Rotary International President John Germ

Half a century after landing his last C-124 as a U.S. Air Force captain ferrying troops and equipment to Vietnam, John F. Germ sees himself as Rotary’s navigator, plotting a course toward a bright future. He aims to run Rotary like a business, drawing on his acumen as chair and CEO of an engineering firm and emphasizing service as Rotary’s most powerful draw for a new generation of civic-minded members. “We need to do a better job of promoting our cause. That’s the challenge ahead, but I don’t see it as a problem. I don’t believe in problems – I believe in opportunities.” Germ, a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, is Rotary president in 2016-17.