6th.July 2009

Club Assembly 2009   CLUB ASSEMBLY

Good evening everyone. Welcome to the first meeting of this new Presidential year.

Welcome to Tony Osmend  -  District Assistant Governor I see myself as the figurehead of this amazing Rotary Club for one year. I cannot possibly be like any other President who has gone before. I am very proud to be in this position but feel that I am only one of a series of former Presidents who each brought their own personality to the role. This year it will be mine. I cannot be Andy, Collins, Bryan, Julian, Claire or Clive but I will do my best to keep our Rotary ideals alive as well as I possibly can. I firmly believe that this is our year, not mine, and it is my belief that we are a team with a variety of incredible skills which, if utilised effectively, could put this club at the forefront of the ever developing Rotary movement. To do this the club has got to reflect now on what it has already achieved, which is substantial, and make decisions about how well it is functioning and to look ahead at the challenges faced by our own club and also those of the wider Rotary organisation. We need some creative thinking to ensure that everyone feels a part of a team which can make a difference. This year's heading at the conferences has been: THE FUTURE OF ROTARY IS IN YOUR HANDS I believe this is true although you might argue  -  what difference can I/we make -  well  the little bit we do when put all together with everyone else's contributions can make a huge difference to the whole. We may not be the largest club in district and we may not make a huge amount of money but put together with everyone else's contribution it supports the ideal of Rotary which is always 'Service before Self' which helps to make other people's lives so much better.   So what are our targets going to be? With your blessing I would like to suggest we go for: 1.       Make everyone feel valued and useful within our own club - give everyone a voice We need to create a structure to ensure excellent communication  -  committees include every member of the club  -  this is very necessary to support making proposals and managing events and activities. However, this can sometimes stifle creativity and therefore it would be good this year to have some open debates to ensure that everyone is included in some of the starting points for ideas. Debates are excellent as long as they are controlled and that the participants agree to disagree, everyone has a chance to air their views and that we respect each other enough to listen and to use the information to inform future decisions. 2.       Encourage  everyone  to come to fellowship events and meetings Again to reinforce the fellowship element of the club it is essential to understand what would ensure as much participation as possible at club meetings and at events and activities. The club must be inclusive irrespective of members circumstances and this requires an element of understanding and flexibility. 3.       Ensure we enrole as many new members as possible and to continue to develop strategies to do this.  To retain current members. We would like a positive gain in members by the end of this Presidential year. Reg has already started some excellent work towards this goal as has Collins with his work on the web site, however our membership has dropped and we really need to focus our attention on how to increase our numbers. To ensure we retain our current members has to be a priority which is why the former points are so vital. How to increase our numbers ought to be one of our topics for debate I think - but we will get there. I have a potential member coming next week we must make her very welcome indeed. 4.       Ensure that everyone understands that we are part of a bigger picture and that we must positively develop as a member club of the world of Rotary. The best thing I ever did was to go to a Rotary conference  -  Bournmouth stays in my mind because it opened my eyes to the wider world of Rotary. We cannot see ourselves in isolation and must strive to support Rotary by working together with other Rotarians at all levels. This is not at the expense of our own identity but if we are flexible enough it will enrich it. Within this we need to look at what we can do to support District projects such as Polio Plus, Rotary Day on Feb.23^rd  2010 to support Thanks for Life and other club projects like the Grafton Village Project etc. We will talk in more detail about these in future meetings. 5.       Raise the profile of Rotary and to improve its public image 6.       Start a new community project 7.       Start a new joint international project with Hedensted 8.       My personal preferred charity to support this year will be Chestnut Tree House 8 targets to meet  -  some easier than others  -  are we are up for the challenge? LET US GIVE IT OUR BEST SHOT!!!