The Rotary Club of Nelsonville is an organization of business and professional leaders united to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. In more than 160 countries worldwide, approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 30,000 Rotary clubs.

The Nelsonville Rotary Club's membership represents a cross-section of the community's business and professional men and women. The club meets at noon on Wednesdays at the Rocky Outdoor Gear Store. The meetings are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.

Building Communities -- Bridging Continents, the 2010-2011 Rotary International theme, was announced at the most recent opening plenary session of the International Assembly. This theme differs from many of the others in the past, as it addresses both Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike.

The following is taken from an article at the Rotary International website covering president elect Ray Klinginsmith's unveiling of the 2010/2011 theme:


Klinginsmith said he arrived at the theme after reviewing RI themes of years past. He noticed that only a few spoke to non-Rotarians.

"As a result, I decided to search for a briefly stated theme that would fulfill two objectives: the first to explain Rotary to non-Rotarians, and the second to validate our work for Rotarians," he said. "The words I have selected to describe Rotary's current mission and to highlight our achievements are what we do best: Building Communities -- Bridging Continents."

The president-elect described how his 50 years of Rotary experience have contributed to his focus on communities at home and abroad. For example, as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar, he studied for a year in South Africa, becoming the first student from his small town of Unionville, Missouri, USA, to study abroad.

For more information, this article in its entirety can be found here.