Last Week
It was a Business Meeting. I came under fire for not suggesting that the club look for a possible Peace Fellowship applicant.
I pointed out that clubs had been circulated by District at my request for possible applicants and that I am not the Club's Foundation Chair.
The criteria? I referred members to the RI website which everyone should be familiar with but here they are:
Peace fellowship applicants must meet these requirements:
- Proficiency in English; a second language is strongly recommended
- Demonstrated commitment to international understanding and peace
- Excellent leadership skills
- Master’s degree applicants: minimum three years of related full-time work or volunteer experience, bachelor’s degree
- Certificate applicants: minimum five years of related full-time work or volunteer experience, strong academic background.
- The applicant has to apply through the RI website and then the application is routed to me to my specific District page and I then assess the application and subsequently call likely applicants for an interview. If they are miles away we conduct the interview via Skype.
Professor Steven Friedman assists me with the interviews as he has much more experience in conducting student interviews that I have! - Last year candidates just applied without being recommended by a club but this year we are insisting on a club recommendation because this will hopefully weed out those looking for a free overseas holiday. Last year we put forward 1 candidate out of 10 applicants and he was not awarded a Fellowship. RI funds 50 Masters and 50 Certificates per annum so competition is intense and we do recommend that if an applicant is turned down that they consider applying again having gained more experience in the field. It's the lack of full-time or volunteer work where they generally fall down.
- Picture Quiz
- Not one person knew their Bouvier des Flandres from their elbow.
- This Week
- Mike Lamb is the Club's Foundation Chair and he has specifically asked to speak about the Rotary Foundation.
- While we are on Foundation don't forget the upcoming visit of Doreen Busingye , the Dinner on the 6th March...book with me...and the lunch on the 9th March...book with James Croswell.
- This is what Doreen Busingye is all about:
Cadre of Technical
Advisers
The
Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers is a group of volunteer Rotarians
who provide technical expertise and advice to Rotarians planning and carrying
out Rotary grant projects around the world.
What we do
Cadre
members review, monitor, and evaluate projects and ensure grant funds are being
used properly. Our assignments include:
·
Technical reviews. Cadre members evaluate the technical
feasibility of a project and submit a written evaluation. Reviewers don’t
travel or communicate with the project sponsors.
·
Site visits. An advance site visitor evaluates the technical
feasibility of a proposed project. An interim monitor reports on the
implementation of an ongoing project. A post project monitor evaluates the
impact and resolution of a completed project. For these assignments, cadre
members travel to the project site and meet with the project sponsors and the
benefiting community.
·
Audits. Auditors evaluate the financial management and oversight
of grant funds. Audits can be targeted or random. Cadre members travel to the
project site and meet with the project sponsors and the benefiting community.
·
Operational audits. Cadre members assess the controls grant
sponsors have to ensure qualification. This involves evaluating financial
books, records, and documentation.
Invitation
We received this invitation from Johannesburg East at PETS/AG Training.
If anyone is interested we could possible make up a Rosebank Table.
Friday 13th April
Ronnie Kasrils will be talking to us at our normal meeting. You might like to invite a guest or two.
President-elect Barry Rassin on where Rotary has been, where he hopes to lead it – and how the organization profoundly changed his life
 |
| Terry Cannon, Youth Exchange Chair, RI President Elect Barry Rassin, DG Elect Charles Deiner & Unknown Rotarian |
Q: You want Rotary to have a transformational impact. How should we allocate our resources to do that?
A: It’s OK to do small projects – don’t get me wrong. We’re always going to be doing them. But I’d like every club to think of at least one high-impact service project they can do to change people’s lives. They don’t have to cost a lot of money. I always use the jeep we provided in Haiti as an example. For $60,000 or $70,000, we provided a pink jeep to a group of midwives who go out into the community and give prenatal care to mothers who wouldn’t get it any other way. The mortality rate has gone down dramatically. That’s transformational.
The Rotary Foundation has talked about sustainability for a long time. To be sustainable – to make the good we do last – you should be transformational, so that fits well into what the Foundation’s trustees and global grants are doing. The districts could look at district grants and do the same kind of thing. We have the resources. We just have to think a little differently.
Q: Did the act of rebuilding in Haiti have a positive effect on Rotary?
A: If you go into certain parts of Haiti with the Rotary wheel, they’re going to say thank you, because they know what Rotarians have done. Rotary has provided them with food, with water, with a school for their children. When we talk transformational, one project we’ve been working on is to bring potable water to the entire country of Haiti. The prime minister is a Rotarian and past president of his club. He is working with us, and he’s got a government agency that’s going to work directly with us. That’s way above any global grant, but we can plan for that and figure out how to do it in chunks. I’m sure districts and clubs around the world would love to be a part of it. That’s transformational. That’s the kind of thing that could change a region for the better, forever.
Q: What other goals do you wish to accomplish during your year?
A: There’s a disconnect between what we do at Rotary International – and do really well – and what Rotary clubs are doing. I’d like to bridge that gap. One of our strategic priorities is strengthening clubs, which involves things like membership and Foundation giving. We’re not reaching the clubs to get them to understand why we need to do some of these things, and therefore some don’t do them.
I want to explore ways of starting new Rotary clubs. There are a lot of clubs out there. We keep telling them, “You’ve got to get new members.” But their club culture may not be attractive to other people. Fine – they should enjoy their club, and then start another club next door. We’re working on making sure everybody knows that Rotaract clubs can start Rotary clubs. We need to tell Rotaractors they can start a Rotary club they’re comfortable with when they move on after 30. Rotaract is our secret weapon, and we need to spend time developing the transition from Rotaract to Rotary in a different way.
We’ve got to get better at social media. When you look at our numbers versus a celebrity’s, we’re nothing. We need Rotarians and Rotaractors to access social media and use it to improve our public image. And that’s the other part of it: I don’t believe our communities understand what Rotary is. I want to hold Rotary days so clubs and districts can get into their communities and talk about Rotary – what do we do and why do we do it.
I want clubs to have leadership development programs for their members. Rotary’s new vision statement says: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” It is a great opportunity to remind everybody that as members of Rotary clubs, we’re also there for personal development. Young people are looking for ways to grow and develop, and that gives them another reason to join Rotary. Those are the key things I want to go with.
Q: You mentioned Rotary’s new vision statement. We already have a motto, Service Above Self. We have presidential themes every year. Why do we need a vision statement too?
A: A vision statement allows us to tell the world what our ultimate value is for the long term. It helps Rotarians and non-Rotarians understand what our goal is when it comes to changing our world. This vision statement came from Rotarians, who recommended each phrase. The end result shows our vision for the future and the path to get there.
Q: Rotaract and Rotary clubs in the Caribbean have a good relationship. What’s the key?
A: My club is an example. When a Rotaractor comes to our club, they’re not our guest for the day. They sign in as a member. So right away they’re feeling like they’re a part of us. That’s important. We also make sure that a Rotarian from our club always goes to Rotaract meetings so there’s always a connection. In the last two years, I believe we’ve got 100 percent transition from Rotaract to Rotary. They come and join our club because they know us. We’ve got to keep that connection going.
Q: What have you learned from Rotaractors?
A: Rotaractors are energetic. They’re passionate. They want to do good, and they really like working with each other. The frustration is that they then find it difficult to transition to a different club that has a totally different culture, doesn’t have the energy, doesn’t even know how to use social media. Rotaractors are the Rotary of the future, and we need to help them get there. What are they going to want in a club when they’re 40? We have to come up with that answer and then create Rotary clubs, or help them create Rotary clubs, that can get them there.
Q: Imagine your life without Rotary.
A: Wow! That’s hard to do, to be quite honest. I have put my heart and soul into Rotary for 37 years, and without it I wouldn’t have the friends I have or the ability to do some of the things I can do. I always give the example of my first speech. I was holding on to the lectern reading the speech I wrote, and when I got to the bottom of the first page, I was so nervous that I couldn’t turn the page. But my club kept asking me to speak, so I kept doing it, and now I speak publicly with confidence. I couldn’t do that without Rotary.
Q: How do you begin a speech?
A: It’s important to recognize and acknowledge who’s in your audience. You want to connect with them in one fashion or another, either by saying thank you or it’s nice to be here, or by recognizing a particular individual. Whenever I make a speech, I want to make it as personal as I can.
Q: If there’s one thing you could change about Rotary, what would that be?
A: One of our challenges in Rotary is our Council on Legislation. We meet every three years to consider changing Rotary’s governing policies, but it takes more like four and a half or five years to accomplish this because of the deadlines to propose legislation. The world is changing far too fast for that. We need a way to make major decisions that affect the organization on a quicker basis. Our Council on Legislation needs to understand that maybe it’s time to make that change. I’d love to see our Council restructured. One way would be to conduct those meetings electronically every year. It would be a challenge because it’s hard to have a dynamic debate online, but I think Rotary is smart enough to figure out how to do that.
Q: Is there a Rotary tradition you would never get rid of?
A: I would never get rid of our Four-Way Test. I would never get rid of vocational service. Some of the traditions from weekly club meetings could go. I don’t think there’s a need to be that formal in a club meeting anymore. But when you look at core values or ethics or classifications, those are things that have to stay with us. That’s who we are and what makes us different, and we need to appreciate that and keep developing those principles.
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