I was delighted to be in a position to attend the Rotary Zone 8 conference in Queenstown 1-3 November. It was a pleasure to rub shoulders with fellow Kiwis and other Rotarians from the South Pacific. I enjoyed catching up with DG Michael Lapina, DGE Peter Shepheard and PDG Murray Verso.
RI President Elect 2025-26, Mário César Martins de Camargo from RC Santo André, São Paulo, delivered the opening address outlining his goals for the coming year and emphasising that membership growth was his number one priority! His concern is that many countries show declining membership such as USA, Canada, UK and Australia, the latter by 36%! Countries that have remained stagnant are Brazil, Mexico and Italy, and those that have grown are Taiwan (127%), India, Philippines and Korea.
This was followed by the extraordinary speaker Jason Browne whom I had seen in Houston at the RI International Convention 2022 when he was MC. He is also a Rotarian (Past President of the Downtown Rotary Club of State College PA, USA). Jason has presented to Rotarians around the world at various District Conferences, membership conferences, Presidents-Elect Training Seminars, Rotary International Conventions and online conferences.
His presentation focused on regionalisation and he encouraged everyone to take advantage of the opportunities that this will bring.
His presentation focused on regionalisation and he encouraged everyone to take advantage of the opportunities that this will bring.
The conference theme was Dare, Dream, Deliver so what could be more appropriate than DG Michael Lapina closing the Friday night session with his beautiful powerful rendition of ‘The Impossible Dream’.
The D9910 and D9920 Youth Exchange students from several countries including Korea, USA, France and Denmark were a continual presence during the conference, participating in the Opening Flag Ceremony, performing and singing in a Maori dance they had learnt for the occasion, and giving their own PowerPoint presentation where each of them discussed what RYE had meant to them. I was most interested in their experiences as I see the Rotary youth exchange as a strong possibility for my 14 year old granddaughter within the next two years.
Saturday's keynote speaker was Raj Gautum, current Vice President of the RC of Kathmandu and Past President of the Rotaract Club of Kathmandu. He is the Founder President of Solidarity Nepal an organisation aiming to establish and implement sustainable education, health, drinking water and community development programs. I spoke to Raj afterwards and told him of the projects our own Club is doing in the rural areas of Nepal along with the Rotary Club of Tripureswore. He was naturally interested and said he had met Shradd during one of his visits to Australia.
I enjoyed hearing from other distinguished Rotarians, including PRIP Mark Maloney, chair of the Zone 8 Regional Council, Michele Berg, Deputy General Secretary of RI, Ghim Bok Chew, RI Director Zone 8, PDG Jesse Hartman, RIPR Jennifer Scott and PDG Amanda Wendt. There were also several inspiring and motivational talks by non-Rotarian New Zealanders in the community doing incredible things: One was Melissa Vining from Southland known for her dedication to improving cancer treatment in the country. After her husband had been diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer, they founded the Southland Charity Hospital Trust aiming to create a community hospital to provide free colonoscopies and dental care to the Southland and Otago community.
Cat Levine, a mental health educator from Auckland, spoke passionately about her project that she founded, 'Think and Be Me', a resource hub aimed at helping young people build emotional literacy for life. Her 19 year old daughter joined her on the stage to speak of her own challenging mental health journey and the importance of early intervention.
On Saturday afternoon we all dispersed to volunteer on several projects. I joined the group along with Murray Verso and Peter Shepheard in packing 100 handbags with items such as toiletries and grooming products for the local women's refuge
On our final day was the presentation of the Rotary Foundation Awards. Coming in 3rd place in Australia for the Highest Total Giving was D9800 with US$680,747 and also third for the Highest Per Capita Giving with US$164.72.
The conference concluded at lunchtime on Sunday but not before a strong plug for the RI Convention next year in Calgary by PDG Amanda Wendt, looking like a cowgirl herself in her becoming Rodeo outfit. As Promotions Team Chair, RI Convention Committee 2025, she is passionate about promoting Calgary, Alberta for all Rotarians.
Finally, what a brilliant way to say farewell to once again hear from our wonderful Michael singing 'Time To Say Goodbye'.