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Bill Gates made honorary member of Rotary Club of Seattle
Bill Gates,
cochair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was made an honorary
member of the Rotary Club of Seattle during the club's centennial
celebration during March.
More than 1,000
Rotarians and community leaders attended the event, held at the
Washington State Convention and
Trade
Center, to pay tribute to
the club's 100 years of service. Gates, Microsoft cofounder and
chair, delivered the keynote address.
"As Rotary spread
across the globe, so did the principle of Service Above Self," he
said. "Rotary provides the infrastructure for scaling up one of the
best ideas that human beings ever had: that helping others is not
just a duty -- it's fun and rewarding."
William Gates Sr.,
also an honorary member of the
Seattle
club and Gates Foundation cochair, attended the event and helped
fasten a Rotary pin to his son's lapel.
 William
Gates Sr., center, helps fasten a Rotary pin to his son's
lapel during the Rotary Club of Seattle's centennial
celebration. Also pictured is Seattle club president Nancy
Sclater. The club made the younger Gates an honorary member,
joining his dad, who is already an honorary member. (Photo
courtesy of Mike Urban) |
Earlier this year, Bill Gates attended Rotary's International
Assembly in San Diego, California, to announce a new grant of $255
million from the Gates Foundation to support Rotary's efforts to
eradicate polio. That amount came in addition to the $100 million
Gates Foundation challenge grant awarded to Rotary in 2007. The
total matching effort in response is called Rotary's US$200 Million
Challenge, which must be completed by 30 June 2012. Together, Rotary
and the Gates Foundation have committed $555 million in the fight to
end polio.
Seattle club
president Nancy Sclater said the club has fully embraced Rotary's
efforts to eradicate the disease.
"We absolutely
must finish ensuring that polio never affects anyone again," she
said.
Sclater also
looked ahead to the club's second century of service. Its centennial
project will create a support center for homeless families at a cost
of $4.2 million.
The Seattle club is Rotary's
fourth oldest and one of its largest, with nearly 700 members.
During its 100 years, the club has raised millions of dollars to
help support the visual and performing arts, enhance educational
opportunities for youth, improve outdoor and recreational
environments, provide food for the underprivileged, and distribute
aid to the homeless and people with disabilities.
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