ROTARY OF PERTH PRESIDENT UPDATE - 10TH JULY 2018
I had an enjoyable time catching up with everyone who came to the new Rotary Office on Friday. I agree with many members who feel that despite weekly meetings, we do not seem to have enough time to actually sit and talk to one another. I shall keep that in mind for all our meetings from here on.
It was even more special to also hear from a couple of members who have been away for a while. You have been missed not just by me but by many others in this Club. Several members expressed that they don't really belong anywhere within the system. So we need to fix that. I was recently reminded of one of Mother Theresa’s quotes, “if you want to fix the world, go home and love your family”. Who is my family? Some may consider it a strange thing to say, but I believe, where I can, I have attended every funeral involving past members (and family) of our Club. I suppose who my “family” is depends not so much on who you make me out to be but who I make you out to be.
Over the next 12 months, my aim is to build on the relationships within our Club. While we work together to improve lives in Perth and around the world, let’s not neglect our own. We boast of having a large number of projects. Each project is run by a small group and very often the same people are called on to do more. I challenge each member to start looking out for another member with whom you are not yet familiar.
Ask them the following questions:
- What project are you involved in?
- Who are you working with?
- Would you like to know more about this project I’m working on? Or Can I join your team?
Some may choose to be observers or simply be financial supporters. That’s fine. There is a part for everyone. For a great number of years, I was not directly involved in any project as a Rotarian. I kept turning up every Friday because I believed I was learning from the older, more experienced leaders of our community just by being around them. You can say I’m a slow learner without a specific aim, and that is probably true. But what I have learnt and the friendships I have made has taken me where I am today (I’m not talking about being President). I would like to see to it that every new member to the Rotary Club of Perth has the same opportunity. Fast or slow… to each his/her own.
Let’s work together to achieve this. While we improve lives around the world, let’s also improve lives within our family. Together, we achieve more.
Yours in Rotary,
Wesley Sim- President - Rotary of Perth 2018/2019
