District Governor's Update, October 2016

 
 
Greetings,

We are just on a quarter way through the current Rotary year and it’s great to see the progress of many club leadership teams in striving to meet their goals for the year. 
 
Likewise, Elaine and I are making good progress in visiting clubs, meeting Rotarians and talking about things in common. 
 
Presentations have been given to just on half of the Districts 54 clubs and October lines up as a very busy month during which presentations will cover another 22 clubs.
 
There have been highlights from every club visited.  However, I’d just like to briefly share a few memorial occasions from the last month, being:
  • Rotorua North & Rotorua West – A tradition established many (around 26) years ago was to have the current Governor each year plant a native tree at the top of the Skyline cable car.A variety of native trees have been planted over the years and the selection this year was a very healthy looking Kauri. It was an honour planting the tree and we hope it flourishes in its new location.
 
 
 
  • Hawke’s Bay – Seeing the extensive Hawke’s Bay Pathway network with recognition of Rotary on the signage is a great brand imprint which will be visible for many years.We didn’t only look at the Pathway.With bikes left at home, we settled for walking from Taradale to Puketapu and return – some 17 km’s.Enjoyable exercise!
 
Interact is alive and very well in some parts of the District.  A recent example was where 2 students from Napier Girls spoke to a full house assembly at Napier Boys and seeded the formation of a new Interact club.  There has also been a strong drive to grow Interact through schools in the Eastern Bay of Plenty – including a college I attended many years ago.  Mentoring by key Rotarians is proving a very successful ingredient in the growth of these clubs.
 
Rotary Foundation month is November, now just a month away.  The Foundation is our charity of choice.  It is the charitable arm of Rotary and this year is a very special year in its existence – yes, its formation evolved from the Rotary Convention (the global conference of Rotary) at Atlanta in 1917 so this is its centenary year.  Clubs are being encouraged to raise additional funds this year for the Foundations charitable purposes. 
 
I know it can be hard to come up with novel ideas.  To assist, Rotary Maketu in conjunction with the District Foundation committee are promoting the ‘Flat White a Week’ campaign – you purchase a specially designed cup for $12 and all contributions above that (say $4 a week equating the one coffee a week) are accumulated and lodged as a personal contribution to the Foundation.  Why not give it a go and contribute to doing good in the world through ‘Rotary Serving Humanity.’  Your club president and Foundation Director should be aware of this campaign.
 
Have a fun month and looking forward to sharing some more news next month.
 
Regards 
 
Keith and Elaine Owens
Governor 2016/17
Rotary District 9930