Welcome again to everyone, where very shortly, we will be celebrating the changeover to our clubs first woman President.
Fantastic to see over 60 of you here to take part in our evening and as you all making up such a wide representation of the Dunedin community, we as Rotarians are proud to serve you all through so many of our projects, fundraising and community supporting events.
Being President means that with of the extra Rotary things that I have done or attended outside of our usual Tuesday night meetings, I have needed strong support and understanding from Andrea, Ben and Amelia and so a huge thank you to them from me and the club.
Club-wise, whilst we have done a ton of great things over the last twelve months, the loss of Alan Crawford who was such a stalwart and supporter of Dunedin Central Rotary was devastating and his passing was a tremendously sad day for us all. Our condolences again to his wife Pauline and they also go out to Rob and Annette for the recent loss of their lovely daughter Stephanie and to David Black for the recent loss of his mum.
When I was researching/writing some quick notes for an evening such as this, and have then to delete half of them in case it snowed, I initially would have described our year as solid at best, with a fantastic trip to India during it for some of us, however on reflection, we have together achieved a lot of great things.
Financially, our club’s project account has gone up to $25,000 and our General account is more or less the same at $6800 so overall we have $55,000 sitting in the bank. On top of this, our Charitable Trust has increased its funds available for distribution to over $37,000 so we are in a strong financial position. My grateful thanks to Grant Batchelor for all of his work as our treasurer and continuing on the work done by Neville and those before him. Our thanks also to Don and the charitable trust board.
We raised over $10,000 from our annual auction with the evening mc-ed by Jonathan Usher being a great success. Coupled with the District grants where we were able to donate $9725 to five very worthy projects, Plus we have donated over $5000 to a number of other organisations. The Foundation committee have done a fantastic job and my thanks to them and Dave McLeod as director.
It was with great pleasure that I was lucky enough to be the one to present our Project director Ah-Lek Tay with a well-deserved Paul Harris in the New Year. Our projects committee and its volunteers are the lifeblood of our club and this year has been no exception with the many areas they have helped with over the last twelve months, including the $10,000 raised from our book sale. Had heaps more to say Ah-Lek, but it might snow J
Lisa and the Youth committee have had a solid year with their crowning achievement being the selection of Alex Martin from OGHS as our club’s representative to the District Speech conference. Alex of course went on to win the District competition and in my humble and honest opinion was streets ahead of the rest. So many thanks to Lisa and her team.
Conference, in Wanaka this year, was filled with excellent speakers again and it was a proud moment receiving trophies for the club on the best website/Facebook page and the club collaboration trophy in conjunction with Rotaract Dunedin and others for the Project Starfish. Coupled with DC club member Vicki Mosley being awarded a Paul Harris for her District publicity work and Alex’s speech contest win, our little club rose well above the rest of the clubs present.
Our membership committee, ablely lead by DGN Andrew Hamilton has increased our membership by two and if we hadn’t let Susannah go off to set up the NRG Dunedin club, we would have achieved a 10% increase which is what Rotary International asked for. Welcome again to Beth, Randall and Heather. Cheers and many thanks to Andrew and committee.
I must at this stage, congratulate NRG Dunedin (Shannon is here to represent them tonight) on their chartering and we all wish them the very best for the years to follow. (Shannon to thank the club etc.)
It was also great to be part of the first changeover for the Dunedin E-club which was set-up and chartered by DC Rotary at the crossover of my and Bob’s presidencies last year in June 2016.
We had some excellent speakers and Pieter van der Klundert did a great job for us. Being able to hand our 3 Paul Harris’s to 3 Dunedin stalwarts on our Tuesday nights was a great honour also. Thanks Piet
My thanks to Murray for his excellent bulletin work for us, especially as taking on the role at the last minute, having only just joined the club.
Lastly, a huge thank you to Eleanor for being the best Secretary a club president could ask for. Everything on time and in the right place, so perfect. Also, the addition of some outstanding performances by her and Keith to our DC quiz team, meaning that over the last 3 quiz fundraisers, our team achieved 3rd, then 2nd then 1st. This only proves just how I needed Eleanor to help me out.
So again, to you all, my grateful thanks for all of your support and guidance over my year as your club President.
Right enough about me,
Tonight we charter our first woman President in Sue Mackinlay and this is a brilliant moment for the club. Sue is a great member and supporter of Dunedin Central Rotary, its events, projects and our board, having served 5 years as secretary. Plus, Sue brings to the role many years of experience in business and community and will be a fantastic representative for Dunedin Central.
So Happy President’s Day to you Sue, and happy 4th of July Independence Day to me!!
Ladies and gentleman, 2017/2018 Dunedin Central Rotary club President Sue Mackinlay.
Sue Mackinlay
I’d like to thank our District Governor, Bruce Cowan for coming to our changeover. It all adds to the importance of the occasion to have office bearers of this caliber attend our party!
Special thanks must also go to my son, Matt and my future daughter in law, Jess, for being here tonight and also my sister Jill and my nephew Sam who have come from Christchurch to support me. Your presence here amongst my Rotary friends is very much appreciated.
On behalf of the club, our sincere thanks must go to Derek, for the excellent year he has had as President. He has outlined all he has achieved and that is no mean feat. He has made the transition for me very easy and has always responded to any queries I have had. Enjoy your “independence”, Derek .
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So the new era begins……
Thank you for placing your confidence and trust in me to serve as your President.
Looking back on club records I have noted that in the first mention of female members was in 2000 and in 2003 it was minuted that the membership committee was (to quote) ‘ having difficulty getting names of suitably qualified females and would appreciate assistance with this”. Time moved on and on 30th June 2007 the first female member was inducted into the club ( Carol Ellison)). I am pleased to say that 10 years later I am honored to be first female president of the Rotary Club of Dunedin Central, and proud to belong to a club where women are treated in a Rotarian way - with respect
Rotary International President for 2017-2018 Ian H.S. Riseley has as his presidential theme, Rotary: Making a Difference.
I want to make a difference, as your new president: a difference to my life as a Rotarian, to your lives as Rotarians and a difference to the communities we serve.
I want to make a difference to how we operate as club members… it will be good to get to know each other a little better and to have some fun! I hope to initiate a ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ night when you and your partner will be asked to bring something for dinner at my home with six others…..but you won’t know who you are eating with until you arrive. Hopefully we can all take part in this social activity before the end of the year.
I have asked Sandy Jefferies to be my ‘Club Activities Officer”: she will assist in organizing any club activities we decide to do and has already sorted a Ten Pin Bowling Night at Bowl Line and a meal afterwards at Cableways on the 25th July. Thanks, Sandy.
Graham and Jenny Spence have agreed to be our welfare officers. I’m sure they will show compassion and care to any of our members in need. Please pass on to them any news or information of members who may need some rotary love and support. Thanks Spence team.
Graham has also offered to collate our bulletin this year. He will be ably supported by Murray, who has done a fine job during the past year. Don’t be afraid to send Graham any news or photos… let’s make the bulletin the best it’s ever been.
Neville, Lisa and Murray have agreed to be our speaker seekers and I am already impressed with the organization. Remember to fire any suggestions for relevant and interesting speakers to them. Thanks for doing this very important job.
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I want to make a difference to the opportunities we have for service. As a club we all need to constantly thinking of ways we can support our local community. I welcome any suggestions.
I believe that when you are asked to serve on committees, you will look at the word committee as part of the idea of commitment, not as a chore to be avoided. I encourage my directors to make ‘committee times’ as relevant as possible and through our committee work we will make a significant difference to our club dynamics.
I want to make a difference to the recognition of our club both in the Rotary community and in the community at large - the world needs more Rotarians!
Environmental ruin and global climate change are serious threats to everyone. The International President has challenged every Rotary club to make a difference by planting a tree for each of its members between the start of the Rotary year on 1 July and Earth Day on 22 April 2018. Trees remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the air, which slows global warming so our club will join other Dunedin clubs on September 2nd at Sinclair Wetlands to plant trees. We can make a difference.
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At this point, I’d like to introduce the 2017-18 Board
Pres. Elect David Macleod,
Treasurer Grant Batchelor
Secretary Eleanor Archer
Past President Derek King who will also be our PR Director
Directors:
Service Projects Ah Lek Tay
Foundation Andrew Meek
Membership Brigetta Anselmi-Hewett
Youth and vocational Pete Van der Klundert
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I am confident that all the members of Dunedin Central Rotary Club stand for truth, fairness, goodwill, the benefit of all concerned and service above self.
I am proud to serve as your President and will do my best to serve you well and to facilitate your efforts to Make A Difference in the 2017-2018 Rotary year.
Life is a juggle: we juggle work, we juggle family, we juggle our rotary commitments … and on that note I would like to introduce my nephew, Sam Callon who knows a whole lot about’ juggling’. Sam is off to an international convention of Performing Arts in Poland in the next week or so and will now show us just how skilled he is…. And maybe some of you will be brave enough to try it too.
Thank you!
