Monthly message from President Charles - Rotary Awareness month

First of all, let me wish you all, our members and your families,  a Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. I hope the Holiday season was kind to you and that you can look back with some very happy memories.
As 2013 passes in to the history books, we now look forward to 2014; the New Year will see the closing of one Rotary year and the start of the next.  But with six months to go in this Rotary year there is still much work to be done.  Our directors will report on their achievements over the last six months at the forthcoming Club Forum, and I have already given an outline of some of the activities we have been engaged in during the first six months in an email sent at the close of the year. 
January is Rotary Awareness month – a month in which we have the opportunity to make ourselves more aware of the tremendous difference we, as Rotarians and as an organisation can and do make to both individual lives and those in our communities; and at the same time we can make our communities aware of the awesome work that Rotary does. It also provides an opportunity for a bit of self inspection.
Throughout the month, our weekly Rotary Minute will focus on different aspects of Rotary, the work that Rotary does and the opportunities it provides for us to live the motto of “Service above Self” . At the end we will have one of our quizzes.  Hopefully you will feel more engaged and better motivated to change lives.
In our community, we will ensure that those living around us understand what it means to be a Rotarian; that we are not some secret society whose object is for the betterment of its members. We will publish a half year report in the media of what we have achieved so that the public become better informed of what we do, and equally importantly, how we do it. We already reach out to and meet many in our community each year through the Grand Raffle, Health Expo and Kiddies Fiesta. But there are still too many in our community who remain ignorant of what Rotary is and does. We must do our best to correct that. We shall use the monthly radio programme “Rotary Radio”  as well as other media opportunities, as a means to tell our story, because it is a great story and we should, all of us, be proud to be Rotarians.
And lastly, we should ask ourselves: “Am I a good Rotarian?” “Do I fulfill all those undertakings that I pledged to do when I joined Rotary?”  And if the answer to either or both  these two questions is a No, or even a partial No, then ask yourself “what is it that I can contribute to Rotary that I don’t do now so that I can be a better Rotarian, and thus make our Club a more effective Rotary Club?” Nobody expects every Rotarian to be involved in every activity, but each one of us has a special gift, a special skill and we should, each of us, ensure that that gift or skill is used by Rotary. 
So let us as Rotarians enter the New Year with renewed vigour and commitment as we continue our work to Engage with Rotary to Change Lives!
And lastly, January 7th is our Birthday – so, Happy Birthday Rotary Club of Road Town! 23 years and still going strong and getting even better.
Best wishes to you all.
President Charles