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Good Afternoon [Audience: Good Afternoon]
For every Rotary International President RI International Convention is a little bit bittersweet.
It's a time to celebrate what we have achieved in this Rotary year, a time to share what we have
done and what we have learned with others.
It is time to look back and a time to look ahead.
It marks the beginning of a new Rotary year and the end of this one.
For me it will mark the end of my time as President of Rotary International.
This year has been an incredible experience for me.
I have met so many wonderful people and seen so many amazing projects.
I've seen how people all over the world have been inspired by my theme
and have worked together to Make Dreams Real.
But all good things must come to an end.
In a few weeks I will return to my home Korea and President Elect John Kenny will take his new office.
This Rotary year and my time as President will have concluded.
I will carry on my Rotary service in my own club and I hope I will have many more opportunities to serve
but this one great opportunity will be over.
When I look at each of you sitting here today I cannot help but think
of how many opportunities still lie before you.
The friends you will make, the places you will visit,
the ways that you will help and impact on the lives of others.
Some of you have many years of Rotaract ahead of you
and will have the chance to do a great deal through your Rotaract service.
Others of you are nearing the end of your time in Rotaract
but I hope very much that you are only at the very beginning
of a lifetime in the family of Rotary.
For all of you sitting here this is only the beginning,
and if your beginning is any indication of what is to come
[Sound of Rotaract logo falling from podium and laughter from audience]
I for me have a very great hope for you all.
Nothing happened. [Laughter from audience]
Many of the Rotaract projects I have seen have been as good as the best Rotary projects
and carried out with access to fewer resources.
The Rotaract Club of Kololo in Uganda brought free medical exams and health
education to nearly 900 rural residents and planted 300 trees to combat desertification.
The Rotaract Club of Istanbul in Turkey organised and funded construction of a new
municipal water system providing clean water to 250 residents of a rural village.
In India a Rotaract Club in Bangalore brought computer instruction books
and educational opportunity to 750 underprivileged students at two government primary schools.
And in United States, the Rotaract Club of Salt Lake City
organised a concert to raise funds to build 51 clean water wells in a rural district of Cambodia.
These projects and so many others are helping to make dreams real for the worlds children.
They are making real difference in real ways in the lives of so many people.
Because those Rotaractors in Salt Lake City made a decision to plan a concert to raise money
to build wells dozens of families now have clean and safe water.
Their lives are better every day, their children are healthier and they have hope.
Those Rotaractors may never meet the people they helped, and you many never see the result of the work that you do
but that does not make those results any less real or any less important.
Rotaract and Rotary and both based on the same ideas, that many hands make light work
and that fellowship and friendship go naturally with service.
In Rotaract each of you has found fellowship and friendship.
You have found like-minded people with the same values and the same priority that you have.
You have found people who want to help make the world a better place
and they have become your friends.
I hope that each of you will find that the same is true in Rotary.
For myself I noted every year I appreciate Rotary more and more,
it has truly improved my life.
I cannot imagine now what the last four years would have been like without Rotary.
Prehaps it would have been easier,
I certainly would have gotten more sleep [Audience laughs]
but it would never have been as interesting or as much fun.
I ask each of you today not to let your Rotary service end
when your time in Rotaract is over, to not wait for an invitation to visit a Rotary club,
ask for one.
If there is no club where you live ask your sponsoring Rotary Club to help you form a new one
and bring your experience, your enthusiasm and your abilities where they are needed.
If you are new to Rotaract with many years ahead of you
I ask you to devote your time and your energies to making Rotaract strong.
Rotaract is such an important part of Rotary.
You have skills, connections and talent that are needed.
You have your own perspective and your own ideas.
You are much more than just future Rotarians, you are a vital varied part of the entire Rotary family.
I know that for most of you this is your first RI Convention, I hope very much that it will not be your last.
While you are here, remember to take advantage
of how much this convention has to offer.
Talk to your fellow Rotaractors and to Rotarians.
Spend time in the House of Friendship and see what other people are doing.
Perhaps you will find a project that is a good fit for your own club or that gives you inspiration.
Above all remember that the Convention is a way to experience all of Rotary International
in one place at one time.
Make new friends and new connections.
Think about your future because there are so many opportunities before you all
and so much for all of us to do.
I thank you all for helping to Make Dreams Real with me in this Rotary year
and I wish you all a wonderful convention
Thank you.
[Applause to fade]