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Founded 1916; R.I.B.I. Club No. 13
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Proposals
for Rotary Year 2009 –
2010:
Patrick
Boylan, President
Monday
6th July 2009
International
theme of RI President John Kenny of Edinburgh
For
the 2009 –
2010 Rotary Year:
What is
Rotary? The “Four Avenues of Service” are defined
in our Constitution as the philosophical and practical framework for the Club:
•
1. Club
Service, the first Avenue of Service, involves action a member should take within this
club to help it function successfully.
•
2. Vocational
Service, the second Avenue of Service, has the purpose of promoting high ethical
standards in businesses and professions, recognizing the worthiness of all dignified
occupations, and fostering the ideal of service in the pursuit of all vocations. The role
of members includes conducting themselves and their businesses in accordance with
Rotary’s principles.
•
3. Community
Service, the third Avenue of Service, comprises varied efforts that members make,
sometimes in conjunction with others, to improve the quality of life of those who live
within this club’s locality or municipality.
•
4.
International Service, the fourth Avenue of Service, comprises those activities that
members do to advance international understanding, goodwill, and peace by fostering
acquaintance with people of other countries, their cultures, customs, accomplishments,
aspirations, and problems, through reading and correspondence and through cooperation in
all club activities and projects designed to help people in other lands.
Charity and
programme priority for 2009-10 of RI and RIBI Presidents, of District Governor Dick
Parsley and now proposed for the Rotary Club of Leicester:
The Rotary
Foundation and especially Polio Plus
The Club and the local community
•
Continue active
cooperation with our Honorary Members and involve them in the activities of the Club as
appropriate
•
Aim to improve
contacts and links with other business, professional, civic, community and service
organisations in and around the City by inviting the presidents etc. of such organisations
to meeting of the Club, either as speakers or as guests of the Club. (The Club Council has
included a modest increase in the 2009-10 budget for additional invitations.)
•
Seek reciprocal
opportunities for visiting and speaking at meetings of such organisations
•
Two or three
time over the decades the Club has carried out a survey of the voluntary involvement of
members of the Club in local, national and international bodies, e.g. as officers, board
members, trustees, volunteers etc. and has made a summary of these available (with
individual names removed) to indicate the great deal of voluntary work undertaken by
members of the Club in addition to their work through the Club itself. It is proposed that a further confidential survey
of this kind be carried out during 2009-10
Membership
•
RI President
John Kenny’s targets for every Club for 2009-10 is to achieve a nett increase of at
least one member and the retention of at least 80% of members. Clubs are also asked to
explore supporting those with difficulties: to
consider action to hold down the cost of Rotary; also to encourage transfers to other
Clubs of any members moving jobs and homes
•
Explore the
possibilities for recruitment of the two important new categories of eligibility for
Rotary membership introduced in 2008: (1) Rotary Foundation Alumni and (2) Community
Leaders. These can now be admitted even if they do not meet the old rules requiring senior
professional or management etc. level status
•
Continue efforts
to increase the diversity of the Club membership
•
Work actively
with the RIBI recruitment initiative focused on younger recruits if Leicester is selected
as one of the pilot areas
•
Carry out a
review of Club Classifications to bring these into line with the contemporary pattern of
employment etc. in and around Leicester, and then use the new classifications as a guide
towards active recruitment in under-represented fields
Club Service
A
programme of social and fund-raising events is planned including:
•
Church
Langton’s Handel 250th Festival: Saturday 19th September at
7pm: talk with musical illustrations on Handel and Leicestershire by Patrick Boylan, with
soprano, alto and bass soloists and organist – admission by donation in aid of the
Club’s Polio Plus campaign and the Church
•
Early December:
Carol Concert
•
Family of Rotary
lunches: 21st December & 5th April
•
Thursday 25th
February: International Rotary Week Gala Concert at De Montfort Hall for Polio Plus
campaign
•
Late April:
Bluebell Service, Swithland Wood.
•
Other
possibilities being explored: another joint event with Leicester Soroptimists; a Family
Quiz and Social Evening
Community
Service
The
Committee is planning to continue our regular programmes of community service including:
•
End July:
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) for young adults aged
18-26 at Grafham Water: the 7 day course includes water sports, camping, business games and public speaking
•
Christmas
Shopping evening for older people
•
Age Concern
Christmas Lunch at Clarence House
•
Calvert Trust,
Keswick April - May. One week at outdoor activity centre purpose built for over 18s with
physical and learning disabilities. One person is sponsored by the Club 18 or over.
Helpers are also provided.
•
Mid-May:
Stroke & Blood Pressure Awareness Day - run with De Montfort Club.
•
Thursday 7th
June: Rotary Kids Out at Wicksteed Park for children from local special schools
•
Continuing
(April to October) Sailability for people with disabilities, John Merrick Lake, Watermead
Country Park
International
Service
•
Each year there
are many international disasters and crises which cannot be planned for, and the Leicester
Club has a long history of assisting in such circumstances. The Club should stand by and
aim to respond immediately to at least one major international humanitarian crisis during
2009-10
•
Following the
recently completed very successful joint project with our Portuguese twin Club of
Guimaraes the Committee hopes to respond positively to the invitation from Guimaraes for a
further Leicester to Portugal visit, probably in the Spring – including a golfing
group if possible this time
•
The Club will
also aim to develop with Guimaraes ideas for a further joint project between the two Clubs
(with Rotary Foundation support) from 2010-11 onwards in a developing country –
preferably a longer-term humanitarian (eg. health or education), environment or economic
self-help (e.g. trade and microfinance) project
Vocational
Service
The
Committee is planning to continue the popular programme of vocational visits. Provisional
proposals include:
•
Whole day visit
to Oxford
•
Study visit to
the new Gateway College, Hamilton and its innovative building and services
•
Rutland and East
Leics. Day: Whissendine Corn Mill, the new Hambleton Hall Bakery at Exton which uses
Whissendine flour, and possibly the Microbrewery at Burrough-on-the-Hill
Youth
Opportunities
The
Committee is planning to continue and develop our regular programmes of community service,
expanding our links from two schools to four local schools, particularly in the following
Rotary youth programmes and competitions:
•
Young
Musicians
•
Young Chefs
•
Young Writers
•
Excitement of
Science
•
Young
Designers
•
Youth Speaks
Rotary
Foundation Committee
•
On the
Club’s behalf I have pledged to meet both the recommended US$100 per member
contribution to the Foundation’s regular funding, and in addition the Club Service
Committee will take the lead events to raise funds for the Polio Plus campaign
•
We are planning
to nominate in July a candidate (out of three applicants) for an Ambassadorial Scholarship
for overseas study in the 2010-11 academic year
•
We will again be
hosting at least two Ambassadorial Scholars studying in Leicester throughout the 2009-10
academic year
•
The “Link
Weekend” for around 130 newly arrived Ambassadorial Scholars studying across BG and
Ireland will be held in Leicester over the 25th – 27th Sept.
weekend
•
From Tuesday 13th
– Sat. 17th October we will be hosting an incoming Group Study Exchange
party of five from the Philippines, including an evening event organised by Leicester
Novus on Thursday 15th October
Club Centenary
(2016) Special Project
The
Centenary Project Committee is continuing to explore and negotiate on a possible country
park development, echoing the Club’s purchase and management of Swithland Wood –
the first part of the Bradgate Park Country Park to be acquired for the public benefit and
access. The preferred project is at Watermead
Country Park in the Soar Valley north of Leicester as reported earlier in the year, but
alternatives ideas have not been abandoned. At
the present time it seems unlikely that significant fund-raising for the Centenary Project
will be needed in 2009-10, but the Committee will remain engaged with the project,
particularly in terms of planning and negotiations with both landowners and local
authorities.
Benevolent
•
The Benevolent
Committee considers and makes recommendations for the payment of grants from the
Club’s registered charity fund, mainly to local organisations.
•
The fund is
mainly financed by donations from members of the Club: during the year there will be
further confidential approaches to members about making Gift Aid-registered donations on a
regular basis (annual, half-yearly or quarterly)
Topics
•
The
Speaker-Finder and his or her Topics Committee have a key role in the Club: one of our
Founder Members insisted that the Speaker-Finder can do more damage to a Rotary Club than
a bad chef!
•
The aim is to
offer a wide-ranging and balanced programme of speakers and topics in the course of the
year, including contributions by our own members
•
The Committee
also welcomes and sits with the speaker
Visiting
Committee
•
Our Visiting
Committee seems to be unique within UK Rotary, but it plays a very important role in
keeping in touch with members unable to attend meetings because of illness or disability
•
In fact our
Club Constitution suggest a wider role in By-Law 9(2):
•
“To review
attendance of members; to visit or arrange for visitation of absentees; to keep in touch
with members who are sick or in trouble; to encourage members who miss luncheons to send
apologies to the Secretary, to impress upon irregular attendance the importance of the
attendance rule in Rotary.”
Fellowship:
the Club and the wider Rotary movement
•
Each of us need
to remember that we are not just one of 84 members of the Rotary Club of Leicester, but
also one of almost 1.3 million men and women Rotarians in over 200 countries and
territories covering almost every corner of the world, and we are not just entitled but
positively encouraged to visit other Clubs
•
Monday 7th
September: Club Visit by District Governor Dick Parsley for his briefing on Rotary
priorities and plans
•
My challenge for
2009-10: let’s
see every one of our 84 members attending at least one Rotary event organised by another
Rotary body during the year: e.g. attend another Club’s meeting either locally or
when travelling, support another Club’s social or fund-raising event, attend a Club
Charter dinner, the District Conference, Assembly etc. This aim will be actively supported
by the Fellowship Committee
•
Locally we will
be continuing to give quiet support through 2009-10 to the newly chartered Leicester Novus
Club, and we will aim to develop our links and joint activities with Leicester De
Montfort, Leicester Novus, other local Clubs, Inner wheel and the Leicester Soroptimists,
and to enter teams in District competitions
Remember:
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© 2009, Rotary Club of Leicester. The titles "Rotary"
and "Rotary International", and the various Rotary logos and images are ©
Rotary International Inc. and Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland.
Website last updated: 7th July 2009: Club Webperson: Patrick Boylan [P.Boylan @
city.ac.uk]