Business meeting

We don’t normally post pictures of our food on this website but member Chuda Karki was so impressed by the vegetarian toad-in-the-hole he was served at the Chelmsford Rugby Club today that he took the accompanying photograph. Those of us who are not vegetarian had real toad-in-the-hole, with similarly generous portions. [No toads were killed or injured in the preparation of this meal. Webmaster]

After we had eaten, President Mo presented 1st Vice President Francis Whitbread with his Vice President’s collar. (Francis took over the position in December 2022 as Indu Tiwari had to step down because of ill-health.)

We received the usual reports from our various committees. As Chair of our Foundation & International Committee, Chuda was delighted to report on the continued success of the projects we had initiated in Nepal alongside Rotary Clubs there. One encouraging result is the proposed building of a new school in an area which might not otherwise have had one.

He mentioned that the District has £12,000 available for grants to projects to help Ukrainian refugees in the area. He said that the government scheme to house Ukrainians with host families in the UK was now coming to an end so far as the first arrivals were concerned. Following consultations with Ukrainians and our existing partners, he would be applying on the Club’s behalf for a further grant from District to buy a storage container for donated furniture. A site was available for the container.

The main discussion concerned the future direction of our Club. We agreed that we should increase our efforts to attract new members. We will hold a “Rotary Showcase” at the Rugby Club on 11 May.

We will also review our meeting arrangements. We have already relaxed our dress code. One suggestion, which the members present generally supported, was that we should hold some meetings at the premises of a local charity with which we already have links. This will give them an additional source of income. We could also become more familiar with their work and possibly provide volunteers.