This Week - Peter Beart, Chairman of the Eastern Highveld Beekeepers Association

Peter Beart in action.

 In my early teens I kept bees but unfortunately became allergic to bee stings so had to give it up but I have retained my interest in it, so when Ron McCormick suggested Peter Beart speak to us on beekeeping I was pleased.  Especially because of the threat to honey bees existence through out the world and what can be done about it.

I am sure Peter will also talk about honey and the different types of honey as well as it's health giving properties.  It promises to be an interesting talk.

I thought it important to include this picture of a bee hive with thanks to Brigitte Bardot.

Don't forget the Social Breakfast on Saturday 21st June @ Grumpy's.

An appropriate name!

Last Week was a disaster.

I can at least blame our crumbling infrastructure on the lack of signal for both myself and our guest speaker as neither of us were able to access the meeting for any length of time.

I had been without electricity for a couple of days at least and in such circumstances I rely on my mobile modum for internet via Vodacom.  What I didn't realise, until Jim Rankin enlightened me, was that if the electricity has been off for a considerable time the batteries that power the Vodacom tower will have run out so that signal will no longer function and there was I blaming the modum.

I will find another date for the speaker.

Next Week

You will remember that some weeks ago we nearly got bogged down in a discussion on funding both the club and our historic beneficiaries.  It was decided that this particular Wednesday should be set aside for an initial discussion that would obviously include whether we should have a golf day and the ramifications of that.  Also should we continue to supply such things as groceries on a regular basis etc.

International - Rotary

Francesco Arezzo, a member of the Rotary Club of Ragusa, Italy, has been selected by the Board of Directors to become Rotary International’s president for 2025-26. Arezzo will become president on 1 July.

The Board conducted a special session following the unexpected resignation of RI President-elect Mário César Martins de Camargo on 8 June. Guided by the RI code and policies, the Board selected the new president-elect from a pool of candidates who were considered by the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International in August 2023.

The 2025-26 presidential message, announced at the 2025 Rotary International Assembly in February, will remain Unite for Good, which calls on Rotary members to be a force for unity in a world increasingly divided by politics, geography, and ideology. Through service projects, Rotary brings together people of every background — across races, religions, and professions — in a shared mission to do good in their communities.

Arezzo is an orthodontist in private practice. He is active internationally as a member of the Italian, European, and American orthodontics associations. He is vice president of the National Association of Italian Dentists for the province of Ragusa and was the founder and head for seven years of the delegation for Ragusa of the National Trust for Italy. He is a Knight of Honour and Devotion in Obedience within the Sovereign Order of Malta.

A Rotary member for more than 30 years, Arezzo has served as vice chair of the Joint Strategic Planning Committee and as RI director, learning facilitator, and as district conference presidential representative.

Arezzo is a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation. He is married to Anna Maria Criscione, an entrepreneur in the tourism field. They have two children.