Dear Rotarians,
Dear Rotaractors,
We all know the system
Rotary has had since the very beginning: all major roles, like Club
President, Governor, even International President, change once a year.
Only a few key roles are held longer.
The system has several
benefits. The club will have new energetic president every year. In the
best case the club decisions are based on consensus in the comity. In
demanding and free willing work, the effort is limited in time. In very
rare case non-performing person will automatically change to another
person at the end of Rotary year.
Where we need to pay a special
attention is the continuity. If every president will have his or her
super idea and these ideas are not in longer timeline, the club members
will have a major problem to follow and commit to the club. The same
applies to large projects: these projects normally take over a year from
preparation to the end of finalisation. If the persons in charge will
change the results will be average at the best.
In modern world we
all are facing a lot of attractions, requirements and possibilities to
spend our time. If Rotary Club does not have anything else to offer than
a lunch every week and ever-changing projects, I am seriously asking
who is interested about this. What we need is emotional relation to the
club and Rotary. For this I call every club to think what is their DNA,
reason to be, and align their long-term work around these.
Concerning
large projects, it would be important to keep the same team together
from the beginning until the project is finalised. In the Governorrat
Switzerland-Liechtenstein we have taken a decision not to change
governors involved in long term projects even their governor year is
over. I advise every Rotary Club to follow this principle, even if
Rotarian in project team will change club. Common sense is always
welcome.
This was my last Governor letter. I hope you enjoyed
working with me during this Governor year. I personally enjoyed every
meeting, every handshake, every discussion and every dispute we had. I
thank you for your support from deep of my heart. I wish you all good
luck in your projects and your private lives.
Best regards.
Jouni K. Heinonen
Governor 2025-2026
