Rod McDougall
President 2006-7
Rotary Club of Strathfield
The President's View
Wednesday 21 February 2007
A record number of golfers, a record number at dinner and a record amount raised. Congratulations to Niall King and his team. for the most successful Trish MS Golf Day to date.
As announced on the night, including the proceeds from the raffle which had been underway for some weeks, over $20,000 was raised, bringing to over $100,000 these events have contributed to the search for a cure for multiple sclerosis.
Niall will have the pleasure of announcing the final figures at our meeting this week. Presentation of a cheque to Carol Langsford of the Trish Foundation will occur in the near future .
Feedback from local schools on Bradley Ayres's MUNA (Model United Nations Assembly) invitation has been good, with one school wishing to submit two teams. Bradley is seeking assistance in organising the debates. This is an excellent youth program – please give him your support.
This week we welcome the graduates from the recent District 9690 RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) seminar. They will report on their experiences during the residential leadership training week at the Blue Gum Lodge at Springwood .
Not all members would be aware that the excellent coverage included in the bulletin of the previous week's meeting is prepared by Peter Douglas. Peter's report (click) provides a detailed account of the guest speaker's talk, as a matter of record and for those not able to attend the meeting. Thanks, Peter.
Bulletin Editor Bob Templeman has noted that it is Rotary's birthday this week – our organisation is now 102 years old! The remarks by founder Paul Harris when Rotary was just 25 years old seem just as relevant today.
“As movements get older they become institutional-ised. Tradition hampers the exercise of reason ... Unworthy and irrational features are permitted to continue merely because they always have been ... The spirit becomes lost in the letter of the law”.
Enjoy Rotary … by getting involved!
President Rod