DGE February Update

February has been a month focused on training.  On the 12th we held District Chair training at Judy Bain’s property at Waitarere Beach.  On a perfect Sunday we held an interesting day discussing the roles and responsibilities of the District Chairs.  I have attempted to restructure District committees so that they are more aligned with RI.  After a nice walk along the beach at lunchtime the afternoon was spent discussing some of the issues facing district.

Over the weekend of 3-5th SP PETS was held in Auckland with 5 of the 6 New Zealand districts sending their PEs .  The weather played havoc with some of the Wellington and Taranaki participants arriving late or not being able to attend.  It was an inspirational weekend with some great speakers, notably New Zealand RI Director Stuart Heal talking about change in Rotary, RI Director Tom Thorfinnson talking about Rock Star moments in Rotary and Howard Tong talking about Rotary PR.  A highlight was the Saturday night dinner at which Sir Anand Satyanand was awarded the RI Rotary Award of Honour by Past RI President Bill Boyd. There were also a number of District specific breakout sessions discussing the roles and responsibilities of Presidents and specific issues such as struggling clubs.  It has been great getting to know the AGs and PEs and we are now beginning to form a close-knit team.

Other activities this month have been setting the District budget for 2012/13 which will remain the same as this year except for a $2/member increase to cover PR.  At $56/member our District fees are among the lowest of the New Zealand districts. 

Work has also begun compiling the District Directory, a large job and I am grateful to the work Adrienne Murray is doing on this.  Work has also started preparing for District Assembly in May.  Bob Austin and his team are continuing to work hard on Changeover in July and our joint District conference next year, our thanks to the team for their hard work.

The coming month will see us continuing to focus on the District directory and preparing for District Conference in Wanganui.

Graeme and Chris