Lead the Way

Bill Boyd, Rotary International President, 2006-07 2006-07 Theme Logo

Rotary International's incoming president, William B. Boyd, has chosen Lead the Way as the theme for the 2006–07 Rotary year.

"This will be my theme and an affirmation of my belief in the power of Rotarians to change the world, one positive act at a time," he told incoming district governors at the International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA, on 17 February.

Every year at the assembly, Rotary's incoming president unveils a theme for the next Rotary year. The current theme under RI President Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar is Service Above Self, the same as Rotary's longtime motto.

The challenge of finding a theme is that it must be short, inspirational, and translatable. Boyd doesn't remember the moment Lead the Way popped into his head. All he knows it that "it just felt right."

Since the governors-elect attend the International Assembly to learn more about becoming successful leaders in their districts, Boyd's theme was especially pertinent to the audience.

"In the coming year, I ask each of you to take your places as leaders in your districts and your communities," Boyd told the incoming governors. "I ask each of you to lead in the Rotary way, by living as role models of tolerance, unselfishness, and integrity. And because the best leaders have humility, I ask you to do all of this with friendliness and a smile, so that others will be happy to walk beside you."

Boyd concluded by saying, "As Rotarians, we are not content to let matters stay the way they have always been in our clubs or in our communities. We are not content with the status quo, and we do not look at a problem only to say someone else will solve it. We are the ones who ask, 'Why not us?' We are the ones with the skills and the desire to build a better future. And we are the ones who must Lead the Way."

Rotarians wrap up International Assembly Training

Read additional articles and view a photographic slide show from the International Assembly.