Visit by 4 Omagh Rotarians

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1 The keyway President 2013/14 Des Foley Vol 14 No 5 March/April 2014 Newsletter of the Rotary Club of Sligo Visit by 4 Omagh Rotarians Inside this issue: District Budget 2 Welcome new mem- 2 ber Jimmy Waters We had a very welcome visit by 4 Rotarians from Omagh, 31st March They were led by PDG Gussie Hynes. The others were Sean Fitzgerald, Sam Webb and Colin Jardine. They are among those in the front row of the photo. After lunch Gussie, who has for many years been associated with the Jaipur Limb project Addressed pour meeting and presented PDG Sean with a copy of the District Roster for 1965, the year when our club was formed. Sean, a Rotarian with 50 years of splendid Rotary service will be our President in the year of our golden jubilee. During his visit PDG Gussie admired our 4 Way Test banner. He is pictured with PDG Sean. He has he says been a strong advocate of the Four Way Test for many years Condolences. We extend our deepest sympa thy to Rotarian Pat McManus on the r e c ent sudd en death of his brother. George Mullan Addresses club 3 Ursuline Students helped with our Memory Tree 3 Know your Pulse Rate 4 Women in Rotary 4 Presentation to Sligo 5 Cancer Centre Meals on wheels President Des writes 6 6 DGE Philip Beggs writes to say District Conference 2014 takes place in Belfast at the Titanic Centre on th September. On-line bookings are open now.

2 Page 2 The keyway Some thoughts on District 1160 Budget 2014/15 Many thanks to District Treasurer Ivan Connor who recently circulated to clubs the proposed budget for the forthcoming year. Some of the figures simply jump off the pages. For instance our District Conference is subsidised to a massive extent. While those who attend pay the registration fee; I suspect not many realise that each Rotarian in District also contributes Attendance at Conference in recent years has been gradually reducing and it may now be time to question the justification for spending so much on an event in which relatively few participate. On the income side RIBI contribute by way of District Grant 36,250. This is to enable our District to discharge its obligations; in the case of District 1160 it is almost completely used up in payment of DG, DG Elect and 8 Asst. Governors expenses. The total budget under this head is 36,000. In addition the DG allowance is 6250, the allowance for DG attendance at the RI Convention 2,500. The D.G. Incurs considerable expenses in travelling around our District. DG also is required to attend a number of meetings at RIBI which usually also involve air fares and overnight expenses. But do we get good value for 8 Assistant Governors? 8750 is allocated for Training, 7000 for Committee expenses, 6250 for District Council and District Executive expenses. To cover these outgoings and to pay for the Youth Leadership competition, the revived District Directory and other minor expenses the District levy payable by each Rotarian is proposed at 56 or Sterling 47. These compare with the District levy for the current year of 52 or Stg This budget will be discussed at the forthcoming District Council meeting on 26 th April, and one presumes it will be approved; I suggest it merits close examination. When proposing to assist or contribute to a Charity or similar, Rotary is always conscious of the proportion of the funds raised which are spent on administration and how much remains for the Charity. Where it seems that a large portion of the funds raised go on administration Rotary generally opts out of providing support. It seems to me that in our District an inordinate amount is spent on administration and a root and branch investigation of District finances should be undertaken. One is always conscious that Rotary Service is almost exclusively provided by Rotarians in their clubs. The duty of District Council and District Officers is to assist clubs provide Rotary Service. If any of District s activities do not meet this objective, they must be questioned. These thoughts were penned before the April District Council, however if they provoke discussion they will have been useful. New Member. Jimmy Waters was inducted as a member by President Des on 14 th April. Jimmy who is well known to many of our members is a very welcome addition to our Club. We hope that he will enjoy his membership of Rotary and we look forward to his active participation in our activities and projects. Following his induction Rtn.Jimmy Waters is welcomed by President Des.

3 Vol 14 No 5 Page 3 Sligo Entrepreneur George Mullan Guest Speaker. On the 24 th March we had as guest speaker George Mullan Chairman and CEO of Support in Sport Group Ltd. George had previously worked for an American company, Fort Dodge animal health products. S.I.S. designs, manufactures and builds sports surfaces for virtually all sports. They work mainly in Europe and the Middle east and have offices in Ireland, the UK, Netherlands, Turkey, the Middle east, and Angola.. They compete successfully with much larger International concerns due to the excellent reputation they have built up, and have successfully completed projects in Europe, the U.K. the Middle East and elsewhere. George showed a video displaying many of their completed projects. It was a most impressive presentation and we were all proud of George s achievements and success. Rtn Pat McManus proposed a vote of thanks which was passed by acclimation George Mullan with President Des and PDG Sean Doyle Below are photos of some of the Transition Year students from the Ursuline College Sligo who assisted in our Memory Tree collection at Christmas.

4 Page 4 The keyway Know your Pulse Rate On Saturday 19 th April at The Quayside Centre. In conjunction with a cyclathon in which some Sligo Rovers players participated,rotary organised the Know Your Blood Pressure event. It attracted a very large number of the public. Staff members from the Cardiac Unit at Sligo Regional Hospital were in attendance to take blood pressure readings and to check pulse rates. At times there was a long queue of those waiting to have their blood pressure taken. Friends of Sligo Regional Hospital were also in attendance with a selection of leaflets On various health themes. It was a very well worth while project and obviously met a need for such a service. A number of participants were referred to their own Doctors for further investigation. Some Facts about Women in Rotary. Until 1989, the Constitution and Bylaws of Rotary International stated that Rotary club membership was for males only. In 1978, the Rotary Club of Duarte, California, USA, invited three women to become members. The RI Board withdrew the charter of that club for violation of the RI constitution. The club brought suit against RI claiming a violation of a state civil rights law that prevents discrimina-tion of any form in business establishments or public accommodations. The appeals court and the California Supreme Court supported the Duarte position that Rotary could not remove the club's charter merely for inducting women into the club. The United States Supreme Court upheld the California court indicating that Rotary clubs do have a "business purpose" and are in some ways public-type organizations. This action in 1987 allowed women to become Rotarians in any jurisdiction having similar "public accommodation" statutes. In October of 1987, the Rotary Club of Angels-Murphys D5220 inducted three women and in spite of threats to quit Rotary by some of the older male members - none did. Two of these three women went on to lead the A-M Rotary Club as president and one those has just completed over two years as charter president of the Angels Camp Centennial Rotary Club (a club which is very proud of its 50% female membership). That president has completed 19 years of perfect attendance. The RI constitutional change was made at the 1989 Council on Legislation, with a vote to eliminate the "male only"

5 Vol 14 No 5 Page 5 Presentation of Cheque to The Sligo Cancer Centre 7th April 2014 Guests at lunch today were Catherine Flood, President of Inner wheel, Kathleen Kennedy Treasurer of Inner Wheel, Aideen Sweeney and Maureen Durcan of Sligo cancer support Committee. President Des presented a cheque for 2,500 to the cancer Support Group, the proceeds of our recent Valentine s Lunch. In expressing thanks Maureen Durcan described the services and facilities provided by her group which are very much appreciated and indeed widely availed of. Heretofore the facilities have in the main been directed to women, but plans are in train to provide similar services for men. Photo from left Mrs Kathleen Kennedy, Maureen Durcan, President Des, Mrs Catherine Flood, Mrs. Aideen Sweeney and Rtn Des Kennedy President Des and Mrs Catherine Flood, President of Inner Wheel Sligo present cheque to Maureen Durcan Let s have a good hard look at our club and ask - Are meetings enjoyable, lively, interesting and productive? Are they such good use of time that members look forward to the next one? Do we leave our meeting feeling that we have had an enjoyable time in every respect, one that was so good that we would not have wanted to miss it? Are expectations being met? If not, members will become too busy with other things now. And drift away.

6 Meals on Wheels Rota 28 April B.Raftery 16 June B.Roche B.Healy A.Buckley The 4 Way Test 5 May T.Kenny 23 June D.O Shea Of the things we think, say or do B.Cannon J.Harney Is it the TRUTH Is it FAIR to all concerned Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned 12 May S.Doyle 30 June P.McAuliffe T.Guckian P.Carter 19 May G.Draper 7 July R.Finnegan H.Sheridan `K.McDermott 26 May J. Martin `14 July L.Doherty P.McManus P.Leigh Doyle 2 June M.Horan 21 July L.Rhatigan F.Shannon J.Fitzgerald 9 June P.McNulty 28 July D.Kennedy R.Mullen H.McCafferty President Des writes It is time for the Voluntary Sector in Charity work to speak out! Last weekend s Sunday Independent Millward Brown poll left me in no doubt as to the damage that has been done to Charities in the wake of the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) and Rehab revelations. The results were quite stark: 52% of those interviewed are less likely to give to Charities in the future. 45% have become more suspicious about charitable organisations. 52% have stated that they have donated less to charities as a result of recent discussions. While Rotary is not a Charity seeking to raise funds for itself there can hardly be a Rotary Club on the island of Ireland which does not engage in fundraising on behalf of various charities. In our club we are particularly associated at Christmas with St. Vincent De Paul and North West Hospice through our Remembrance Tree Project. The CRC situation was certainly mentioned on a number of occasions last Christmas and twice I was asked for assurance that all funds collected were going to the charities named. I believe that Rotary and other service organisations have a responsibility to speak out and clearly state how they work, i.e. totally voluntarily. Rotary rarely at District Level make themselves available for media interviews etc. but I believe that they should now be actively seeking opportunities to give the general public a greater awareness of the ethics within Rotary and the wide ranging charity ventures which we support with no deductions for salaries, fees or expenses. I very much look forward to the information evening which Incoming President Sean is planning which will allow us to show invited friends and business connections the extent of the work to assist Charities that Rotary in Sligo has been doing for almost 50 years.