RI Document on President Glen

Also see our Section on Australia/New Zealand

Glen Kinross

President, Rotary International  1997-98 

When we were asked to write a short biography which would culminate in Glen’s year as the President of Rotary International we recognised a task which would be a privilege to undertake, but which, we thought, would have its difficulties. First, Heather had not long died in tragic circumstances and Glen was barely over the hurt and grief which her death occasioned.  

Second, the events of his year as president, including the ground-breaking low-cost shelter scheme, had barely had time to gel. We felt we were writing current affairs rather than a considered history. 

However, we have recorded the main events of his Rotary career to the end of June 1998, and the record will provide a basis if other writers wish to attempt a fuller ‘life’. We had ready access to good source material in the back numbers of The Rotarian and Rotary Down Under, as well as the Proceedings for the Calgary, Glasgow and Indianapolis Conventions and the International Assembly Speeches for 1997 and 1998. Paul Henningham’s introduction, ‘Meet Glen Kinross’, published in the July 1997 numbers of all Rotary magazines provided an excellent starting point which we used extensively. 

Glen’s own records provided copies of speeches, programs and other memorabilia and we had hundreds of photographs from his collection from which we chose the illustrations used in the story.

 Above all, we had the opportunity to talk to Glen, interviews which we audio-taped over eight meetings with him and we want to acknowledge the generous way in which he responded to our questions and the hospitable way he received us in his home.  

GLEN KINROSS

President Rotary International, 1997-98

by Basil and Beth Shaw