2016 Is So Last Year!

With the Sligchers (that's DGE and DGAE Jankees and Judy to you!) in San Diego, Lucille battling a threatening typhoid outbreak before winging her way to Geneva and Jenine driving back home from Hermanus, we were a small band of brothers (and sisters) at the meeting last week.
     Let's hope we can attract more members to meetings during the weeks and months ahead.
     There's lots of work to be done and of course there'll be a few added burdens when Jankees and Judy start their term as District Governor and District Governor Anns in July.
     They're in San Diego for the annual training session for DGE's in preparation for the big year ahead. It was good to hear from Jankees via the New Dawn WhatsApp group.

Alex Gano and Kelsey announce their engagement with a bottle of Steenberg sparkling
 wine from Constantia, one of South Africa's finest

          Last year ended off in celebrations with the annual Christmas dinner and on the personal front Rudi and Peet added to Linda and my joy by announcing their engagement as they arrived in Cape Town. Shortly after that Alex Gano, our Ambassadorial Scholar in 2012, sent word that he had kicked off their holiday season by asking Kelsey to marry him. Well done, Alex!

Just for a laugh ... myself, Paul Kasango and Debbie Smith reminisce about the holiday that was

     The club had a rather fun first meeting last week, catching up after the holidays and discussing upcoming events.
     The first of these is obviously the Fast One cycle race at Henley on Klip on Sunday morning 29th January. We have pledged 12 marshals for the event, the same as last year. We'll be manning the same points as last year.
     There are about 6 committed marshals so far, so please come to the meeting tomorrow and volunteer. The club needs the money that we earn at these events!

Debbie de Vries listens while Judy Symons explains. Debbie has been a member since the Christmas dinner,
helping to boost our numbers to 26. The good news is that Henk joined us towards the end of the meeting

     As was the case last year, there is an information and training session for the race on this coming Saturday morning where we'll also be picking up all the necessary equipment and getting final instructions, after which the marshals will be told exactly where to go and when, and what to do when they're there.

Valentine's Dinner
     The second very important date is Tuesday, 14 February. Please save the date so long, as we're planning a wonderful Valentine's dinner, coupled with a membership drive.
     The dining and conference area at Twickenham Guest House will be transformed into a restaurant with tables for members and their friends/prospective members.
     So far we've decided on the date, the venue and the cost (R350 per person, wine included). Quite a few members have already volunteered to make specific dishes on the theme of different cuisines such as South African, French, etc. Of course, we're hoping for Dutch and Hungarian as well. Hint, hint!

Linda and Mike MacDonald contemplate their role in the kitchen for the dinner!

     Any other volunteers, please speak to Linda, as she's keeping a list of contributors. In the meantime, please line up a few guests and sell the idea - as well as the seats - to them. We need the money!

Meetings
     Paul Kasango is our speaker tomorrow morning. Gretchen Wilson Prangley, the founder and CEO of Play Africa, an NPO in Parktown, will follow him as speaker on 25th January. Please be there for both meetings.

Photographic competition
     Steve Margo, public relations and public image chair for District 9400, has announced a photographic competition between clubs that will run from now until May. The idea is for members to take photographs of club projects or functions and enter them into a competition in which the club can win cash prizes. Please contact Carol for the details.

Shirts
     Some of you have paid for the embroidered blue shirts, while others are still trying to sort their orders out. In the meantime Carol has had to drive around with a box full of shirts which members are not claiming. Please speak to Carol and get the shirts you ordered. The club has paid for them and it is now taking a long time to get the money back. If you have a problem with the sizes, go and see if she can help you. If not, we'll try to make a plan to have them exchanged.

Business cards
     We can have a generic Johannesburg New Dawn business card printed where you can fill in your name and contact details, at quite a good price. We'll discuss this at the meeting tomorrow and order some if members think it is worthwhile. They cost about R575 for 500 cards.

A Thought for the Week: The time is always right to do what is right. - Martin Luther King (1929-1968)