From our President's Pen....
Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,
Today is the shortest day of the year – the winter solstice.
But it does not mean it will get warmer from tomorrow – winter will be with us
for some time yet!!
We are getting to the end of the Rotary year – and that is
next week. What a year it has been. Who would have thought that after a whole
year we would still be talking about lockdowns and pandemics and things
actually getting worse!! We have been in some kind of lockdown for 462 days!!
In the past year I have learnt so much – about people, patience, tolerance,
understanding, empathy and humility. It has been the pandemic and the lockdowns
that have been my teacher – valuable lessons indeed, sobering….
I had a call from Woodside Sanctuary – a request for
blankets. Our blanket drive was very successful and we have allocated all the
blankets we got money for. At Friday’s meeting we decided that the money that
would have been spent on the induction evening would be donated for blankets
instead and then we can assist Woodside Sanctuary. Please deposit your
donations in lieu of the induction dinner into the Club bank account and
reference the deposit as such. Woodside Sanctuary is a home for the
intellectually disabled in Johannesburg.
Our induction evening will be a hybrid event – anyone who
would like to come to my house to attend should please let me know – we will
limit the number of attendees and take the necessary care.
“Marmelade auctions” – it seems we have a healthy debate.
Let’s take up with it once we are meeting in person again.
All meetings will be via Zoom for the coming weeks.
Please take special care, keep warm and keep safe.
Yours in Rotary,
Ann
Last Friday....
If it's the third Friday of the month it must be a Business Meeting.
1) Report back from David Bradshaw on Membership: The good news is that Roger Lloyd might be moving down to the Cape, but after seeing how Rosebank Rotary has embraced the New Normal and welcomed a host of virtual members from much further afield than Cape Town he has decided to remain a member.
Sadly though we shall be losing Judy Powell as a member, who has been battling to cope with remote meetings and feels she has lost touch with the Club.
Another sad farewell will be said to Peter James-Smith, who has been a staunch member since 2014 although he has been a Rotarian since 1987. He will be transferring to a club closer to his home in Bedfordview - Knights-Pendragon.
We will however be acquiring two new members. Roger Wedlake:
A brief resume:
- He is married to Molly and has 2 sons and 2 daughters
- He is a scientist and has a PHD in Physics from Reading University
- His main hobby is Chemistry
- He was a member of the Rotary Club of Parktown Excalibur for a number of years, which club terminated several years ago
A few of you will have met Sheldon Rambanabasi who did a sterling job recently acting as our quiz master, who will also be inducted alongside Roger.
2) Les Short reported that the Sewing Project Report had been submitted.
Sadly we will not be eligible for a Global Grant this year, but we now have whole year to plan for a worthy project to get our teeth into.
3) Pam Donaldson, who's portfolio includes Club Service and Attendance informed us that the average attendance for the past month was 21, and that unfortunately it has been decided that given the rampaging Third Covid Wave we would not be holding any in person monthly social meetings at Wanderers, and will be reverting back to Zoom only-gatherings.
4) Youth & Publicity reported back by Jean Bernardo: Marianne Soal has volunteered to get more involved with the Interact Club of Highlands Boys High School and has some exciting ideas which she will share with us in the near future.
As Rotary Africa is a recipient of our weekly Rosebank Ramble, Sharon Robertson has often used articles which she feels might be of interest to a wider public in their monthly editions. She has asked Sybille to pen an article about our Blanket Drive for publication.
5) Sonja Hood's portfolio is Fundraising. The annual quiz on the 20th of October might still seem a far way off, but we still need many more raffle prizes.
Sonja has made contact with the well known scenario planner and strategist Clem Sunter, who has agreed to do a Zoom presentation on The Covid Economy - Beyond 2021.
Because of the nature of the topic Sonja would like to actively market this to corporates.
Sonja has also agreed to take over the planning of the Art Festival and at present she is awaiting feedback from the Rosebank Mall for proposed suitable dates.
6) The Community & Vocational Services Committee chaired by Sybille Essmann is hard at work distributing blankets to communities in need, but the blanket production has hit a snag, but hopefully we will soon be able to resume getting blankets out there.
Because of Lockdown restrictions we were unable to present the annual Vocational Awards last year, but Covid permitting we are aiming at having an Awards ceremony at the end of September (date to be confirmed) and call on all members to please give it some thought and submit nominations for worthy recipients before the end of July.
Ringing out the Old and Singing in the New....
Do not forget to join DG Annemarie Mostert this coming Saturday the 26th of June at 11:30 as she hands over the baton to her successor Stella Anyangwe.
Although it will be a virtual installation we have been asked to all make sure we have a glass of bubbly at hand to wish our new
District Governor for 2021/22 all the very best for her no doubt challenging year ahead.
For purposes of ease...
The 50th Quiz Challenge should not be missed....
May we introduce you to the Rotary Club of Dar-Es-Salaam Oysterbay. They are a young club, having only been chartered in 2009.
They are a growing, dynamic and diverse club, who like to go by the name "Joysterbay" as their motto is to have fun while they serve.
The Club has won every conceivable award this year: Club of the Year,Youth Service Award, Community Service Award and Membership Growth Award. They have won more awards than any other club in Tanzania and also their District.
They will be our worthy opponents and we want to give them a warm South African welcome.
Please join us on Wednesday the 23rd of June via Zoom at 19:00 (There is an hour's time difference)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83378053474
Meeting ID: 833 7805 3474
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Everyone is welcome!!
This Friday....
.....Will be a Social Meeting. For those that have been enjoying the interaction of the last few face-to-face social meetings it will be disappointing, but as we deal with the Third Wave and the fact that none of us have been fully vaccinated we need to take every precaution to stay safe and healthy.
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