TheLoWDoWN - Rotary Down Under

Editor’s mailboxChange not always for the betterI have carefully reread Peter Hall’sarticle in the Dec-Jan 2012-13 issueof Rotary Down Under titled “Rotaryfor All”, and I would suggest the onlything I have in common with Peter isour similar age.I am certainly not against change,but there needs to be a thoroughinvestigation to ensure that suchchanges are suitable for theindividual club.Now, turning to Peter Hall’s itemsof concern in order:Attendance Recordsand Make UpsI challenge his comments here, asI would suggest that if you do notrecord attendances and make-ups,this is surely encouraging manyborderline members to becomeknife and fork members, when itbecomes a hopeless task for theorganisers of our evening dinnersand, of course, how the catererskeep track. How do you getvolunteers for the new project?ClassificationsOne of our club’s main strengthsis that we have some 50 separateclassifications when the club workscontinually on filling gaps, whichsurely builds the club into a far moreactive and interesting organisation.We work very hard on quality newmembers, not quantity, which is oneof our club’s main strengths.GraceTurning now to Grace, we did awaywith Grace some six months ago,however, the President had so manycomplaints it has been re-introducedand now forms an important part ofwelcoming everyone to the meeting,when the member endeavours torestrict his comments on religion,when it is more a welcome and thankyou “It’s great to be alive ...”.SergeantOur Sergeant’s Session is, I consider,a very important part of the structureof our club, as our Sergeant hasthe responsibility of checking allmembers have a duty and arecorrectly briefed, when he continuesto set the appropriate standards forour club.He is an important part of ourclub’s communication arm inbringing all members up-to-date ontheir fellow Rotarians and also theirfamily members. The small amountscollected each evening go directlyinto our Sunshine Fund, which weare able to spend on supportingmembers and their families whenthey have major health or familyproblems.GeneralI would love to entertain Peter Hallat our club and debate the manycomments he has made, which Itotally disagree with.Perhaps if he wishes to continuein that vein, he should be joiningProbus, which may be more suitable.I am very proud of our club andits current direction; we have littledifficulty in attracting new memberswho are keen to apply their servicesto our wonderful organisation, whenall decisions we make must surely befor the benefit of Rotary and not forany personal gain.Eoin PopeRotary Club of Auckland East, NZDiscussion anddebate goodfor allI had much interest in reading thearticles in the mailbox section of theOctober 2012 issue of Rotary DownUnder. I do thank Warwick Bateman,of the Rotary Club of Chatswood,NSW, for his different approach tothe Rotary Grace.I read it shortly before going tomy Rotary meeting that night andI was so impressed I immediatelyused it in my role as sergeant andit was received very warmly. It is awonderful way to start the meetingand keeps everyone happy, so thankyou Warwick.Discussion and debate is good forall of us and we should never stoplearning from each other.Ian PittawayRotary Club of Attadale, WAPull the pinon wastedresourcesI applaud President Sakuji Tanaka’sgoal for Rotary, to do the most goodwe can with all the resources wehave (RDU 546, Dec-Jan, 2012-13). Isuggest that we could do more goodif we did not channel resources intoproducts designed to be out-of-dateafter a year. We don’t need a new setof banners and pins every year.Lesley BrookRotary Club of Dunedin, NZyour website woes are over ...see page 11www.rotarydownunder.org 9