Viv Spooner making us do things!

Viv made us share important influences on our lives with the person next to us. Mercifully we didn't haveto share them with the company at large!
Great to hear from one of our own members this week. Ian Widdop's talk will be an interesting one as making this presentation to us has made him crystalise his ideas on the proposed "GAP" Programme and having so many educationalists in the Club means that the feed-back will be informed and of great use to him.

Ian Widdop is a director at business transformation company Growth Partners. He was PA to Harry Oppenheimer at Anglo American, before joining Boart L

ongyear as GM of marketing. Widdop was director of sales at WR Grace (SA) and spent five years with Proudfoot Consulting as business analyst and dire

ctor of operations, where he was also responsible for sales force development.

The Seminars below really relate to next Rotary Year. Anyone is welcome to attend but Graham Donet will ensure that we are well represented.

A Speaker who knows about Business!

I imagine that's what Vivienne Spooner knows about and given the nature of our Rotary Club it's very much foreign territory for many of our members. We have lots of people who consult to business but no Captains of Industry! It'll fascinating hearing what she has to say.

Why didn't our guest speaker arrive last week? He thought it was 7,00pm so maybe we will be third time lucky with Dominic in November.

With the recent natural disasters in the Philippines and Indonesia I thought you might be interested in the local response from Rotary:

Rotary Governor Urges Help For Calamity Victims

Written by Achong TanjongFriday, 16 October 2009 09:02

Bandar Seri Begawan - Rotary International Dis

trict

Governor Datuk Haji Latip Sarrugi has urged fellow Rotarians to raise funds to help flood and earthquake victims in the Philippines and in Padang, Indonesia.

He was in Brunei recently and visited Rotary Clubs under District 33I0, which includes Brunei (Rotary Club of Bandar Seri Begawan), Johor Bahru, Malacca, Singapore, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan. Overall there are 65 Rotary Clubs under District 3310

.

Datuk Haji Latip, a lawyer by profession, said he has been involved in the Rotary for 23 years. The Rotary International District Governor's post is seldom given to Muslims but the club has accepted me as a Muslim to hold the post, he said.

"I am not saying that I am good but I do have integrity that is accepted by non-Muslims, which has became my main task now. This is part of an international integration for us as Muslim in order to integrate with people in the world." He said the Rotary also helped people in Indonesia when a tsunami hit Banda Aceh. The Rotary International also built mosque in Banda Aceh. The Indonesian government has given the Rotary 24 hectares of land to build a vocational institution to train youths. This matter is still under monitoring process through the Rotary International Indonesia. Rotary International had channelled humanitarian aid to Muslim countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Egypt. Datuk Haji Latip said the main task and concern of Rotary International now is to eradicate polio, which mainly occurs in countries like Pakistan, India and Nigeria.

Bill Gates (Microsoft) contributed US$385 million to help fight polio worldwide and Rotary International was given a challenge to raise US$200 million in this joint effort project with the World Health Organisation (WHO), he said.

Datuk Haji said the Rotary is a nonreligious, non-political and non-racial service organisation helping people in need nationally and internationally. Rotary's vocational service commitment is through the motto "Service above Self".

Datuk Haji Latip said the club has the Rotary Foundation, which provides US$90 million annually for international scholarships, cultural exchanges and humanitarian projects large and small that improve the quality of life for millions of people. Rotary is widely regarded as the world's largest private provider of international educational scholarships that enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international understanding throughout the world.

Datuk Haji Md Latip was a police inspector before reading law at University of Buckingham, 1979-8I. He joined the Rotary Club of Kota Melaka in I989. He was the President of the club, in I997-98 and Assistant Governor in 1998-99 and 2005-06.-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

There was a huge response from Rotary locally as well as from Rotary International in the States and also from Rotary Australia. Many of the UK Clubs sent Emergency Boxes.

Dominic Moss and the Business Meeting

Here's a picture of Dominic in Copenhagen during a conference at which he gave a paper. He is on the left in the Springbok jersey. The other person is an unknown Dane and obviously their thoughts are on a specific conservation-friendly health drink.

Last week's Business Meeting was interesting. We really do have to think about a President Elect for 2011/12 and we must think of the best available person for the job without discriminating against male, female or anything else for that matter. I know it's a long way away and a lot of water will flow under the bridge before then!

Please ensure that your candidate is:

• Willing to accept the nomination
• is proposed and seconded by two members of the Club

Please let me have all nominations by 31st October, 2009.

The Radium and an Exchange Encounter.

Here we all are at the Radium last week with our ADG Terry Hime as well. It was a most enjoyable evening and the music was great though most people left after the first set........We didn't and the music is always better in the second set after a little lubrication etc....

This will give you an idea of what it's like there if you were unable to come. The food is not cheap and not great, the service doesn't really exist but there's no cover charge during the week. The best thing to do is to arrive at about 9,30 having eaten somewhere else and have a drink in the bar area and move closer when everybody in the eating area has left.

Joan Donet sent in an account of her encounter with an exchange student! Thanks, Joan.

Lucy Wifniewski (2^nd from right) an exchange student from Mende, France, is currently being hosted by the Rotary Club of Durban North. Her host at the moment is Rtn Laura Donet (pictured 3^rd from the right) of Durban North.

Lucy will be in South Africa for 10 months and is presently attending Maria Stella Convent in Durban North. Fortunately for her, Laura is able to speak French, and her host Rotary club also has a student from Belgium, so she there is someone else she can converse with in her home language.

Dinner on Saturday, 26 September 2009 (with Jankees, Paul, Graham, Joan and families)

Jankees sent me a CD with lots of soccer pictures of our team. Unfortunately they are so many MB's that it takes ages to download them. Here's one!

Business Meeting this week so you'll here what progress we are making.