Rotary International names president from Caribbean
(L-R) Barry and Esther Rassin with Michelle and Jeremy Hurst in 2014
(CNS Local Life): A previous governor of District 7020, an area covering the Northern Caribbean including the Cayman Islands, has been named president of Rotary International for 2018-19. Barry Rassin, who has family ties to Cayman and is a frequent visitor, will preside over the 1.2-million member organisation beginning 1 July 2018. The International association works to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian services, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.
Among those offering congratulations was Jeremy Hurst, a fellow Past District 7020 Governor based in Cayman. “It is a tremendous honour for our Rotary District 7020, which comprises 10 countries in the Northern Caribbean including the Bahamas and Cayman Islands to have one of our own Rotarians reach the pinnacle of the Rotary world,” Hurst said in a Rotary press release.
“Barry is a passionate, caring Rotarian and a great leader whose contributions to Rotary’s humanitarian efforts are recognised globally. He has been personally responsible for achieving progress in the poorest regions of our District such as Haiti, where he took control of the Rotary’s programmes there in the wake of the devastating 2012 earthquake, ensuring lives were saved and helping the country rebuild. We are very proud of him and wish him tremendous success as President of Rotary International.”
The presidents of all four Rotary Clubs in the Cayman Islands similarly congratulated Rassin, who is a member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, in The Bahamas.
As president-elect of Rotary International, he is dedicated to strengthening the organisation’s public image. “Those who know what good Rotary clubs do will want to be a part of it, and we must find new models for membership that allow all interested in our mission to participate,” Rassin said. “With Rotary more in the public eye, we will attract more individuals who want to be part of and support a membership organisation that accomplishes so much good around the world.”
Rassin received Rotary’s highest honour, the Service Above Self Award, as well as other humanitarian awards for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. He and his wife, Esther, are major donors and benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.
Category: Community, Service Organisations
