Highlights of actions taken by the the Rotary International Board of Directors
January 2010 Meeting
The third meeting of the 2009-10 RI Board of Directors was held on 25–29 January 2010 in Evanston, Illinois, USA. At this meeting the Board reviewed reports from 11 committees and recorded 65 decisions.
Club and District Matters
The Board opened Palestine for the extension of Rotary clubs, subject to receipt of a letter of registration from the Palestinian National Authority, and agreed that clubs in Palestine shall be grouped in District 2450.
The Board agreed it would no longer recommend topics for discussion at Rotary institutes, but confirmed that each institute should schedule a status report on PolioPlus until polio is eradicated.
RI Administration
RI General Secretary Ed Futa announced his plan to retire at end of his contract term on 30 June 2011. The Board thanked the general secretary for his friendship, leadership, and stewardship during the past ten years and looks forward to his continued leadership during the coming Rotary year. The Board designated its Executive Committee, plus one Foundation trustee, to begin the search for a new general secretary.
The Board looked with favor on the president-elect’s plan to restructure RI committees. This restructuring included a review of which committees could be discontinued or consolidated to better align with the RI Strategic Plan. It will also cut RI expenses by reducing the total number of committees and their in-person meetings. The Board agreed that Web conferencing (meetings held via Internet technologies) can effectively reduce the costs of international committee meetings, and requested the general secretary to develop criteria and guidelines for RI use of this medium.
RI Programs, Communications, and Awards
The Board received a report on Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge, indicating that as of 18 January 2010, RI received over US$107,280,000 million toward this fundraising goal to eradicate polio.
The Board established a new “Club Builder Award” to recognize Rotarians who have made a significant impact in supporting and strengthening their Rotary clubs. District governors may annually nominate one candidate from their districts for this award.
The Board recommended numerous actions that clubs and districts should take to provide greater Interact program support, including promoting the program through various media (publications, video, social networking), establishing strong relationships through club Interact committees, sharing information about Rotary with Interactors, and inviting Interactors to present at Rotary club and district meetings. The Board further encouraged governors-elect to include sufficient information at their PETS on RI’s youth programs, including where to find resources for starting or strengthening those programs in their own communities. The age of Interact eligibility was lowered from 14 to 12.
The Board requested the president to appoint a committee to study numerous issues concerning Vocational Service, including the adoption of a Rotarian Code of Ethics, the creation of training modules for use at PETS and GETS, and the re-emphasis of the classification system in RI, among other Vocational Service issues.
International Meetings
The Board finalized its budget for the New Orleans convention based on a projected 17,000 registrants, and set a US$300 fee for registrations received by 15 December 2010. The Board also considered its methodology for establishing budgeted attendance at RI conventions and agreed that the general secretary shall consider the suggestions of both the RI Finance Committee and the International Convention Committee (including the local Host Organizing Committee) when recommending to the Board for budgeting purpose the estimated attendance at an RI convention.