The Best of Times

The season of endings and beginnings has begun as the current Rotary year draws to a close. Or as Charles Dickens put it: It was the best of times it was the worst of times, although there has thankfully not been much of the latter.
     The last board meeting this morning marked the beginning of the end of Carol Stier's tenure, which means that she will preside over her last club meeting in a few short weeks from now.
     We marked the last meeting by changing the venue from her home to a restaurant in Parkview, but the club will be glad to hear that it was a full business meeting with all the heated discussions, arguments, differences of opinion and final agreement where necessary, that go into making a successful and vibrant club.

A Presidential gathering. Paul Kasango, from July the new president-elect; Carin Holmes, a potential future president; Linda Vink, the next president; Carol Stier, outgoing president, past presidents Mike Vink and Steve du Plessis and prevailed-upon future president Julian Nagy at the board meeting

     The first order of business for the coming year is the induction of the new president.
     Club members are urged to attend this function and just to remind you, the arrangements are that it will be held at the Parkview Golf Club on Friday, 29th June at 6.30 for 7pm.
     So far only 5 members have responded, although there were more commitments at the board meeting.
     Please let me know by return email whether you're attending or not and then please pay as soon as possible. This is a showcase event for the club and a show of club support for the new president and her team.

Ronnie Kasrils, Debbie and Julian Nagy, myself, Frayne Mathijs, Carol and Nic Stier, Amina Frense and to the right Linda Vink, Linn Jarte, Koop Lammertsma (both guests) and Judy and Jankees enjoying the lunch

     The funnest of times was had on Sunday at Canteen @ Arts on Main in the Maboneng precinct in downtown Johannesburg, one of the nicer things to do on a Sunday in Johannesburg.
     A good time was had by all, as can be seen in the photographs.

Shady characters ... Julian, Carol and I share a glass of the best

Outgoing DG Jankees Sligcher (after his recent fall and knee operation also known as Shuffle-along Cassidy) and Ronnie Kasrils

DG Jankees with the other half of the Kasrils team, past president Amina Frense

Debbie and Julian Nagy enjoying the winter sunshine and a really good meal. If you've not yet been, it's worth a visit for the food, atmosphere and vibe

DG Jankees, Ronnie and Amina and Nick an Carol Stier. In the foreground is the walker Jankees has been using to help him shuffle along

As usual guests were welcome and we brought Linn Jarte and Koop Lammertsma, by now an old friend of the club, along. Linn is a family friend who has recently qualified as a medical doctor. She'll be explaining more when she comes to speak to the club, hopefully at the meeting on June 13th

     Absent from the photographs but very much present at the gathering were DGA Judy Sligcher and Judy Symons, who brought her granddaughter Maia, a pupil at Rodean High, along for the lunch.
     Judy (Symons, that is) also brought news of a vocational day on June 15th which will interest those club members who aren't away for Discon 2018 in the Kruger National Park.
     The event is being hosted by the Johannesburg Children's Home and starts at 3pm. The purpose is to provide the teenagers that are in the care of the home with information about careers that they have expressed interest in.

Linda met up with Megan Maynard of The Link at
Vintage With Love

     It will take place at the Home. Each professional will be placed at a table and groups of children will be taken to each stand and will be given the opportunity to ask questions about the specific career. If you volunteer it will be at your own discretion to provide pamphlets, prepare a speech or bring props with which they can demonstrate the inner workings of a job.
     Careers the kids are interested in include teaching, nursing, business, photography, IT, law, theatre, make-up artists, hairdressing, modelling, graphic design, economists and artisans.
     For more precise information, please speak to Judy directly. Apart from being for a good cause, vocational guidance is a strong theme at Rotary International and one that the club would do well to champion.
     Friends with shared interests are the lifeblood of any Rotary club and Megan Maynard of The Link falls very much into that category. Linda met her at Vintage With Love, the annual charity event run by Jacquie Myburgh, wife of hopefully-to-be club member Carl Chemaly. Each year Jacquie & co. collect designer clothes from those who have no further use for them and sell them on to raise funds for charity, The Link being one of the beneficiaries this year.
     They reportedly raised more than R1 million last weekend at the sale at the Didata office park, an enviable achievement.

Schoolkids from Emadwelani High in Orlando with books from in their freshly stocked school library.

     Another friend of the club and now of the Humanitarian Distribution Centre is Louise Vale, who collected books for the Emadwaleni Secondary School in Orlando, Soweto last month. She's happy to report that the library shelves are full of books for the schoolchildren, who are making good use of this very much improved facility.
     Louise has adopted the school library as part of an ongoing project and will hopefully be making use of the Humanitarian Centre often.
     A Thought for the Week: Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. - Mark Twain (1835-1910)