President Peter Smith's Column

Last week -Information Evening:

A big thank you to Rod McDougall for his superb organisation of last week’s membership information evening – these nights just get bigger and better. Rod of course was assisted in no small way by Ray Wilson, Janelle Watson and Joseph Kim.

My thanks to PDG David Croft, PP Peter Foss, Rtn David (Ace) Martin, PP Joe Saad and PP Peter Manenti who all spoke eloquently about Rotary.

This year as we have “lost” 4 members and have gained 3 new members we are now minus 1 for the year. So these nights are important if the Club is to be revitalised and grow.

Induction:

It was a pleasure, last Wednesday, to induct David (Westpac) Martin as a member of Rotary. David, as you all know, has only recently arrived home from his Group Study Exchange trip to the Philippines. But what you perhaps don’t know is that David (without my involvement or pressure!) is already an integral part of the Strathfield Red Shield Appeal Committee. Westpac are the bankers for the Red Shield Appeal – and staff were asked to volunteer. David was the first to put his hand up! We now have two David Martins – and I wish we had more!

This week – Suzanne Freund, will talk to us about Australian Rotary Health and in particular mental health. Australian Rotary Health (ARH) is Australia's largest non-government funding body of mental illness research. Suzanne, who is active on a District level with ARH, is also, as we all know, an enthusiastic supporter of the Bowel Scan programme.

Attendance is a continuing concern. As Rotarians, we are encouraged to strive for regular attendance at our Club meetings and, if we are not able to make a meeting, then to consider attending a Club function or visiting another Club as a ‘make up’. The tracking and administration of attendance is conducted on a weekly basis, reported to District on a monthly basis and so on. When a potential member visits to ‘check us out’ we talk about the requirement for regular attendance, and a target attendance rate is promoted by Rotary International. But is this really what regular attendance is all about ?

How often do we actually stop to consider what it is about regular attendance that is really important? I can only speak for myself, but let me tell you why I attend most weekly meetings and become involved in Club-related activities as much as possible. My life is enriched with the following:

Friendship

A sense of common purpose

Support and encouragement

Mentoring – both giving and receiving

Diversity of opinions

Learning from others’ experiences

Motivation to do better

Plenty of fun

Interesting guest speakers

and much more ….

So, the next time it may seem to be easier to just skip a meeting … give some thought to what you may be sacrificing by losing regular contact with your fellow Club members - and what is happening in our collective lives and Club projects. The decision is ultimately up to you but, personally, I know what my choice is …

President Pete