Last Thursday we had the pleasure of fellow Rotarian and District Governor George Weston giving us insights into his first four months as DG. It has been a rewarding but very busy four months for George – and he advises that it would be easier for a retiree – I mean he only has a thriving business to attend to and the duties of Deputy Mayor to perform in addition. Anyway, George has visited 39 clubs which he finished last Thursday with the Rotary Club of Kooringal. George has also been heavily involved in the redistricting process with D9710 which is currently occurring.
George is amazed by all the different and diverse projects that are being carried out by Rotarians in our District. Special mention was given to:
- the ROMAC project of the Rotary Club of Young (bringing a young Timorese lad out to Australia and looking after him while he underwent his operations);
- the Batt for Rotary project of the Rotary Club of Griffith Avanti (Collecting used batteries);
- the rejuvenation of the Rotary Club of Oberon which has increased its membership from 3 to 15 Rotarians; and
- the Rotary Club of West Wyalong who has for many years participated in a City-Country exchange whereby Students from the City come out to experience life in West Wylong and students from West Wyalong go and experience life in the City.
George’s mind is turning now to what promises to be a very successful District Conference next year. George wants the focus of the Conference to be first and foremost on Clubs and fostering fellowship between Rotarians. George also wants to focus on Youth and Foundation. George has already lined up some great speakers.
Finally George gave us a run down as to where the redistricting of D9700 and D9710 is up to. Ultimately it will occur in July 2020. Our district will merge with the District now covering Canberra, the South Coast and the South West Slopes (hey I’m a mountain man at heart, that part of the world is important!). Our 1,050 Rotarians will join with the approximately 1,350 Rotarians from D9710. From a Club point of view, it will not affect the administration of the Club, however our District structure and D9710 District structure will be merged. Teams are being formed to discuss exactly how this will be done.
George was thanked on behalf of the Club of PDG Greg Brown.
