Visit of District Governor Andy Ireland

Wed, Nov 4th 2015 at 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Andy became District Governor in July this year and this visit to our Club is only one of the many visits (over 60) he will make to all the clubs in District 1020 during his year of office


President Peter expressed a warm welcome to our 2015-2016 District Governor, Andy Ireland, advising that his ‘day job’ is prison governor at HMP Addiewell in West Lothian.


Having attended with wife Jackie the Rotary International National Assembly in San Diego, DG Andy referred to his visits to all the District clubs to pass on the RI President’s Message. With a well managed diary, he would achieve visits to all but four of the district’s sixty clubs before Christmas. He found the National Assembly to be an amazing affair with 500 District Governors from round the world attending - wearing the kilt at events there meant posing for a photo every five minutes with his image now all round the globe!


Andy maintains that Rotary is all about ’Service’ rather than solely driven by money. He quoted RI President KR Ravindran’s address to District Governors:  “All of you have been given so many gifts. And you have now been given this great gift: one year to take all your talents, all your gifts, everything that you are and can become - and Be a Gift to the World.” So, using talents, expertise, and leadership, Rotary members worldwide were asked to be Gifts to the World in this 2015-2016 Rotary year.


The Rotary Foundation, our own charity, is essential to generating grants for Rotary’s work. Andy told us that this year to date there have been 51 new cases of polio in the world down from 221 last year. Tremendous achievement when compared to the 350,000 cases worldwide ten years ago.


Andy’s talk was littered with anecdotes and light hearted comments but the underlying messages were serious ones relating to achieving the right balance between money and service; the development of young people through Rotakids, Interact, Rotaract, towards membership of a Rotary Club; levels of membership (District is +54 this year); and public perception of Rotary and its members. There is room for satellite clubs and associate / corporate membership as well as achieving the right balance between formality and more modern practices.


He ended with stressing the importance of fellowship and fun saying “Our time is now - be a Gift to the World.


Following several questions, the Club’s vote of thanks was given by Mike Latimer.


Report by Ian Greig


'What We Do' Main Pages:

Partner Club: Bronze Roundel

Our support for Rotary International charities

more  

Read about our Club initiatives

more  

Read about our Club and where we are....

more  

This page features recent submissions to the press about our Club. Please note that the press editors may have made changes to the copy used for final publication

more