President's Message
Iva Parizkova Ryggeståhl
Deborah Mattsson Clarke
It is with great pleasure and anticipation that I take the role of President in our club for the second time during 2018/2019.I strongly believe in the value of Rotary as an organization which contributes, globally, nationally and locally, without political or religious bias. It gives us the opportunity to make a contribution to the world based on our shared belief in service, tolerance, care and support for those who need it. Sometimes this requires us to make decisions about how we use our Rotary funds to support existing initiatives. At other times it requires us to reach out personally to individuals or groups who need to be seen and welcomed into our community.
My ambitions for the coming Rotary year are simple:
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To create an atmosphere in our club which makes our existing members look forward to Monday evenings.
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To make guests, speakers and potential members feel welcome in every way.
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To establish succession planning in our key Board roles to ensure we are building a strong club for the future.
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To reach out to local organizations where we can make a difference in our own community.
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To visit other clubs in other cultures and see what we can learn from them.
It is no secret that Rotary in many countries has an aging population. We have so much to learn from our senior members and need to create an environment where they can relax and enjoy meetings after many years of service. But we also need to ensure Rotary has a future. This can only be done by attracting younger, energetic members who can engage and commit. Engagement and commitment are the keywords here – we need to find members who truly embrace the values of Rotary and are in it for the long haul – not just people who are passing through and think Rotary could be useful to them.
My hope is that by the handover in 2019/2020 we have built our club in such a way that its foundations are solid. From this base, we can truly make a difference.