President John's (Prancer) New Year Newsletter

Dear Rotarians,

Jan and I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2014 and look forward to the next 6 months of my President's year. The first half seems to have flown by helped by a flurry of activity in August and September. Time does seem to pass quickly from one Tuesday to the next and  I can clearly remember back in 1983  (yes, 30 years ago) we were talking about George Orwell and how his predictions may come true the next year. I will let you decide if 1984 has arrived but there is no doubt Big Brother is out there more than before because of the way we communicate. I would not be surprised if Barack himself was reading this e-mail such is the influence of Rotary.

The District Conference was a great weekend and the organisation excellent. Some have already booked for next time in Aviemore and some members are planning for events abroad. Colin has had further contact with the Norwegian club and it is looking as if they will visit us next summer. 

We have plans for several events which are now firmed up with the concert in February and Sporting Dinner in March. These will raise important funds to support our projects in the coming months as well as entertaining many people who will hopefully appreciate all the time and effort that Rotarians give.  Some may even think of joining in the future. Please keep an eye on the Diary which Colin has updated on the web-site.

Tony is doing a great job keeping up our profile though I have had some feedback from fans disappointed  that I have not been in the Galloway News much over the past month. No doubt Burns season will rectify that gap in their lives. We have our own Burns Supper later this month with a full line-up of speakers arranged.

We have had a great number of Youth activities which has revealed some real talent in many areas with our local chef through to the next round. Plans are underway for the next few months including selecting  RYLA candidates.

Many events are now quite complex to arrange and partnership working is important. This has never been a problem within Kirkcudbright Rotary with volunteers always seeming to appear. There are plenty examples of working with our neighbouring clubs but it is also good to see closer links with other Kirkcudbright groups both planning and advertising for the summer - Half-Marathon, Parade, Tattoo, Duck Race and Cycle Sportive. All of this keeps us involved and lets the locals know where the funds are going.

Finally, of course, all this positive news has to be tempered by the sudden and sad death of Roger Jones on Boxing day. A Past President who always had a ready smile, he tried to educate us in the fine art of whisky-making and must have despaired at our inability to detect subtle flavours at his tasting sessions. He had joined us on the annual cycling trips and even managed to fall off in Belfast whilst actually stationary. We will all miss him and are thinking of Sue and his family.

Best Wishes

John