The Rotary clubs celebrated the visit of Rotary International District 7020 Gov. William “Bill” Aiken, who spent several days on St. Croix from Aug. 24 to Aug. 29. The visit concluded with a joint address and dinner hosted by the Rotary Clubs of St. Croix at Teddy’s at Five Corners on Thursday evening.

During his visit, Aiken met with civic leaders, toured community projects, and delivered a joint address to Rotarians, highlighting Rotary’s 2025-2026 theme, “Unite for Good,” introduced by this year’s Rotary International President, Francesco Arezzo of Italy.

In alignment with this, District 7020s theme under Aiken is “Recognize Needs, Transform Lives.” Clubs are being challenged to identify at least five critical community needs and address them during the year through bold initiatives, leveraging funding from The Rotary Foundation to maximize impact.

Aiken, an academic surgeon with a private practice in Kingston, Jamaica, has been a Rotarian since September 2001. Among his many accomplishments, he was recognized in 2020 for serving as assistant governor for Jamaica South-Central for three years. In that role, he successfully coordinated a multi-district world diabetes seminar in partnership with the Diabetes Association of Jamaica, four clubs in Jamaica South-Central, the Rotary Club of Anguilla, and the Rotary Club of Liamuiga in St. Kitts, District 7030.

Opening his speech with a “big up,” Aiken congratulated all four St. Croix clubs for achieving the Club of Excellence Award. “As you may or may not know, the Club of Excellence Award was previously known as the Presidential Citation, and it is a coveted award that clubs seek to win. It is an indication of excellence, and I think this is something that needs to be applauded,” Aiken said.

While on island, Aiken explored several Rotary projects and met with St. Croix Administrator Sammuel Sanes, who he said was surprised to learn the extent of Rotary’s work on the island. “Just like Sanes, it is very likely that the citizens of St. Croix are unaware of the tremendous work that you are doing in the communities,” Aiken noted.

He encouraged Rotarians to strengthen Rotary’s public image, quoting founder Paul Harris: “Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it is a little bit judged by the service we give to our communities.” Aiken added, “If people do not know, then there will not be any interest to join Rotary.”

Aiken emphasized that people with a heart for service and who share Rotary’s values may not know about the organization but would likely join if they were aware of its mission, guiding principles, and impact.

He also stressed the importance of partnerships — between strong and weaker Rotary clubs, Rotary and Rotaract clubs, Rotaract and Interact clubs, clubs across districts 7020 and 7030, and between Rotary and other like-minded organizations. These, he said, are key to “increasing impact and expanding reach.” He was pleased that partnerships were already listed among the goals of all four St. Croix clubs.

Additionally, Aiken urged clubs to “think big,” encouraging them to tackle long-standing, deep-seated community issues. “Rotary wants clubs to take on the challenge of addressing those pervasive problems that cannot be fixed in a single year, not even two years, but to commit to addressing them over time with strategic plans that span three to five years, or even longer,” he said.

The four Rotary clubs on St. Croix are the Rotary Club of St. Croix, chartered Oct. 25, 1958; Rotary Club of St. Croix West, chartered Aug. 12, 1968; Rotary Club of St. Croix Mid-Isle, chartered May 13, 1988; and Rotary Club of St. Croix Harborside, chartered Sept. 10, 1996.