LEGALLY

It was coincidental that, in the February, 2006, issue of Rotary Down Under, I had written about risk management and a letter by Colin Alford, the District 9940 Risk Management Committee Chairman, appeared.

In Colin Alford's letter, he refers to a Risk Management Manual that has been prepared by his District and I compliment that District on having done so.

I am sure that, throughout the Rotary Districts in Australia and New Zealand, there are the pieces of a governance policy for Rotary clubs and Districts and hopefully, in time, we can centralise these for the benefit of all. I thank Colin Alford for making available to us all that District’s Risk Management Manual.

Getting something done is much easier if it is broken down into tasks of a manageable size or is undertaken by an individual, or a group of individuals, who is given the specific task of getting it done! While I express the opinion that each Rotary club had a duty to assess and manage risk, in relation to its individual activities, it would be a worthwhile project for each District to come up with a set of procedures for risk management, both for its clubs and itself. This is obviously what District 9940 has done and I am sure they would be happy for other Districts to use their Risk Management Manual, either completely, in part, or as a basis for the creation of a set of risk management procedures.

These days, documenting something is as important as doing it. It is essential that the decision-making process, whereby the club agrees to carry out the project, is recorded. That includes recording means by which the risks of carrying out the project were identified and the manner in which those risks would be managed. This task is made much simpler if your club and District has a standardised procedure for assessing and managing risk in relation to projects carried out by them.

In this column last month I referred to a website which listed nine steps for managing risk. This month, Colin Alford has directed attention to the necessity of managing risk and identifying the benefits of making risk management part of your club and District administration.

I encourage you to make it part of your club and/or District administration.

• This article was contributed by District 9650 Past Governor John Boag, of the Rotary Club of Tamworth North, N.S.W. He is a member of the R.I. Constitution and By-Laws Committee. He can be contacted on jboag@eversol.com.au and would be happy to assist with any enquiries concerning these matters.

Who can join Rotary? Consider your reply

By Jennifer Coburn,
Rotary Club of Mont Albert and Surrey Hills, Vic.
District 9810 Past Governor
Regional R.I. Membership Co-ordinator, Zone 8A
I am often asked the question: “Who can join Rotary?” I am sure that I am not alone in being asked this question.
But when asked, I often think and perhaps wonder if the reply often given goes something like this:

• A business leader
• A professional person
• Both men and women are Rotarians
• A person committed to service.
Would you also have considered the following when responding:
• Rotarians are also young people in innovative and emerging businesses
• Rotarians are people wanting to make a difference in the world
• Rotarians are people committed to peace and conflict resolution
• Rotarians are people who care for their fellow man
• Rotarians are fun-loving
• Rotarians are individuals responding to a need
• Rotarians are people who share their vocations with the world in the spirit of service, goodwill and international understanding.
So in what way can we contribute to the world through Rotary’s Four Avenues of Service?
Firstly, through serving our club
• Through building relationships with fellow club members.
• Through ensuring our club is well run and active.
• Through having a diverse and vibrant guest speaker program and contributing to it.
• Through being innovative in our meeting style and structure
• Through being responsive to our members needs and the modern business needs of today
• Through being respectful of our family and business structures and needs and involving our families where appropriate.
Secondly, through using our vocation to serve the community and by setting an example of exemplary business standards and high ethical practice in all that we do.
• We develop vocational service through our leadership programs
• Through recognition of service excellence and pride of workmanship
• Through encouraging free speech in speech competitions in both primary and secondary students
• Through funding of scholarships for those who can best benefit
• Assisting your local school with literacy and numeracy aids
• We need to be considerate of what vocational talents our members have and how they wish to utilise them in their service life.
Our third Avenue of Service is demonstrated by taking part in Community Service activities
• By collecting clothing for the needy
• Working to develop programs for the unemployed
• Developing and working with migrants to integrate into the community.
• By providing Christmas for the elderly
• By conducting working bees for
our friends less fortunate.
And finally through the International Service aspect of Rotary
• Through involvement in the Polio Eradication program, an amazing achievement of Rotary
•Through volunteering in a project in a third world country
• Through hosting a young scholar, either through the Foundation or Youth Exchange or alternate Exchange programs.
• Through rebuilding and providing schools in earthquake and Tsunami- ravaged countries
• Donations in kind to those in need
• Through funding the purchase of fishing boats in Indonesia
• Through arranging for sewing machines for women in a village in Nepal by way of micro-credit loans
• By facilitating the movement of goods from the surplus to the needy and ensuring both the need is present firstly and then that the need is being met appropriately.
Rotary is, and always will be there to help the needy of our world. You and I gain by giving.
We gain the satisfaction of giving of ourselves, of that one thing which cannot be valued in monetary terms. In Rotary we know it simply as Service Above Self.
Why not invite a friend or colleague along to Rotary to join an organisation which has all aspects of service? It has an envied reputation for excellence and ethics. Invite them today. You will then be a true friend.

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