Welcome to our first District 9999 Newsletter for our region, from Jan Boustead - District Governor, District 9999.

I am looking forward to working with you and forging a friendship through service to highlight the positive work by Rotary within our own regions. We can all learn from each other and through mutual support grow Rotary and enable service to our communities.

This is a year for hard work and getting things done. The cooperation and willingness already demonstrated to me reinforces the strength of Rotary as we grow our new District 9999.

New District board members

The Transition Management Team has taken a strategic approach to composition of the District Board. The role of the board is to ensure we stay focused on a future where our district thrives. We are looking to grow our membership, to encourage diversity and lasting change within the communities we serve. I welcome and congratulate our new District Board members who are profiled in this Bulletin.

Working together to serve the community

My plan is well in hand to visit all 63 clubs spread throughout the South Island. I have been impressed with the work of our clubs and the extent of community projects that have forged ahead in spite of Covid restrictions.

All clubs are looking to re-engage with their members and their communities, to dream big, and get fundraisers and projects underway. Clubs are looking at ways to collaborate and serve with community groups and organisations with similar aspirations.

Anniversaries coming up

Over the coming year there will be significant anniversaries for clubs in our district. Rotary International recognises 50, 75 and 100 years and as a result I have certificates signed by Rotary International President Jennifer Jones to present. I was very pleased to present the Rotary Club of Christchurch with their certificate acknowledging 100 years of service to their community. 

 Congratulations to the following clubs:

• Christchurch Rotary, celebrating 100 years - Charter date 6 July 2022
• Milton Rotary, celebrating 75 years - Charter date 3 September 2022
• Dunedin Rotary, celebrating 100 years - Charter date 25 April 2023
• Temuka-Geraldine Rotary, celebrating 75 years - Charter date 11 June 2023

Other club anniversaries this year include:

• Christchurch New Horizons - 10 years 
• Whakatū - 20 years. 

I am sure there are many more clubs celebrating contributions to their communities.

Growing Rotary

A big thank you to PDG Nick Courtney and the Growing Rotary Team for the inspiring Growing Rotary workshops recently delivered by Andy Rajapakse (Assistant Rotary Coordinator, Zone 8) and Barbara Mifsud (Regional Membership Officer, Zone 8) from Australia. Both the Dunedin and Christchurch events had an excellent turnout from Rotarians interested in learning more about how they can develop a plan to engage with their communities and potential new members. I appreciated the effort members made to seize the opportunities available to them to connect and brainstorm.

I would like to acknowledge the work of Valda Cordes as our District 9999 Administrator. Valda has started the year running and is already providing support in numerous ways to clubs, office holders and myself. You will, I hope, be receiving the Friday Administrative Mailout (FAM) from Valda each week keeping you up to date with what is happening across the district.

Thank you also to Paul Checketts (Finance Chair) and Grant Rae (Treasurer) as we have negotiated the setup of the bank accounts and generally got processes in place to receive and make payments for the new district – not an insignificant task !

Our 12 Assistant Governors are all working hard with their respective clusters. They are crucial to supporting and building relationships with each club in their cluster. Building relationships between clubs and across clusters is also important and beneficial, and this year we will continue to work on growing collaboration to support our clubs and their members.

In the background there has been much planning and gathering of collateral as the IT Team of Don Pointon and Wayne Hunt have spent a significant number of hours working with ClubRunner to ensure that all t’s are crossed, and i’s dotted as we bring the two existing websites together. We would like to thank everyone for their patience as we get the final bits in place for our District 9999 website.

Looking ahead – Rotary Day of Action

Many clusters and clubs have already started planning for the Rotary Day of Action coming up on 24 September. It would be amazing to have all clubs and members involved in projects and events across our district. Get behind this day by taking the following action:

• Decide on a community project
• Collaborate with other Rotary & Rotaract Clubs & organisations in your area
• Invite the local community to join you
• Make it a social experience and have fun!
• Promote the event before, during and after
• See it as an opportunity to find new members for your club

Embracing diversity – theme for March District Conference

Our inaugural District 9999 Conference is planned for the weekend of 24-26 March 2023 in Oamaru at the wonderful Oamaru Opera House. Our theme for the weekend Imagine: Embracing Diversity. Accommodation will be in short supply as we compete with overseas tourists. Start planning now to ensure your club is well represented!

Upcoming district visits

• Otago Rotary Clubs DG visits – 5-8 September 
• Christchurch New Horizons Rotary Club DG visit – 14 September 
• District 9999 Board meeting – 17 September 
• Rotary Day of Action – 24 September 
• GETS/ GNTS & Zone 8 Conference Canberra – 26-30 October 
• Christchurch South Rotary Club DG visit – 2 November 
• District 9999 Board meeting – 19 November 
• Invercargill Rotary Clubs DG visits – 21-25 November

Polio still a world threat

Vigilance and vaccination are key tools as new evidence of polio comes to light. The recent detection of the vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 case in New York, USA, and isolates in several environmental samples collected in London, are stark reminders that as long as polio exists anywhere, it is a threat everywhere. It also highlights the importance of vaccination as the only form of protection against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases and the work that needs to be done in our communities to encourage the uptake of vaccines.