Peter passed on a message from District Governor, Nick Wood - thanks to Stephen Woodhead for his leadership last year and all the best to Colin Calteaux for the year ahead.  Nick is keen to visit a ‘get-together’ of clubs in our area and ‘do’ something.

Peter also talked about the long-standing relationship between the Taieri and Waimate Clubs and reported that they are keen to come south to join local clubs in a combined Tautuku project on the weekend of 15 October – members are encouraged to mark this in their diaries.

We were lucky enough to have Ingrid as our speaker at our last meeting and she began by acknowledging the work that Rotary does.  She saw the effect Rotary has when she lived in Fiji.

Ingrid was brought up in Auckland however whakapapa’s back to Arrowtown, where her dad lived before moving to Dunedin.  He was brought up in poverty and family violence, however, her dad gained a scholarship to go to Medical School.

Growing up in Auckland, Ingrid was involved in journalism before she headed to Otago University where she studied law.  On completion of her degree she set up a pro-bono section for Russell McVeigh in Wellington.  Ingrid them moved on to working as a press secretary for Maurice Williamson at Parliament.

The next phase of her life saw Ingrid living and working in Fiji with her family.  There she was involved in journalism again and she worked as a news director.  From there she went on to set up a contracts project company, focused on democracy and human rights, and became a communications director for East Asia. When she worked in Myanmar, where she was offering leadership in media and voice, she developed the desire to go into politics.

Finally, her liking for politics was developed when MMP came in.  As a member of parliament Ingrid sits on the Finance Select Committee (where she brings wellbeing and a human side to the committee) and the Foreign Affairs Select committee.  She is really interested in Geo-Politics and feels really comfortable in this space.

Ingrid was born in Germany (mother was a German aristocrat) and German was her first language and she speaks some French. She attended a Maori primary school and understands quite a lot of te reo.  Ingrid’s children are Pasifika, so there is a wonderful cultural mix in her family.

 

Ingrid freely answered questions from club members, covering a wide range of topics, from American – Chinese relations and the Pacific, through funding to the Mongrel Mob for programmes for addicts, to farming and the challenges for rural communities, especially shortage for the workforce, funding for an ambulance system to the Three Waters project. And, even discussion about the firearms buy-back and the rules for winter feed in the south.

 

A big thank you must go to Ingrid for sharing her thoughts with us being prepared to take on any questions.

 

 

 

Expanding our reach through Each One, Bring One 

Rotary is a vibrant organization that has spread to nearly 200 countries and geographical areas and has a rich legacy of fighting to end polio. Don’t you think we could have a greater impact on the world if more people were practicing Service Above Self?

Members like you are our greatest asset. But for the last 20 years, Rotary membership has remained stagnant. Through a program I am calling Each One, Bring One, I ask each of you to commit to welcoming one new person into Rotary or Rotaract in the next 12 months. This one act of growing Rotary will make you true change-makers, because you will have helped us achieve in just 12 months what we could not do in 20 years. Of course, you will need to engage and retain these members as well. Member engagement is equally important for our organization’s growth.

As we welcome new members, let us continue to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are ingrained into all aspects of Rotary. We believe that anyone who gets involved with Rotary — whether as a member, partner, or participant — must feel valued, respected, and welcomed. It is only by embracing the full diversity of the world that we will be able to grow and to achieve our goals.

Attendance:  Peter M