Rotary International President Elect Holger Knaack
Rotary International President Elect Holger Knaack was our very special guest at the annual 6-way meeting attended by members of our club as well as those of Rotary Clubs of Rancho Santa Fe, Del Mar-Solana Beach, Solana Beach Eco, Encinitas and Encinitas Coastal.
Suzy Wagner, Val Myers, Don and Donna Fipps and Klaus Gubernator at the 6-way meeting
Sharyn Daly brought her daughter, Jessica Daly, as her guest
Mark Matthess, Sharon Schendel, Sharyn Daly, Marlene Gotz, Garrie Rhodes, Karin and Jim Davies, Nina Wright
Youth Service was one area that Holger emphasized- he and his wife personally hosted 43 Rotary Youth Exchange students and he was Youth Exchange Chair for Germany, a very popular host country. Through his experience with Youth Exchange and as a Director of Rotary International, he traveled frequently and saw the many ways that Rotary clubs across the world differed while still sharing same vision.
Despite those similarities, he did note a contrast between Rotary clubs in Germany and those in the United States. In the US, he found that Service was the primary focus of most clubs. Yet for Rotary clubs in Germany, Friendship and Integrity are foremost, and these priorities help form the foundation for service. Holger mentioned that retention is not a significant issue in Germany. Prospective members are chosen carefully, and each club strives to make sure that they meet the expectations of new members and that new members are well taken care of. Regardless of the focus, Holger intends to continue the goal of the current RI President, Mark Maloney, which is to grow Rotary and attract younger, more diverse members. The 6-way meeting was featured in a recent issue of the Del Mar Times.