Bulletin No.30 - 16th February 2010

Bulletin No.30 - 16 February 2010

Duty Roster

Today’s Attendance -  Neil Crawford

Make-Ups

Ed Gutsche                                                                         P.E. West                                                             11 February

Jeff Ilsley, Lindsay Pearson, Glenn Harris, Marcus Oshry, Ed Gutsche  and Malcom Andrew

Youth Committee                                            11 February

Attendance with Make-Ups  100 % plus

Visiting Rotarians

Philip Potgieter                                                                 P.E. Club

Non- Rotarian Visitors

The following  Anns received a special welcome: Melanie Roberts, Nancy Tzemis, Denise Long,  Judy  Giles and  Heather Rauch

Ex-Ambassadorial Scholar: Julia Webber

Other non-Rotarian guests at lunch were Grant Howard  brought by Tony Oshry, Richard Graves  by Nick Wilmot, Alison Doe by Marcus Oshry, Felicity Kickhoefel and Sylvia Abbate by Gianna Doubell, and Les Simmonds by Alf Levinthal.

President Ian’s Announcements

At Pres Ian’s request Rotarians and their guests stood as a mark of respect for PDG Charles Keast of East London who passed away recently.

From the notices below you will agree the Club has hit the ground running in 2010

1. Lunch on 2 March will be held at Vista Rus to which the Anns are invited. Please book your place(s) on the list that Gianna will circulate at lunch next week. This is vitally important
2. The hand-over of the R365 000 plus “Eye Machine” will take place on 4^th March. Please diarise. Details later
3. A Travelling Supper has been arranged for the evening 24 February and those interested should have indicated  on the list Gianna circulated at lunch today. Cost for the 3-course meal (at homes of Rob Russell, Cameron Scott and Neil Crawford) is R120. Maximum 60 people, the carrying capacity of the bus.  Late entries are to contact Gianna a.s.a.p.

Other Matters

1.       Les Kirkland underwent his second hip replacement operation this morning and is recovering very well at St Georges Hospital. Rumour has it that he is walking. Ex-principals  are a tough breed!

2.       The guided tour of the new 46 000-seater stadium arranged by Michelle Brown after lunch today was both well-organised and an eye-opener. Port Elizabeth can be extremely proud of this recently- added facility. Thanks Michelle for the initiative in organising this trip

Our Speaker - Dr Piet Naude

Listening to Dr Naude at lunch today was a pleasure and the applause at the end of his talk indicated that all members of the club felt the same.

Professor of Ethics, Director of the NNMU Business School, PhD in Theology from Stellenbosch University, author in English, Afrikaans, Dutch and German of over 60 articles published in academic journals,  seminar leader, consultant to the SAICA, author of Boardroom Basics in the Eastern Province Herald etc etc Piet Naude is well qualified to speak on the emerging role of SA in the world.

Some of the points he made were

• SA is one of the most vibrant democracies in the world, holding regular fair elections and with an independent Constitutional Court
• As South Africans we regularly under-estimate the achievements of the people of this country in sport and also in others spheres. He referred to 3 Nobel Prizes and 3 Oscars
• In the international sub-prime banking crisis we were less damaged than most countries, underlining the good banking laws and the healthy banking system we have
• SA has the second most compliant tax system in the world
• SA has the greatest increase in tourism in the world exceeding 8.3 million a few years back and climbing
• With the influence of the G8 declining and the G20 increasing SA is becoming a global player

He ended off with the famous quote “Africa is not for sissies” and spoke of the wonderful challenges that we, with our climate and position, can make in the green revolution that is sweeping the world. He also encouraged us all to be more positive when we speak to the younger generation about this country in the future.

It is a long time since I heard such a well thought out and optimistic summary of the SA position.

Forthcoming Events for your Diary

23 February        Ismail Mahomed      Festival Director: National Arts Festival                          Lunch venue

2 March                Lunch will be held at Vistarus .  BOOKING ESSENTIAL                                    Details later

4 March                Hand over of the Eye Machine                                                                                   Grey Pavilion  5.30pm

16 March            Prof Leanna Uys  (vice Chancellor of the University of University of KZN)  Lunch venue

16 April                Quarterly Dinner                                                                                                               TBA

29 June                Induction Dinner                                                                                                               Humewood Golf Club

Sergeant -  Peggy Saunders

Peggy wished Sherine Howell  a very happy  birthday for 17^th

Those celebrating their wedding anniversaries are Gary and Lynda Woodhead on the 18^th, David and Rosemary Browne enjoy their 38^th wedding anniversary on the 19^th .

Pride of place must be Mannering and Joan Osborn who will celebrate their Golden Anniversary on Saturday 20^th…….. 50 years and (like Johnny Walker) still going strong!

Peggy shared a few stories with us,  the most true-to-life was:-

An elderly American  called 911 on her cell phone to report that her car had been broken into. She was hysterical as she explained the situation to the dispatcher.

“They’ve stolen the stereo, steering wheel, brake pedal and even the accelerator”, she cried.

The dispatcher told her to stay calm as an officer was on his way.

A few minutes later the officer radioed in. “Disregard”, he said “She got in the back-seat by mistake………”

Woman drivers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vocational Readings -  Denzil Stickells

“A child is a person who is going to carry on what you have started. He is going to sit where you are sitting, and when you are gone, attend to those things you think are important. You may adopt all the policies you please; but how they are carried out depends on him. He will assume control of your cities, states and nations. He is going to move in and take over your churches, schools, universities and corporations. All your books are going to be judged, praised or condemned by him. The fate of humanity is in his hands”                                                       Abraham Lincoln

Malcom Andrew