Welcome to the New Rotary Year which began on 1st July 2021

A big warm welcome to the new Rotary year. I would like to say a post covid year but I fear we have not yet said goodbye to this terrible pandemic. We all know however that it is more likely we are going to have to learn to live with it just as we have with influenza. 

This will bring change for Rotary but of course change was already on our agenda, whether that is addressing membership numbers and gender balance or refreshing some of our cherished projects such as Polio Plus. Clubs in many cases have adapted to meet the challenge brought about by the inability to meet in the usual club format. At District level such changes as meeting via Zoom will continue, allowing for more efficient and less costly operation. 

We would all agree that the return to face to face meetings will be very welcome. We have not had the chance, without our annual District Conference, to meet members across the District for several years. This year we will be holding three one day conferences of which all clubs are encouraged to attend at least one along with fellow club members – see the RotaCon 21 details elsewhere on this website. 

This Newsletter is now 4 years old and has been a welcome addition circulating information around our District membership. Clubs are encouraged to send in their articles to the editor Mike Le Conte and try to keep them to 200 words with a photo as well – it’s all about getting to know what clubs are doing!.

District membership. Clubs are encouraged to send in their articles to the editor Mike Le Conte and try to keep them to 200 words with a photo as well – it’s all about getting to know what clubs are doing! 

Since I was appointed DGN I have visited, either face to face or by Zoom, over 40 of our 70 plus clubs. To those clubs that I have already visited thank you for having me along and to those I haven’t yet visited please consider inviting me to meet your members. I have some interesting tales to tell during my time as a Rotarian. One club where I was President nearly asked me to step down after a couple of months in post! Whilst travelling further afield I was arrested in Sydney on a warrant from Scotland Yard and I was locked up in Hong Kong for travelling on a false passport… and there is more to tell! 

I wish you all a great Rotary year ahead. 

Yours in Rotary

Paul 

Paul T Steele, District Governor 2021-2022

Working together to halt Service Club membership decline…..

….Helping our clubs grow an increasingly diverse membership to maximise their engagement with individuals and communities