Proud President poses a question of concern

In outlining his vision for the Rotary Club of Dunfermline for his forthcoming year of office, President Noel McKenna confessed both his pride in the club's past achievements but a concern which he encapsulated in a question:

"Are we getting into a comfort zone and becoming complacent at a time when we need to be very alert to the problems we face and be focused on developing innovative solutions to allow us to keep moving forward?"

As he donned his insignia of office, the incoming President said, "At last I have made it, after 21 years as a member!
"Was I upset not being asked before? Well, not really...not because I did not want to do it, but I knew I could not possibly allocate the time needed to do the job properly.

"Am I looking forward to it? I never thought I would be but surprisingly, as today approached, I must say I am increasingly excited by the challenge."

Noel speculated that the many years he had spent as an 'occasional' member - making the odd appearances at weekly meetings, while getting involved as much as possible in supporting many events and activities along the way - together with his more recent terms as special projects convener and latterly secretary, had been excellent preparation for the presidency, particularly in the present environment.

It was an environment in which the world around Rotary was changing and, in some ways, Rotary was having difficulty in maintaining its relevance.

Noel observed, "In the wider movement, there are many predicting a gloomy future for Rotary, with membership falling in many parts of the Rotary world whilst the demands for support from those in need are expanding dramatically."

The District Governor's presentation had suggested the requirement for change was much greater now than it was a generation ago. Gone were the two-hour lunch breaks, as were the exceeding wealthy Rotarians in all but a few areas of the world, and gone, for many, were the stable jobs which allowed people to work and live in one location for decades. Gone too, in many cases, were the organisations, both big and small, which were supportive of their employees spending time on Rotary business or projects.

Noel added, "Individuals seem to be under increasing pressure from many sources and their spare time is becoming increasingly precious. If we want to retain and continue to get the right people into Rotary, then we must make accommodations to create the right fits.

"We need to become more targeted and be more efficient in the use of everyone's time. I am pretty optimistic that in our club we can overcome these problems and build on our successes of the past."
Reflecting on some of the key personalities in Rotary. President Noel pointed out, "This year is unique in that for the first time the World President of RI is a Scot: John Kenny, from the Rotary Club of Grangemouth. He will preside over 1.2m Rotarians in some 200 countries in 530 districts covering 33,000 communities.

"I am told John is a canny Scot., a lawyer who thinks deeply about everything he says and does. This is clear from his slogan for 2009-2010: The future of Rotary is in your hands. He wants the responsibility for making things happen to come back into the hands of the individual, fulfilling his or her responsibilities as Rotarians - ie, a bigger percentage of Rotarians should get more involved in the doing.

"He wants no great changes but is keen to press on with PolioPlus and seeks a conclusion in three years. This, of course, is aided by Bill and Melinda Gates' input of $255m, conditional on Rotary finding $200m, the British Govrnment £100m and the German Government Eu100m. RI has already raised $80m."
John Kenny was also keen to arrest the falling membership numbers and encourage support for Water Aid, and the health, hunger and literacy campaigns.

As well as endorsing John Kenny's objectives, RIBI President David Fowler was strongly supportive of a new UK inititive: Thanks for Life - Rotary Day on 23rd February 2010 and would like all clubs to be involved. Lesley Botten would give Dunfermline Rotarians more detail at a later date.

Noel explained, "District Governor Bill MacFarlane Smith is keen on clubs doing some srategic planning - something we started last year and are further developing this year. He is planning improvements in district communications, maintaining support to cancer treatment and research and making genuine progress on environmental issues."

Confiding his own thoughts for the club in 2009/2010, President Noel said, "Firstly, my vision is to have a club which is fun to be part off, which is enjoyable and innovative and to which people, both old and new, want to belong and in which they want to actively participate to the maximum degree they possibly can."

He envisaged two parallel delivery mechanisms:
" Fellowship, revolving around social, sport and fund-raising activities.
" Members applying their vocational skills to creating, supporting and implementing demanding and exciting local, national and international service projects - "to help others and make dreams come true for those in need of help."

Noel asked rhetorically, "When I look at the list of Past-Presidents and consider the great things this club and the wider Rotary movement have achieved, and are still achieving, to make dreams come true for so many people in need...and, just as importantly, sharing lots of great fellowship with the likes of you, how can I not be delighted, honoured and hopefully inspired and enthused by this club?

"This is a great club and it has achieved a lot over the years, but I have a concern! Are we getting into a comfort zone and becoming complacent at a time when we need to be very alert to the problems we face and be focused on developing innovative solutions to allow us to keep moving forward?

"I and, I believe a lot of you, would agree that, for example, we could do so much more if we could motivate those of our members who are rarely involved to join in to their full capacity and capability, however little that may seem - whether it is coming along to the weekly meeting as often as possible, or working in committees; helping with fund-raising; taking part in some service projects, from community through youth and schools to national and international based; supporting social and/or sporting events; and creating a better understanding among friends and colleagues of what Rotary is, what its aims are and what it achieves; and identifying people who could become interested and active Rotarians."

And President Noel stressed the importance of properly integrating new members into the club and having them using their skills in supporting projects from the start.

President Noel reminded his fellow Rotarians, "It falls on all of us to try to encourage all members to be involved whenever they can and to make it an enjoyable worthwhile experience when they do."

He revealed, "To encourage more involvement, it is planned to communicate more to ensure everyone is better aware of what activities and projects we in the club and the wider Rotary movement are planning and implementing, why we as a club are involved and how individuals can participate.

"There have been quite significant improvements over the past few years in keeping members better informed and we will build on this. The website will have a few new additions, including a Soapbox for members to post their ideas and a President's Blog, where seemingly I can air my thoughts...something I will now have to do: ie have some thoughts!"

He pledged, "We will allocate some weekly meetings to update and discuss various projects and business issues and I know Tom Sunter has some interesting speakers and discussions programmed. I am also intent on producing a regular news sheet, the format of which is yet to be developed.Communication is two-way and you will see from these measures we are keen to encourage feedback, so that throughout the year we can consider your ideas in providing you with the club you want."
Noel also declared his intention to work with the other local clubs in building on the work already done by Martin Eastwood and his committee to deliver a better understanding to a targeted audience of what Rotary was about and what it could offer, both to individual members and to the communities.

"This year," he acknowledged, " I am well supported by an excellent team and, as you heard briefly at the Club Assembly a few weeks ago, they are set fair to provide the club with an interesting and exciting programme of events, activities and projects for the next year.

"It is focused on providing opportunities for fun and enjoyment whilst also providing plenty of opportunity to be involved and support the many projects to help those in need. I have allocated teams to the conveners to assist them in their endeavours."
President Noel acknowledged, "This will be a particularly difficult year to create funds, but as the financial problems of the world are also placing greater pressure on those in need, it is not the time to reduce our level of support to those in need.

"It will be hard work, but I am sure we will achieve our target of £20k for the year. There are no particular charities I have decided to support at this time, other than our own PolioPlus and Foundation charities, to which I intend we at least match last year's donations."

President Noel thanked Rotarians for entrusting him with the club for the next year.
"I am keen, with your support and involvement, to make it an enjoyable and worthwhile experience for all, and hopefully hand over the club in a sound condition to Keith next year."