A successful hybrid meeting and Rotary Fellowship at its best.....

 From the Pen of our President.....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

What a happy time we had on Friday – it was so good to see you and please bear with us, we will get better at hybrid meetings – lapel microphones, hot seats and roving cameras – the scope is enormous!!

On with the history lessons –

Women in Rotary. The predominantly dependent status of women in western societies changed irrevocably during World War II as women filled occupations previously the domain of men when the men were called upon to serve in the armed forces. This change accelerated with the growth of the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout the course of nearly seven decades of Rotary’s history has run the thread of the debate of women as members, yet the first constitution of the Chicago Club #1, adopted in January,1906, makes no reference to gender, referring only to “persons.”

In 1911 an all-women club existed in Minneapolis and between 1911 and 1917 an all-women Rotary club existed in Duluth, Minnesota alongside the men’s club.  In 1912, the board of directors of the Belfast, Northern Ireland club discussed the advisability of electing women to membership or allowing them to attend weekly luncheons. The club records of that period indicate the board considered it undesirable to elect women to membership or have them at the weekly luncheons. In that year, also, Ida Buell of the Duluth women’s club spoke to the 1912 Duluth Convention seeking support for women’s clubs. The Convention discussed the admission of women and rejected the idea. The RI Boards of 1914-15 and 1915-16 disapproved of Women’s Auxiliaries but the Board of 1916-17 held no objection to them being formed. In 1918 the Board refused recognition of them.

The 1921 Convention in Edinburgh, Scotland produced the Standard Club Constitution in which Article 2, Section III stated “A Rotary Club shall be comprised of men . . . “

In 1978, the Rotary Club of Duarte, California, USA, invited three women to become members. The RI Board withdrew the charter of that club for violation of the RI constitution. The club brought suit against RI claiming a violation of a state civil rights law that prevents discrimination of any form in business establishments or public accommodations. The appeals court and the California Supreme Court supported the Duarte position that Rotary could not remove the club’s charter merely for inducting women into the club. The United States Supreme Court upheld the California court indicating that Rotary clubs do have a “business purpose” and are in some ways public-type organizations.

On 30 March, 1987, the US Supreme Court heard an appeal by the Board of RI against the California Court of Appeal decision and on 4 May handed down a 7- 0 unanimous decision affirming the California Court of Appeal decision, ruling that Duarte could not discriminate against members because of gender. Duarte had the final say in the matter when on 23 June, 1987 Dr Sylvia Whitlock was inducted by DGE Dr Kim K Siu as the first woman Club president in the history of Rotary. In January 1989, the Council on Legislation voted to change the Constitution and By-laws to permit the admission of women into Rotary and on 1 July1995 Mimi Altman of the Deerfield, Illinois club became the first woman District Governor of District 6440.

The rest, as they say, is history!

I will be thinking of you all during this coming week – wishing you Easter Blessings at this time of rebirth and joy.

Stay safe and take care,

 

Ann

 

Last Friday.......

In the last few months we have attempted a few Friday meetings where President Ann invited us to meet in person at her home, but last Friday was our first attempt at a fully-fledged hybrid meeting.

It was our monthly social get-together, so it was an ideal opportunity to test the waters..

It was emphatically evident how starved our members were for camaraderie and fellowship that they had been denied for the past year, and it was heartwarming that 19 of us turned up for a most entertaining hour. And of course the much-missed pizza was a further bonus.

Only five members joined the gathering via Zoom, and their feedback as to how they experienced the meeting would be greatly appreciated. This is a learning curve for all of us.

Ann had brought along the projector and her laptop and the Zoom attendees were amplified onto the big screen for all of us to see. A webcam with built-in microphone was placed in a strategic position so as to capture what was going on in the meeting room, but the Zoom participants remarked that they could only hear the person speaking, when they faced the camera. We will have to invest in a proper microphone, which Lorenzo generously agreed to donate.

Jean was tasked to admit the Zoom participants to the meeting and manouver the webcam so as to capture as much as possible of the activities for them.

Lenore was deputized by Pam to document the attendees and to collect the lunch money.

During lockdown James had been very industrious and had made homemade marmalade, a jar of which became an auction item. It eventually went to the highest bidder, Richard Tonkin.

Sybille brought along a completed EcoBrick sample and also one in the making and gave a demonstration of how to compact non-recyclable plastic and foil and other suitable material into a 2 liter coke/fanta bottle.

Our first hybrid meeting was by no means perfect but it was our first step back into some form of normality and we will get better at making it a valuable experience for virtual and physical participants.

It is a work in progress.....

Happy 90th Birthday Bernard!!

What the heck is Petanque?

The Rotary Club of Rosebank is hard to beat when it comes to quiz challenges but can we also show our prowess at other activities?

The Rotary Club of Kyalami invited us to  a “Pétanque” Fellowship Meeting last Sunday 28th March at the Morningside Country Club

Those not familiar with the term Pétanque, might know the game as Boule or Boccia, played on sandy pitches in the sunny outdoors.

Jean, Sybille, David and Liz Purvis represented Rosebank valiantly and walked away victorious.