ON LINE
The Rotary Club of Sevenoaks Amherst
August 2006
Introducing “On Line”
For a long time the Newsletter has been a feature of Club
life. It has been decided that a new type of newsletter might now be
appropriate hence the decision to bring in On Line. The main feature is that as far as possible
it will be on
line and the newsletter will be sent to
members via their email address and contributions will be sent to the editor ……
The principal items each month will be :
A message from the
President
Abbreviated minutes
of the last council meeting
Updates and information from committee
chairmen
‘Have Your Say’
This last item will be contributed by Club members emailing
observations, suggestions etc . and these will appear as emails ie hopefully brief
and to the point. Copy date will be the first Wednesday in each month but the
idea is that as a thought occurs to you you email it
to the editor.
Generally speaking long articles will not be sought eg descriptions of holidays but there will be a place for
stories of particular interest. Anyway it’s up to you!
Obviously for any members who are not able to
receive emails or would rather not receive
“On Line” in this way alternative arrangements can be made.
The
President
And so the wheel of Rotary begins
another rotation! It has, in fact, already turned 30 degrees and this is my
first musing. Thank you to Derek for his year, to Colin for plugging the gaps
during my extended absence and to those on the Board for agreeing to share with
me the responsibility of guiding the Club through another year. May our passage
be a smooth one.
Last Wednesday we welcomed Ron
Adams back for the first time since his heart scare. Our best wishes go to him
and Gladys.
In reading this, you must have
received the first of Ron Pike’s News sheets. Ron Adam’s newsletters will be a
hard act to follow, but we wish Ron Pike well as he bravely experiments with
the technology, and continues the Club’s move toward electronic means of
communication. It just goes to show; you’re never too old to learn!
Wednesday also saw the successful
debut of a brainstorm evening to discuss fundraising. Despite the holiday
season, there was a lively debate with some good suggestions and we eagerly
anticipate the feasibility studies on
More from me anon……..Simon
Programme
August 2006
02.08.06 DG
will visit us; Council meeting
09.08.06 Speaker—Jane Betterfield—Sevenoaks Library Refurbishment
16.08.06 Speaker—Guest
from
23.08.06 Speakers—Mark
Wooten and Ian Brown—Sevenoaks Bentley
30.08.06 Partners
Evening/ Speaker—Tom Davis (Bursary recipient)
September 2006
06.09.06 Business
Meeting
13.09.06 Speaker—Dennis
Smith—Headway
17.09.06 Cyclo Sportif
20.09.06 Speaker—John
Spears—Globe Intelligence
27.09.06
REPORT FROM CoVoEd---JULY 2006
The draft budget totalling £5,100 and proposed
activities for 2006-07 have been approved by Council.
Tony and I now lead CoVoEd with
the assistance of a large number of volunteers who have all agreed to take
responsibility for specific activities during the forthcoming year.
Donations, to charities, have recently been made as
follows-----
Progress continues to be made, mainly by Tony, in our work
with the young people of both Bradbourne and
Our ideas on creating a Young Persons Award Scheme in
Sevenoaks have been well received by both local teachers and education
officials and discussions are continuing.
Under our new Club structure I am seeking ideas from ALL
Club members for nominations for a Community Service Award----please let me
have your suggestions.
NOT
A
Where do Charities get their income from?
Recent research by the umbrella group NCVO provided a
fascinating insight into how charities are funded. Their income comes :-
37% from government
4.3% from companies
36.6% from individuals
10% from investments
The importance of state funding is a relatively recent
phenomenon. Thirty years ago there was a much sharper divide between the
services provided by charities on the one hand and the state on the other. That
distinction has been eroded and charities are now heavily dependant on the
state though the other side of the coin is that government increasingly relies
on the voluntary sector to supplement the welfare state. It is perhaps
surprising that such a small proportion of charities’ income comes from
companies and most people would expect them to contribute more than individuals.
Bill
(Source “Charity Law”)
Have Your Say
From
Ron Pike
Subject Manners
Unless he was forewarned, District Governor Norman Jones
would have been a little surprised at the informal dress code which we
observe. When the decision was taken by
Council a few years back to relax the then expected tie and jacket there was
some muttering about ‘the rot setting in’ etc.In fact
we may have been setting a trend because ties are now almost the exception and
our politicians seem to think that to go jacketless is definitely “cool”.
Whilst the decision to relax the dress code was eminently
sensible, was it inevitable that our good manners should also be
abandoned? It used to be accepted that
members always rose to their feet to address the president and similarly to ask
a question of a speaker. Certainly private conversations whilst the club was being
addressed were definitely not on.
Shouldn’t we get back to those little courtesies or am I
just showing my age?
Have your say!