Contact: Foundation Gala Events Planner – Mary-Catherine: mcgobedo@gmail.com
Registration: Chas Wilson: cwilson3169@yahoo.com
Rotarians in District 5240 are proud of their Foundation and the work that is done
throughout the world and will be celebrating the Rotary Foundation
and 5240 District's contributions and achievements.
You won’t want to miss our Keynote Speaker, past Rotary International President K.R.
“Ravi” Ravindran.
Ravindran, a business leader and a member of the Rotary Club of Colombo, Sri Lanka,
became the 105th president of Rotary International in 2015-2016. As world President
of Rotary, he met with many Heads of States and with Pope Francis and UN Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon. He received the key to many cities around the world, been
honored with a Doctorate by the University of Korea, and has had a postage stamp
with his profile released
There are many people in Rotary that have made a difference. But past Rotary
International President Ravi Ravindran, truly has spent his life “making things happen.”
• Negotiating Days of Tranquility during the Sri Lankan civil war so that health
workers could administer drops of polio vaccines.
• Rebuilding 25 tsunami-damaged schools for 15,000 children.
One of the reasons he serves Rotary so passionately is that not only has he been
helped by so many people throughout his life, but he feels that Rotary is a way to
reciprocate and help others. When he was 11, his mom only 30, contracted the polio
virus and immediately had paralysis. She was told that her chances of walking, or even
surviving without a ventilator were slim.
Ravindran’s grandfather, a Rotary member, gathered his fellow members and together
they raised the money and the transportation that was needed and helped clear the red
tape at the time in Sri Lanka to have ventilator flown in. His mother spent year and half
in a hospital bed.
Fifty-three years ago, his mother’s life was possibly one of the very first to be saved
from polio by Rotarians, and since then we have saved millions of lives! Rotary club
members worldwide have contributed more than US $1.4 billion and countless
volunteer hours to the polio eradication effort.
For Ravindran, paying it forward isn’t a fad, it’s a way of life. His theme for his Rotary
year was, Be a Gift to the World, also summarized his personal philosophy.
As you can clearly see, K.R. Ravindran’s life has been molded by family, country, and
Rotary.