Rotary Themes through the Years

Each January, as Rotary district governors-elect convene at the International Assembly for training and fellowship, they can be certain of two things: a lot of take-home reading and the announcement of a new RI theme.

The tradition of crafting a theme is credited to 1949-50 RI President Percy C. Hodgson, who outlined a list of four objectives for his term in office. Among them were the better application of the principles of vocational service and dedication to world understanding and peace through international service programs.

Though Hodgson’s 83-word proclamation ran substantially longer than today’s shorter, punchier themes, Rotarians’ desire to celebrate and support their president’s annual program of service has remained the same. Other early themes include Rotary Is Hope in Action (Joaquin Serratosa Cibils, 1953-54), Kindle the Spark Within (Nitish C. Laharry, 1962-63), and Good Will Begins with You (Ernst G. Breitholtz, 1971-72).

In the decades that followed, RI presidents introduced theme logos, lapel pins, ties, and scarves and in 2019-20 Socks!  Theme ties were introduced in the 1990s, and are now given out yearly. Many have incorporated the theme for the year. The first scarves showing the RI theme were designed by 1998-99 RI President James L. Lacy and his wife, Claudine, Follow Your Rotary Dream.

Theme Logo Rotary Year RI Theme RI President District 5630 Governor
1980-1981	Take Time to Serve 1980-1981 Take Time to Serve Rolf J. Klärich
Rotary Club of Helsinki-Helsingfors
Finland
Dr. Wm. G. Hasemeyer
North Platte
1981-1982	World Understanding and Peace through Rotary 1981-1982 World Understanding and Peace through Rotary Stanley E. McCaffrey
Rotary Club of Stockton
California, USA
Bill Sherwood
Oxford
1982-1983	Mankind Is One — Build Bridges of Friendship throughout the World 1982-1983 Mankind Is One — Build Bridges of Friendship throughout the World Hiroji Mukasa
Rotary Club of Nakatsu
Oita, Japan
Eldon Jasa
Kearney
1983-1984	Share Rotary, Serve People 1983-1984 Share Rotary, Serve People William E. Skelton
Rotary Club of Christiansburg-Blacksburg
Virginia, USA
Edwin Loutzenheiser
Hastings
1984-1985	Discover a New World of Service 1984-1985 Discover a New World of Service Carlos Canseco
Rotary Club of Monterrey
Nuevo León, Mexico
Darrell Peters
Arnold
1985-1986	You Are the Key 1985-1986 You Are the Key Edward F. Cadman
Rotary Club of Wenatchee
Washington, USA
Neal Baxter
North Platte
 1986-1987	Rotary Brings Hope 1986-1987 Rotary Brings Hope M.A.T. Caparas
Rotary Club of Manila
Manila, Philippines
Emmett Jones
McCook
1987-1988	Rotarians — United in Service — Dedicated to Peace 1987-1988 Rotarians — United in Service — Dedicated to Peace Charles C. Keller
Rotary Club of California
Pennsylvania, USA
Al Achterberg
Holdrege
1988-1989	Put Life into Rotary — Your Life 1988-1989 Put Life into Rotary — Your Life Royce Abbey
Rotary Club of Essendon
Victoria, Australia
Cliff Lord
Indianola
1989-1990	Enjoy Rotary! 1989-1990 Enjoy Rotary! Hugh M. Archer
Rotary Club of Dearborn
Michigan, USA
Ken C. Wehrrnan
Arnold
1990-1991	Honor Rotary with Faith and Enthusiasm 1990-1991 Honor Rotary with Faith and Enthusiasm Paulo V.C. Costa
Rotary Club of Santos
São Paulo, Brazil
James W. Biehl
Lexington
1991-1992	Look Beyond Yourself 1991-1992 Look Beyond Yourself Rajendra K. Saboo
Rotary Club of Chandigarh
Union Territory, India
Jack E. Rasmussen
Grand Island
1992-1993	Real Happiness Is Helping Others 1992-1993 Real Happiness Is Helping Others Clifford L. Dochterman
Rotary Club of Moraga
California, USA
Nathan L. Eastman
Kimball
1993-1994  Believe in What You Do — Do What You Believe in 1993-1994 Believe in What You Do — Do What You Believe in Robert Barth
Rotary Club of Aarau
Switzerland
Milton W. Rogers
Chappell
1994-1995	Be a Friend 1994-1995 Be a Friend Bill Huntley
Rotary Club of Alford & Mablethorpe
Lincolnshire, England
Jack R. Knicely
Sidney
1995-1996	Act with Integrity, Serve with Love, Work for Peace 1995-1996 Act with Integrity, Serve with Love, Work for Peace Herbert G. Brown
Rotary Club of Clearwater
Florida, USA
Bevin Bump
Chadron
1996-1997	Build the Future with Action and Vision 1996-1997 Build the Future with Action and Vision Luis Vicente Giay
Rotary Club of Arrecifes
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Bob Phares
North Platte
1997-1998	Show Rotary Cares — for your community, for our world, for its people 1997-1998 Show Rotary Cares — for your community, for our world, for its people Glen W. Kinross
Rotary Club of Hamilton,
Brisbane Queensland, Australia
Melvin H. Gosda
Grand Island
1998-1999	Follow Your Rotary Dream 1998-1999 Follow Your Rotary Dream James L. Lacy
Rotary Club of Cookeville
Tennessee, USA
Karl J. Borden
Kearney Dawn
1999-2000	Rotary 2000: Act with Consistency, Credibility, Continuity 1999-2000 Rotary 2000: Act with Consistency, Credibility, Continuity Carlo Ravizza
Rotary Club of Milano
Sud-Ovest, Italy
David L. Varmette
Chadron
2000-2001	Create Awareness — Take Action 2000-2001 Create Awareness — Take Action Frank J. Devlyn
Rotary Club of Anáhuac
Distrito Federal, Mexico
Jerry Draucker
Ogallala
2001-2002	Mankind Is Our Business 2001-2002 Mankind Is Our Business Richard D. King
Rotary Club of Niles (Fremont)
California, USA
Marcie Schmidt
Minden
2002-2003	Sow the Seeds of Love 2002-2003 Sow the Seeds of Love Bhichai Rattakul
Rotary Club of Dhonburi
Thailand
Diane Finch-Oerter
Arnold
2003-2004	Lend a Hand 2003-2004 Lend a Hand Jonathan B. Majiyagbe
Rotary Club of Kano
Kano State, Nigeria
Mark Mendenhall
North Platte
2004-2005	Celebrate Rotary 2004-2005 Celebrate Rotary Glenn E. Estess Sr.
Rotary Club of Shades Valley
Alabama, USA
Ken Gnadt
Grand Island
2005-2006	Service Above Self 2005-2006 Service Above Self Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar
Rotary Club of Göteborg
Sweden
William E. Ballou
Kearney
2006-2007	Lead the Way 2006-2007 Lead the Way William B. Boyd
Rotary Club of Pakuranga
Auckland, New Zealand
Cloyd Clark
McCook
2007-2008	Rotary Shares 2007-2008 Rotary Shares Wilfrid J. Wilkinson
Rotary Club of Trenton
Ontario, Canada
Robert “Bob” Stetter
Valentine
2008-2009	Make Dreams Real 2008-2009 Make Dreams Real Dong Kurn Lee
Rotary Club of Seoul Hangang
Seoul, Korea
Thomas L. Kraus
Ogallala
2009-2010	The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands 2009-2010 The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands John Kenny
Rotary Club of Grangemouth
Scotland
Dr. James Shreck
North Platte
2010-2011	Building Communities -- Bridging Continents 2010-2011 Building Communities — Bridging Continents Ray Klinginsmith
Rotary Club of Kirksville
Missouri, USA
Dave Snow
St. Paul
2011-2012	Reach Within to Embrace Humanity 2011-2012 Reach Within to Embrace Humanity Kalyan Banerjee
Rotary Club of Vapi
Gujarat, India
Ronald L. Bazata
Kearney
2012-2013	Peace Through Service 2012-2013 Peace Through Service Sakuji Tanaka
Rotary Club of Yashio
Saitama, Japan
Dian Edwards
O’Neill
2013-2014	Engage Rotary Change Lives 2013-2014 Engage Rotary Change Lives Ron D. Burton
Rotary Club of Norman
Oklahoma, USA
Duane Tappe
McCook
RI President-elect Gary C.K. Huang chose Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-15. 2014-2015 Light Up Rotary Gary Huang
Rotary Club of Taipei Taiwan
Taipei, Taiwan
Koby Rickertsen
Gothenburg
Be a Gift to the World 2015-2016 Be a Gift to the World K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran
Rotary Club of Columbo
Sri Lanka
Don Peterson
Kearney Dawn
2016-2017 Rotary Serving Humanity John F. Germ
Rotary Club of Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Tom Mortimer
St. Paul
2017-2018 Rotary: Making A Difference Ian H.S. Riseley
Rotary Club of Sandringham
Victoria, Australia
Jerry Milner
Grand Island Noon
  2018-2019 Be the Inspiration Barry Rassin
Rotary Club of East Nassau
New Providence, Bahamas
Dale Schultz
Hastings Sunrise
2019-2020 Rotary Connects the World Mark Daniel Maloney
Rotary Club of Decatur
Decatur, Alabama USA
Scott McLaughlin
Kearney Dawn
2020-2021 Rotary Opens Opportunities Holger Knack
Rotary Club of Herzogtum
Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany
Bob Taylor
Alma
2021-2022 Serve to Change Lives Shekhar Mehta
Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar
Bob Mayber
North Platte
2022-2023 Imagine Rotary Jennifer Jones
Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland
Deb McCaslin
Broken Bow Area
2023-2024 Create Hope in the World R. Gordon R. McInally
Rotary Club of South Queensferry, Scotland
Glenn Knuth Grand Island Sunrise