2026 Rotary International Convention

2026 Rotary International Convention

This June, I attended the Rotary International Convention in Taipei, Taiwan. I represented Club 29 as incoming President alongside Executive Director Megan Law. Past President Clayton Taylor was also at the convention as a board member for Malaria Partners International.

Taiwan is a 24-hour trip from Oklahoma City, including a fourteen-hour flight from San Francisco to Taipei. Beautiful palaces, parks, and shops. Friendly people. Hot and humid weather. Subways are modern, clean, and easy to navigate. Food is a big part of the experience.

Soup dumplings were my food of choice. My favorite restaurant, Din Tai Fung, was across the street from our hotel inside the Taipei 101, the world’s tallest building from 2004 – 2009. Our hotel, the Grand Hyatt, had a giant breakfast buffet each morning featuring French omelets, tropical fruit, and foods from several different Asian cultures, plus a great Japanese restaurant upstairs where we entertained our Wings of Rotary partners.

The purpose of the convention was to build connections within the global Rotary network and inspire Rotarians to change the world by working together. There were 37,000 attendees from 170 countries. It was massive, well organized, and filled with opportunities to meet people from different clubs and learn about projects around the world.

The opening keynote speaker was the President of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te. He was humble and gracious. He acknowledged how special Rotary is for providing links across borders and nationalities. And he bragged about the 34,000 active Rotarians in Taiwan, many of whom were at the ceremony cheering and waving flags.

The second day keynote speaker was Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai. Malala is the teenage girl who was shot by a Taliban gunman during an assassination attempt in 2012 because of her advocacy for educating girls in Pakistan. She survived, doubled down, and continued advocating for educating girls and women worldwide. At 17, she became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner ever. Since then, she has become an Oxford scholar, best-selling author, wife, and business woman while continuing her education advocacy at a global scale.

The real star of the convention for me was our Club 29 Executive Director, Megan Law. She is a club founder, past president, and past district governor. When she runs into Rotary International board members, she knows who they are, the projects they oversee, and how our club is connected to them through grants or collaborations.

Thanks to Megan and her network, I met current RI President Yinka Babalola from Nigeria, Past President Francesco Arezzo of Italy, President Elect Larry Lunsford from Kansas City, and several members of the RI Board. Megan’s connections throughout the Rotary world allow our club access to projects and collaborations that would not happen otherwise.

Thank you to Club 29 for sending me on this once in a lifetime trip. I experienced a new culture halfway around the world. I was exposed to the global expanse of Rotary International. And I gained a new appreciation for the important role the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City plays in its global success. I highly recommend for any Club 29 Rotarian to attend the Rotary International Convention. Next year…Barcelona.