Next Monday (2 July) we are replacing our lunch meeting with an evening meeting at the World Press Photography Exhibition on Level 6 of Smith & Caughey’s, from 6.30pm – 8.30pm. Not only will you be able to view this year’s exhibition while enjoying a beer from Ora (many thanks for their sponsorship), wine and other beverages, as well as finger food. We will also farewell our outgoing President John Collinge and welcome in our incoming President Brett O’Riley. If you haven’t already RSVPed, then please contact Jacqui in the office. And remember those who arrive on Monday evening after Smith & Caughey’s has closed, you will need to enter via their entrance on Wellesley Street, just up from Queen Street, by Father Ted’s.
Our biggest annual fundraiser and your opportunity to “do good” and volunteer is coming in July. Each year the World Press Photography Exhibition (WPPE) raises thousands of dollars for our charities and we can’t do it without your support. We therefore need volunteers (Rotarians, family and friends) to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible on Level 6 of Smith & Caughey's in Queen Street. If you can help, then please contact Jacqui in the office, who will let you know which shifts are still available. Also, a number of members are unable to offer their time to volunteer for this event for various reasons, so, if you fall into this category, we are offering the option of making a donation, so we can hire a student to take your place. To employ a student for two shifts will cost on average about $120.00. If you would like to volunteer or donate funds so we can hire a student in your place, then please contact me directly on (09) 486 6010 or reply to this email.
District Governor Malini and District Governor Elect Ingrid's District Changeover function is on Saturday 7 July and all Club members and their partners are invited. Come and join your fellow Rotarians for an evening of fun and celebration. There will be a welcome drink on arrival, nibbles throughout the event and a cash bar will be available. Please let Jacqui in the office know if you are interested in attending and if you have specific dietary requirements (vegetarian, gluten free, etc.).
Date & Time: Saturday 7th July 2018 from 5.30pm to 7.30pm
We began this week with a Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF) presentation to Chris de Boer, to acknowledge all his work over the years regarding membership. There is never down time regarding membership for any community service organisations, particularly with today’s busy lifestyle and everyone tending to be time poor. Thank you, Chris, for all your work and congratulations on your PHF+1!
Our key-note speaker today was Dr Chris Jenkins, who is a solicitor with Russell McVeagh and his speech focused primarily on Brexit, titled ‘Divided Kingdom? A Cambridge student’s view of recent British politics’. There were several factors that contributed to the referendum supporting the UK leaving the European Union (EU), with those wanting to remain in the EU basically doing everything wrong and those wanting to leave doing everything right regarding the long drawn-out and complicated campaign. Also, many people cast an emotional, rather than an economic vote, in the hope of bringing about change and saw this as the last opportunity for the UK to remove itself from the EU. The final deal the UK is offered from the EU is not expected to be great, but once in place, time will be required to let things calm down and for people to assess the consequences with their heads, rather than their hearts. One lesson that hopefully other countries have learnt from Brexit, is that referendums can be dangerous and once things are set in motion, you might not be able to stop them, no matter how much you may want to.