Hot off the Pres(s)

Well, what a night!  Thank you everyone for the support, I really appreciated it and know that I and, more importantly, the Club are in good hands.
 
The evening had its ups and downs.  Firstly, I knocked my new beaut President’s name badge that promptly flew off my lapel onto the driveway in four pieces (actually three of the pieces stuck to the car door sill).  Good start for a President and obviously a sign — only for it to happen again during the meeting.  This time I was prepared and after the meeting IPP Gail found the magnets, this time clinging to the metal leg of a table.  Someone obviously still wants me to be President.
 
What a moment for me to be the first in District 9465 to acknowledge IPDG Wayne and Suzanne as guests at my first meeting.  I did feel for Gail who also re-joined the meeting without a speaking role.  However, like me, someone must have been looking over her as she and Colin won both the door prize and the joker wine.  I could sense a huge sigh of relief from the rest when Gail didn’t draw the Joker.
 
I thought our speaker, Neil Stanbury, was informative.  For some reason the Port of Fremantle was like a magnet to me when I arrived in Perth and I still have a useless photo taken with a Kodak camera, the one that had the blue square flash cube, taken from the footbridge over the railway facing the Port Authority Building.  Maybe I should donate it to our speaker for their photograph collection.  On second thoughts, no, it’s one of my early memories of Perth.
 
Of course the night would not be complete without a mention of PP Tom Slater.  With the ups come the downs, and it was a sad day for the Club in accepting his resignation after almost 30 years of service.  As the new kid on the block, I had no idea of his Rotary involvement and I thank PP Ian Pittaway for putting together at short notice an overview of Tom’s Rotary involvement.  
 
So, my first meeting is over and only 51 more chalk marks to put on the blackboard until it finishes next year.  I know that I am really going to enjoy my year as President and with your help and support, I will get through.  There will be some challenges, of that I am sure, but taken one step at a time, the journey can be enjoyed.
 
The Club’s first task is to accept DG Colin’s challenge to create one new Club Project this year.  I have some ideas, but let’s all put our heads together and see we what we can do.  Without spreading ourselves too thin, I think we can manage one more major headline project and I believe there is a local project, waiting to happen, that will enable us to accept DG Colin’s challenge.
 
Yours in Rotary
Pres. Neil