Sugar House Rotary - Message from President

Last night, Thursday June 30th, 2011 officially closed our 75th birthday year. Father Time, in his relentless march, has moved on. We have enjoyed our victory celebrations; delighted in satisfaction for our clubs prior accomplishments; and basked in the achievements of our predecessors. We truly stand on the shoulders of giants.

But now it is our time. Today, we turn our face to the future and begin the grueling work of creating our own successes, that twenty five years hence at Sugar House Rotary Clubs’ 100th Birthday Party we will celebrate with the same sense of wonder and pride at our own achievements as we felt toward those who preceded us.

But, how will we do this? The rocky road of history is littered with corpses of organizations which did not last 100 years. During 2011, for example, Readers Digest, once the most widely read magazine in the world, will close its’ doors forever. Blockbuster Video, only recently a national leader in video rental is bankrupt and being dissolved. Radio Shack, founded in 1921, will probably succumb this year, not having made it to 100 years. Finally, a favorite breakfast cereal of my youth, Corn Pops, will disappear in 2011.

At our District Conference, the key note speaker made this cogent observation: "If the culture outside the organization is changing faster than the culture inside the organization, THE END IS IN SIGHT". This year I have attended four Rotary Leadership events: Pets, District Assembly, District Conference, and the International Convention. The prevailing theme at all four of them was that the culture outside of Rotary is changing rapidly; for us to survive we must adapt to those changes within Rotary.

I pledge to each club member my unwavering determination and boundless enthusiasm to insure that during this year the club sets sail and charts a course that will take us boldly into the future. We will embrace those changes which will strengthen Rotary and ensure our survival for a minimum of another 25 years. I want to be there at our 100th birthday party and celebrate with the same enthusiasm we celebrated this year. I ask the club to join me in this quest for success, as I strive with all of the energy I possess to provide the leadership that will take us to new destinations.

Yours in Rotary,

Ennis J Gibbs
President 2011-2012

Rotary Club of Sugar House