Rotary Club of Norman, Oklahoma, USA,
President, Rotary International, 2013-14
Ron D. Burton retired as president of the University of Oklahoma Foundation Inc. in 2007. He is a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar, the Oklahoma Bar Association, and the Cleveland County Bar Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the ABA Section of Taxation Exempt Organizations Committee, and the ABA Section of Real Property, Probate, and Trust Committee on Charitable Organizations. He was vice president of the Last Frontier Council of the Boy Scouts of America and received the Silver Beaver Award. He also received the Norman United Way and Junior League Volunteer of the Year Civic Award.
His extensive service to The Rotary Foundation includes vice chair and member of the Foundation Trustees, vice chair of the Future Vision Committee, and member of the International PolioPlus Committee and PolioPlus Speakers Bureau. Other service includes national adviser for the Permanent Fund Initiative, member of Permanent Fund Leadership Team, and consultant to the Development Committee. In addition, he has served as a regional Rotary Foundation coordinator and moderator of the regional Rotary Foundation coordinator training program.
Burton has received the RI Service Above Self Award and the Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service, Distinguished Service Award, and International Service Award for a Polio-Free World. He and his wife, Jetta, are Paul Harris Fellows, Benefactors, Major Donors, and members of the Paul Harris, Bequest, and Arch C. Klumph Societies.
2013-14 Rotary International President
Ron has made the world his office.
During the 2013-14 year, the Rotary International president traveled more than half-a-million miles across 50 countries, to inspire and motivate Rotary’s 1.2 million members. Although many encouraged him to use cheaper, virtual alternatives, he believes it takes face-to-face engagement.
“I was the first president to have a Google Hangout and have done Facebook chats,” Burton says, reflecting on his term, which ends at midnight 30 June. “But I asked Rotarians to Engage Rotary, Change Lives, so I needed to live that as well, by sitting at kitchen tables talking to families, visiting community projects, speaking to clubs, and [meeting] with other leaders around the world to promote Rotary’s good work.”
Burton, Rotary’s 105th president, calls the job one of “awesome and great responsibility.” He adds that it’s been important to remember that “this position isn’t about me. It’s about the job.”
The job of Rotary president essentially begins election to the position a year before taking office. Presidents-elect set an agenda for the coming year, pick committee chairs, and work on the convention program. All of that, Burton says, is to set the stage for a successful term.
“There’s a saying in Oklahoma that where you go in life, whatever job you set out to do, you should always leave the woodpile a little higher than it was when you found it,” he says. “With the tremendous support of Rotarians worldwide, I believe we accomplished that this year.”
A big contribution to that woodpile is one of the things Burton is most proud. He asked each one of his 537 district governors to make a gift to The Rotary Foundation. No matter the size of the contribution or the fund, he wanted all of them to show support for the Foundation. And they did, becoming the first district governor class to make that commitment, raising more than $700,000.
“What we’re talking about here is a change of thinking, a change in culture,” says Burton. “There needs to be the thought that this is our Foundation and the more we support it, the more lives we can change.”
13-14 RI President Ron Burton with Oklahoma Legislators Jerrod Shouse, Randy McDaniel, Anne Roberts, Ron Burton, Rick Stansberry, Cliff Branan, Clayton Taylor
Ba Luong is the Executive Vice President of Super Cao Nguyen, the largest international grocery store in Oklahoma City with products from over 60 different countries.
Ba grew up in Oklahoma City and is a graduate of Heritage Hall. He has a bachelor in business administration degree in Finance and Economics from Baylor University. He worked for Arthur Andersen in Houston, TX, before joining the family business
He has served on numbers boards in Oklahoma City and is currently on the Board of Directors for Mercy West and the Mercy Health Foundation. He is one of the founding members of the Oklahoma City Asian District. He worked tirelessly to establish and delineate the boundaries of the Asian District with the City of Oklahoma City and was instrumental in the red Asian District street signs.
He is the youngest inductee into the Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Honor. He is a graduate of Leadership OKC Class XXVI and named OKCBiz Magazine Forty Under 40.
Ba and Super Cao Nguyen has been featured in Southern Living, Food & Wine, The Smithsonian, and countless local television, radio and print publications. Most recently, Ba was featured on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Oklahoma Route 66 episode.