The Ripper Comes for a Visit

We have a special visitor scheduled for the meeting this week in the person of RIPPR Eric Kimani, who will be on his way to the District Conference in Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, which runs from Friday to Sunday.
    PDG Eric and his wife, Margaret, are attending Discon as the Rotary International President's Personal Representative.
     He has expressed a wish to address the club, so there will be no ordinary speaker, but it is a special meeting and of course the last one before Discon, which is being attended by 11 members of New Dawn. This will also be one of Jankees and Judy Sligcher's last club meetings as District Governor and District Governor Anns.

RIPPR Eric Kimani will be at the meeting this week

     PDG Eric is a member of the Rotary Club of Westlands in Nairobi, Kenya and was District Governor for District 9200 in the 2011-2012 Rotary year.
     He is passionate about Rotary in Africa and uses his position in Rotary International to further the cause of the movement on the continent.
     He is a lawyer by trade, having practiced as an advocate in the Kenya High Court, but is also a businessman and entrepreneur and does extensive charity work.

DG Jankees Sligcher practicing his mobility techniques

     The RIPPR and his wife will be accompanied by PDG Francis and Janet Callard during their visit to Southern Africa and he will of course play a prominent role at Discon. PP Paul Kasango will be accompanying him for meetings on Wednesday.
     Preparations for Discon 2018, dubbed The Kruger Experience, are well under way and the event promises to be a stellar one; how else if it is starting literally under the stars (weather permitting) with a Bush Braai function on Friday night in the wild.
     DG Jankees might want to reconsider attending this function after his recent knee operation if he keeps the saying in mind that you don't have to be the fastest runner to get away from any marauding lions, you just have to be faster than the next guy! Jokes aside, it promises to be a highlight of the weekend.

Judy Sligcher twisting arms during the brag at the meeting last week, a business meeting

     Expect also some stellar announcements to come out of the Discon. DG Jankees is rounding off a very successful year leading the district and will have plenty to boast about. The partnership with Audi to obtain and train a dog for the Kruger's anti-poaching unit is one such success story. We'll no doubt be hearing a lot more about it. (PS, you heard it here first, the dog's name is Jopie!)
     President Carol Stier reported progress on the unique Rotaract club that New Dawn is championing with the Rotary Club of Johannesburg. The club will consist of mainly postgraduate students who are all living, doing research and in some cases also working, in many different parts of the country's the idea is to create a kind of Rotaract E-Club that meets online. Carol has created a WhatsApp group through which the can have quick communication with each other and keep abreast of the research each individual is doing.

PE Linda with Peta Thomas, who has been instrumental in the Rotaract club efforts

     As a club our aim is to eventually set up a club research fund that becomes self-funding to help students with incidental sponsorships and other expenses.
     We may have one or two of the prospective members at the meeting this week and the wish has been expressed that the club can be chartered to coincide with the visit of the incoming DG Charles Deiner, during his official club visit towards the end of July or beginning of August.

Lucille Blumberg and Frayne Mathijs with Petrus Sibuyi from Bushbuckridge

     Last week Lucille Blumberg took Frayne Mathijs with her to Bushbuckridge, where the NICD is involved in research and which Lucille visits regularly. They used the opportunity to hand over walkers and ferrules (rubber tips!) to Petrus Sibuyi, who has become a spokesperson for the charity work Lucille and her colleagues are doing in the area.
     This is a prime example of the work individual members do to help alleviate the needs of people less fortunate than ourselves.
     Date to Remember: Don't forget to respond to the invitation to Linda's induction on 29th June.
     A Thought for the Week: There are always flowers for those who want to see them. - Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954)