For 115 years Rotary has lived through every disaster, every catastrophe, every calamity that the world has seen.
In the 1930ties it was the great depression. An unprecedented global economic depression.
Many Rotarians lost their fortune and livelihood and they had to make significant changes to continue to keep Rotary alive .
The Great Depression was one of the darkest periods in the world. Yet we received one of the greatest gifts.
In 1932 Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor penned the 4 Way Test.
The power of these 24 words have endured through the years as many generations of Rotarians continue use it as the guiding principles and moral compass in all the things we think, say and do.
And then there was the 2nd world war with its unprecedented destruction and unimaginable human carnage .
While the bombs were still reigning down, Rotarians met in Great Britain to plan for a peaceful world once the fighting was over.
There were 21 countries represented and together they developed the concept of a world body to be used as a forum for the exchange of ideas in culture, education and science . This evolved into the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
1945 at the end of the 2nd World War, Rotary played a pivotal role in the chartering of the United Nations.
Now we face the Corona Virus, an unknown, unseen enemy that has brought the entire world to its feet. Once again, unprecedented as social distancing has become the order of the day.
This is a huge blow to Rotary, an organization that thrives on personal interactions and social gatherings.
Yet once again Rotarians are rising to the challenges as we explore new ways to connect and to be of service.
Through the years we took advantage of the unique opportunities that manifested because of these disasters and each time we left the world a better place.
We will do the same this time around.
This too shall pass and we will tell stories in years to come how we lived through this historic time and how we left the world a better place.
