On fine, sunny and crisp Sunday 1 July at Whanganui, along with several hundred Rotarians from around the district and a circus going full blast in the background across the road, the dancing fireman outgoing DG Mitch handed the baton to our new petrol-head DG Marion Johnston.
The coincidence of a circus outside going full blast at the same time was not lost on the party goer's on the inside !
Read DG Marion's introduction to our new Rotary year.
PS - the electronic version (pdf) of the new District Directory is available in the Documents library here. (login required)
DISTRICT GOVERNOR'S INTRODUCTION
In my journey from Rotarian to District Governor I have been inspired by the training opportunities Rotary has given me, the work of the clubs I have visited, and most especially by the ‘ordinary’ Rotarians I have met.
When 2018-19 Rotary International President Barry Rassin announced his theme ‘Be the Inspiration’, it struck me as the perfect fit for my year as District Governor as well. As Rotarians, the values we share give us the ability to ‘Be the Inspiration’ in all aspects of our lives: within our families, in our work and certainly as members of our clubs. As New Zealanders, we do tend think of ourselves as ‘ordinary’; but what if we started to think of ourselves as ‘Inspirational’? Would that change the way we relate to others, as individuals and as Rotary Clubs? Would that make us think more about how we appear to others?
I encourage you all to think about how we can be seen by those around us as ‘Inspirational’. I challenge you to shift your Club’s focus away from fundraising and back to service. We can be Inspirational to our communities if we remember we exist to serve them. In our changing world, in our smaller clubs, opportunities for service may seem to be lessening, but the opportunities are simply changing. Other groups within our community often turn to Rotary Clubs for help – rather than handing over a cheque and leaving them to it, why don’t we ask how better we can help meet the need they have identified; we can offer our skills as business people or mentors, access our network of contacts, apply for grants through the Rotary Foundation as well as offering the hands on help we enjoy giving.
By working with our communities to meet need, we establish relationships and make friends. If we inspire these new allies to continue to do good in the world, what better way for them to achieve that than by joining us in Rotary?
Another thing I encourage you to think seriously about this year is the flexibility Rotary International has now given to Clubs: varied meeting times, the format of meetings, different membership types; all these options encourage and enable us to make Rotary easy to belong to. We can design our clubs to appeal to all those groups of people who are currently under-represented in Rotary in our district: young working people, women, diverse ethnic groups and busy recent retirees for example. Take a look at the projects we continue to undertake: are they still meeting the needs of our members and our community; do they continue to inspire our members to better serve the community, humanity, the planet; are they still fun?
District Conference 2019 will be held in Whanganui, 17 – 19 May, and the theme is ‘Light My Fire’. Our programme of presenters and activities will rekindle the passion for service
that inspires ‘ordinary’ Rotarians and others to achieve the extraordinary. I look forward to seeing you there.
Together we will Be the Inspiration in 2018-19.