PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Many a time, I have to jolt myself to remember that Rotary is a human institution and as such necessarily imperfect and liable to error.

I constantly say to myself, The Rotary Movement is not to be blamed for the misdeeds and shortcomings of some of its ‘professors’.

Being a Rotarian alone never did, nor ever can, make a person a true Rotarian.

It provides the key, but the mere possession of the key does not constitute ownership of the treasure.
It sows the seed, but unless the soil is good and carefully cultivated, fruit will not be produced.
It opens the portal, but unless the road is traversed, the goal cannot be attained.
It lays the foundation, but without labour, the superstructure cannot be raised.

When we join Rotary, we are given the key; we have sown the seed, opened the portal and laid the foundation.

And it is for the individual, with such assistance as amongst Rotarians can always be obtained by seeking for it in the proper quarters, to complete the work, and hopefully will not be found to be wanting in that quest.

Thus, although the seed is sown, it is only after successful germination that ‘The Rotarian Plant” can blossom and bear fruit.

During the good old days, we did not take tuition. It was not necessary. The teachers motivated us and these teachers were indeed dedicated and knowledgeable. Why can’t we have such teachers today?

Of course, we did not achieve 10As or 12 As but we passed our subjects very comfortably. What was important was that we had an enjoyable school life. We took part in sports and games almost every day and we did much more on our own outside school hours, especially during the school holidays.

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings.

The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour.

Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel."

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 dollars and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?"

"It was Bob the next door neighbour," she replies.

"Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story:

If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.