We were back at the Chelmsford Rugby Club for today’s Special General and Business Meetings.
At the Special General Meeting we elected the following officers for 2020-21:
We then moved on to the Business Meeting, starting with the presentation of the Club and Trust Fund accounts by Treasurer Bob Booker. During November we had to pay some deposits for future lunches, for which we will not receive the income until nearer the bookings. A payment has been made to the Rotary Foundation UK from the Trust Fund. Edmund Carr, one of our Business Partners, has kindly agreed to provide sponsorship for the Chelmsford heats of Rotary Young Musician.
Janice Goodman, 1st Vice President and Chair of our Club Administration Committee, reported that meeting venues had been booked until the end of May. There was some discussion as to which venues we should be using in the long term, whether we should settle on one or two and, if one, which one? The matter will be put to the Club in the early part of next year.
Jenny Black, the Chair of our Membership Committee, was able to report that one company had already become a new Business Partner following our “Together with Business Day” on 21 November. We will probably hold a similar event next year.
Stan Keller, the Chair of the Public Image Committee, thought recent events such as the Together with Business Day and the Santa’s Grotto at the Frost Fair had helped increase public awareness of Rotary and our Club. President Francis encouraged us all to wear our Club clothing whenever appropriate.
In her capacity as Chair of the Youth Service Committee, Janice Goodman was able to report good progress in a number of areas, including the Chelmsford High School Interact Club and the Rotary youth competitions. There are hopes of establishing a new Rotakids Club at one of the local schools.
In his report to the Club about our District (1240) and the wider world of Rotary, Stan Keller mentioned the disturbing news that there had been 98 new cases of polio in Afghanistan so far this year, which was much higher than last year.
The next District Conference will be held at Five Lakes in October. District meetings that were due to be held at Hamptons will now be held at Writtle University College.