Larry Lunsford
President Nominee 2027-28, Rotary International

Larry Lunsford has been a member of the Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza, Missouri since 1991, and in 2013-2015 served as RI Director for Zones 30/31. From 2021-2025 he served as a Trustee of The Rotary Foundation.

His first experience with Rotary was in 1981 when he received a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to spend the 1981-82 academic year at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Lunsford is committed to inspiring Rotary’s 1.2 million members across continents and cultures to deliver real, long-term solutions to the world’s most persistent issues, while building professional and leadership skills through meaningful connections.

From fighting disease to supporting education – Rotary members work toward building the optimal conditions for more peaceful and resilient societies. “Our greatest strength lies in our ability to unite people of all cultures and generations through a shared commitment to doing good,” said Lunsford. “We exist without borders and boundaries, and we see each other as part of our collective Rotary family. I am inspired by our members’ relentless belief that peace is possible and will encourage them to continue to be the torchbearers of hope. Our world needs this today, more than ever.”

Rotary members throughout the world develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, grow local economies and protect the environment. More than US$5.5 billion has been awarded through The Rotary Foundation – Rotary’s charitable arm that helps clubs work together to perform meaningful, impactful service – to support these initiatives over the last 100 years.

Lunsford will also oversee Rotary’s top goal of ending polio. Alongside its Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners, Rotary has achieved a 99.9 percent reduction in polio cases and contributed more than US$2.9 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect more than 3 billion children from this paralyzing disease.

Larry is a certified public accountant, having spent seven years working for Ernst & Young before joining a family-owned business, Bernstein-Rein Advertising, in 1990. He is currently executive vice president and chief financial officer for the Bernstein group of companies.

Lunsford is currently on the boards of Global Ties KC and the Church of the Resurrection Foundation. Previously, he has held positions on the boards of the Kansas City Spirit Festival and the Variety Club as well as serving as director of a local bank and treasurer of the Epilepsy Foundation for the Heart of America. He has also served on Truman State University’s alumni and foundation boards and received the university’s Distinguished Service Award.

Born and raised in Macon, Mo., Lunsford attended Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., on an academic scholarship, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting. He first encountered Rotary when he received a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship to spend the 1981-82 academic year at the University of Newcastle in Australia.

Brian Hall
Director, Rotary International 2025-27, Zones 30 & 31

Brian is a member of the Rotary Club of Covington, LA. He has served his club and district in many positions, including as District 6840 Governor in the 2014-2015 Rotary year. Brian was active with the Host Organizing Committee of the 2011 Rotary International Convention, where he served as the chair of the Technology Committee, and as a member the RI Promotions Committee for the 2019 Honolulu convention. He served Rotary Zone 31 as Assistant Regional Rotary Public Image Coordinator in the 2013-2014 year, as an Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator in the 2016-2019 years, and as End Polio Now Coordinator from 2019 to 2022. Brian served as a Training Leader at the International Assembly in both 2018 and 2019 and a Training Leader Support in 2021 and 2022. Brian is currently serving as the Chair of the Board of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group and is serving as Board Liaison to the Joint Rotary International/Rotary Foundation Technology committee. Brian received Rotary’s Service Above Self award in the 2021-2022 Rotary year. He will be serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Rotary International in the 2025-2027 Rotary years from Zones 30 and 31.

Brian has been married to his wife, Lynn, for 31 years. They currently reside in Madisonville, Louisiana. They have two children, Keely and Patrick.

Brian was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Brian worked as a CPA for several years before changing careers to become a computer programmer. In 1998 he and Lynn relocated to New Orleans, where Brian decided to merge his backgrounds and begin consulting with companies regarding business and financial systems.

Brenda Cressey
Past RI Director and Past TRF Trustee

Brenda joined Rotary in 1989 and is currently member of the Rotary Club of Ogunquit, Maine, in Rotary District 7780. She served as District 5240 Governor in 2001-02 and is the retired CEO of Office Support Systems, a telecommunications business in Maine.

Brenda served in several key roles for Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation and recently completed a four-year term as a Trustee from 2017-21. She was honored to become the first woman Trustee Vice Chair and then Chair of The Rotary Foundation in 2018-19.

Most of Brenda’s assignments have focused on Fund Development for The Rotary Foundation, specifically in the areas of Peace and Polio eradication.

Brenda also shares the importance of supporting the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund, Endowments and Major Gifts.

Most recently she’s been inspired by the amazing projects being carried out around the globe addressing local and critical needs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She now leads the Foundation Trustee endorsed District led PolioPlus Society global initiative and serves as the Vice Chair of Polio’s Countdown to History Committee.

Brenda continues to witness and experience, first-hand, how our gifts to the Rotary Foundation greatly impact the lives of others and how these gifts will someday bring peace and understanding around the world.

She and her husband Dick are
● Members of the prestigious Arch Klumph, Legacy and Bequest Societies
● Major Donors, Paul Harris Society and PolioPlus Society Members
● They have proudly established several Rotary Foundation Endowments, for Peace, Annual Fund Share, Maternal and Child Health and the Environment, creating a lasting legacy of hope.

Brenda is the recipient of the
● Rotary International “Service Above Self Award”
● The Rotary Foundation’s “Citation for Meritorious Service,”
● And, The Rotary Foundations highest recognition, The Distinguished Service Award.
● As well as holding numerous public awards and recognition as well.

Brenda currently resides in Wells, Maine with her husband Richard, who is retired from a long career as a Vice President in manufacturing.