METRO MUSING 3 (10-11)

Dear Friends,

It was a good meeting which was attended by 24 Rotarians. President Premal started the meeting at 8.15 p.m. and the meeting was over by 9.30 p.m.

President asked everyone to observe silence for 2 minutes after the prayer to pay tribute to 2 departed souls - Prabhakarbhai Smart - his father and father of Vishakha Vrajesh Shah.

President Premal ratified the Board's decisions one after the other (already printed in the last bulletin). Then he invited IPP President Sharmishtha to present last year's accounts. Everyone was happy to see good surplus and significant funds for two of our dream projects - Sanjeevani and Atmanirbhar were earmarked for this year. It was passed unanimously. IPP Sharmishtha was hopeful that now that we have 3 years audited accounts, it would be possible to get RCBM Foundation or RCBM Charitable Trust formation without any hiccups.

She also presented the original revised Charter of our Club to the President, which she had procured last year from Rotary HQ. With this her year comes to an end and everyone applauded her for a wonderful year.

Then President invited AG Pinky Patel to introduce Hansaben Patel who has come back from USA to enjoy her retirement years in India. Her classification will be Nuclear Medicine Scientist. President Premal invited IPP Sharmishtha to induct her officially to our RCBM Clan. The picture depict how happy all of us are.

Then Club Trainer IPP Rajan was invited for the Orientation Programme for new members. Rajan was flawless in his presentation, which was really poetic. He started from Ishopnishad to philosophy of Kabir and ended with a beautiful couplet of Ghalib. He dwelt upon the basic question why I am in Rotary and then highlighted the philosophy of Rotary, which is Fellowship and Service. It would have been better if all the new members would have remained present.

I am sure more such presentations in the times to come will help train the club members in a much better way. It's a new facet that he is showing us when he told that one who invests in logic knows what is the religion. Rotarians know this and they serve as if they are serving the religion called mankind. He ended abruptly as he got a disturbing phone call in between.

Then President called me for presentation on Rotary India Humanity Foundation (RIHF).

In a nutshell, we are dreaming of a rare feat of performing 5000 heart surgeries, 1 crore tree plantations, 10 Rotary Schools, 50 Rotary Eye Hospitals, 400 Check Dams, 30,000 toilet Blocks, 400 Saheli Centres (Vocational Service Centres), Micro Credit and of course not to forget Disaster Management. We have already sent 100 shelter kits to Leh - the famous "3 Idiots" school, which is badly affected. The entire dream has got solid foundation and i.e. 1 lac Rotarians in India to support the cause, which will change the public image of Rotary at large. There were questions about fund raising,etc. which were answered. Finally I ended by saying that we are committed for creating the first ever Permanent Orthetic and Prosthetic Centre at Baroda, for which President Premal, as well as Nileshbhai, have given their consent and our commitment will show results in a short time from now.

The meeting ended with the National Anthem. Everyone enjoyed fellowship over the dinner, which looked quite elaborate (compliments to Rachna Garg). The excellent choice of menu was appreciated by all.

Overall an excellent meeting and I really wished that more members would have remained present for the simple reason that now officially we are going to meet only twice in a month and 2 meetings are given for projects, etc. That is not asking for two much?!

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS / EVENTS

15/08/2010 (Sunday) - Tree Plantation by 7 Clubs of Baroda under VSS Drive at Billabong School, Vadsar Road.

18/08/2010 (Wednesday) - Career Counseling for school children at Muslim Education School, Mughalwada.

22/08/2010 (Sunday) - District Membership Intercity Forum at Mehamdabad.

26/08/2010 (Thursday) - Assistant Governor's visit - Family Meet at 8.00 p.m.

28/08/2010 (Saturday) - Atmanirbhar Camp at Mehamdabad.

Dr. Manoj Desai

Bulletin Editor

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT FOR 2012-13

Tanaka is choice for 2012-13 RI President

Sakuji Tanaka, a member of the Rotary Club of Yashio, Saitama, Japan, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International in 2012-13. Tanaka will become the president-nominee on 1 October if there are no challenging candidates.

Tanaka said he would like to see Rotary "continue its vital work as the force to improve our communities."

To do this work, Rotary needs active, involved clubs, he added. "We are fortunate to have our revised RI Strategic Plan to help build strong clubs that are vibrant, action-oriented, and relevant in the changing world."

For 32 years, Tanaka was president of Tanaka Company Ltd., a wholesale firm that went public in 1995 and later merged with other leading wholesalers in Japan. Currently, he serves as vice president of the Yashio City Chamber of Commerce and adviser to Arata Co. Ltd., an animal feed and pet food wholesaler. He also chaired the National Household Papers Distribution Association of Japan for eight years. Tanaka studied business at Nihon Management Daigakuin and Tokyo Management Daigakuin.

Currently a Trustee of The Rotary Foundation, Tanaka chaired the 2009 Birmingham Convention Committee. His other service to Rotary includes RI director, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, district governor, and member of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force, the Permanent Fund Committee for Japan, and the Future Vision Committee.

Tanaka established an endowed Rotary Peace Fellowship, and he and his wife, Kyoko, are Paul Harris Fellows, Benefactors of the Permanent Fund, and Major Donors. He is a recipient of RI’s Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award.

Tanaka said that eradicating polio will "fulfill the promise we made to children in the world" and that "there is no doubt in my mind that the day of this success will be realized in the near future."

Tanaka and Kyoko have three children and five grandchildren.

The 2010 nominating committee members are John F. Germ, USA (chair); Monty J. Audenart, Canada; Keith Barnard-Jones, England; Peter Bundgaard, Denmark; Frank C. Collins Jr., USA; Rudolf Hörndler, Germany; Jackson San-Lien Hsieh, Taiwan; Umberto Laffi, Italy; Ashok M. Mahajan, India; Gerald A. Meigs, USA; Paul A. Netzel, USA; Samuel A. Okudzeto, Ghana; Kazuhiko Ozawa, Japan; Noraseth Pathmanand, Thailand; Themistocles A.C. Pinho, Brazil; Barry Rassin, Bahamas; and Barry E. Thompson, Australia.