District Governor Roger Stent Visits Banstead Rotary:“Another year starts - let’s make it a year of

Rotary District Governor Roger Stent, the new governor for Rotary South District 1145, visited the Rotary Club of Banstead 27 July via Zoom from his home.

District 1145 is the one of the largest Rotary districts in the Rotary Great Britain and Ireland, Rotary RIBI District 1145 brings together 89 Rotary Clubs in 6 Greater London Boroughs, Surrey, East & West Sussex and neighbouring parts of Hampshire.

Roger Stent took office July 1. Ordinarily his duties would include visiting each District club in persoe.n, a travel commitment of up to six months, but COVID-19 restrictions have necessitated virtual meetings.

Although Zoom meetings do not provide the personal interaction that nurtures most service organizations, this has not dampened Roger Stent’s enthusiasm for his Rotary leadership role. In fact, Roger has created a theme for this challenging pandemic year: helping our communities through service!

He began by saying:

“We start the new Rotary year still living in uncertain times – can we meet, can we return to our trusted events and projects, can we engage with people in person? We still don’t know exactly what the future will be, but we can live in hope, the hope that Rotary can find a way to help our communities get back on their feet through our offer of service.

2020-21 DG Nick had a tough year, not being able to engage with you all as he may have wished, and even having to cancel his Conference, but he has shown the way forward to us all through the power of communications – the weekly bulletin, the Thursday e-meetings and his attendance at many club meetings online. He has kept us together through encouraging innovation, something that other Districts have struggled with over the past 18 months. I’d like to thank all of the district team for their support in helping me prepare for 2021-22, and in particular to Nick for his friendly expert advice and encouragement, and his willingness to support me as I undertake both the DG and DGE roles.

As we come out of lockdown, Rotary can really make an impact in helping our communities return to normal. I was delighted to be part of the small Post-Covid Recovery group, led by incoming Community Lead Mark Foss and our Vocational Lead Graham Harker, in producing guidance to clubs on suggestions for projects that are practical, can involve others in partnership, and are needed locally. The report they produced has been adopted by Rotary GB&I as a great example of what clubs can consider. You’ve all had a copy, and a copy is on the District website.

Over the next few months I plan to expand on several themes, such as Rotary and the environment, the changes to Rotary at Rotary GB&I level, the need to think differently and act differently, and how we can develop our reach through partnerships, but for now I would like to wish you all a Happy New (Rotary) Year, and I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can over the next few months. Enjoy your Rotary!

Roger also encouraged Rotarians to continue to support The Rotary Foundation, whose grants help fund projects, and, to explore Rotary International’s new alliance with Toastmasters as a way to enhance public speaking skills and confident leadership.

Rotary’s seven areas of focus, categories of service activities supported by global grants: peace building and conflict prevention; disease prevention and treatment; water, sanitation, and hygiene; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and community economic development, supporting the environment .

Roger is a member of Titsey Rotary , based in Oxted Surrey.