|
 What
lies ahead in 2008/09 for
our club?
In
2007/08 we had many
milestones for the club that
we can all be proud of. This
last year saw us as the host
club for the reigning
District Governor - to
hosting the district
conference and all the other
noteworthy events that we
were able to share in
Audrey’s term of office.
Also
in 2007/08 we were fortunate
to have Bonny as President,
and I would be remiss not to
thank her publicly for her
diligence and leadership
over the last year and
keeping it all together.
Thank you Bonny.
In the
last year we had a high
degree of visibility in the
Rotary Exchange Student
Program and witnessed the
continuation of the Interact
Club. I believe these are
very important to us as a
club as it connects us to
youth and hopefully projects
a positive image about the
importance of community and
nurturing youth to develop
the future leaders and
contributors in our
ever-changing world. These
are the people who will make
a difference - and a
positive exposure to Rotary
can be a building block for
their future and open many
doors. You never know who
will make a difference – but
access to the opportunity is
key. Our presence here today
means that in some way – we
all want to make a
difference also.
The
impact of the international
connectivity of Rotary and
the power it can amass is
startling. To imagine all
these representative clubs
linked together by a basic
premise of goodwill and a
mutually implied trust – and
through this we are able to
tackle the eradication of
polio and now take on the
charge to lessen the
suffrage of children around
the world. These are noble
and commendable goals. We
witness the power of this
connectivity in various
newsworthy events that are
reported within the ranks of
Rotary every day, and beyond
into the thousands of
communities that Rotary
serves.
These
are all honourable pursuits:
to reduce infant mortality
and morbidity,
to provide access to clean
water,
to make a commitment to
securing literacy as the
global economy intensifies,
and to provide some measure
of salvation to those less
fortunate than ourselves and
who are confined to an
oppressive environment or
simply lack the resources to
better their lives.
Who can argue against world
peace?
Somehow Rotary permeates
these boundaries and reaches
out to those who are in need
beyond our borders. These
are truly honourable
pursuits.
But…..what about those in
our own backyard? Who will
make sure that our children
can comprehend what the
school curriculum has set as
literacy standards?
Who
will provide access to
health care facilities and
people who are charged will
healing?
Who
will provide the example of
what community service is
and how it can make a
difference – in our own
backyard?
In our
Rotary Club we have
addressed these issues and
have made a positive
contribution to these
necessary things.
We have
contributed to attracting
and retaining physicians and
providing facilities and
equipment that will make
health care more accessible.
As we all are faced with
family and personal
situations that demand this
type of accessibility we are
reminded of why service to
our community is important
and that we can make a
difference. This too is
honourable and we should be
commended for it.
Something as simple as
providing access to books to
new or young families and
becoming aware of learning
difficulties that exist in
our community will help us
understand how we can make a
difference for our children
in the future. Again, we
should stand up and
congratulate ourselves.
When I
drive past the gardens and
riverbank on Grand Avenue I
am reminded of how some
Rotarians with some
foresight and fortitude
changed the face of that
riverbank. How often do we
applaud the contribution we
are making to our community?
When we
sponsor a youth sports team
I wonder if there is a child
on that team that otherwise
wouldn’t be able to play
without our support – this
is making a difference.
Stand up and be proud.
Each
time I see that YMCA van – I
say – that’s our van!
These
are only a few examples of
what it means to part of
this particular Rotary Club.
Equally as gratifying are
the times we spend in
fellowship and fundraising
or watching Sheila bike
around the river with her
sons.
We
could all be doing something
else – but why are we here?
What
are we committed to?
What
does being part of this
Rotary Club mean?
Does it
have a timeline? Does it
expire after 2 years, 3
years, 5 years, 10 years?
I don’t
know about you – but I
originally joined Rotary
because I believed in my
heart that I could make a
difference in my community
by being part of it. There
were no hidden agendas –
just the desire to make a
difference. I saw very
accomplished people who were
easy to approach, had a
sense of humour, and seemed
to share a common desire to
give back to the community
in which they conducted
business and raised their
children. Most had been
Rotarians for a number of
years and yet there didn’t
seem to be an age barrier.
New members were made to
feel welcome and were
immediately assigned to
committees so they could
weave their way into the
Rotary fabric and have a
mentor along the way.
I have
been a Rotarian for over 15
years now. No regrets. I
cherish the friendships I’ve
made and feel honoured to
have met some very
intriguing people.
What I
have learned in my short
time as a Rotarian is the
golden rule – you only get
out of it what you put into
it. But – Rotary is
different – it is selfless –
everyone respects Rotary and
what it represents.
In
collecting my thoughts for
this address it hit home –
Service before Self.
So I
ask this question – if I
choose to be a Rotarian in
this club – what type of a
commitment am I willing or
able to make?
Service
clubs have many faces and
many different types of
participants, but, as I look
around this room there seems
to be a common thread – as I
speak of the earlier
accomplishments - we all
can feel better having been
part of it.
This is
the Chatham Sunrise Rotary
Club.
We have
a gentleman farmer as our
president –elect this year.
We have
a retired school principal
on our Board.
We have
an exciting young architect
on our board.
We have
a director with the Health
Alliance who’s working on
her doctorate on our Board.
We have
an amazing secretary who is
also an amazing person and
we’re so fortunate.
In 10
short years this club is
creating its own history as
was evidenced by all who
attended the Charter Night.
We owe a sense of gratitude
to our past presidents and
those who had the foresight
to start this club 10 years
ago.
But
–now I have to ask this
question – where are we
going for the next 10 years?
What
about this year?
Many
people have expended a lot
of energy to get this club
to where it is. To them I
say thank you. I also would
ask that they talk to me and
let me know their thoughts
as we head down this path.
To the
rest of you I would like to
challenge you to make a
difference so we can make a
difference this year.
Step up
– you’re amongst friends.
Let’s
be proud of it and encourage
others to join us.
2008/09
year of the President
In my
preparation for Stan’s year
as district governor I was
asked to review pertinent
data on the club and give
some thought as to how I
would like to see the club
respond to the challenges in
my year as President.
After
putting an enormous amount
of time into this exercise
it became abundantly clear
to me that the Club needs to
grow and be known as a
productive and fun club to
be part of. What a
revelation eh.
Did you
know – we are a club of 25
Rotarians.
Did you
know that the average age of
our members is 43?
Did you
know that 55% of our members
have only been Rotarians for
3-5 years ?
We
certainly have a strong
representation of female
members.
What do
I have on my list?
We will
grow the club to 30 net
members by this time next
year.
We need
to recruit a lawyer, an
accountant, more business
owners/executives and people
with experience/success in
community fundraising.
WHY? As
part of our Club visioning
exercise it was clear that
we wanted to embrace a
signature event and create a
separate identity in this
community. These are not
possible without competent,
like-minded individuals
agreeing to share the
challenge and take a run at
it.
We need
to develop a way to keep
people enthused about being
a Sunrise Rotarian – this
means setting the stage for
a major event or fundraiser
that will be the strongest
team building exercise that
has ever been taken on by
this club.
We need
to carve out an identity
that everyone will recognize
as SUNRISE ROTARY and will
attract interest form those
who want to make a
difference in this
community.
When
new people join our club
they should be assigned to a
committee that will
immediately get them
involved and make them feel
as if they are a contributor
as they find there way in
this new experience. They
should be paired with
another Rotarian that can
mentor them through the maze
of rotary foundation vs.
ticket sales. Why bingos?
Where do we spend our money?
We are
not JUST A BREAKFAST CLUB.
We should not be sitting
here if our only purpose is
to add it to the resume and
see if we can get business
out of it. Some may tell you
it’s not a bad idea, but I
believe this is a jaundiced
and myopic view of what it
means to be a Rotarian.
Service
before Self and you’ll be
amazed what you get out of
it.
We also
have to let new leaders push
the envelope and challenge
our traditional mindsets. We
are all individuals and
successful in our own right
– surely that means
something.
Collectively – we can
accomplish a great deal and
make a difference.
Finally
– I would ask that we give
credence to the committee
structure and make it
functional. Quite frankly
this is the one identifiable
area that we truly let each
other down. I was introduced
to the committees here by
the fact that there is never
a committee meeting. I will
endeavour to change this.
I want
to bring the FUN back into
Rotary. This is not a
criticism of previous
direction – only a request
that we all enjoy the
fellowship that this can
offer. I have added a Social
committee as this is
important to me. We have
created a series of social
events this year for the
club that will keep us
rolling along and also allow
us to have some fun
together.
I am
proud to be part of this
club and now I want to go
out and tell people why!
Thank
you
Adjourned.
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