Conference Committee

Every District Governor  has to organise a conference for their District during their year of office. I have met some DGs  who organise it themselves, with little or no help from anyone else.  Others have a small committee who do all the work between them.  Vivian has a committee of 16, which ensures that no-one has too onerous a job to do.

                                                                                          The District Governor

I think I have said somewhere before, that I am not a great committee person, mainly because  I don’t really enjoy the cut and thrust of debate.  I can rarely think of something relevant  to say about the subject in question, and when I do think up a ‘bon mot’ someone else usually says it before me.  As I’m driving home, however, I can think of all sorts of clever things that I should have said, but then it’s too late.  Because of this, I tend to avoid committees when I can.

                                                                             Conference Chairman Mike Thorn

I was however, happy to make an exception in the case of this year’s District Conference in Bristol, where I will be playing a leading role as Consort to the DG.  I did make clear at the very first meeting of this committee that I expected a suite of rooms to be at my disposal for the Conference, and this was agreed to.  The District 1140 Conference is in October, just two months away, but the committee has been meeting since September last year, making plans for all the different elements which are necessary for a good Conference. Firstly, we need attendees. There have been 300 or so registrations to date, which is a good figure, but the DG is hoping for nearer 400 by the end of September.  There is also a gala Dinner to organise, with entertainment .  We need  a good programme  of speakers for the sessions,  which start on Friday afternoon and end on Sunday morning. We need badges for delegates, delegate packs, refreshments throughout the Conference,  a menu for the Gala dinner, hosts for speakers and other VIPs, audio-visual  arrangements and many more issues that need to come together on that weekend.

                                              Peter and Sue Meldrum (Deputy Host and Rotary Showcase organiser)

So a good committee is absolutely essential, and fortunately the DG has a superb committee of  experienced Rotarians from her District to organise the event for her.  The meetings have almost all been at our house (one was at John Dumbrell’s when we were away) and we always prepare a hot dinner for attendees, some of whom will have come straight from work.  Sometimes I have cooked for the throng, sometimes it is the DG who is the chef, but on the evening of the actual meeting it is I that attends to serving up the meal, organising drinks etc.,  skilfully leaving the DG to attend the committee meeting.

                                                                         John Dumbrell, Conference Secretary

At last night’s  meeting,  Vivian had pre-cooked a bacon and chorizo ratatouille, and all I had to do was heat it up and serve it up with French bread. The best baguettes locally are found at Budgens, where freshly baked French ‘sticks’ are available all day for £1 each, and are still warm when I get them home. The main course was followed by a simple dessert of fresh strawberries and blueberries with cream.

                                                                                                      Baguettes

 Conference Chairman Mike Thorn, himself a Past District Governor,  was first to arrive, in fact he had sat outside in his car for a while before coming in, as he was worried about being too early. The DG scolded him for not coming in immediately. Mike, a member of Cheam Rotary Club, is a keen marathon runner, and last year ran the London marathon carrying a pair of Rotary wheels. He created a lot of interest from Rotarians watching the race. Unfortunately he doesn’t like dogs so we have to keep our Golden Retriever, Daisy away from him when he arrives. This can be difficult as her natural instinct is to greet all visitors with enthusiasm, particularly those who don’t like dogs. On this occasion Daisy had just been given her dinner when he arrived so she wasn’t interested in him at all.  Shortly after Mike came husband and wife team Peter  (Deputy Host) and Sue (Rotary Showcase) Meldrum. Peter and Sue are great organisers (Peter was this year’s RIBI Conference chairman) and good fun to be around. They like exotic holidays, in fact next month they are on a three week self-drive tour of Namibia.  Apparently there is a beach in Namibia where you can find diamonds just lying in the sand, but you are unlikely to get anywhere near it as it is under constant armed guard.

                                                                         Daisy is ready to pounce on her next victim

Margaret Martin is our Conference Registrar, and is very experienced at it, having done the job last year for the Jersey Conference, when I was Treasurer.  Andrew Ford is our Speaker Secretary, and does the important job of liaising with speakers, who can be a little temperamental at times. Both Andrew and Margaret are members of Ewell Rotary Club.

                                           Doreen Pipe on left (Sponsorship) and Andrew Ford (Speaker Secretary)

Andy Barnard, who is the current District Treasurer, is on the Conference committee as Stage Manager, and he will be responsible for getting every speaker on and off the stage at the allotted time.  Kevin Mack is the Health and Safety Officer (well, someone has to do it, and Kevin does actually seem interested in the subject, so should be a safe pair of hands). Owen Durrett, who is the current District Secretary (see the top people the DG has in her committee?), is responsible for producing the programme for the event.  Peter O’Keefe, who will be the first DG of the new District next year, also attends, although more as an observer than a participant.

                                                 Pauline Hedges and Doreen Pipe, collectively known as 'Paureen'

The DG has been well supported by her own Rotary Club, Shepperton Aurora, with several members and an honorary member of the club taking up roles on the team.  Sponsorship has been taken on by Pauline and Doreen, who are collectively known as Paureen, and they are certainly a good double act. They have secured £1500 in sponsorship so far, which is three times  last year’s sponsorship total.  John Dumbrell is Secretary to the Conference committee, and he regularly surprises everyone by sending out the minutes of a meeting before members get home from it. David Catt-Camfield volunteered to be the Master of Ceremonies  for the event, something he is very good at, and he is always first choice as MC for Shepperton Aurora events. His long involvement with the Gang Show probably accounts for his relaxed manner and presence when speaking to a large audience.  Sadly however he had to step down as Conference MC this week for family reasons. The DG is looking for another MC,  but David will be hard to replace.

Joe Delahunty, one of the best organisers at Shepperton Aurora, will be chief steward at the conference, and will be responsible for a team of stewards who will ensure the event runs smoothly, and that everyone knows where they are supposed to be.  Ron Enticott, our honorary member, will be Conference Treasurer this year. As a Chartered Accountant I wouldn’t expect him to struggle in that role.

                                                                       Andy Barnard, centre, (Stage Manager)

I will not divulge  too much of the content of our discussions here, as I don’t want to pre-empt the official Conference programme, which will be published in September. Suffice to say that a lively and informative final Conference for District 1140 is planned, with top-quality speakers and a party atmosphere throughout.

The Conference programme is now in place, and  the running order for our speakers has been agreed, with each session finishing on a high note from a particularly entertaining speaker. I have noticed that there doesn’t appear to be a slot for my keynote speech ( I will need at least 40 minutes) but on reflection they are probably saving the Conference highlight for the gala Dinner, so I haven’t  said anything to anyone yet.

                                                             Margaret Martin (Conference Registrar) with the DG

During the meeting there was a bit of a misunderstanding over the subject of Conference bags, which will be given to delegates as they arrive, and will be filled with information and freebies. The committee wanted a good quality bag that members could re-use, and it was mentioned that the bags would carry a logo as well as the Rotary symbol. At this point Doreen objected, saying that she was happy with the Rotary wheel, but didn’t like bags with other advertisements or messages, as she wouldn’t use them.  However she had missed the fact that Ron Enticott was actually sponsoring the bags, so quite reasonably wanted his logo to appear. When this was pointed out to her she happily retreated.

                                                                    A Conference bag

One thing that hasn’t been decided yet is the menu for the Gala Dinner. A select tasting committee which includes me has been delegated to visit the hotel in Bristol in a couple of weeks to sample a few dishes before deciding on the menu choices. I am looking forward to that. We shall probably leave home early and visit the famous Bristol Blue Glass shop en route to the hotel, to purchase gifts for Conference speakers and VIPs, such as myself.

                                                               Bristol Blue Glass

The meeting was conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, all the food was eaten, and people stopped afterwards to chat, which I always think is a sign they are enjoying themselves. Between now and the next meeting the DG will try and drum up some more attendees for the Conference by contacting the presidents of clubs where registrations are down compared to previous years. I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes……