Dear Everyone,
I hope you all enjoyed last Tuesday’s meeting, with the highlights being the guest speaker Christian de Boer talking on the sorry plight of the Khmer population in Cambodia, the induction of our former member Yvette Hayes and the visit of District Governor Elect, Dr. Daryl Moran. Christian was very effective in getting us to appreciate the gravity of the situation, and inspired individual members and the Club as a whole to donate to his humanitarian organisation “Hotels Joining Hands”.
Daryl Moran was also inspirational, pointing out that the COVID-19 crisis is providing an enormous opportunity for us as volunteers to be effective locally. And that Rotary has faced similar challenges in the past. Daryl gave an eye-opening historical perspective: Rotary was founded in 1921in Australia, and in 1939 at the outbreak of World War 2, there were fewer than 100 Rotary Clubs in Australia and New Zealand. Seeing that the local communities needed assistance, the leaders rose to the challenge, and by 1945, another fifty Clubs had been established. By 1955, the number had doubled and there were three hundred Clubs. While a few Rotary Clubs have suspended their activity in their communities, we are not one of them! As an example, the Community Service Committee, with support from Youth and Vocational Service, is working extremely hard to bring to fruition one hundred vouchers for distribution to the needy to spend in our local shops. But all of the Committees are working hard in the background, and we will hear about their progress at Club Assembly next Tuesday night. Don’t miss it!
Last night the Board met for what was hopefully a “productive” meeting. The main item on the agenda was funding for membership, marketing and public image. In the past, no funding was provided for promotion of the Club, and hence little is known and understood about Rotary in our communities. With declining member numbers in District 9810, and pressure from District leaders to implement Public Image activities and stop Rotary being the world’s best-kept secret, the Board agreed that funding must be provided. The issue is, where is the funding to come from? These are the options: we increase membership fees, we agree to allocate a small percentage from our fundraisers to our Operations account, which is something we have never done before, or we hold an event that is specifically earmarked to raise funds for Club promotion and increased public awareness. Regarding the second option, it is not to say that a percentage would be deducted from all of our fundraisers, for example, the KFRWT could be left wholly untouched. The issue of funding is fundamental to our future viability so the Board resolved to put it to the members at the Club Assembly to be held on the 22nd of September. I am confident that we will have a robust and respectful debate, and reach a position that a large majority of members will support. The amount of money that is thought to be needed is $2,000 approximately.
Thank you to everyone who has submitted their Member Satisfaction Survey so far. The rate of return is good and for those who are yet to fill it out, you have until Sunday night. The survey is not in the least bit onerous, and remember, the Club belongs to everyone, so your opinions matter.
For the next two Monday nights, District is putting on workshops that our own Ken is facilitating and they are very relevant to all of us. It would be good if as many of us as possible attend Ken’s workshops, and the Vocational Webinar which has the arresting title of “Putting Life back into Vocation".
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Event
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Date
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Time
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Contact
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Club Runner Tutorial
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Mon 24 Aug
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7.00 pm
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Ken Miller, Emerald & District
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Vocational Seminar
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Thurs 27 Aug
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6.00 pm
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Bill Haywood, Waverley
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Social Media Workshop
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Mon 31 Aug
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7.00 pm
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Ken Miller, Emerald & District
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Next week:
We have Club Assembly chaired by President-Elect Shalini Penny. Like last month, after the Sergeants’ Session, each Club Committee will be in its own Breakout Room for a short meeting, after which we will come together again to learn about all the wonderful work being done in our Committees.
“Know Your Rotarian” is featuring none other than PP PHF Lorna Shaw. To newer members I say, “Don’t let Lorna’s unassuming ways fool you. She is a dynamo!”
Until then stay safe, stay well - stay home and enjoy your creature comforts.
Yours in Rotary,
Vicki.
