Meet Rotary’s New President: Gary C.K. Huang

Rotary’s new president, Gary C.K. Huang, shows us the meaning behind the family of Rotary.

Huang believes that Rotary should be about lifting people up. The theme he chose, Light Up Rotary, is a reflection of his desire to encourage Rotarians to bring light where there is darkness. Huang also hopes that Light Up Rotary inspires Rotarians to lighten up Rotary’s image. He wants Rotary to be fun, not just for fun’s sake, but because having a good time builds genuine bonds of friendship, retains members, and helps recruit new ones.

Member recruitment is a hallmark of Huang’s Rotary career. When he was club president, his club grew from 102 to 138 members. When he was district governor for Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, he added 19 new clubs. “If you want to invite people, you need to make things interesting,” he reasons. “Then they will love it and come again.”

Huang’s friend and RI Vice President Celia Elena Cruz de Giay supports this approach. “Rotary is a serious organization but not a solemn one. President Gary is putting an emphasis on making Rotary fun because he can see the winning combination of Rotarians having fun while they serve,” she explains.

He also champions the idea of opening Rotary’s doors to younger people and recruiting more female members. “Some Rotarians are too conservative. They disagree with having women or younger members,” he says. “With younger people, they are our future. In a few years, they will be bigger, better, maybe richer than us,” Huang jokes. “It’s good for them, good for Rotary, and good for society.”

Even though he jokes, Huang is so serious about membership that he recruited his own family into Rotary. His wife joined first, then his three grown children followed suit, each in a different club. His son, Billy, believes that being in Rotary has made the family closer. “We participate in activities together,” he says. “I understand my dad better.”

Huang is thrilled to bring together the most important parts of his life, giving new meaning to the idea of the family of Rotary. He hopes that others will follow his example. “Why leave your family to do your Rotary work? You can do it together,” he suggests. “Then doing good becomes a family event.”

These days, Huang plays golf instead of basketball, but he’s still in the game of setting up his team – the team of Rotary – to win. – Susie Ma