Rotary Themes though 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.
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.
** The long history of a Rotary International President launching a theme for their presidential year is going away in 2025-2026. This decision was made by the RI Board of Directors at their October 2023 Meeting. (Read the details of decisions from that meeting here.)
Theme Logo | Rotary Year | RI Theme | Rotary International President | District Governor |
| 1980-1981 | Take Time to Serve | Rolf J. Klärich Rotary Club of Helsinki-Helsingfors Finland | 549: John F. Prince, Phoenix ‘100’ |
 | 1981-1982 | World Understanding and Peace through Rotary | Stanley E. McCaffrey Rotary Club of Stockton California, USA | 549: Leyton Woolf, Sun City |
 | 1982-1983 | Mankind Is One — Build Bridges of Friendship throughout the World | Hiroji Mukasa Rotary Club of Nakatsu Oita, Japan | 549: W.W. Smith, Prescott |
 | 1983-1984 | Share Rotary, Serve People | William E. Skelton Rotary Club of Christiansburg-Blacksburg Virginia, USA | 549: Richard S. Young, Paradise Valley |
 | 1984-1985 | Discover a New World of Service | Carlos Canseco Rotary Club of Monterrey Nuevo León, Mexico | 549: John O. McFalls, Jr., Estrella |
 | 1985-1986 | You Are the Key | Edward F. Cadman Rotary Club of Wenatchee Washington, USA | 549: Robert F. Cuthbertson, Phoenix Camelback |
| 1986-1987 | Rotary Brings Hope | M.A.T. Caparas Rotary Club of Manila Manila, Philippines | 549: John H. Van Houten, Phoenix Midtown |
 | 1987-1988 | Rotarians — United in Service — Dedicated to Peace | Charles C. Keller Rotary Club of California Pennsylvania, USA | 549: David L. Cocanower, Phoenix East |
| 1988-1989 | Put Life into Rotary — Your Life | Royce Abbey Rotary Club of Essendon Victoria, Australia | 549: Charles L. Pfeiffer, Prescott Frontier |
 | 1989-1990 | Enjoy Rotary! | Hugh M. Archer Rotary Club of Dearborn Michigan, USA | 549: John E. Miller, Jr., Scottsdale |
 | 1990-1991 | Honor Rotary with Faith and Enthusiasm | Paulo V.C. Costa Rotary Club of Santos São Paulo, Brazil | 5490: James R. Freeman, Phoenix South Mountain 5510: Rodger W. Wagner, Scottsdale |
 | 1991-1992 | Look Beyond Yourself | Rajendra K. Saboo Rotary Club of Chandigarh Union Territory, India | 5490: Ronald J. Roderique, Phoenix Midtown 5510: William H ‘Bill’ Schack, Tempe East |
 | 1992-1993 | Real Happiness Is Helping Others | Clifford L. Dochterman Rotary Club of Moraga California, USA | 5490: David Wastchak, Phoenix ‘100’ 5510: Roger O. Bonngard, Chandler Horizon |
 | 1993-1994 | Believe in What You Do — Do What You Believe in | Robert Barth Rotary Club of Aarau Switzerland | 5490: Carl G. Paetz, Jr., North Phoenix 5510: William E. ‘Bill’ Decker, Page |
| 1994-1995 | Be a Friend | Bill Huntley Rotary Club of Alford & Mablethorpe Lincolnshire, England | 5490: Timothy Creedon, Phoenix ‘100’ 5510: Frank M. Crane, PhD, Tempe |
 | 1995-1996 | Act with Integrity, Serve with Love, Work for Peace | Herbert G. Brown Rotary Club of Clearwater Florida, USA | 5490: Raymond P. Myrvold, Sedona Mid-day 5510: Mel Taunt, Show Low |
 | 1996-1997 | Build the Future with Action and Vision | Luis Vicente Giay Rotary Club of Arrecifes Buenos Aires, Argentina | 5490: William C. Porter, Kingman 5510: Howard Powers, Phoenix East |
 | 1997-1998 | Show Rotary Cares — for your community, for our world, for its people | Glen W. Kinross Rotary Club of Hamilton, Brisbane Queensland, Australia | 5490: Raymond D. Meighan, Prescott Valley 5510: Norma Taylor, Phoenix Arcadia |
 | 1998-1999 | Follow Your Rotary Dream | James L. Lacy Rotary Club of Cookeville Tennessee, USA | 5490: Robert R. Whiteaker, North Phoenix 5510: Arthur R. Harrington, Springerville |
 | 1999-2000 | Rotary 2000: Act with Consistency, Credibility, Continuity | Carlo Ravizza Rotary Club of Milano Sud-Ovest, Italy | 5490: George C. Wheeler, Sun City West 5510: Joseph L Goldblatt, Tempe South |
 | 2000-2001 | Create Awareness — Take Action | Frank J. Devlyn Rotary Club of Anáhuac Distrito Federal, Mexico | 5490: William E. Snedecor, London Bridge 5510: Ben C. Eubank, Tempe Rio Salado |
 | 2001-2002 | Mankind Is Our Business | Richard D. King Rotary Club of Niles (Fremont) California, USA | 5490: Richard L. Frank, Phoenix Thunderbird 5510: Barb Feder, Tempe |
 | 2002-2003 | Sow the Seeds of Love | Bhichai Rattakul Rotary Club of Dhonburi Thailand | 5490: Martin Feldman, North West Valley Sunset 5510: Michael D. Purcell, Flagstaff Sunrise |
| 2003-2004 | Lend a Hand | Jonathan B. Majiyagbe Rotary Club of Kano Kano State, Nigeria | 5490: Don Schiller, Prescott Sun Up 5510: Greg Podd, Phoenix Camelback |
 | 2004-2005 | Celebrate Rotary | Glenn E. Estess Sr. Rotary Club of Shades Valley Alabama, USA | 5490: Gary McEachern, Goodyear White Tanks 5510: Gary L Whiting, Sun Lakes |
 | 2005-2006 | Service Above Self | Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar Rotary Club of Göteborg Sweden | 5490: Wilma Basnett-Emerson, Phoenix West 5510: Lucinda Pyne Rose, Mesa West |
 | 2006-2007 | Lead the Way | William B. Boyd Rotary Club of Pakuranga Auckland, New Zealand | 5490: Marian Gill, Goodyear White Tanks 5510: Donald Kelley, Tempe South |
 | 2007-2008 | Rotary Shares | Wilfrid J. Wilkinson Rotary Club of Trenton Ontario, Canada | 5490: John C. King, Phoenix ‘100’ 5510: Tom Burns, Chandler |
 | 2008-2009 | Make Dreams Real | Dong Kurn Lee Rotary Club of Seoul Hangang Seoul, Korea | 5490: Charlie Tegarden, Kingman Route 66 5510: Don LaBarge, Mesa West |
 | 2009-2010 | The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands | John Kenny Rotary Club of Grangemouth Scotland | 5490: Jeanie Morgan, London Bridge 5510: Kenneth Oakes, Ahwatukee Foothills |
 | 2010-2011 | Building Communities — Bridging Continents | Ray Klinginsmith Rotary Club of Kirksville Missouri, USA | 5490: Jim Green, Sun City 5510: Glenn W. Smith, Rim County-Payson |
 | 2011-2012 | Reach Within to Embrace Humanity | Kalyan Banerjee Rotary Club of Vapi Gujarat, India | 5490: Sara Jane Feldman, Goodyear White Tanks 5510: Alan Havir, Paradise Valley |
| 2012-2013 | Peace Through Service | Sakuji Tanaka Rotary Club of Yashio Saitama, Japan | 5490: R.Craig Wilson, Phoenix ‘100’ 5510: Abe Feder, Tempe South |
| 2013-2014 | Engage Rotary Change Lives | Ron D. Burton Rotary Club of Norman Oklahoma, USA | 5490: Duce Minor, Parker 5510: Jay Jones, Superstition Mountain |
 | 2014-2015 | Light Up Rotary | Gary Huang Rotary Club of Taipei Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan | 5490: Chuck Fitzgerald, Peoria 5510: John E. Pennypacker, Jr., Mesa Sunrise |
 | 2015-2016 | Be a Gift to the World | K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran Rotary Club of Columbo Sri Lanka | 5490: Paul Pulicken, Surprise 5510: Sherry Mischel, Scottsdale North |
 | 2016-2017 | Rotary Serving Humanity | John F. Germ Rotary Club of Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee | 5490: Dan W. Messersmith, Kingman Route 66 5510: Tonya Watson, Flagstaff |
 | 2017-2018 | Rotary: Making A Difference | Ian H.S. Riseley Rotary Club of Sandringham Victoria, Australia | 5495: Nancy Van Pelt, Glendale West |
 | 2018-2019 | Be the Inspiration | Barry Rassin Rotary Club of East Nassau New Providence, Bahamas | 5495: Jim Ericson, Superstition Mountain |
 | 2019-2020 | Rotary Connects the World | Mark Daniel Maloney Rotary Club of Decatur Decatur, Alabama USA | 5495: David Simmer, Sedona |
 | 2020-2021 | Rotary Opens Opportunities | Holger Knack Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany | 5495: Elizabeth Mahoney, Sun City |
 | 2021-2022 | Serve to Change Lives | Shekhar Mehta Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar | 5495: Bret McKeand, Peoria North |
 | 2022-2023 | Imagine Rotary | Jennifer Jones Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland | 5495: Larry Horton, Camelback Crossroads |
 | 2023-2024 | Create Hope in the World | R. Gordon R. McInally Rotary Club of South Queensferry, Scotland | 5495: Kevin Pitts, Prescott |
 | 2024-2025 | The Magic of Rotary | Stephanie A. Urchick Rotary Club of McMurray, PA | 5495: Michelle Holcomb, Fountain Hills |
 | 2025-2026 | United For Good | Mário César Martins de Camargo, Rotary Club of Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil | 5495: Jim Schmidt, Mesa West |
