THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT 1994-95

As my presidency draws to a close I must first offer special thanks to my partner Leone for her unending support during my term. Without her participation in both club matters and the Rotary Partners my task would have been so much more difficult.

The past 12 months have proven extremely hectic as our club continues to prosper in terms of membership, community involvement and participation in district activities. During my time as president I've enjoyed the total support of my board members and their committees and wish to thank them for their efforts.

The highlight of the year was undoubtedly the District Assembly held at Wesley Hospital on July 4, 1995. In my eight years with the club, this is the first time I can recall all members being called upon to work as a team on a project of this size. As expected, they responded admirably. The organising committee headed by Ron Day and Pat and Col Walker did a superb job in registering all 460 delegates. Thanks to all members and their partners who turned up on the weekend and worked behind the scenes to make the assembly the success it was.

On a personal note, the health of the club provides me with immense satisfaction. This year we welcomed three new members and their wives - Brian and Cherry Yates, John and Kay Simpson and Craig and Nicola Green. Futhermore Peter Aldridge, accompanied by his wife Inge, has been inducted tonight. Overall this gives us a nett gain of two members for the year following the resignations of Brian Quinlan and Bob Pattinson.

From July 1994 to May 1995 the club recorded an average monthly attendance of 77.5%. During this time five members also maintained perfect attendance records. They included Keith Davies, Ron Day, Rex Eaton and Col Walker while John Simpson has attended every meeting since being inducted in December 1994.

Another pleasing aspect of the year for me has been the renewed interest in our annual family day. Several years back the board considered cancelling this function and the Santa Claus' visit because of an ageing membership. However this year, 21 children turned up at Aspley East State School including Joe and Debbie Carter's newborn daughter, Rebecca. The club's baby boom has continued with new arrivals for Allan and Julie Deacon and John and Narelle Cupitt.

During the year Leone and I took pleasure in attending a number of Rotary functions. These included changeovers for the Aspley Probus Club, the District Governor, our Rotaract Club and the Rotaract District. We also attended the charter night of the Deception Bay Rotary Club, where I presented a cheque for $100 and exchanged club banners with their president. Other functions held during the year included Aspley Rotaract's 15th birthday celebrations at Virginia Golf Club and the Aspley Probus's Christmas party.

On a solo note, I represented the club at a community concerns lecture at QUF, South Brisbane and joined Alf Pepper at the District membership dinner at Lawnton. Alf and I also attended the Renew and Review Day at Bribie Island while other calendar highlights for me were eight Rotaract meetings and an Interact meeting where we focused on meeting proceedure.

This year's Rotary conference was held in Caloundra on the weekend of March 10-12 and again was marked by top quality presentations and speakers. 10 members of our club attended the conference with their partners and one of the memorable events was a fellowship afternoon in Ma1 Whyte's unit at Gemini Towers. The club also donated $1000 to the Rabaul Disaster Fund.

On February 23, 1995 we joined the six other group four clubs for a joint meeting at Kedron-Wavell Services Club in celebration of Rotary International's 90th birthday. A great night was had by all, including our special guest, the American consul. As part of proceedings, a Paul Harris Fellowship was presented to Col Walker. This acknowledged his services to both the community at large and to Rotary at both a club and district level.

In my speech at the start of the year I suggested that the club needed a project which could provide a recurrent source of income. This has seemingly been achieved with the installation of donation tins in the duty free store at the international terminal. These will collect unwanted Australian coins from outgoing passengers. Full credit to Tom Beverly-Smith who first suggested the project and worked with John Hennessy and Ted Shaw to bring it to fruition.

Early this year the club welcomed Ambassadorial Scholar Shannon Mooney from America. A delightful young lady she'll be with us for two years and is studying marketing at the Queensland University of Technology. Shannon welcomes the opportunity to be involved in Rotary activities and can be contacted through her counsellor, Bruce MacKenzie.

In 1994 members undertook three working bees to build shelter sheds at Aspley Rotary Park in Graham Rd. However we've been precluded from any construction work this year because of problems with the Brisbane City Council, which has demanded the right to produce a park concept plan but as yet hasn't given a release date.

In August the club hosted District Governor Bill Waterfield and his wife Ann for a ladies night at Carseldine Motor Inn. DG Bill spoke to members on the importance of commitment to Rotary and praised our club's operations. He will be remembered for his strong leadership style and support of district programs such as Employ Australia and Donations-In-Kind.

I must pay special tribute to the unsung heroes who were responsible for most of the administrative duties of the club but received little praise for their efforts. Thanks to secretary Iain Steverson, treasurer Col Walker and bulletin editor Ron Day. A bouquet also to the Rotary Partners who provided sterling support not only for the club but for Leone as well.

The club's activities and achievements are contained in the individual committee reports which follow so I have no need to summarise them here. I do however, commend them to your reading.

In summary I believe the club can be proud of its achievements during the past 12 months. We achieved the targets we set ourselves at the beginning of the year plus some.

My sincere thanks to the club for providing me with the opportunity to serve as president.

I take pleasure in welcoming Alf Pepper to the presidency of our club and wish he and Heather every success for the coming 12 months. I urge all members to offer him the same unqualified support they provided me.

Yours in Rotary

Tony Chant President