Welcome Booklet

For all new

Algoa Bay Rotary Club Members

Introduction

Congratulations on your decision to become a Rotarian!

We are excited to welcome you to the Algoa Bay Rotary Club!

This booklet is designed to answer the questions you may have about the club you have just joined. This is information regarding most aspects of being a Rotary member as well as the back-round history and some general information.

General information about Rotary and the Algoa Bay Rotary Club

Rotary International is an association of Rotary clubs worldwide. It’s made up of more than 32,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. The members of these autonomous clubs are called Rotarians, and they form a global network of 1.2 million business and professional leaders, all volunteering their time and talents to serve their communities and the world. Individual Rotary clubs, in turn, belong to the global association called Rotary International.

The Rotary Club of Algoa Bay was chartered in 1958 by the Rotary Club of Port Elizabeth which was the first club in our city. For administration and representation purposes, the Rotary world is divided into Zones and these in turn are divided into Districts. Our District, D9320, encompasses the Eastern Cape, Lesotho, Free State and parts of North West Province. Within this area there are 52 clubs with a total membership of about 1200 members. Our neighbouring districts are D9350 being Western Cape, Namibia and Angola and to the east is D9270 with KwaZulu Natal and to the north is D9400 incorporation the areas above up to Zimbabwe.

Who is the DG, the PDG and what are district meetings?

Rotary has a policy of rotation so that the office of responsibility changes every year. A District Governor is appointed each year by the district and is for that year an officer of Rotary International and reports to Rotary International on relevant information and to the district and distributes the information from Rotary International to the Clubs. After meeting the necessary criteria to be a DG, the person undergoes two levels of training and preparation, one called Governor-elects, Training Seminar (GETS) and final training and motivation at the International Assembly which is held each year in San Diego.

The DG is required to serve one year and thereafter passes the baton to the person following and falls into the rank of a Past District Governor (PDG). During the year of office there are several major annual events that take place in the district and the DG is responsible for organising them. Prior to commencing the term of office and after the International Assembly, the District Governor Nominee (DGN) would arrange for the Presidents & Officers-Elect Training Seminar (POETS). This is the President-elect and Officers who will serve during the ensuing year. An annual conference during the term of office of the DG must also be planned and the Rotary International President or a representative of the Rotary International President also attends the conference.

After the year of being the Immediate PDG, it would be incumbent on the PDG to serve in an advisory capacity as well as one of the portfolios such as Chairperson of the District Membership portfolio of a similar aspect of Rotary.

There are several international assignments that a PDG could be called upon to do such as represent the Rotary International President at a district conference or play a major role as a zone or regional co-ordinator of one of the programmes of Rotary International.

What is PRLS?

To ensure that Rotarians and district officers are adequately trained to hold various offices, districts conduct training programmes to ensure that members are equipped to handle the various portfolios. One of these programmes is Potential Rotary Leadership Seminars (PRLS) which consists of 6 modules of in-depth training and covers public speaking, how to manage and facilitate meetings, dispute resolution and ensure personal development for members of the Family of Rotary to lead office in higher levels of responsibility.

Overview of being a member

Being a member of Rotary is, in essence, a commitment to service whereby the Rotarian undertakes to use his/hers vocation and skills in applying the Object of Rotary. As a member of a Rotary Club there are specific requirements of the Club Constitution whereby all members are required to comply.

Members must have been at the club for one year before introducing another new member, although they are welcome to bring guests.

Being of Service to the community and having the opportunity to be able to share ones’ skills and recourses world-wide is a wonderful opportunity and experience open to all who are committed to service.

Paul Harris

Paul Harris was a lawyer who started Rotary in 1905. His idea was to form a new club for business and professional men. These men would band together for social purposes, but they would also be of material help to each other. Each member would have the exclusive representation of his particular trade or profession. In such club, all members would be obliged to bring all their legal business to one another. This reciprocal system would enable each member to enjoy the benefit of each other’s custom. It was thought that members would enjoy friendship as well as business dealings. The first meeting was held with 4 members- Paul Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Hiram Shorey and Sylvester Schiele.

Today the Paul Harris Recognition is given to Rotarians who have contributed towards the spirit of Rotary in a positive way. Non Rotarians can also be recognised with a Paul Harris Award for remarkable service to the community. After a Rotarian has received a Paul Harris, he/she can be nominated for a Sapphire. Up to 5 Sapphires can be achieved before the Rotarian begins achieving the Ruby Recognition of 5 levels. It costs the club one thousand Dollars contribution to the Rotary Foundation for each award.

The Paul Harris recognitions are given at the discretion of the President, Past President and the club secretary.

The lunches

There are several aspects involved in ensuring that our Lunches run smoothly and they are:

Fellowship: The Rotarians handling this aspect of the Lunch need to ensure that they are at the venue well before the check in time of 13h00, thus making sure that both Members and Guests are welcomed timeously and in a friendly manner. This is also when they pin the badges on fellow Rotarians. The Fellowship group is the frontline of our Rotary Club and creates the first impression for Guests and Rotarians from other Clubs, who are visiting us to do a make-up, so this group is of vital importance in the grand scheme of things!

Check-in: Once someone has been welcomed they proceed to the table to pay for their Lunch and mention any make-ups they themselves have done in the past week and/or any Apologies. Accompanying guests are also introduced here.

Payment is, of course, equally important - as this is how any business operates - income versus expenditure! Our Club needs to pay the venue for the number of people attending so the figures must balance.

Apologies are extremely important to the running of the Lunch and the stats that we are required to submit to Rotary International. If you are unable to attend a weekly meeting you must PLEASE tender your apologies per email or phone as a “Silent” denotes no word of apology and is detrimental to the overall status of the Luncheon.

Grace: Each week, one of our members is asked to say Grace, before the start of our meal. We are aware that there are different religions within our membership and are always welcoming of the various forms of Grace followed. There is however a Grace printed at the back of the Gold book.

Guest speaker: Once again, there is always someone allocated to introduce and then thank our Speaker and this is conveyed to said people prior to the Luncheon.

Sergeant: The Roster for Sergeant’s Duties is drawn up at the start of the year and involves that person mentioning members’ Birthdays/Anniversaries - that fall within the week after that Tuesday Lunch and prior to the following Tuesday. The Sergeant can also then tell a joke or two or relate a story or something topical.

Vocational reading: The member who is asked to read the ‘thought for the day’ is in essence ending off the proceedings for the Luncheon.

It is worth noting here that, if for any reason, you are unable to perform your Duty (From Fellowship to Vocational Reading), it is up to YOU to find a replacement or swop duties for the following week. It is unacceptable to simply leave it and hope that someone will fill in for you. Rotary is all about fellowship and this is very much part of the package!

Rules of Attendance

Minimum attendance required: Whereas 100% attendance is aimed for at the Lunches, 50% attendance is the minimum. If you miss four lunches in a row with no apologies you can lose your membership.

Who to give Apologies to: Give your apologies to the club secretary or to the attendance officer via email or a telephone call. If you are on duty for example: Fellowship or Grace, please get someone to do your duty for you.

Leave of Absence and how to obtain it: A leave of absence is given to Rotarians which will excuse them from attending Rotary Lunches and events for a period of 3 months to 6 months, due to the specific member being unwell or going overseas etc. It can be a period of up to six months. If a member needs to re-apply for leave of absence, this can be done.

Procedure to obtain a Leave of Absence:

-Give a letter to the secretary of the Rotary Club.

-Leave of absence can be up to six months.

-The permission for the leave of absence is then asked for by the board.

How to do make-up’s:

-You have a month to do a make-up, two weeks before and two weeks after missing the lunch.

-A make-up can be done at any other Rotary Club by attending their lunches.

-A make-up is done when a member attends an official Rotary function, example: a committee meeting, a Fellowship event or a formal dinner.

-It’s the member’s duty to report the make-up to the attendance officer at the next lunch.

The Algoa Bay Fellowship Box

The box with accompanying register was originally presented to the Club by DG Dr Baikie Miller of Cape Town in 1967. At that stage we fell under one large district of 935. In 1970 the District was split and our present District of 932 was formed and also the zero was added, becoming 9320.

Algoa Bay Club had their meetings and formal Quarterly Dinners at the old Springbok Hotel for the first 29 years. The hotel was owned by Raymond Alexander, Past President 1967/1968 of Algoa Bay Rotary Club and a great fellowship man. He died suddenly in 1983 so the club decided to rename the Fellowship Box in honor of all the great fellowship events that were held at his hotel and home in Mill Park. He personally supervised everything; hence the Fellowship became the ethos of our successful Club. At the time of his death the Club consisted of approximately 35 members.

The aim of the Fellowship Box is to encourage members, especially new ones, to get to know the other Club members, as well as the Ann’s, on a more personal level. The get-togethers can be at home for a dinner, a cup of coffee or even a cocktail out. The box is passed onto another member enjoying good fellowship and should be held for no longer then 2 weeks.

Costs involved

Annual subscription Rotarians                         R850

Annual subscription Ann’s                  R80

Total                                                               R930

Invoicing is done on the 1st of July each year and is due in full by the 31st December of the same year. This fee covers all levies and dues due to Rotary International. 

Weekly lunch                                                  R50 We expect ideally a 100% attendance but accept overall a 50% attendance. That said if one is to join Rotary one must subscribe fully and be committed - why else does one join!

The rest are additional extras and there is no obligation to participate with one exception which is the Induction Dinner.

Visiting DG Dinner                             R100 This is held when our DG visits the Club.

Induction Dinner                                R100 Induction of the new President and Board Members.

Quarterly Dinner                               R100 An evening function.

Christmas Party                                R120 Held at the end of the year in place of the Quarterly Dinner.

Charter Dinner                                   R100 Celebration of the birthday of our club which is April 16^th.

District Conference                                        R2000 This includes local travel, accommodation and registration.

Please note that the above costs are estimates.