A Sophiatown Proposition, a New Member and a Gift to Mercy Shelters for Homeless People.

Professor Jimmy Ellis of UJ spoke to us most eloquen

tly about his dream for a Sophiatown Heritage Centre that he had tried to implement through the old Rand Afrikaans University. It was interesting proposition when we think of our planned involvement with future Sophiatown inspired projects.

Also it was a great pleasure welcoming Peter Rolfe to the Club.

He wore a short-sleeved shirt that was bullet proof so it was impossible to pin the badge on him. He is the first member of the Club to have the classification "Information Technology".

Last week saw Lucille Blumberg handing over 3 Medical Packs for each of the Mercy Centres for Homeless People. We met at Immaculata Hall in Rosebank and Lucille handed over the packs. She will now train people from each shelter in their use and show what records should be kept. The Club has undertaken to maintain them. The next step is to provide a portable lockable library at Immaculata. Linda Vink is busy taking notes whilst talking to Sr Evangelist for an article for the local rag, Jankees Sligcher took the pictures whilst Graham Donet and I smiled a lot and ate the biscuits! Many thanks to everyone involved.

This week is a Business Meeting but as most of the business was conducted at our Club Assembly it should be a mainly social meeting.

The Club Assembly

Most members of the Club attended the Assembly last Saturday and it really did help in looking to the future with long and short term planning. There was a lot of healthy debate particularly during the "Vision Exercise" initiated by Ian Widdop. It certainly made us think a bit though Don Lindsay did ask the question as to whether we weren't putting ourselves in a straight jacket

that would stifle flexibility or just indulging in an exercise in semantics!

As a result we are lot clearer as to the way we are going and the nature of the projects we are seeking to promote.

Unfortunately Paul Kasango has not been well and had to leave early. No-one seems to know what the problem is despite various medical tests.

Our speaker last week, Trevor Boyd, gave us an interesting insight into the International Culinary Olympics and the South African Team. As is usual in a "minority sport" the available sponsorship is limited in comparison with our international rivals so every Gold Medal won by South Africa is a huge achievement.

The First Annual Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn Public Lecture in conjunction with The Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of the Witwatersrand will take place in the Council Chamber at Wits on Thursday 11th March at 18,00hrs.

"Demons & Democracy - Mobility and the Limits of Citizenship in Contemporary South Africa." by Professor Loren Landau, Director of the Forced Migration Studies Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand.

A number of Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars have undertaken courses of study under his direction so it is appropriate that he should be giving this lecture. Anyone is welcome to attend so please invite as many people as you like. Wits will circulate there list and we will do the same where the Rotary District is concerned.

Our speaker this week is Dr James Ellis, Director, Internationalisation, Division of Institutional Advancement, University of Johannesburg. This is what he has to say about himself...

At UJ, as Director of Internationalisation, I have been involved in the facilitation and establishment of a number of partnership agreements with international educational institutions and other organizations designed to develop the intercultural and international dimension of our core business. I have represented the University in a number of international conferences on internationalisation and have presented papers nationally and overseas, among others in Mexico, on internationalisation at conferences and colloquia.

In this way I have built up substantial expertise through several official university academic and management contacts, some at the highest managerial levels, at home and abroad, enabling me to play a role in facilitating the enhancement of the quality of academic programmes, facilitate joint research and mutual curriculum design and teaching, and to foster staff development. During this process I have established quite an extensive network of international contacts.

Since its establishment in 1997, I have been involved in the activities of the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA) and served a term as the Vice-President of the Executive Committee and Convener for the sub-region covering Johannesburg, Vaal Triangle and North West Province areas. Until September 2006 I still held an Executive position, responsible for Special Projects, including Working Groups on National Policy on the Internationalisation of Higher Education and International Credentials Evaluation.

I have tabled a number of documents on the strategic role and nature of internationalization of the university, including the policy on internationalization, a proposal for establishing student mobility in the SADC region, a programme in international education as a study abroad opportunity and a proposal for a Senate Committee and the governance of internationalization.

A Chef to Talk but not to Cook

Don't forget our Club Assembly this coming Saturday 23rd January, 9,00am at the SA Chefs Association Boardroom. We will be finished by lunchtime. Ensure that you let Graham Donet know about your attendance for tea & coffee purposes!

Our Guest Speaker this week is Trevor Boyd. After completing his National Diploma in Catering Management at the present-day University of Johannesburg School of Tourism & Hospitality, Trevor worked as a chef on Rovos Rail, before joining the Rand Aid Association, where he was part of a brigade that prepared meals for 3 000 people a day. He then joined Fedics and worked in a variety of establishments such as Carnival City and the Country Clubs in Johannesburg and Woodmead. In October 2002, Trevor took up a position in at the Mount Nelson Hotel under Garth Stroebel, before being transferred to the renowned Cape Colony Restaurant as senior sous chef. After this he took up positions of executive chef at the Mount Grace Country Hotel, Le Franschhoek Hotel & Spa as executive chef, and is currently executive chef of the Sheraton Hotel Pretoria.

Trevor joined Team South Africa in 2000 and went on to compete with the Team in the American Culinary Classic in Chicago in 2003. In 2004, Trevor and the Team competed in the IKA Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, and Trevor’s latest competition was the Food & Hotel Asia 2006 Culinary Challenge in Singapore, where the Team won two silver medals.

Trevor was a member of the Senior Squad in last year’s Culinary Olympics and was part of the Team that won the gold! He is currently at the HTA School of Culinary Arts and is the Manager of Culinary Team SA.

A New Year

I thought you might like to see the view from our bedroom at my son's house on Christmas Day.

You can see why the vikings were tough!

This week's meeting is technically a Business Meeting as we had a Board Meeting on Monday.

We'll keep the business aspect to a minimum as it's the first meeting since the Christmas Break and the Club Assembly is on the 23rd when, as a Club, we will map out our short and long term plans.

Please diarise 9,00am on Saturday 23rd January at the SA Chefs Association Board Room when we will spend the morning discussing all aspects of the Club and it's projects. This is meeting that makes binding decisions so it is very important that you attend and provide input.

Please let Graham know that you will be attending for catering purposes.