Distrct Governor's Newsletter - June 2017

Rotary Fellowships Month

Rotary Fellowships are independent, social groups that share a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends around the world.

Fellowships are open to Rotarians, family members, and program participants and alumni. You can contact a fellowship directly by using the information listed in the Rotary Fellowships directory. Or search our discussion groups to find Rotary and Rotaract members with similar interests.

There are Rotary Fellowships for almost everyone from those interested in Amateur Radio to Yachting.

Very early in my year as District Governor I was invited to ‘Flag Off’, a Rally of the Rotary Retro Automobile Fellowship from Horwood House Hotel, Milton Keynes.  The RRAF is the UK branch of the Rotary Antique, Classic and Historical Automobile Fellowship.

It is a chance to meet fellow Rotarians who have the same interests i.e. Classic Cars.  Fun and fellowship are the main benefits but they also help Rotary clubs to organise classic car events and through their website www.rraf.co.uk raise money for The Rotary Foundation through deals they have organised with tyre companies, ferries and battery companies.  They are always looking for new members to increase their scope and of course fun.

A full list and links to Rotary Fellowship websites and Facebook Pages can be found by clicking the following link:

https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/more-fellowships

Can we make Rotary a bigger priority in the lives of our members through engagement?

“Engagement is a word that is so hard to fully grasp, yet so very important to Rotary.  It can be quite difficult to explain what member engagement means, but one thing’s for sure; we all seem to know when members are engaged and when they’re not.  Most clubs seem to have those members that turn up to everything, and those members you rarely see.”

Listening to many Rotarians over the past year it appears that  member engagement in club activities is a real and present problem within our organisation.  In his latest blog, Mark Huddleston, retiring Membership Chair of District 9520 in South Australia has a few suggestions for engaging and re-engaging disengaged members in our clubs. http://d9520pulse.blogspot.co.uk

New District Website

Over the last few months Honorary Rotarian Wendy Ford has been working to transfer the District website to the Rotary GB&I-Template. 

We are currently running both the new site and the old site in tandem and will continue to do so as clubs get used to the new procedures.  The new site will become the primary site from the beginning of the 2017 – 2018 Rotary year and the old site will no longer be updated.

New Site:- http://www.rotary ribi.org/districts/homepage.php?DistrictNo=1260

Old Site:- http://www.rotary1260.org.uk/

Your Club PR/Webmasters were emailed in May and advised of how this affects articles being submitted to the District Website, detailing the new requirements.  

We are also currently looking at expanding the site and are seeking items on Club Projects, Speakers, Rotarian Business Links and Charities which are being supported by clubs.

For further information contact either the incoming District Webmaster or the District Public Image Officer.

Wendy Ford – District Webmaster, 2017-18
E-mail:- wendy@thewendyhse.co.uk

Mike Thorpe – Public Image, 2017-18
E-mail:- mike@mailord.co.uk

Centenary of the Rotary Foundation

Clubs in Beds, Bucks and Herts have several good reasons to celebrate the Centenary of our charity, The Rotary Foundation.

• Support for the Rotary GB&I Purple4Polio Awareness Project resulted in polio donations by clubs being well up on last year.
• Giving to The Rotary Foundation by clubs is well up on last year.
• Eighteen District Grants awarded to clubs for doing good in their communities and further afield.
• Six Rotary International Global Grants to the value of $218,311 have been authorised and fully paid.
• Initiated in March 2016 the Baragwanath Palliative Care Programme in the Soweto District of Johannesburg has recently been adopted as the model for future outreach programmes in all 9 of South Africa’s Provinces. See full story by clicking the following link: http://www.rotaryhatfield.uk/bpcp.html
• In District Global Grant for 15 Public Access Defibrillators to be up and running in the communities of Beds, Bucks and Herts by the end of June 2017.
• Good media coverage locally and in the Rotary GB&I bi-monthly magazine.

Many of the District and Global grants are connected with the supply of clean water.  John Humphrys sums up the importance of safe clean water “Safe, clean water is fundamental to good health, a basic human right and one of the Kitchen Table Charities Trust’s main focuses in countries throughout Africa and beyond.  I am pleased and proud that KTCT had the opportunity to enter into partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Amersham and Antananarivo Vovonana to improve the harsh daily lives of the populations of Ibisy and Moratsiazo in Madagascar.  I am convinced that together we can make a difference”.

District Conference

Some years ago when training to be a hotelier the following phrase was often quoted to me:
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”

So it is with district, national and International Conferences.

The 2016 – 2017 Conference Committee under the leadership of Debbie Hodge worked very hard to achieve what I feel was an excellent District Conference.  Thank you to the Conference Team and thank you to all the club Rotarians and partners that travelled to Bristol for a great weekend of stimulating presentations, fellowship and fun.

Details of the 2018 District Conference can be found by clicking the link: http://rotary1260conference.org.uk/index.html

Thank you

 As the sun begins to set on this Rotary Year, Barbara and I thank you for all for the fun, fellowship and enjoyment you have given us over the past twelve months whilst visiting clubs and attending social events.  It really has been a year to remember.

Chalmers Cursley
DG 2016-17