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Historic moment for area Rotarians

By ERNEST HOOPER
Published August 27, 2005

For members of one of the world's largest and oldest service organizations, Elvis is a tall, silver-haired, retired Swedish businessman whose vigor belies his 70 years.

Meet Rotary International president Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar, who arrived in Tampa Friday with rock star excitement. More than 450 members jammed into the Crowne Plaza Hotel ballroom in Sabal Park to see Stenhammar, and organizers said they turned away another 200 interested guests.

To salute Stenhammar, who lives at Rotary International headquarters in Evanston, Ill., Rotarians enjoyed a traditional Swedish breakfast: casserole, thin pancakes and lingonberries, a wild relative of the blueberry and cranberry that's native to Scandinavia.

State Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, state Rep. Faye Culp, R-Tampa, Tampa City Council member Mary Alvarez - all Rotarians - joined Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Jim Norman in feting Stenhammar with proclamations and gifts.

To commemorate the event, 265 members made $1,000 donations to Rotary's annual fund, becoming fellows in the name of Rotary's founder, Paul Harris. Organizers said it was the largest group of fellows ever conferred at a single event.

Rotarians gave Stenhammar two standing ovations then lined up after his speech for photographs and autographs.

If the excitement seems a little overboard, consider this: It was the first time a Rotary International president had ever come to the Tampa Bay area. With 45 clubs and 2,200 members in Rotary District 6890 (Hillsborough, Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties), it was a rare chance to meet the man who is in the middle of his two-year term as president.

Stenhammar's speech had particular appeal among Rotary's female members because he encouraged leaders of the 101-year-old organization to reach out to women. The organization's U.S. membership has dropped from about 420,000 to about 390,000, but the decrease may have been greater without the inclusion of women, he said.

"So I would like to cite the French singer, Maurice Chevalier, when he sings, Thank heaven for little girls," Stenhammar said.

Stenhammar added that he's backing up his appreciation for female Rotarians by placing more women in leadership roles. Not only did he appoint the first female trustee to the Rotary Foundation, but he has assigned women to high-ranking positions in Rotary's education, membership and public image research groups.

"As soon as we realize that things that were good in 1905 may not necessarily be as good in 2005, the better off this organization will be," Stenhammar said. "Eventually, we will get to the world ratio, which is 52 percent women and 48 percent men. It may take another 100 years, and I'm not prepared to wait that long."

Stenhammar said he has been criticized for placing a disproportional number of women in leadership roles, but that's been by design.

"I'm sending a signal to those ladies who are Rotarians already and those who are not that there is a place in the leadership of this organization for you."

The first area Rotary Club was founded in downtown Tampa in 1914. It gave birth to the district's other clubs and was the first in Rotary history to sponsor a club in a non-English-speaking country (Spain and Cuba).

That proud heritage lives on today. Rotary's charitable efforts touch lives here and around the world.

Rotary's top philanthropic goal is the eradication of polio. When you learn that Stenhammar was part of an effort that immunized 132-million children in India on a single day, you realize they are serious.

Such efforts certainly deserve the respect and recognition of the community. Stenhammar said Rotary also deserves the support of employers, who could be more understanding when a Rotarian employee is late for work because of a weekly breakfast or lunch meeting.

I guess Stenhammar's message to bosses around the world is Don't Be Cruel.

That's all I'm saying.

- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 27, 2005, 01:14:20]