Business Meeting - Evening Live

ROTARY CLUB OF CHESTFIELD

Minutes of the Meeting

Held on Thursday, July 29^th 2021

At The Plough, Swalecliffe

Apologies:

            Dave C.            Paul                 Jackie              Pippa              Hilary

Guests:

            Sharon Brown           Pat Brealy      Mary Robinson          Jean Sawyer

President’s Welcome

            Lesley opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the first indoor meeting of       the Club for eighteen months and introduced new member Margaret who    thanked the Club for making her so welcome.    Lesley thanked Pat for organising       the meeting at the Plough.

Gordon Johnson

            Nick gave a moving tribute to Gordon Johnson who, sadly, passed away on the            morning of July 28^th.    Gordon, a longstanding Rotarian, was instrumental in the    foundation of the Club.    He will be long remembered by everyone he met for his   fairness, optimism and, above all, his sense of humour.      The thoughts and      prayers of the Club are with his wife, Ann, and the family.     The Club then stood             in silence in memory of Gordon.

Reggie Taylor-Harding

            It is understood that Reggie is unwell and the Club sent him best wishes for a swift recovery.

Golf Club

            The Golf Club currently has no chef and cannot offer the Club a full breakfast.              The Club has been offered two following alternatives until the Golf Club can        appoint a chef:

o   Meet as usual but then transfer to the Chestfield Barn for breakfast at

            9.00 am

o   Pastries and tea or coffee instead of breakfast 

            It was decided to wait until the Golf Club can offer a normal service and, in the            meantime, to continue to meet at the Plough.

Next Meetings

            The meetings of August 5^th and 12^th will, therefore, be held at the Plough at 7.15         am for 7.30 am.    Speakers from the Presidents’s charities have been arranged for both meetings as follows:

August 5^th:      Carrie Wood from SNAAP

SNAAP provides an extensive range of services to children with every kind of disability, aged from 0 – 25 years , in partnership with their parents.     The focus of the services is upon all the child’s needs including educational, social, developmental and emotional.   SNAAP focuses up the whole family and not just on the child with disabilities.      It is a charity closely associated with Gordon Johnson who was a trustee for many years.

August 12^th:    Anna Mantell from Food Friends                              

Set up by Anna in 2019, Food Friends is a Whitstable charity that connects volunteers offering extra portions of home-cooked food with members of the local community who would benefit from a warm meal and a friendly chat.

International Committee – Andrew B

     Walk4Water

            All being well, Walk4Water will take place next year on date to be confirmed in          support of a project at Gimomoi Primary School in Western Kenya.

     International Student Loren Schmidt

            Loren will be arriving in the UK on September 20^th and it is hoped that she can           soon come to a Club meeting.    She may attend the District Conference and            District will pay her accommodation and meal costs.

     Apeldoorn

Andrew reported that Eric & Linda are once more responsible for International in the Rotary Club of Apeldoorn and they want to breathe new life back into their Club’s international contact with Chestfield.    It is hoped to arrange a visit one way or the other in the Spring or Autumn of next year.   

Opening Your Heart to Bhutan

            Andrew has been in touch with Sue Hills and now has the details he needs to make the District grant application for funds for two water filters at the school in             Bhutan in the expectation that more funding could be available.     Spyros and     Pippa have already provided funding for a water filter

Membership – Pete

  Sadly, the Club has lost some members recently and is now down to 26 which is         still a very good number.       Pete has been exploring with Kevin Fielding closer links with other local clubs in the belief that it is better to have one strong club rather than three weak ones.        Pete has also been looking at the possibilities of partnership with local businesses.

Foundation - Sue

      A Polio Free World

Rotary is still determined to close the fundraising gap to achieve a polio free world and Sue appealed for ideas as to what the Club might do to raise funds and to promote the campaign.    In October, All Saints Church was floodlit in purple and Sue suggested that the Club might repeat this or do something similar this year.

    Rotary Ride in Aid of Prostate Cancer Research

Rotary GB will hold a Rotary Ride in aid of Prostate Cancer Research over the weekend of September 4^th and 5^th .    The Club will hold a less formal event for the cause with an afternoon cycle ride or walk between Minnis Bay and Reculver and everyone is encouraged to take part.    The suggested donation is £5.00 for those taking part and £10 for those who do not.

     Club Charity Golf Day

            The Club Charity Golf Day will be held on Friday, September 10th at the Golf Club.      Apart from help on the day, there is a need to recruit more teams as not many        have signed up so far.    There is also a need for some good raffle prizes.

     Quiz Night

            The Quiz Night will take place in All Saints Church Hall on Saturday, 13^th of     November.   Everything is booked but promotion is needed.

     Car Parking

The next car parking is scheduled for Sunday, August 29^th.       Godfrey thanked everyone who has helped with car parking but he is experiencing difficulty in recruiting help and needs more volunteers.   Those members who have not helped with car parking for a while are encouraged to step forward.

Herne and Broomfield Fun Day

Help is needed with parking on the Herne and Broomfield Fun Day which will now take place on Sunday, August 22^nd.

Barn Dance

The Barn Dance has been fixed for May 25^th 2022.

Community and Vocational - Kathy

     Gardening at the Whit and Tank Hospital

This will take place on Saturday, July 31^st at 9.30 am.     The central area is very overgrown and the job of tidying it will be a big one which will require a minimum team of 6 to 8 volunteers.

Tools With A Mission (TWAM)

There will be a collection for TWAM next year on a date to be decided.

Christmas Collection

            All being well, there will be a Christmas Collection as usual this on a date to be           confirmed.

Rosebed at Chestfield Roundabout

There is a patch of grass, a rosebed and an arc of trees near beside the Chestfield roundabout at the junction with Chestfield and Maydowns Roads; currently the grass is cut and the hedge maintained sporadically by KCC.    The Parish Council has asked if the Club would be interested in taking over the maintenance of this area as the person who has looked after it for some years is stepping down.   The Parish Council would be willing for the Club to put up some signage provided it was not too obtrusive.     David M. put the proposal to the Club but stressed that it was essential that the site was kept in good shape which would entail cutting the grass at least every two weeks and regularly deadheading the roses.    For it to be maintained well it would need a team to undertake responsibility for the work.      Godfrey offered to undertake the deadheading.   The Club agreed that it should take on the work. A sheet to be added to the events folder for those able to do the work and a rota worked out.

Public Image - Robert

Robert appealed to members for information and photographs that he can share on Facebook.

Meal Steward – Robert

Robert reminded everyone that he is the Meal Steward and that apologies and notification of guests should be sent to him by Monday evening each week.   He can be reached on 0770 4943605 or by email on sissons349@btinternet.com.

Environment – Robert

-          Robert has a new role as lead for environmental issues and he would welcome suggestions as to how members can reduce their carbon footprint.    Robert is planning to carry out a survey of how our club members do things for the environment.

Social - Pat

Dinner at the Yangtze

The recent dinner at the Yantze was very successful and well attended and it will be repeated.

Dinner at Mucini’s

A dinner at Mucini’s has been organised for the evening of Thursday, August 19^th at 7.00 pm. The cost will be £30.00 per person.

Other Suggestions

Pat would welcome suggestions from members for social events.    Visits to Ramsgate Tunnels and Quex Park are under consideration.

Youth - Margaret

Margaret is particularly interested in special needs.   She is keen to promote Rotakids and hopes to visit local schools in the Autumn.

Finance – David M

Accounts

            The Charity Account stands at £2,600 after commitments and the Club Account          stands at £244.

Payment for Meals

In order to pay for meals and to cut down work for David M, members are asked to pay a regular lump sum or to set up regular payments by standing order into the Club account.     David stressed the following:

o   Members must add their name when making a payment as otherwise he has no idea who has made the payment and their money could be wrongly allocated

o   Payments for meals must be made into the Club Account (ending in 5780) i.e., not the Charity Account

Committees - Lesley

Lesley reminded the meeting that everyone is expected to be a member of a committee and anyone who has not yet decided which committee they would like to belong to should decide as soon as possible.    The Club rules do provide that the Board can allocate undecided members to committees.

Raffle

Thanks to Margaret for organising the raffle.     Andrew B. won chocolates, Iain made off with the wine, Pat took the tomatoes and Jean M. ended up with a handsome marrow.

Greetings from Other Clubs

            At the car parking recently there were members from the Clubs of Durham,    Kingshill and             Medway who all sent their greetings.

Master at Alms

            Sadly, Nicks little car was being serviced but he still managed a very successful           session.

Final toast

            David Mann gave the toast to Gordon and to Rotary .