Thank you Mev for your kind words of introduction to me as 90^th President of the Rotary Club of Melbourne.  It is an honour and privilege to have been chosen for this position by members of the club.  It is quite daunting to know that I follow in the footsteps of a very illustrious line-up of Presidents who have gone before me.

I congratulate you on behalf of all members of the Club on your caring leadership in yet another great year of the Club.  Your depth of knowledge in all areas of Club activities is a testament to your commitment to the Club over the past 6 years - serving as Director, Minute Secretary, Vice President and President.  Your organizational skills, and ability to "cut to the chase" have seen many much needed changes implemented, in bringing greater efficiency to administrative matters in the Club.

Thanks to you Mev, we now have manuals and guidelines for future leaders of the Club.  These include a Manual on Risk Management and a Manual for Officers and Directors to name a just two.  Together, we also have prepared a Manual of Procedures for Committees.

As we both agreed when I was nominated, continuity was paramount to the smooth running of a Club.  Your inclusiveness has made it easier for me to understand and hopefully, meet expectations as new President of this very talented and diverse Club.

Very importantly, having worked closely with Mev over the past months, we have developed a strong personal friendship and I know this will be a friendship that's lasting.  I have gotten to understand this sometimes gruff and outspoken Scot, and have a great respect for him for the way he has handled people and sometimes sticky situations.  I do not know, if in the past, there have been any precedents of strong friendships between Scots and Chinese: but maybe this is a first!

Last week we heard detailed reports on the performance of the Club from Vice President Sue McCarthy.  I never cease to be amazed by the width and breadth of our projects large and small, local and international.

I must also add my congratulations to District Governor John Wigley and Fran for the wonderful way they have led the District.

Mev, it gives me great pleasure to present to you your Past President's badge.  I am also pleased to present a bound copy of the Club's weekly Bulletin for the 2005/6 year.  I know this special document will serve as a pleasant reminder of your great year as President of the Club and in Rotary.

Janet & I have been the recipients of very warm and sincere hospitality from both Mev and Mev's wife Brenda who is charming and welcoming - a contrast to the aforementioned sometimes gruff Scot!

I now invite my wife Janet to present Brenda with a small gift of thanks for the great support she has been to Mev over the past year, and for her friendship to both Janet and myself throughout the year. 

For 2006/7 I wish to build upon some very practical but key elements of Rotary - Fellowship, Membership and Administration.

In my 18 years as a member of this great Club it has been fellowship that has been of most importance to me.  In my early years in the Club I was not a great contributor, but it was the fellowship that gave me a positive attitude toward Rotary.  It is this positive attitude that we must encourage in all members.

I shall be adopting the following statement made by R.I. President Bill Boyd as my central theme for the year:

"Strong Rotary clubs stand out by the quality of their Fellowship.  It was important in Chicago in 1905, and is as important today."

I, like the incoming R.I. President Bill Boyd, believe that Fellowship is the catalyst for a strong Rotary club i.e.  "Service through Fellowship".

Therefore, through our Groups we will be having at least three major fellowship and fundraising events, two with a Chinese theme, including Chinese New Year celebrations.  I will be encouraging Groups to have joint Group nights, e.g recently, Toorak 1 and Hawthorn-Kew had a very successful tour and dinner at the MCC.

I will be visiting all Groups before the end of October to reinforce my message.

Central to my theme is the inclusion of partners in as many activities as possible.  I have a simple request of partners - "have a positive attitude to our great cause and join - The Family of Rotary."

The Club has no shortage of worthwhile projects both International, local, large and small, but each project requires positive volunteerism  - "Service above Self".  By promoting active fellowship within the Club, it becomes much easier for approaches for help to be made and consequently positive volunteerism will naturally happen!

When I was asked to join Rotary, I was impressed with the term, "The Internationality of Rotary".  Growing up in Australia in the 1950's and 60's was somewhat difficult, as there was a little tentativeness towards migrants; over the years I'm pleased to say that all of that has done an about turn and we, as a community, are richer for it.  Rotary to me, seemed to have the ideals that were important for the world to survive, a world where the three main causes of conflict - race, religion and nationalism did not exist.  The test to me was: "could Rotary practice what it preaches?"  I am pleased to say Rotary does.  Attend a World Convention and you will be inspired.  In fact, Janet and I were planning to attend the Convention in Copenhagen this month but a certain major event got in the way!

So, just as importantly, fellowship should extend to International Fellowship.  After our Club's successful official visit to Shanghai just last month, immediate past President Mev and I decided, why not create another committee in the Club!!- International Fellowship Committee to promote, undertake and manage the following:

·         Our engagement with overseas Rotary Clubs and in particular our "sister" Clubs.  This would include visits, inspection of Club Projects and fellowship.

·         Hosting overseas Rotarians to our Club.  This year we will be assisting in hosting a group from District 2420 from Turkey.  They will be attending our meeting on Wednesday 25th October.  We understand that our Sister Club - Osaka is also planning to visit us.

·         Management of GSE Team to Club Meetings.

·         Contacts with Rotary bodies that have special interests in travel by Rotarians.

Who better to chair this committee than - Mev Connell, the most traveled member of our club!

By building international fellowship it becomes easier to implement international humanitarian projects.

By quality fellowship, our Club will remain a club known for its strength, leadership and prestige within the Family of Rotary.

Now to Membership - Membership is vital to the long term viability of the Club, not only financially but more importantly ensuring that Rotary remains vital and relevant in the 21^st Century.

As of today we have 272 members.  The Membership Committees, that is, Membership Development under David Richards and Membership Retention under Cheryl Lacey, aim to increase our overall numbers by June 2007 - to 300.

This may seem a big ask, but why not?

I should start by asking each Board member to take the lead and nominate a new member - that already is 16.

I also expect all members to actively support the Membership Development Committee with nominations.

As in business, it is as important to keep a customer as it is to find new ones.  Rotary Membership is no different.  We lose approx. 20-25 members each year for various reasons, some unavoidable.  Fellowship is the frontline of Membership Retention.  It is the responsibility of us all, who have been in the Club for some time, to be pro-active in assisting new members find their areas of interest within Rotary.

I expect all Groups to take special responsibility in this area.  In all cases our unique Group system is the frontline of retention.

As stated earlier, it is also a priority for Groups to encourage a positive Rotary attitude in new members.

Administration

Our size dictates that we must be far more accountable both within the Club and in the broader community.  Very early on, Mev and I decided that continuity of administration was essential.  A lot has been achieved, but there are still some areas needing refinement.

We must continue the work that has been done over the past year in streamlining the management procedures of the Club with regard to efficiency, professionalism and compliance.

Another area close to my heart has been Fundraising.  As Mev has mentioned I have been involved in many such activities.  The big question is: "how can we establish an annual event that does not require us to re-invent the wheel each year - that elusive major fundraiser."  I believe The Rotary Club of Melbourne Community Foundation can be a major player in achieving this goal.  By targeting a corpus of say $3m over time, we can conservatively produce an annual income of $150,000.00.

We have no shortage of worthwhile projects and programmes to support both internationally and locally, large and small.  For example, some of our current projects - Healthy Hearts, East Timor, Donydji Homelands in Arnhem Land, and the Leprosy Project in Cambodia demand that we have a sizeable source of funds available.

The Rotary Club of Melbourne Community Foundation has the added advantage of compounding.  Under our tax exempt status we are obliged to allocate a minimum of 80% of the income to our community projects.  However, just as importantly, the remaining 20% will be retained in order to add to the corpus.

I believe the success of The Rotary Club of Melbourne Community Foundation can go along way towards being a major contributor to our Fundraising.

I wish to announce two small changes to our Club Meeting Format.

Firstly, I will be introducing Progress Reports from Community Service Committees - no more than 5 minutes.  Committee Chairpersons will report on their project areas and the status of their current projects.  These same reports will also appear in the Club's Weekly Bulletin.

Secondly, the traditional sergeant's role - will be re-introduced each fortnight for 3 minutes.  The fines will be of a worthwhile nature, so we do not wish to hear the Fines Box rattle.

To District Governor Elect Bernie Walshe and Margaret, you have this Club's whole hearted support for the coming year.  We look forward to working closely with you, District Secretary Dennis Shore and AG Jim Studebaker to maintain this District's position as the premier district in Australia.

My family is honored to know that I have been chosen to lead this great Club.  I am happy that they are all able to be here today - my wife Janet and our children Annabel, David and Michael, my mother Mabel Wang and Janet's two sisters from Townsville Phyllis Rainford and Lynne Leong.

I would like to close by again quoting R.I President Bill Boyd:

"Fellowship and service can truly change the world. By following the Rotary ideal, we will strengthen our communities and together - Lead the Way - to a better future."

Chris Wang

President 2006/2007