Past District Governor Andres Goyanes

Dear Fellow Rotarians in Central Florida and around the world,

It is my vision and intent that during the 2022-2023 Rotary Year during which I will serve as District Governor, Central Florida’s Rotary District 6980 shall be:

A Service-Focused Organization Promoting Goodwill and Volunteer Service while
Creating Value for our Central Florida Community through Good Citizenship

To achieve this goal, District Leaders, Assistant Governors, Club Presidents, and Rotarians may rely on me to:

• Communicate to our region the value of Rotary District 6980 as a service organization
• Foster the creation of new ideas, programs, and initiatives to deliver Service Above Self
• Promote leadership development and growth opportunities for every D6980 Rotarian
• Continue promoting a “culture of giving” to benefit our local and global community
• Treat every Rotarian with respect and dignity to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Instill professional values based on accountability, responsibility, and ownership

I invite every Rotarian in District 6980 to support, uphold, and contribute to this vision in the spirit of Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self, as well as by living by the Four-Way Test, supporting the Object of Rotary, and pledging to support Rotary’s Avenues of Service.

Commitment is the key to our success as a volunteer-based service organization. As Rotarians, we have made a commitment to an altruistic culture of serving others selflessly in a non-political and non-religious humanitarian organization.

Service Above Self is a way of life, manifested through the goodwill of men and women who make time in their busy lives to help others. We can achieve this by encouraging each other to remember the original commitment we each made to our Rotary Clubs, with the goal of serving our Central Florida community using our minds, hearts, and hands.

Respect, integrity, and tolerance are core values for Rotarians to live and work by when interacting with other human beings—regardless of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, economic status, and other diverse backgrounds.

In time, we trust every Rotarian will find the value in volunteering with their knowledge and skills domestically and abroad, contributing to The Rotary Foundation to support Rotary’s work around the globe, and being ambassadors of goodwill to promote our core values in the Central Florida community to ensure each Rotary Club’s growth and continued success.

“Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

Each of you may be one individual, but together you make up a group of more than 1.4 million people who belong to one of 46,000 Rotary Clubs and Rotaract Clubs across more than 200 nations around the globe. Without question, Rotarians bring a glimmer of hope to a world plagued by inequality, despair, and social challenges that are seen by some as too difficult to overcome

Feel proud of the fact people drink from water fountains you built but have never touched, played sports in fields you created without have set foot upon them, get medical treatment in hospitals and clinics your contributions have funded, and most importantly, that these same people are grateful every single day for the goodwill Rotarians have brought into their communities when no one else would acknowledge their humanitarian and social needs.

Onwards and upwards!

ANDRES GOYANES
Rotary District Governor-Elect (2022-2023)
District 6980 – Central Florida Region