Someone whose identity is lost in time once said "To have a friend, you must be a friend." Friendship is at the heart of Rotary, in ways that may sometimes be overlooked. Rotary is commonly described as an organization dedicated to fellowship and service both of which are dependent on friendship, and both of which faacilitate further friendship.

     It was an expression of friendship that offered us the opportunity to become Rotarians. Some friend extended to us the invitation to join a fellowship of friends, joining in those dual goals of fellowship and service. Our membership not only puts us in more frequent contact with old friends, but also offers the opportunity to make many new friends.

     Friends do things together. Rotarians meet weekly for fellowship with other members. We engage in service activities in our communities. We contribute through the Rotary Foundation to extend friendship around the world, through humanitarian and educational endeavors. In these, and many other ways, we express friendship.

     Friends treat others the way we would want to be treated. A "Golden Rule" is so universal that it appears in major religions of the world, whether in the Christian "Do unto others," the Buddhist "Hurt not others," or the Muslim "thathat which he desires for himself." In each, the emphasis is on friendly consideration. The classical ethicist Immanuel Kant emphasized respect for "the dignity and well being of all people." Whether stated in religion or ethics, these are principles that make Rotary friendship what it is.

     When a Rotary Scholar or a Group Study Exchange team comes to our community, we play host to these guests from abroad. Being a friend to them leads to having friends around the world, as they go home with delightful memories of their stay in our cities, our clubs, our homes. Many Rotarians have subsequently gone abroad and renewed friendships in the country of a former guest. We experience the excitement and the warmth of having "friends around the world."

     Rotarians wear that familiar pin of identification, and throughout the world it is the magic key that opens new relationships. In a strange land, even with a seemingly impenetrable language barrier, the miniature Rotary wheel on one lapel seems magnetically attracted to the lapels of others wearing the same emblem.

     Friendship comes instantly between individuals who otherwise would continue to be strangers. And through new-found friendships, additional opportunities for fellowship and service are opened. Rotary friendship is truly a valuable commodity, although it can neither be bought nor sold. It has no price, but its value is immeasurable.