million, counting both gifts and expectancies. During the past five years, the net assets of the Permanent Fund have increased 161 percent.
24. Avoidable blindness is one of President Devlyn's main emphases for 2000-01. He has appealed to districts worldwide to allocate their unused 2000-2001 SHARE funds (Humanitarian Category) to the Avoidable Blindness Grants Pool, which will provide the Foundation's match for club and district Matching Grants projects that help fight avoidable blindness. For more information on the Avoidable Blindness Initiative, see this month's The Rotary Foundation column on page 56.
25. Club Service, Vocational Service, Community Service and International Service.
26. The Official Directory.
27. Interact refers to Rotary clubsponsored clubs for young people dedicated to service and international understanding. Membership is open to students at the secondary school (ages 14-18) level. Rotaract refers to Rotary club-sponsored clubs for young adults (ages 18-30) for the purpose of developing leaders and service-minded citizens. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a program for young people, intended to develop qualities of leadership, good citizenship and personal development. RYLA programs may be conducted at the club or district level, and most often occur in either a seminar or leadership camp format.
28. July is Literacy Month. September is New Generations Month. October is Vocational Service Month. November is Rotary Foundation Month. January is Rotary Awareness Month. April is Magazine Month.
29. Herbert J. Taylor of Chicago, who served as RI president for 1954-55, created the test for employees of his company. Here are the words: The 4-Way Test of the things we think, say or do: 1) Is it the TRUTH? 2) Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3) Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4)Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
30. No. Rotarians are members of their Rotary club. Only Rotary clubs are members of Rotary International.