Club Assembly

AG Tony Stringer joined us online for today’s Club Assembly, when we mainly looked forward to the forthcoming Rotary year. He confirmed that this year’s District Governor, Keith Brownlie, is to continue for a further year in view of the effects of the lockdown restrictions. Our own Club has decided to have a new President as usual. (Our only President who served a double term was Reginald Fish, who was President when the Second World War started and continued for an additional year. The exact reasons are lost in the mists of time.)

President Elect Peter Kemp thanked the various Committee Chairs who are standing down at the end of this Rotary year and welcomed their successors. He outlined his and their plans for the next Rotary year, which show our Club continues to be active despite the restrictions. We have also kept our spirit of fellowship and friendship even though we have not been able to meet in person.

The incoming Chairs then presented their Committees’ plans for the forthcoming year. Since they had been prepared before the government announced the easing of lockdown in England was to be delayed, some of the plans for the early part of the year have already had to be changed. For example, we have unfortunately had to cancel the Summer Party for Senior Guests for the second year running. We discussed distributing “goody bags” instead.

The Ivy Hill Hotel, where we meet in normal times, offered the use of their marquee for our meetings on the first three Thursdays in July. We gave this serious consideration but, in view of the guidance from RIBI, decided it wasn’t practical to do so.

One surprising result of recent circumstances has been an increase in both our Club Funds and our Trust Funds. We agreed to allocate an additional £2,000 to tackle Covid in Nepal in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Chandagiri.

In his address to the Club AG Tony Stringer mentioned that the environment would be one of his major focuses for the forthcoming year. He wanted each Club to nominate an Environmental Representative. He has already formed an Environmental Partnership of Rotary Districts stretching from the source of the Thames to the coast of East Anglia.