Rotary projects around the globe – August 2026
Canada
The annual used book sale of the Rotary Club of Sarnia-Bluewaterland in Ontario has been a fixture for more than 25 years. “We all realized we were in this because we loved books, we wanted to encourage others in the community to access great books at a reasonable price, and, yes, it was a wonderful way to generate funds to support local nonprofits,” says coordinator Dale Wilcox. In January, the sale raised more than US$42,000, with leftover books being distributed to several organizations and groups, including a Canadian Armed Forces unit stationed in Latvia. “Troops are already digging into the massive collection and finding a good book to keep at their bedside or take into the field,” Lt. Col. Colleen Grebstad reported in a letter to the club.
India’s Bharat Pandya selected to be 2028-29 Rotary International President
After receiving undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Seth G. S. Medical College and King Edward Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, Pandya practiced as a general and laparoscopic surgeon for 38 years. Among other professional recognitions, he was awarded fellowships by the Association of Surgeons of India and the International College of Surgeons and earned the Borivli Medical Brotherhood’s Outstanding Performance Award. He is a founding member of the Association of Minimal Access Surgeons of India and was a board member and vice chair of Jan Shikshan Sansthan, a government-sponsored vocational training and skill development institute. He received the Mumbai Gaurav (Pride of Mumbai) Award from Sanskriti Yuva Sanstha and the Indian Global Foundation.
Pandya has served as an RI director and treasurer and on numerous committees, among them the Finance Committee and the Strategic Planning Committee. He has served in multiple positions for The Rotary Foundation: trustee, vice chair, Executive Committee chair, and vice chair of the Finance and Stewardship committees. He is currently chair of the RI Programs Committee and vice chair of The Rotary Foundation Programs Committee. He served on the India PolioPlus Committee in 2011-15, during which time India was certified polio-free.
Pandya and his wife, Madhavi, a past district chair of Inner Wheel District 314, are Major Donors and Benefactors. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.
The members of the 2026-27 Nominating Committee for Rotary International President 2028-29 are:
Lena J. Mjerskaug (chair), Rotary Club of Enebakk, Akershus, Norway; Brenda Cressey (secretary), Rotary Club of Wells, Maine, United States; Anirudha Roy Chowdhury, Rotary Club of Calcutta Mega City, West Bengal, India; Ashish Ghosh, Rotary Club of Delhi Panchshila Park, Delhi, India; Robert L. Hall, Rotary Club of Forsyth County (Cumming), Georgia, United States; Hans-Hermann Kasten, Rotary Club of Aachen-Frankenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany; Daniel Himelspach, Rotary Club of Denver Mile High, Colorado, United States; Urs Klemm, Rotary Club of Aarau, Aargau, Switzerland; Seiji Kita, Rotary Club of Urawa East, Saitama, Japan; Yvonne Kumoji-Darko, Rotary Club of Accra-South, Greater Accra Region, Ghana; Chi-Tien Liu, Rotary Club of Yangmei, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Roger Lhors, Rotary Club of Pont-Audemer, Eure, France; Julia D. Phelps, Rotary Club of Portsmouth, Greenland, New Hampshire, United States (alternate); Dean Rohrs, Rotary Club of Pacific Northwest Passport (D5050), Washington, United States; Rhonda “Beth” Stubbs, Rotary Club of Maryville, Tennessee, United States; Raju Subramanian, Rotary Club of Deonar, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India; Henrique Vasconcelos, Rotary Club of Fortaleza-Alagadiço, Ceará, Brazil; Young Ho Yoon, Rotary Club of Masan South, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, Korea
District Awards 2026 recipients
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