That same evening, courtesy of IPP David Ball, a small group of us; Jack & Lyn
Sapsworth, Peter Collins, David Ball, Christina and myself attended a cricket
match at Northampton Cricket Club where after a delightful meal, we watched
Northampton beat Yorkshire in a 20/20 match. Thank you for organising this
David. I hope David will organise another match in the future and I recommend this event to all.
Monday 20th July saw me preside at the Council meeting. I am really very
lucky to be supported by such a dedicated and enthusiastic membership of the
council, the majority of them are themselves past presidents. Thank you to all,
I hope I can serve you as well as you have served our club.
On Thursday 23rd July, I had the double delight of inducting two more Associate members into our club, Debra Knight, CEO of NineRed Presents and Mark
Relf a long time friend of the club and Chief Fundraiser at Keech Hospice. Welcome to both of you, I hope you have a great time with us in Rotary and that
you will choose to become full members in the fullness of time. I was delighted on behalf of Rotarian Kevin Porter (away on his summer holiday) to be
able to introduce Chloe Baxter and Derren White from Signposts Dunstable
Projects who told us about a new project they are piloting using IT equipment.
That evening, a good number of us attended a function at our mother club,
The Rotary Club of Bedford – including our honorary member The Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Helen Nellis and her husband Joe , to hear our own
fellow member Rotarian Jack Sapsworth give his talk ‘From Homeless to High
Sheriff and beyond’. This is Jack’s own personal journey, it is very inspirational
and was really appreciated by all who attended, which included representatives from a number of organisations. We were made very welcome by P resident Chris and the members and a really great night was had by all.
The following week, The Chiltern Hotel had a big commitment which meant we
were unable to meet as usual and so we as a club opted to have a ‘scatter’
week. Jack Sapsworth, John Maddox, Jonathan Siegler and myself attended
breakfast on the Friday morning at Luton Someries where we were well looked
after by President Steve and his members. The very good speaker talked about
a charity he runs which donates sports equipment via a network of its own
shops.
As your President, on Thursday 30th July, I had been invited to the official reopening of the suspension bridge in Wardown Park by the Mayor of Luton but
due to a previous commitment, I was unable to attend. JVP John Maddox very
kindly stepped in and represented our club. Thank you very much John.
August 6th meeting saw Kathy & Geoff Bocutt representing ‘Dogs for the Disabled’ come to speak to us. They brought along Nora, an 8 month old Labrador
puppy who is being trained to become an assistance dog (and possibly the
next brood bitch). A very good and interesting talk with good insight into this
voluntary career they have embarked upon. Contact with Kathy & Geoff had
been via our own website so its good evidence the website is being viewed
and our thanks go to Rotarian Martin Iles for arranging this talk which was at
short notice.
So already, I have had quite a full programme and feel very proud that we at
The Rotary Club of Luton have such a wide ranging and interesting input into
our community and that is all thanks to you both individually and as a team of
members. Thank you very much, you truly are a ‘Gift to the World’.
Kelly spoke to her fellow Rotarians about
her life and how she has got to where she is
today, starting from the beginning where
she was born, her extensive / hard sports
routine throughout school, to moving
around the country and settling in Luton.
She then talked about how she became a
part of Signposts.
Some questions from those present were about the processes She has implemented in Signposts. Others were about her personal life and opinions which
were welcomed and answered from the heart.
For example 'what does Kelly think about Luton?' She answered 'that Luton is
very diverse and that's a big asset which the rest of the country could learn from
how it works in harmony.'
Also 'what has Kelly given to signposts clients?' She said that she feels she learnt
a lot from Signposts clients and hopes that she has given back as much as she
has taken, Kelly gave one specific example of supporting a client that now works
for another local authority due to the respect and confidence Kelly showed him.
Other questions such as 'are you as bubbly at work as you are at Rotary? Kelly
put this question to those best placed to answer, her Signposts colleagues in the
room, who unanimously said yes!
Kevin Porter asked Kelly where she saw her self in 5 years? She replied CEO of
Signposts and maybe the first female president of the Rotary club of Luton. Kevin
Porter (CEO of Signposts) ended the talk with the following: “Kelly is an asset to
Signposts and will be to Rotary. She is a pleasure to work with, is hardworking
and determined but be warned she will boss you around!”
27 Aug Visit to the club by District Governor Prue
Dixon.
Prue said: The Rotary Club of Luton was being well
run and she was not here to tell us how to run it. The
main focus this year was on new membership and
she was pleased to see that our club had introduced
many new members over the last rotary year and
presented two awards to Jack Sapsworth and Martin
Iles for introducing new members. (Kevin Porter
may ask for a “re-count” as he also introduced two
new members in the year!)
There is a continuing focus on visioning and unlike some other clubs we have
managed to bring our visioning to fruition in many areas.
She also mentioned that there are opportunities to seek matching funding and if
not clear about the process there is assistance within the district to help.
Something that is very rarely considered is the financial value of the Rotary voluntary work in our communities and Prue specifically mentioned the good work
that we do.
Prue recently had the opportunity to visit an NSPCC centre and was appalled that
there is a need for this type of centre to assist abused children.
Sadly the group study exchange that was organised with Australia didn't go
ahead due to the inadequate financial commitment from clubs.