DG's July Message

With the commencement of July, we usher in the new Rotary year of 2015-2016.  This new year will present challenges we should turn into opportunities, it promises difficulties but also successes and it offers us the platform to do significant things in the world.   I am proud to be a Rotarian.  I am proud of the work that our organization does.   I am proud of our District 7020.

I try to encourage as many persons as I can to join Rotary and I tell them that this organization provides the opportunity to move from a life of “Success”, however that is defined, to a life of “Significance”. I consider that our Rotary motto ‘Service above Self’ means working as hard as one can – not for ‘self, but for others. It means achieving as much as one can to make other people’s lives better. It means looking at our own effort, not in terms of what it costs us, but in terms of what it can give.

For this new Rotary year, RI President K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran has chosen as his theme ‘Be a Gift to the World’.   He encourages  us as Rotarians to use our talents, expertise and leadership to be gifts to the world.  He observes, “ In the end, our worth will be measured not by how much we acquired, but by how much we gave away.”  

My challenge to our beloved District in 2015-2106  is to further move from Success to Significance.  Success represents the accomplishments and accolades we build up for ourselves. Significance represents the lasting accomplishments we attain for others. Significance is the truest spirit of service. Significance is our legacy. It is our gift to the world.  As Rotarians, we’ll be remembered and judged not for how successful we were but for how significant we became.

Carla and I look forward to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you in the upcoming year as we continue to provide Service above Self.   We thank you for all that you do to create lasting legacies in your community.  We encourage you to Be a Gift to the World.  We challenge you to move from Success to Significance.

Felix N. Stubbs

District Governor 2015-2016, District 7020,

Rotary International