New Dawn a Meeting Place for the World

Last week's meeting was a fun one when we decided to change the order of things around a little and allowed two visitors to tell us a bit more about themselves and their clubs, rather than conducting a formal business meeting.
     The business of the club will not be taking a back seat this year, though. Everybody in the club should be preparing for the club assembly on Saturday 27th August, where there will be ample opportunity for members to help determine the direction the club will be taking in the years to come.
     Although the emphasis at the assembly will be on fundraising and membership, that doesn't preclude discussion on any other matters that are put on the agenda.
     I'll be calling for topics for the agenda once Linda and I are back from our winter break, and we have the District Governor's visit behind us.
     Back to our visitors: Dirk Otto is an old friend of New Dawn, having visited the club a number of times over the past seven years.

President Mke Vink holds the banner of the Rotary Club of Asokoro in Nigeria, handed over by visitor Kalu Nduka. Next to him is our other international visitor of last week, Dirk Otto

    Dirk is a German national who lived and worked in South America, from where he first visited Johannesburg New Dawn. After his travels he joined the Rotary Club of Berlin on his return to Germany.
    His work has now taken him close to Frankfurt and he is now a member of the Rotary Cub of Bad Homburg Schloss, very close to the German financial hub.
     He says, not surprisingly, that his new club is very much more formal than his South Americam club, or New Dawn. The Germans take the networking aspect of Rotary very seriously.
     When the moved to Bad Homburg, he bought his house from a Rotarian. His children are in a school run by a fellow Rotarian, who gave his wife a job there as a teacher after she and Dirk and their family moved to the city.
     There are three Rotary clubs in this city of about 50 000 people.

Kalu Nduka addresses the club with Frayne Mathijs, Judy Symons, Debbie and Greg Smith, Jankees Sligcher, Paul Kasango, Amina Frense and Linda Vink listening

     Our second visitor hails from Nigeria. Kali Nduka is treasurer of the Rotary Club of Asokora in Abuja, Nigeria. He describes his fellow members as creative people, professionals who are passionate about Rotary and its aims.
     He has been a Rotarian for a little over a year, but says he feels very much at home in the organization. He has promised to visit again when next he comes to South Africa and is very keen to discuss the possibility of joint projects.
     It is an offer we should consider seriously.
     The visit of two people from such different places emphasizes the international nature of Rotary and we thank them for reminding us of that.
     Dates to remember: There is NO meeting this week (3 August) because of the election. There will be a meeting as usual on 10th August. The DG is visiting the club on 17th August and the club assembly is on Saturday, 27th August.
     A thought for the holiday: I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. - Dorothy Parker (1893-1967).
     PS: Lobotomy or no, there will be no blog from me next week!