New RI President William B. Boyd is encouraging Rotarians to Lead the Way in the 2006-07 Rotary year, calling his choice for the RI theme "an affirmation of my belief in the power of Rotarians to change the world, one positive act at a time."

1 July 2006

Boyd, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Pakuranga, Auckland, New Zealand, stresses sustainability in Rotary projects. "As Rotarians, we understand the truth of the old saying that when you give a person a fish, you feed him for a day; when you teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime," he told incoming district governors at the International Assembly in February.

Boyd has selected water as his first emphasis. "Without clean water, little else is possible. If you are thirsty, nothing else matters," he says.

Citing high childhood mortality rates caused by illness and malnutrition, Boyd has chosen health and hunger as his second emphasis. " Without food, there is no health," he says. "And without health, there is no hope."

His third emphasis, literacy, is fitting for Boyd, who used to work in his family's bookstore. He sees literacy as "the escape hatch from the cycle of poverty" and a natural complement to his emphases on water and health and hunger. "Literacy enables communities to take care of their water resources, address their own health and hunger issues, and teach the next generation," he says.

Given Rotary's need to think about the future, Boyd is also emphasizing the family of Rotary, which he says includes Rotaractors, Interactors, Rotary Youth Exchange students, Inner Wheel club members, Rotary Foundation alumni, and Rotarians' families.

"We are the ones who must Lead the Way," Boyd told 2006-07 district governors at the International Assembly.

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