Business, Birds and RI President for 2015-16

Last week's meeting was a very successful Business Meeting.  I think everyone there felt that progress was being made, particularly with the application for  PBO Status.

Professor Lucille Blumberg

Steve du Plessis emphasised the need for us to recruit 'waitrons' for Rock Around the World on the 14th September.
We need to have 50 people for this event and we stand to make in the region of R40 000 for the Club so it is important that we drag in "all rabbit's friends and relations".  As Steve pointed out, if you only do one thing for the Club this year this is the most important. 
Come back to Steve at projects@newdawn.org.za

President Joan Donet officially presented the Paul Harris Fellowships that were unofficially presented at her Induction Dinner as they hadn't yet arrived from Zurich.  There is one more to be presented and that will be on the 21st August.




President Joan was on the receiving end of a presentation herself when Jankees Sligcher presented her with a banner from the Rotary Club of Bali-Seminyak

This Week

Our Speaker is Dr Charmaine Uys of BirdLife South Africa.  She is their Conservation manager for Mpumalanga and the  Free State.

The mission of BirdLife South Africa is to promote the enjoyment, conservation, study and understanding of 

wild birds and their habitats. 

Why should we conserve birds?

• Birds are an important part of the world's biodiversity, providing important ecosystem services
• Birds are indicators of the state of the environment. In general, places that are rich in bird species are also rich in other forms of biodiversity. Their presence indicates a healthy environment.

BirdLife South Africa is a registered non-profit, public benefit environmental organization and the only dedicated bird-conservation organisation in South Africa. 

We have over 6 000 members in 32 bird clubs throughout South Africa. 

Ravindran is choice for 2015-16 RI president

By Arnold R. Grahl
Rotary News -- 6 August 2013
 

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K.R. "Ravi" Ravindran is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International in 2015-16.

K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran, a member of the Rotary Club of Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, has been selected by the Nominating Committee for President of RI in 2015-16. Ravindran will become the president-nominee on 1 October if there are no challenging candidates.

Ravindran said his top priority for Rotary will be to increase membership, which he called the bedrock of any organization.

“The emphasis on membership has to continue with focus on the younger generation,” Ravindran said. “Additionally, we must seek to attract the just retired and experienced people into Rotary.”

Creating regional membership plans and realizing that “one size does not fit all” has been a move in the right direction, he said.

“Albert Einstein defined insanity as ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’ In many ways this has been the story of Rotary’s poor membership advance,” he said. “Thankfully, our approach this time has been studied and altered. We have created 22 different membership regions so that each region would develop and execute a plan that would suit that particular region.”

Ravindran said it’s important for Rotarians to share their stories, especially through social media, so others can see the impact Rotary has had in their lives. He said it’s also important for the organization to speak with a consistent voice. “Our identity must remain simple and be based on our core values. It must be clear and straightforward to both our internal and external audience.”

Ravindran holds a degree in commerce and is founder and CEO of Printcare PLC, a publicly listed company and global leader in the tea packaging industry. He also serves on the board of several other companies and charitable trusts. He is the founding president of the Sri Lanka Anti Narcotics Association, the largest antinarcotics organization in Sri Lanka.

As his country’s PolioPlus chair, Ravindran headed a task force with members from the government, UNICEF, and Rotary and worked closely with UNICEF to negotiate a cease-fire with northern militants during National Immunization Days.

A Rotarian since 1974, Ravindran has served Rotary as a director and treasurer of RI and as a trustee of The Rotary Foundation. He has also served as an International Assembly group discussion leader, district governor, Council on Legislation representative, and zone institute chair. He chaired the Schools Reawakening project, sponsored by Rotary clubs and districts in Sri Lanka, which rebuilt 25 tsunami-devastated schools, benefiting 15,000 children.

Ravindran has been awarded The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service and Distinguished Service Award and the Service Award for a Polio-Free World.

He and his wife, Vanathy, have two children, and are level 4 Major Donors to the Foundation.

The Nominating Committee members are Eric E. Lacoste Adamson, USA (chair); John T. Blount, USA; Robert K. Crabtree, New Zealand; Gerson Gonçalves, Brazil; Frederick W. Hahn Jr., USA; Lynn A. Hammond, USA; Teruo Inoue, Japan; Paul Knyff, The Netherlands; Peter Krön, Austria; Jorma Lampén, Finland; Kyu-Hang Lee, Korea; Masahiro Kuroda, Japan; Michael D. McCullough, USA; Donald L. Mebus, USA; David D. Morgan, Wales; Catherine Noyer-Riveau, France; and M.K. Panduranga Setty, India.