April 9 2009
A message from Abraham I. Gordon
Chairman of the Rotary International Fellowship Committee
Have you ever had lunch with Paul Harris? I bet you have.
Rotarian Paul Harris founded his Rotary Club on the simple idea that it is good to share fellowship with others
who, like him, were lonely in a crowded city. That cornerstone of fellowship became the glue which
kept his fellow Rotarians together and which acted as the spark to start doing some community
projects. What a person cannot do effectively alone, he can do together with like minded people. How
better to describe Rotary?
Our many Rotary Fellowships operate in the same way. What we may not be able to do within
our individual Rotary Clubs we can do together where we have a common interest, in our Rotary
Fellowships. All Fellowships meet internationally at the annual Rotary International Convention, this
year in Birmingham, England. But they also meet in various way throughout the year. Our Amateur
Radio operators communicate regularly on the Ham Radio bands, the Flying Rotarians have regional
fly-ins for Rotarians to share fellowship, the Computer Fellowship is in constant communication by
way of the computer and even conducts computer interviews. Each Fellowship shares their Rotary
common spirit in unique ways.
If the Fellowship you belong to is very active, call your leader and say “thanks.” If your
Fellowship is not very active, call your leader and offer to assist in making it more active. If there is an
interest for which there is no Fellowship, offer to start that Fellowship. Most important, be active in
your Fellowship so that you and our fellow Rotarians will be able to have the greatest enjoyment from
Rotary.
Rotary International makes minimal demands of our many Groups. Our real expectation is that
you will meet with other Rotarians who share your common interests and together make your overall
Rotary experience more meaningful.
Past R. I. President Hugh Archer had as his theme, “Enjoy Rotary!” What better way is there to
do this than through our many Rotary Fellowships.
Each time you participate in a Fellowship activity is it as if you were sharing lunch with Paul
Harris. Bon Appetite!
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