Fit to Eat, PETS, a Business Meeting, Careers Feedback & The Council on Legislation.

Last Week

Cooking for yet another Rotary function

I gave an impromptu talk on 'Fit to Eat - the Development of SA Cuisine' as our guest speaker, Soraya Hendricks, was taken ill.

Henry Jensen brought along two more artists who exhibit at our Art Exhibition, Dini Condy and Nicci Olivier.  They are standing next to their particular work.  Unusually, Nicci is exhibiting a linocut.  I was amazed.  I didn't think lino still existed.
As always, it was a great pleasure having artists visit us.

PETS

The Rosebank Pets Parade

It's an acronym for President Elect Training Session...not a Bunny in sight!  

The main message that came out of this was the importance of every member registering with My Rotary 

 https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/home

Just click on this link to register.  It is necessary that we achieve a certain percentage of membership registered for a Presidential Citation this Rotary Year and the percentage is higher next year.  Also the Citation requirements for next Rotary Year include quite a number of things that need to be posted on our Club's page on My Rotary.  Nicole Bilap-Nsegbe is posting many of the things we need to be on our page.

It has taken along time for Rotary to hit the 21st Century electronically where membership communication is concerned.  As a progressive Rotary Club we at Rosebank Johannesburg must be 100% there, so make sure you are registered.

This Week

It's a Business Meeting.  When asked, at PETS, what made a meeting boring I said "A Business Meeting" and some Rotarians definitely avoid going to them.  

The reason is that much time is spent reporting on the Board Meeting and there is no time for any meaningful discussion without any preparation time.  We have to re-think how we do this.

Careers Day Feedback

We still haven't got it.  Though here is something special.  Jane Lagaay on the Logistics Base identified a Grade 12 they were interested in possibly employing and invited her to spend two days at Supergroup.

Here is the letter that Jane received from Palesa Madlhejwane:

Good day,
I hope this finds you well.I would love to thank you for contributing to my growth, because of my experience at Supergroup I had the opportunity to not only be told about systems but I worked with the system and learnt that if you take care of what you work with it will take care of you. 
When I spent the beginning  of my first morning with Mandy the core of what we discussed was the make-or break of Logistics  which is the dependency of systems on each other. It's more of a ripple effect where every element is the beginning of another and the outcome of one.
When I went to the warehouse I saw the element of dependency of this business where a sense of urgency ,is required to keep the operations moving at a normal  pace. 
Today I went to customer services where I worked with Ashley and saw the beginning of the processes of what I did earlier and this is where I did find it a challenge comprehending but my difficulties in customer services helped me easily understand the response with Lendi. It was interesting to see communication being the driving force of this section along with accuracy as if   communication  fails or accuracy there will no be balance in anyway to the expected profit and the one received. 
I did end the day with Corrie who is very confident about his work and acknowledged the uncertainty of business.   He then explained performance based remuneration which stood out for me.  Very often people don't value what you hold dear as much as you will and its plain and simple, in a sense, that you get what you give and only then will you be defined apart from those around you.
Above all I enjoyed  seeing weaknesses that were acknowledged and developed or strengths that were recognised. I also admired the fact that everyone looks after each other as at the end of the day it will not be an individual who suffers but the group. 
I really appreciate you taking your time and resources to further open a door which I did not know could reach that far.
Thank you for the gift and if ever again the opportunity to work again with the team of Supergroup. Thank you for your patience, please do not hesitate  to contact me again if you need me.


Palesa

COUNCIL ON LEGISLATION TO MEET IN CHICAGO 10-15 APRIL

Representatives at the 2013 Council on Legislation hold up green cards to demonstrate a yes vote on a motion.

Photo Credit: Rotary Images

Representatives from Rotary clubs worldwide will gather in Chicago 10-15 April to consider changes to the policies that guide Rotary International and its member clubs.

The Council on Legislation meets every three years and is an essential part of Rotary's governance. The representatives -- one from each Rotary district -- review and vote on proposals that seek to change Rotary's constitutional documents and on resolutions that express an opinion or make a recommendation to the Rotary International Board of Directors.

Get live updates and daily vote totals on My Rotary beginning 11 April.

Many of this year's proposed changes are designed to increase membership by giving clubs greater flexibility in the timing and the nature of their meetings. Other proposals would amend membership requirements.

Over the decades, Council representatives have debated virtually every nuance of Rotary policy and membership and attendance rules. The five-day meeting is one of Rotary's primary agents for change, allowing the organization to evaluate and enhance its relevance in a rapidly changing world.