In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand Issue 1 | Page 16

MY WORD with Monica Mulholland, President-elect, Rotary Club of Queenstown In life, there’s nothing surer than change. Yet, so often, we, as nations, as groups, as individuals, find the shifting sands of life one of the most challenging aspects to confront and navigate as we make our way within this world. Arguably, there would be few who could speak on the subject with such insight and bravery as our own Monica Mulholland, a wonderful Rotary leader and proudly transgender woman. Here, Monica shares a speech she gave at a recent Inner Wheel gathering, including some sage observations on the societal changes she’s seen and experienced, her hopes for Rotary’s future and the questions she’s on a quest to answer. I am a dinosaur.... I am a dinosaur in that I am nostalgic for what seems to me to be a golden time. A time when the family was strong, civil institutions like Rotary, the Scouts, the Guides, the churches, the school committee, the residents’ committees, community organisations, etc, were strong. That seems like a golden age of stability to me which has been lost ... but, of course, a person like me could never have existed in that kind of environment. The price for that kind of stability was conformity. Today, these institutions are no longer strong, but people like me, and others on the margin, are free to exist, and even flourish. It is no longer a homogeneous society ... but, there is a price to be paid for that, also. People today are more isolated, more depressed. Nowadays, there is only the individual, and the government. No longer are there the layers in society that connected us all and made us feel that we belong. WHIPPING OUR DISHY Check it out – doesn’t the mock-up concept of District 9980’s commemorative cookbook look just delicious? Recipes from each of our clubs, together with lovely stories of the Rotary inspiration behind each dish, are starting to come in thick and fast. If your club still hasn’t submitted its special recipe, please get it through to public i mage chair, Vicki Moseley – [email protected] – as soon as possible. The cookbook, which is being produced as a fundraiser, is our district’s commemoration of the Rotary Foundation’s centennial. Not only will it showcase a delectable array of cuisine, it’s being produced in glossy “coffee table” style, and will feature our district’s stunning scenery and locally-produced fare. District governor Janice Hughes is making her way round each of the clubs on her annual DG’s visit during the next few months, with each of the clubs providing a signature Rotary dish. Page 16 | In Gear - Rotary in Southern New Zealand - District 9980 | www.rotarydistrict9980.org