From the Pen of the President....
Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,
This week, as I am still in Cape Town, singing songs and reading stories to grandchildren, I have “borrowed” a section from the DGs Newsletter – if you have read it, GREAT (you will recognize it), if you have not read it, here goes….
The issue of recruitment is and always has been the “lifeblood” of any club. However, many times, we as Rotarians, make this process more difficult than it really is. It is just that simple, because each and every one of us has one friend, associate, business partner that we trust and could recommend to Rotary. Our strategy has to reflect the changing times, attitudes and activities that are of interest to our membership. We have been given options (the tools in My Rotary) to have more flexibility in the way we run our clubs, as such, it has never been so easy and encouraging to be vibrant in our club activities. Off course in doing so, we have to be guided by our guiding principles and core values of: Fellowship • Integrity • Diversity • Leadership • Service
The number of members in our clubs, retained and recruited, is an important measure of our strength in service, but so are funds we donate to fuel that strength and the number of projects and volunteer hours we render. We have to continue celebrating ourselves and our successes as people of action in “service above self”
We have to be able to “Tell Our Rotary Story”, says RI President, because, “Our brand is more than just the logo and the words that follow it. It is a symbol of trust … of hope” (Zone Director Patrick Chisanga”). It is the essence of who we are and what we do, therefore strengthening our clubs and membership will help us tell that story in a compelling way and attract like-minded people like ourselves to join.
Think on this – till next week!!
Ann
Last Friday...
.... being the last Friday of the month, meant that it was a social meeting where we could kick back, relax and enjoy some Fellowship. Post-lockdown it is encouraging to see that attendance has gradually picked up and having the option of attending via Zoom does mean that members that are unable to be there in person can log on for that hour.
Environment Chair Lyn Collocott invited the vice chairperson and treasurer of the Blairgowrie Community Association Margie Roper to briefly address us and give us some valuable information about the river clean up taking place on Saturday the17th of September.
The BCA is very active and they are enthusiastically supporting The Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn's river clean-up initiative coinciding with World Clean Up Day.
The Rotary Club of Rosebank has been allocated a portion of the Braamfontein Spruit flowing through Delta Park, which is part of the Blairgowrie 'hood.
Please watch this powerful video which will make you want to roll up your sleeves and be there on that day to make a difference.
We are, after all, People of Action!
Foundation Training..
District 9400 offers ongoing Foundation training to Rotary members and last Saturday morning Sybille and Debi Lieberthal attended the online course dealing with various Foundation programs.
Subjects covered:
Polio Grants , Disaster Grants, Grants of Scale, Global Scholarships and Vocational Training Team (VTT).
It was enlightening to learn how our annual club dues are applied, how the funds are invested and how they ultimately are returned to our District to fund the various grants mentioned above.
The following Foundation training dates and times are:
- Grant Seminar - Saturday 10th September 9:00 - 11:00
- Foundation Overview - Saturday 8th October 9:00 - 11:00
- Grant Seminar - Saturday 22nd October (which will be a repeat)
To register for these training courses, go into the District 9400 website, click on Events, drop down - District Calendar and then send a message to Alice Meyer, district secretary who will send you the training registration link.
It is really worth the two hours!!
And further afield...
David Bradshaw is bursting with pride and would like to share his twin daughter Katie's sterling achievement of completing her first Comrades with us.
Katie, we salute you!
This Friday...
...We look forward to "My Story" which Juanette McCrindle will be sharing with us.
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