President Anna Martin

Yes, it is only 3 years since I was last president but to support our newer members who in the future look to take on the president’s role, I have agreed to do another year.

I did look back at my previous assembly address. It was quite different times then. We had all just come out of the long tunnel that was Covid restrictions. My mantras of “Reconnect” and “More doing Less” may have seemed a bit corny at the time but I think it was needed to help us move on from the strange covid times. Thankfully those days are long gone and the club today has recovered and grown well.  My message for my upcoming year is “United for Good”.  For those of you who follow Rotary International you will know that our international president had United for Good as his slogan. Sadly, Mário César Martins de Camargo, resigned and won’t now take office. Francesco Arezzo of the Rotary Club of Ragusa, Italy has accepted the nomination to serve as Rotary International President for 2025–26 and he has opted to stay with the same message, United for Good.  I thought this fitted with our club and myself well as I attended the Rotary Convention in Calgary at the end of June. However, I also thought United for Good so describes our club. When we work together, we can all achieve so much more.

However, there are still some issues that we all need to try and address. Our club is changing so it is not all about going to lunch. Weekly lunches are important to keep up the fellowship in our club but as newer members with different work patterns struggle to get to lunch, I want to assure all our members that fellowship and commitment takes many diverse forms but ultimately, we are United for Good.  So we need to reach out to the members who don’t come to lunch and I look to the team leaders to contact all of their team and give them an active role in a particular project that will encourage engagement and get all members to take an active role in the club. I still think “More doing less” is what will drive our club forward so I don’t apologise for having it as part of my vision for the club. I want to encourage great lunch meetings, interesting breakfast meetings and projects in the community which will harness all our talents.   

Our club has a rich history of international and community projects and a solid fundraising base.  Our plans for next year devised by our teams demonstrate how our club works in many ways and through different projects and initiatives to do Good in our local community and internationally as well. We are also United in having fun hence our very varied entertainment programme. Check it out there is something there for everyone.

We are always looking for new members so if you feel our Rotary club is for you then get in touch. Our Club and the community need you.