In the Rotary year the month of August is Membership Month so whilst we should be looking at Membership our Membership Team have either been overseas or otherwise engaged in family matters. I have asked them to arrange another Information Night sooner rather than later so that we can look at increasing our membership early in the Rotary year.

Our International President is currently promoting the development of Rotaract Clubs, but I personally don’t see this as being the solution as far as Queenstown is concerned. I along with several of our current members joined Rotary when we were perhaps 20 or 30 years younger than we now are. We have enjoyed the Rotary Involvement but at the same time we are aging. For our Club to enter and surpass the 75 years of service to our community we have to approach that younger possible membership (similar to when we joined) and accept them and their ways of dealing with the current IT world and how they see Rotary continuing as being a major organisation within our local community.

Do you have a name or names of possible younger members to join our fold? If so, please let either Derek Bulman or Steve McLean know so that they can invite them to the proposed Information Night and encourage them to join the fellowship of Rotary.

Now to AdEaters. We require at least 20 members assisting on the Saturday and Sunday 15/16 September as well as a team to assist with the setting up of the Memorial Centre on the Friday Afternoon and the cleaning up on the Monday Morning the sheet is being passed around and updated at each meeting. If you can assist, please add your name.

Finally, as advised previously the Board has agreed to sponsor two Queenstown Outbound Rotary Youth Exchange Students in 2019. I’m currently arranging for both of them and their parents to be at our 18^th September meeting. It is also a few years ago since we have hosted an Inbound Student and it is the time that we need to put our hand up. Whilst some pressure was being put on us for this current year we felt that the proposed Inbound Student would not have fitted in with the current Queenstown International Community and thus would not have gained the overall experience of being a Rotary Youth Exchange Student.

Have we got some prospective hosts who would like to come forward? If so please let me know.