Thank you Anne for your generous introduction of me as the eighty-ninth (89^th) President of the Rotary Club of Melbourne.  I am most humble that the Club has seen fit to appoint me to this notable position, it is indeed a great honour.

I must congratulate you on your Leadership of the Club in this Centenary Year of Rotary.  Much has been achieved both within the administration of the Club and regarding community service projects.  In particular, the Club's celebration of the Centenary was an outstanding event and your initiation of an Administration Review has, I am sure, set the course for action that will stand the Club well in this second hundred years of Rotary.

At this juncture I must add my congratulations to District Governor Judy Nettleton on her most successful Year.  Judy, your work has been outstanding in every way and we wish you and husband John well for the future.  Our District Governor Elect, John Wigley, has a hard act to follow.  John we congratulate you on your challenging appointment, you and your wife Fran can depend on the full support of this Club.

Just a week ago my fellow Vice President, Phil Bowley, and I reported to the Club in some detail on activities and operations during the past year and I do not intend to go over that ground again today.  Suffice it to say that much work has been done and many projects have been initiated or consummated that will make a lasting difference for the better for many people in Australia and abroad.

Anne, it gives me much pleasure to present your Past President's badge, you are the first woman to become a Past President of the Club, therefore this is an historic occasion.  I also pass to you a bound collection of the Club's weekly Bulletins for 2004/05 Year.  We sincerely hope that these documents will serve as a pleasant reminder to you of a wonderful period of your service to the Club and Rotary.  Congratulations on a job very well done.

We realise that the support of partners is very important to our work in Rotary, Anne's husband Gordon has been a stalwart in that regard.  I now invite my wife Brenda to present Gordon with a small "Scottish" token of our esteem and thanks for all he has done and sacrificed to assist Anne during the past demanding year.

In reading the words expressed by many of the Club's Presidents when they took Office, I have been impressed by a common sentiment, that being a sense of humility.  I share that feeling.  On examination of the Club's Honour Board of Presidents it is almost inevitable that the latest nominee for that Office will ask the questions, "Why me, where do I fit into this amazing Company?"

While I am somewhat surprised to find myself in this position, I recognise that I do have the advantage of knowing in detail what is going on in the Club and how it operates.  Three years as a Director, one year as the Board's Minute Secretary, and one year as Vice President/President Elect must give me an almost unique perspective on the Club today.  I hope to use that knowledge well.

From my perspective, the unlikely has happened and I am committed to doing my best in the leadership of the Club, the protection of the Rotary mark, and the development of the Club's humanitarian thrust.  Booker T. Washington, an African-American ex-slave, community leader, and intellectual once wrote:

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him". 

I have now had the responsibility firmly placed on me, and I know that I have the support of the Club and that I am trusted.

Leading this Club is very dependent on team effort, the strength of the Board and the diligence and application of the committees determines the success of operations.  I am delighted to be able to advise you that the Board for Rotary Year 2005/06 is very strong with its office-bearers and directors having a wide range of skills and experience.  The directorates and their committees have been reorganised into a somewhat less "flattened" structure and are highly motivated.

Many of the Club's current projects are relatively long-term.  For example, the Healthy Hearts Project was conceived in 2003/04 when it was agreed by Bob Glindemann, Anne Jacques and me that it would cover at least three years; in fact, it now looks likely to continue into the year when Chris Wang will be President.  This agreement to continuity is of course highly desirable and consistent with recent Rotary International philosophy.  The Donydji Homelands Project, the Cambodia Leprosy Project, and the Club's extensive commitment to East Timor all fall within this category of longer-term activities.  Care must be taken to complete these projects properly and to avoid over-extending our capabilities.  This is not to say that in 2005/06 we will not be developing ideas for new projects, we certainly will be canvassing the field as usual.

Following on from Anne's initiative in establishing the Administration Review, we hope to develop strategies for containment of administration costs, improved membership recruitment, and administrative services that will fortify the Club for the future.  It is my pledge that any significant suggestion pertaining to change that emerges from this exercise will be fully explained and canvassed with our members before implementation is contemplated.

You may have noticed that I was born a Scotsman.  My wife Brenda and I have travelled the world and worked in several very interesting places, when we came to settle in Australia nearly thirty-seven years ago we were already practised at living as a "nuclear" family.  Brenda has always been my greatest supporter and she is enthusiastic about the work of Rotary.  Unfortunately, neither of our two daughters could be present today, one lives in France and works all over Europe and the other has three small children to look after and we all consider that to be her first priority.  My family is, of course, greatly honoured to know that I have been elevated to the post of President in this great Club.

I commented earlier that I have worked overseas, this was mostly in third world countries and in the so-called emerging economies.  That experience has shown me that there is a great need for humanitarian work to assist the needy, not by welfare but by provision of genuine development assistance and support.  Rotary has a great role to play in meeting this need; as an organisation, it is uniquely placed.  The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Elie Wiesel, wrote:

"This is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century - solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair.  It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanising meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others."

In a sense Professor Wiesel was referring to "Service Above Self", our enduring Rotary theme.

It will be a great honour to lead this Club through the coming year to carry forward the wonderful work of this unique organisation - ROTARY.