Warren McGregor & the Rotary Lecture

Last week's meeting was fascinating as Rotarian Gidon Jude showed us the way the internet and social networking is heading.  Quite amazing!  I wonder where people find the time to do all of this....with Apple having 300 000 Aps to download just going through the list must take a year, at least!  Thanks, Gidon, it was mind blowing! Our Rotary friend in Uganda, Ivan Balondemu sent me the following for the Club plus more pictures of our evening at 44 Stanley: Thanks for turning the cold evening into a warm one. It was short but rewarding. We enjoyed and looking forward to "revenging" when you visit Kampala, or staring from were we stopped when we next visit Joberg. Best regards to all Rotary tribe mates, members of the great global tribe of peace lovers. Ivan PP And here are the pictures: Our speaker this week is Warren McGregor who is the first recipient of our Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn Scholarship in association with the Department of Sociology at Wits.  He will be talking about what himself and what he is doing at Wits with his hopes for the future. He will be assisting with our Rotary Lecture on the 7th September...see the side bar for more details.  Here are more details about our Guest Lecturer, Justice Zac Yacoob of the Constitutional Court.

Justice Zakeria Mohammed Yacoob was born on 3 March 1948 and became blind at 16 months as a result of meningitis. He married in 1970, has two adult children (a daughter and a son) and has lived in Durban almost all his life. Education Yacoob attended Durban's Arthur Blaxall School for the Blind from 1956 to 1966. From 1967 to 1969 he studied for a BA at the University College, Durban (now the University of Durban-Westville), majoring in English and private law. From 1970 to 1972 he completed an LLB at UDW. He was involved with many clubs and societies at university and helped to organise activities and negotiations that culminated in the first elected students' representative council. Professional history Yacoob served his pupillage in Durban in 1973. The Natal Provincial Division of the Supreme Court admitted him as an advocate on 12 March 1973; he practised as a junior counsel from July 1973 to May 1991. During this time he: represented and advised many people prosecuted for contravening security laws, emergency measures and other oppressive legislation; represented victims of unfair evictions and people who were required to pay unfair tariffs; represented the "Durban Six" in negotiations with the British government when they occupied the British Consulate in Durban in 1984 in protest against apartheid and unjust laws; was part of a team that from 1985 until 1988 defended officials and members of the United Democratic Front and its affiliates in the Delmas Treason Trial; and represented the accused in the "Vula" trial, which involved high-ranking members of the African National Congress, in 1990 and 1991. In this time he also ran a significant and diverse commercial and general legal practice. Yacoob served as a member of the Society of Advocates of Natal for several years and took silk in May 1991. He joined the Constitutional Court of South Africa in February 1998. Other activities Politics Yacoob was the chairperson of the Durban Committee of Ten in 1980. Its aim was to alleviate the plight of pupils, ensure the release of those in detention and facilitate talks between pupils, students, parents and educational authorities. He was a member of the executive of the Natal Indian Congress from 1981 to 1991 - in which capacity he organised and took part in protests, produced and distributed publicity material, and organised and addressed many anti-apartheid mass meetings. Yacoob, as a member of the executive of the Durban Housing Action Committee from 1982 to 1985, was involved in action aimed at ensuring that the Durban City Council managed its housing schemes fairly. As a member of the executive of the Durban Detainees' Support Committee from 1981 to 1985, Yacoob was involved in: promoting community support for detainees; calling for the release of detainees; helping to ameliorate the conditions under which detainees were held; and helping to organise workshops, meetings and conferences to expose the evils of detention without trial. Yacoob was also a member of a committee that rallied against the South African Indian Council. He belonged to the Democratic Lawyers Association from 1979 to 1984, was a member of the UDF's Natal executive, was heavily involved in a campaign against the tricameral parliament from 1983 to 1985 and was a member of the underground structures of the ANC. Community Yacoob has been heavily involved in the activities of the Natal Indian Blind and Deaf Society, and the South African National Council for the Blind. He has served on many school committees, parent-teacher bodies, ratepayers' associations and civic organisations. He was the chairperson of the South African National Council for the Blind and was a member of its national management committee and its national executive committee from 2001 to 2009. He was a member of the council of the University of Durban-Westville from 1989 to 1993 and from 1995 to1997. He was the chancellor of the university from May 2001 until 31 December 2003. Yacoob has attended dozens of international conferences and workshops on topics as varied as blindness, children and democracy. Democracy Yacoob was a member of the Technical Committee on Fundamental Rights in thenegotiating process. He served on the Independent Electoral Commission from December 1993 to June 1994 and was a member of the Panel of Independent Experts of the Constitutional Assembly. Yacoob has also advised local-government bodies, the National Land Committee and the Department of Finance.  Snowy event raises thousands for children's charities By Megan Ferringer  Rotary International News – 28 April 2011          Chili Open chair Pat Kemmer (far right) joins the event's special guests Dom Tiberi from Channel 10 news, Woody Johnson from WCOL radio, and Jack Hanna. Photo by Megan Ferringer Rotary International on Facebook Despite 14 inches of snow, Rotarians in Ohio, USA, drew more than 3,000 people to a daylong “chili open” in February that raised nearly $160,000 to benefit children.     The Rotary Club of Westerville Sunrise has held the Wendy’s Chili Open every year since 1997, donating more than $1.5 million to children's charities including the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and The Children's Hunger Alliance.  This year, 30 food vendors offered samples while attendees strolled through the main grounds of the Columbus Zoo. The event also featured a live band and silent auction. Media personalities including Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the zoo and star of the syndicated television series Jack Hanna's Into the Wild, greeted guests in a heated tent. The chili open -- which gets its name from Wendy's chili, served since the beginning -- is now the club's signature event and has grown in scope each year. The first one drew only a handful of attendees to an unheated tent set up in the parking lot of a local factory. Pat Kemmer, who chairs the event, explains that developing a signature project involves choosing a focus, then seeking out sponsors and picking the right venue. “First, you need to find a project that works for your community,” Kemmer says. “We knew right away that focusing on children’s charities would be perceived well.” After that, the club persistently looked for new sponsors. "We kept telling ourselves that we had to up the ante by adding on more,” he says. “It was a no-brainer to be a part of this,” says Dan Johnson, director of Columbus operations for the Wendy’s fast food chain, one of the fundraiser’s first sponsors. “What better event to support than one that’s associated with good charities?” Club president Pat Knott says sponsors have agreed to sign on because of the clear return on their investment. “It’s a win-win situation for them. It gives them the opportunity to give back to the community while building their brand." Picking a venue In 2010, the club found the perfect venue when the Columbus Zoo offered to host the event on its main grounds. According to Pete Fingerhut, vice president of marketing for the zoo, the club’s reputation made the partnership a good fit. “There’s a connection between the zoo and what this club represents – promoting children’s services,” Fingerhut says. “You can’t help but succeed when you look for sponsors with similar interests.” The move to the zoo made the event even more appealing to sponsors, and the club received free ads from a local TV station. “One of our biggest drawbacks to getting sponsors was having the event in Westerville at first. It was too local,” says Rob Hunt, past chair of the chili open. “Some of the businesses we were talking to were in other Columbus suburbs. Moving it to the zoo made it a citywide event.” The club has grown from 42 to 83 members since the first chili open. Club members plan to keep expanding their signature project. “The key is taking risks and not being afraid to ask a sponsor or media outlet if they want to be involved,” says Kemmer. “Any club can do this.”