MINUTES OF CLUB MEETING, 30TH MARCH 2023 AT ATALAYA GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB.
Attendance Total 31 Members 23 Guests 8
Allan Fuller
Bernhard Koerber
Maria Koerber
Caroline Marmot
Carolyn Paessler
Saskia Stoutenbeek
Valerie Schimmelmann
Roman Kiszka Speaker: Joyce Versteeg
President Willem welcomed everyone to the Meeting and asked Finola to read the Invocation.
He was pleased that most people had paid on-line, and stressed the importance of doing so to reduce the Sergeant-at-Arms’ workload. Members were also reminded of the need for punctuality.
Jeanne updated Members on the Great Gatsby event. Ticket sales have been slow so far, perhaps due to the online purchase process and the ticket price. After some discussion it was proposed that a table of 10 would be offered for 1,000 Euros as an incentive, thus lowering the price per head from 125 Euros to 100 Euros. Additionally, Rotarians would also only pay 100 Euros rather than 125 Euros. This was agreed.
Martin N reminded everyone that we have 41 (Including three Honorary) Members in our Club whom we rely on to support our events. As the Events Team works very hard it is the responsibility of all Members to sell tickets, even if they are not able to attend on the night. Our 41 Members should be able to generate 82 guests, and Martin proposed that the next three meetings should be suspended, which would allow members to save money for the event.
After some discussion this was agreed, with the caveat that we have no meeting at Easter anyway, and the Meeting on 13th April is the District Governor’s visit!
Ralph raised his concerns regarding the perceived lack of transparency between the Board and Members on some recent decisions. One example was the decision to make on-line payment for Meetings mandatory, with others being how new Members are voted in and the selection of the incoming President.
President Willem replied that the on-line payment system was an operational issue for the SAA, but agreed that there could be more transparency on other matters.
Martin N made the point that we have a dedicated “New Members Team” who make the decisions regarding new applicants. Lorraine commented that in the past all members were sent out information on new Members via the Message Board.
Ian K explained that the new website does not support the Messageboard function that we had before and suggested a separate WhatsApp group that specifically excluded applicants undergoing their three-month probationary period.
He noted that people tended to only comment positively on a potential new Member on the previous Messageboard, when in reality it was more important that any negative issues be highlighted and dealt with before an applicant was pinned. Because such concerns should always be directly raised with Membership and the Board in confidence, the provision of dedicated WahtsApp group or Message Board is deemed superfluous.
In sum, the Board acknowledged the need for more transparency with decisions that affect our Club Members.
Martin updated the members on the Home for Hope for Girls (Johannesburg) Project, which had already taken over 12,000 young girls off the street. The objective was to raise money for a second-hand Mercedes bus to take the girls to and from school safely. He was delighted to inform members that they have now successfully raised just over 2,100 EUR for this vehicle, thus achieving our objective.
Finola wished Mark a Happy Birthday, and then proposed that we set up a separate Fellowship
WhatsApp Group to acknowledge birthdays and other fellowship commentary. Turid thanked Members for all her birthday wishes and supported the proposal of a separate Fellowship Whatsapp for such comments. This was agreed.
Joyce delivered a very enjoyable and informative presentation on “Marbella in the '70s." She illustrated her talk by passing around some evocative black and white photos of Marbella from that simpler decade.
President Willem closed the meeting at 1600hrs with a Toast To Rotary, The World, The Universe and the Multiverse over.
