. . . go team. You have our support as well and we, as a Club, look forward to helping in any way we can. With the District Conference being held at the Old O on June 1st to the 4th 2017, we look forward to the opportunities be of service to make your conference the best one ever.
The theme this year of Rotary International President John Germ is one that our Club has been already been living for our 92 years, “Rotary Serving Humanity “. He said “We need more willing hands, more caring hearts and more bright minds to move our work forward. We have an opportunity to change the world forever.” Look at what Rotary has done in the world in Polio eradication. This year may well be the year it is gone from the world, forever! Imagine, a world without anyone having to worry about that that debilitating and nasty disease.
On our Club level, we have served well, in the town, in the greater area, in the District, the Zone, R.I., and in the world. Over the years, many people have benefited from the Rotary Club of Kentville’s deep and lasting commitment to “Service Above Self”, and we are still doing terrific work. Ask Leah White about the Council General. Ask Kate Seaman about the Kahtib’s. Ask Bob Debrota about PWD. Ask Rod McMahon about the NID in Nigeria. Ask Gerry MacIssac about scholarships. Look at Oakdene days, and the breakfast program.  We have every right to be very proud of what we have done and what we still do.  Just think of the lives that have been changed for the better because “We Serve”.  We are Rotarians. Be proud of that and tell people about us. We don’t blow our own horn enough. However, we are getting much better about showing the community that we are alive and well. Tell people about the best kept secret around. Rotary is terrific and we do amazing work. Quite frankly,  we should give ourselves a hand!
This doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels. There will always be more to do and I know that we are up to the challenge.  All we need to do is our best and the world will be a much better place.
Our major fundraiser, the Valley Faces of Business, is well under way and showing terrific results. Keep up the great work and get out there to offer people the opportunity to be in the best book in the Valley. Our” Jeans and Jewels” is coming up on October 15th. Put it in your date books. It’s a lot of fun. The funds raised this year are going to the new Kentville library project for a “Rotary room”.
On the Club side, your Board is working on updating our policies and bylaws to come in line with the new items that have come out of the Council of Legislation from R.I. Many thanks to Garth Gorden for taking on that very important part of our Club. There have been new policies that have come out and we will be working to integrate these into the Club. One major change is that we a no longer have to look at classifications as a criteria for membership. Now, as long as a person is of good character and has a good reputation in their business or community, and is willing to serve the community, they can be invited to become a member of a Rotary Club. Also Clubs have been given more flexibility now in their meeting times and formats. The distinction between traditional clubs and e-clubs has been eliminated and whichever form fits your circumstances is fine. Attendance rules have been eliminated, however, our Board has decided to keep attendance for now our own purposes of record keeping. R.I. dues will be going up $4.00 US for the next three years. The Board is working on ways to not have to pass this on to the members, however, this is an ongoing concern and we are aware of it.
When the first meeting of the new Board was called, I asked us to consider what the role of the Board was for the Club. After much discussion, the main theme that came out was communication, between the Board and the Club and committees and the Club. To address this, I have decided that, as my goal for the year, I will be asking committees to post reports of their meetings on Clubrunner and to give verbal reports to the Club on a regular basis at the meetings. This comes around to the blowing of our horn that I mentioned earlier. Members are interested to know what is going on in their Club and all the committees are important to the Club. As for committees, thank you to all who signed up. We have a few committees that are a little shy of members, so you will be contacted to help fill these in. The list of which committees you are on for this year is always on the bottom of the Spokesperson that comes out each week as your commitments. I will try to have a paper copy of the committee members for the business meeting at the end of the month, if someone will teach me how to do that on Clubrunner.  I hope to increase the usage of this program in our Club. We have a number of members who can use different parts of the program and who are willing to teach others how to use the functions that each member needs to use. Clubrunner can be a terrific tool for our Club to use and we all still have lots to learn, definitely myself included. Another part of our communication is between the members of our Club. I believe we all have unique insights, in life, and in Rotary experiences and I would like to see more sharing amongst ourselves. To this end, I am bringing in a table draw for each meeting. As you come in, you draw a numbered disc from a bag and that’s the table you sit at for that meeting.  If you have a guest joining you, he or she can most definitely sit with you. There will be room for all.
 As your President, please feel free to come and express to me any concerns or praises that you have. I will try my best to address the concerns and pass on the praises.  We have a Club, that to me, is one of the best in the District. We have experience, knowledge and phenomenal people who are willing to share what we have with others. I am very honoured and proud to be your President for 2016-2017 and with the backing of your Board to keep me straight, we as a Club will have a fantastic year as” Rotary serving Humanity”.
Thank you.