This Week - Roxanne Bredenkamp, Chairman of the Bedfordview and Germiston SPCA

Last week, thanks to Hennie Scholtz' expertise, we have finally finished the refurbishment of the large pen at the SPCA.  Why it has taken so long is because of the dire financial straits the SPCA was in and we didn't want to continue until we were certain the the branch wasn't going to be closed by head office.  Also the SPCA's requirements have changed as Roxanne has remarkably paid off all their debt and has everything back on track.  It promises to be an interesting talk.

Last Week

The Business Meeting came up with some important decisions, the most noticeable being the way the weekly meeting is structured when we have a guest speaker. In future the speaker's spot will follow Porky Pig and any Rotary Business will follow.  This allows more flexibility for the speaker who may want to leave directly after the talk and also the speaker is not compromised by Rotary Business taking longer than anticipated.

The other aspect of the meeting that is of such value to the club is the new projects that are coming through that involve our new members.  This is vital for the continuing growth and development of the club.

Members who have been in longstanding executive positions in the club have seen the need to handover and mentor members taking over those positions.  We are definitely looking for an accountant to join our club who is familiar with the Sage Pastel accounting system so that there can be a smooth handover in the future.

Next Week

It's a Project Meeting.  With so many new projects being proposed it promises to be a very interesting meeting.  Next week I should be able to give you more details as to what we will be hearing about and discussing.

International - Canada

The Rotary Club of Olds, Alberta, is livening up its process for awarding grants to community groups. In November, representatives of about a dozen organisations pitched their proposals at a contest modeled on Dragons’ Den in which venture capitalists judge entrepreneurs’ proposals for investment. The organisations were allotted five minutes to make their pitch, followed by five minutes of questioning by a panel of Rotarian “dragons,” or judges. Club President Randy Smith concedes that the awardees would have received their share of the roughly Can$10,000 regardless of who won. But he says the spirited affair gave the groups, including Interactors and Fire Department Cadets, an opportunity to hone their presentation skills and showcase their creativity.