Rotary International has been doing humanitarian work, peacebuilding and so much more around the world for well over a century.
Each year, the organization selects a new president to serve a year long-term. Its most recent selection, who will start his term in July 2027, is Kansas City’s own Larry Lunsford.
Lunsford has spent over three decades as a member of Rotary, and says that the chance to lead the organization is "a one in a million kind of opportunity."
"Rotary International has its own Rotary Foundation, and I was a beneficiary of one of (its) educational programs as I was finishing college; I went to Australia for nine months as a Rotary Foundation ambassadorial scholar. And that certainly was a life changing experience. It planted the seed of Rotary inside me in a significant way, started my career, then eventually I joined a Rotary club. But truly, this opportunity I now have to serve as Rotary International president is a continuance of just trying to pay back the wonderful opportunity that was given to me."
- Larry Lunsford, president-nominee of Rotary International
