Presidents' Themes

Themes pages, on RGHF, originally created by former RGHF member Doug Rudman, USA

In the August 1931 issue of The Rotarian, RI President Sydney W. Pascall of Great Britain wrote an article called "Consolidate, Investigate, Translate." He was the first European to be elected RIP. In his think-piece he talks about the need for RI to be able to communicate with all its members in their own languages. His third paragraph reads as follows: "I have no slogan to suggest, no motto for the year, and Rotary needs no motto other than "Service" - "Service" unqualified, unconditional. "Let him that would be great among you be servant of all"; that is the Rotarian's high aim."

My first response is that there are three great mottos here, (1) Consolidate, Investigate, Translate, (2) Service and (3) Service, Unqualified, Unconditional. Second, he embraces the universal concept of service, and everything else in Rotary is a subset. Doug Rudman

Find this year's Rotary theme at the bottom of this page. Also see the history of the Rotary International - International Assembly "Stone*" Memorial Stone at the Paul Harris Memorial and Presidential Walkway www.paulharrismemorial.org
Rotary Year	RI President/ (Pres- Home Club)	Theme	Theme Graphic
1910 Stone	Paul P. Harris (Chicago, Illinois, USA)	None	None
1910-11	Paul P. Harris Chicago, Illinois, USA)	None	None
1911-12	Paul P. Harris (Chicago, Illinois, USA)	None	None
1912-13 Stone	Glenn C. Mead (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)	None	None
1913-14	Russell F. Greiner (Kansas City, Missouri, USA)	None	None
1914-15	Frank L. Mullholland (Toledo, Ohio, USA)	None	None
1915-16	Allen D. Albert (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA)	None	None
1916-17	Arch C. Klumph (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)	None	None
1917-18	E. Leslie Pidgeon (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)	None	None
1918-19	John Poole (Washington, D.C., USA)	None	None
1919-20 Stone	Albert S. Adams (Atlanta, Georgia, USA)	None	None
1920-21	Estes Snedecor (Portland, Oregon, USA)	None	None
1921-22	Crawford McCullough (Fort William, Ontario, Canada)	None	None
1922-23	Raymond M. Havens (Kansas City, Missouri, USA)	None	None
1923-24	Guy Gundaker (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)	None	None
1924-25	Everett W. Hill (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA)	None	None
1925-26	Donald A. Adams (New Haven, Connecticut, USA)	None	None
1926-27	Harry H. Rogers (San Antonio, Texas, USA)	None	None
1927-28	Arthur H. Sapp (Huntington #300, Indiana, USA)	None	None
1928-29	I. B. Tom Sutton (Tampico, Tamps., Mexico)	None	None
1929-30	M. Eugene Newsom (Durham, North Carolina, USA)	None	None
1930-31	Almon E. Roth (San Francisco, California, USA)	None	None
1931-32	Sydney W. Pascall (London, England)	None	None
1932-33	Clinton P. Anderson (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA)	None	None
1933-34	John Nelson (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)	None	None
1934-35	Robert E. Lee Hill (Columbia, Missouri, USA)	None	None
1935-36	Ed. R. Johnson (Roanoke, Virginia, USA)	None	None
1936-37	Will R. Manier, Jr. (Nashville, Tennessee, USA)	None	None
1937-38	Maurice Duperrey (Paris,, France)	None	None
1938-39	George C. Hager (Chicago, Illinois, USA)	None	None
1939-40	Walter D. Head (Teaneck, New Jersey, USA)	None	None
1940-41	Armando de Arruda Pereira (São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil)	None	None
1941-42	Tom J. Davis (Butte, Montana, USA)	None	None
1942-43	Fernando Carbajal (Lima, Perú)	None	None
1943-44	Charles L. Wheeler (San Francisco, California, USA)	None	None
1944-45	Richard H. Wells (Pocatello, Idaho, USA)	None	None
1945-46	T. A. Warren (Wolverhampton, Staffs, England)	None	None
1946-47	Richard C. Hedke (Detroit, Michigan, USA)	None	None
1947-48	S. Kendrick Guernsey (Jacksonville, Florida, USA)	Enter to Learn, go forth to serve.	None
1948-49	Angus S. Mitchell (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)	None	None
1949-50	Percy Hodgson (Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA)	Objectives of Our Team for 1949-50: 1. Each new member admitted into a Rotary club to be adequately informed about his duties and obligations BEFORE his induction -- properly introduced to the club -- and effectively assimilated into the work of the club during the first year; 2. A better understanding and application of the principles of Vocational Service as set forth in SERVICE IS MY BUSINESS; 3. A contribution to world understanding and peace through an intensification of our international service program; 4. An outstanding district conference in every district.
1950-51	Arthur Lagueux (Quebec, Quebec, Canada)	Goals for 1950-51: 1. In club service we must beget our heirs; 2. in vocational service honesty is still the best policy; 3. In community service we can plan for the future; 4. In international service we must reexamine our world; 5. And finally we can extend the influence of Rotary.
1951-52 Stone	Frank E. Spain (Greensboro (Birmingham), Alabama, USA)	None	None
1952-53	H.J. Brunnier (San Francisco, California, USA)	None	None
1953-54	Joaquin Serratosa Cibils (Montevideo, Uruguay)	Rotary is Hope in Action
1954-55 Stone	Herbert J. Taylor (Chicago, Illinois, USA)	Six Objectives for 1954-55: 1. glean from the past and act; 2. share with others; 3. build with Rotary's 4-Way Test; 4. serving youth; 5. international good will; 6. good Rotarians are good citizens.
1955-56	A. Z. Baker (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)	Develop our Resources
1956-57	Gian Paolo Lang (Livorno, Italy)	3 Targets 1956-57: 1. Keep Rotary simple; 2. More Rotary in Rotarians; 3. Learn More About Each Other
1957-58	Charles G. Tennent (Asheville, North Carolina, USA)	Enlist-Extend-Explore-Serve
1958-59	Clifford A. Randall (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA)	Help Shape the Future
1959-60	Harold T. Thomas (Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand)	Vislize! Personalize! Build Bridges of Friendship
1960-61	J. Edd McLaughlin (Ralls, Texas, USA)	You are Rotary -- Live It! Express It! Expand It!
1961-62	Joseph A. Abey (Reading #88, Pennsylvania, USA)	Act Aim for Action Communicate for Understanding Test for Leadership
1962-63	Nitish C. Laharry (Calcutta, India)	Kindle the Spark Within
1963-64 Stone	Carl P. Miller (Honolulu, Hawaii, USA)	Meeting Rotary's Challenge in the Space Age
1964-65	Charles W. Pettengill (Greenwich, Connecticut, USA)	Live Rotary
1965-66	C. P. H. Teenstra (Hilversum, The Netherlands)	Action, Consolidation and Continuity
1966-67	Richard L. Evans (Salt Lake City,, Utah, USA)	A Better World Through Rotary
1967-68	Luther H. Hodges (Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA)	Make Your Rotary Membership Effective
1968-69 Stone	Kiyoshi Togasaki (Tokyo, Japan)	Participate!
1969-70	James F. Conway (Sun City, Arizona, USA)	Review and Renew
1970-71	William E. Walk (Upland, California, USA)	Bridge the Gaps
1971-72	Ernst G. Breitholtz (Nybro, Sweden)	Good Will Begins With You
1972-73	Roy D. Hickman (Birmingham, Alabama, USA)	Let's Take a New Look -- And Act
1973-74	William C. Carter (Old Windsor, Berkshire, England) Member: RC of Battersea, London	A Time for Action
1974-75 Stone	William R. Robbins (Miami, Florida, USA)	Renew the Spirit of Rotary
1975-76	Ernesto Imbassahy de Mello (Rio de Janeiro, RdJ, Brazil)	To Dignify the Human Being
1976-77	Robert Manchester II (Youngstown, Ohio, USA)	I Believe in Rotary
1977-78	W. Jack Davis (Hamilton, Bermuda)	Serve to Unite Mankind
1978-79	Clem Renouf (Nambour, Queensland, Australia)	Reach Out
1979-80 Stone	James L. Bomar, Jr. (Shelbyville, Tennessee, USA)	Let Service Light the Way
1980-81	Rolf Klärich (Helsinki, Finland)	Take Time to Serve
1981-82	Stanley E. McCaffrey (Moraga, California, USA)	World Understanding and Peace Through Rotary
1982-83	Hiroji Mukasa (Nakatsu, Oita, Japan)	Mankind is One -- Build Bridges of Friendship Throughout the World
1983-84	William E. Skelton (Blacksburg, Virginia, USA)	Share Rotary -- Serve People
1984-85	Carlos Canseco (Garza Garcia NL, México)	Discover a New World of Service
1985-86	Edward F. Cadman (Wenatchee, Washington, USA)	You are the Key
1986-87	M. A. T. Caparas (Manila, Philippines)	Rotary Brings Hope
1987-88	Charles C. Keller (California, Pennsylvania, USA)	Rotarians -- United in Service- Dedicated to Peace
1988-89	Royce Abbey (Melbourne, Vic. Australia)	Put Life into Rotary -- Your Life
1989-90	Hugh M. Archer (Dearborn, Michigan, USA)	Enjoy Rotary!
1990-91	Paulo V. C. Costa (Santos, São Paulo, Brazil)	Honor Rotary with Faith and Enthusiasm
1991-92 Stone	Rajendra K. Saboo (Chandigarh, India)	Look Beyond Yourself
1992-93	Clifford L. Dochterman (Moraga, California, USA)	Real Happiness is Helping Others
1993-94	Robert R. Barth (Aarau, Switzerland)	Believe in What You Do -- Do What You Believe in
1994-95 Stone	William H. Huntley (Alford & Mablethorpe, Lincs., England)	Be a Friend
1995-96	Herbert G. Brown (Clearwater, Florida, USA)	Act with Integrity Serve with Love Work for Peace
1996-97	Luis Vicente Giay (Arrecifes, Bs., As., Argentina)	Build the Future with Action and Vision
1997-98	Glen W. Kinross (Hamilton, Qld, Australia)	Show Rotary Cares for your community for our world for its people
1998-99	James L. Lacy (Cookeville, Tennessee, USA)	Follow Your Rotary Dream
1999-00	Carlo Ravizza (Milan, Italy)	Rotary 2000: Act with Consistency, Credibility, Continuity
2000-01 Stone	Frank J. Devlyn (Anáhuac in Mexico City, Mexico)	Create Awareness Take Action
2001-02	Richard D. King (Niles in Fremont, California, USA)	Mankind is Our Business
2002-03	Bhichai Rattakul (Dhonburi in Bangkok, Thailand)	Sow the Seeds of Love
2003-04	Jonathan B. Majiyagbe (Kano, Kano State, Nigeria)	Lend a Hand
2004-05	Glenn E. Estess, Sr. (Shades Valley, Ala., USA)	Celebrate Rotary
2005-06	Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar (Göteborg, Sweden)	Service Above Self
2006-07	William Boyd Pakuranga, New Zealand	Lead the Way
2007-08	Wilfrid J. Wilkinson Trenton, Ontario, Canada	Rotary Shares
2008-09	Dong Kurn Lee (Seoul, Korea)	Make Dreams Real
2009-10	John Kenny Grangemouth, Central, Scotland	The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands
2010-11	Ray Klinginsmith Kirksville, Missouri, USA	Building Communities -- Bridging Continents
2011-12	Kalyan Banerjee Vapi, Gujarat, India	Reach Within to Embrace Humanity
2012-13	Sakuji Tanaka Yashio, Saitama, Japan	Peace Through Service
2013-14	Ron Burton Norman, Ok, USA	Engage Rotary, Change Lives
2014-15	GARY C.K. HUANG* Taipei, Taiwan	Light up Rotary
2015-16	K.R. (Ravi) Ravindran Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka
2016-17	John F. Germ Chattanooga, Tennessee USA
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
Themes pages, on RGHF, originally created by former RGHF member Doug Rudman, USA In the August 1931 issue of The Rotarian, RI President Sydney W. Pascall of Great Britain wrote an article called "Consolidate, Investigate, Translate." He was the first European to be elected RIP. In his think-piece he talks about the need for RI to be able to communicate with all its members in their own languages. His third paragraph reads as follows: "I have no slogan to suggest, no motto for the year, and Rotary needs no motto other than "Service" - "Service" unqualified, unconditional. "Let him that would be great among you be servant of all"; that is the Rotarian's high aim." My first response is that there are three great mottos here, (1) Consolidate, Investigate, Translate, (2) Service and (3) Service, Unqualified, Unconditional. Second, he embraces the universal concept of service, and everything else in Rotary is a subset. Doug Rudman