ON LINE

The Rotary Club of Sevenoaks Amherst

September  2006

 

The President

 

The view from the chair was that some quiet August meetings certainly reflected the holiday season. Now that we are back, the summer we thought was over seems to have returned, only this time dressed up as autumn!

 

Apart from an enjoyable, if difficult, visit from Chislehurst club, during which our planned bat and trap challenge was rained off and we repaired to the games room for pool, we have had two interesting speakers. The first, a minister of religion from Gambia over here on holiday relief duties in Malling at Colin and Elaine’s church, opened our eyes to the state of education in his country, and contrasted the differing approaches of Christianity and Islam in the face of corruption and difficulties unknown to us in the UK. Whether we can, or wish to, assist them will the subject of forthcoming discussions.

 

It is always a pleasure to welcome one of our own to speak. Tom Davies, Jim Davies’ (Sevenoaks RC) grandson and the beneficiary of a Sevenoaks Amherst bursary grant, spoke movingly and eloquently of his time in Fiji with a coral reef research team. His description of the cause and extent of coral bleaching was definitely a wake up call.

 

Two important matters will dominate business over the next few weeks. Firstly, our twinning with Roubaix, and secondly changes we may wish to make to the board (council) composition for 2007/8. On the former, the continued existence and nature of our relationship with Roubaix is in our hands and I hope we can decide what we want to do before the issue is decided for us. On the latter, we are not required to make any change, although any change we might wish to make must be voted on by the club before the election of officers and ordinary members of the club to the board, which takes place in December.

 

Congratulations go to Geoff and Linda on the birth of their first grandchild, and to Roy and Ena for their sixth! Congratulations also to all children and grandchildren for their exam results. Paradoxically, Sarah (my youngest) seems to have solved the riddle of how to get publicity in the Chronicle; straight As! Any takers? Simon.

 

 

Programme

 

Date                                        Programme/Speaker/Event

 

 

October 2006

04.10.06                                  Business Meeting

11.10.06                                  Speaker--Jean Peterson—The John Aspinall Trust

18.10.06                                  [Amherst Evening—New Membership Structure Discussion]

25.10.06                                 

26.10.06 to 28.10.06               District Conference, Eastbourne

27.10.06 to 29.10.06               District Conference, Torquay

 

November 2006

1.11.06                                    Business Meeting

08.11.06                                  Jeannie Essex—Medical Student’s Efforts to Help Others

15.11.06                                  Amherst Evening—Topic TBA

22.11.06                                  The Kenward Trust—Tony Williams

29.11.06                                  PARTNERS EVENING/Speaker—[Nick Bracken, OBE, Mass Disasters]

 

 

Rotary Club of Sevenoaks Amherst

Minutes of the Meeting of Council

 

Wednesday 6th September 2006 at St Julians Club at 6.30pm

 

 

  1.   Present:  President Simon Welham, Bill Brickell, Tony Kemp, Brian Lawrence, Ken Marsden, Graham Waldeck, Grant Walker, Derek Williams        

Apologies for absence.   John Harland, Colin Hook, Gordon Johnston, Mel Ridout

  1. Minutes of the Meetings of the Council on 2nd August 2006 were approved and signed.
  2.  Matters Arising

          

a       Roubaix contact club  no further details as yet The President suggested that some members visit target clubs, Ken will delegate.

b.      Additional Shelter Box, expenditure agreed.

c       Archives carried forward.

d.      Douglas McIldowie is very happy to be a friend of Rotary; if he wishes to reapply he will be welcomed.

e.       Christopher Myers (Handicamp) sponsorship request we have contributed to his specialist chair.

                           

.     

4        Trustees.

a.       Chairman’s report carried forward to next meeting.

 5    President

a   ..      Club Board Structure: The President wishes to have agreement at council on the new board structure prior to the club General meetings. The proposal is that the new ‘club board’ will consist of eight members; President, Immediate Past president, First and Second vice Presidents and two ordinary board members elected by the club.

b. Service Committee structure carried forward.

 

          

6.       Secretary     no report.

 

7.       Treasurer.           

a.      Balances Club account £4318, Charity Account £3627, Rochdale £2720, Cyclo- Sportif £2923. 

b. A meeting to be arranged between President Simon, Grant and Graham to discuss various club accounting procedures.

c. The Secretary is requested to pass copies of Council Minutes from January this year to the Treasurer.

 

  1. Membership  no report

 

  1. Community, Vocational & Educational Services

a     see note under matters arising   

  1. Fund Raising. 

a.                  ‘Buzz Group’ proposals are being developed there will be new initiatives later in the year.

11  International.

a.                  Nothing apart from Roubaix.

12    Foundation.

                             a. We would explore what funds were in Foundation

13    Communication & P.R.

 

  1. The Cyclo-Sportif would be attended by a Sevenoaks Chronicle photographer.
  2. Bill and Derek have arranged for the Sportif to be filmed so that DVDs could be sold to riders, there would be a trailer for Rotary at the start.
  3. Edward will follow up South-East television
  4. Rotary Corporate re-branding the new look will be implemented.

 

14    A.O.B.    a. Simon will provide support to Alan over meal numbers with St. Julians. 

 

15     Date of Next Meeting.  2nd October at ‘Rozel’, Shoreham Rd, Otford at 7.00pm This may be subject to revision

 

 

NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THIS

Foundation is Rotary’s charity fund. It began with Arch Klumpf nearly ninety years ago and had the provision of public conveniences as its first project, but now has an annual turnover of about $100million. This is dispensed on projects like PolioPlus but also on club endeavours, plus the GSE and various academic and professional schemes. The funds come from club donations Assembly:etc. (At an average therefore of  ~$3000 from ~33000 clubs we’d be way down on pulling our weight through our current contributions, but bequests and other benefactors add to clubs’ efforts too.) The total is invested for three years before being spent. All clubs are being encouraged to increase their donations this year.

 

Every $1000 given qualifies the donor for a Paul Harris Fellowship, an honour bestowed at its purest for Service to Rotary, although an individual can donate and self-nominate – a “cash-for-honours” dimension that our club has so far avoided. “Club fundraising” hasn’t featured either so far in our citations. The recipient needn’t be a club member, and anyone in the club should be able to propose a name in confidence to the President for Council’s approval before it spends club funds in this way.

 

In the past Foundation has supported our projects for WaterAid in The Gambia, for our Centenary Celebrations Age Concern shop and for the St John’s CEP School computer suite. We can apply for more, locally and internationally, but we need to prime large requests with money of our own. What would members like us to be doing? Please let me know, and pass on ideas for fundraising towards it. At present only our wine raffles and Master-at-Arms sessions contribute significantly.

 

(But Foundation benefited from all the effort we put into the GSE visits from BC and Alabama in recent years.)

 

 

Have Your Say

 

From …..Geoff

Subject….Rotary motto.

 

“Service Above Self” is disappearing and “Humanity in Motion” is everywhere. Why? Is the former a victim of ageing Rotarians in Evanston so easily swayed by PR gurus or so desperate to prove that they are forward-thinking that they believe that anything new is good? Or is it that the old slogan is incompatible with the thrusting business attitudes that Rotary is now supposed to embrace?

 

But what of its replacement? “In motion.” Upwards? Downwards? Forwards? Backwards? Swerving from side to side? Oscillating like a pendulum, occasionally stopping and then going in the opposite direction? Going round in circles? Many people suffer from motion sickness, at sea, in the air or in cars. Is that what the new Rotary is promising us? Oh dear!

 

Son of Victor (Geoff)

(Next month: A revised Objects of Rotary for Rotary Inc?)

CIRCUIT OF KENT CYCLO SPORTIVE 2006

 

The 2006 Cyclo Sportive Cycle Ride in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice in the Weald took place on Sunday 17th September.  The ride attracted over 550 cyclists from all round the country. People came from as far a field as Cardiff, Shropshire (Peter and Joanne on their folding Tandem!) Suffolk and Oxfordshire, Essex, Windsor, Sussex, Kingston and London as well as many local cyclists from the Sevenoaks area including Bromley, Orpington, Biggin Hill, Tunbridge Wells and Ashford.  The fastest time on the 140k route was achieved by Terry Leaves from Amersham in a time of 3 hours 50.17 minutes, just ahead of Richard Williams from Horsmonden in 3 hours 51.20.   Fastest on the 80k route was Martin Hall from Shooters Hill, London in a time of 2 hours 32.16.    The first two ladies in from the 80k ride were Jocelyn Lowden from Lewis followed by her aunt Linda Lowden from Suffolk.

 

Janet Oatley

 

 

Next month .  Cyclo Sportive  Bill Brickell & Janet Oakley