Each year, past district governor teams hold reunions with the RIBI president from their year. The governors take it in turn to play host. For the team of 2006/07, my year as RIBI president, Mike Smith, who was the DG for District 1110, offered to host. Guernsey was selected as the venue. This was also the venue for his conference in his year and it was the venue for my conference when I was DG in 1987/88.
Mike did a great job of organising the weekend and even managed to persuade the States of Guernsey to host a reception in the Castle Cornet. We were joined by the presidents of the Rotary clubs of Guernsey, Paul Steele, and Guernesiais, Ann Outram. Our host was Minister of Commerce and Employment, Carla McNaulty Bauer, who is also a member of the Rotary Club of Guernesiais.
The firing of the Noonday Gun at the Castle Cornet was a special honour and I understand I did fire it on time, watched and taunted by the 2006/07 DGs and all the visitors to the castle.
We still like to wear our year jacket for the Saturday dinner and did so also for the firing of the gun and reception. As the years roll on, the fit of the jacket becomes a centre of attention, especially for our partners who check to see if the buttons still do up!
As regards achievements in 2006/07, as well as supporting The Rotary Foundation, we raised a considerable sum to support the charity IMPACT to equipping the Lifeline Express in India, a hospital train that goes to the poorest areas. We also raised funds to send hundreds of wheelchairs to Africa and Eastern Europe. Plus, we worked with the Institute of Cancer Research to create a better understanding of the various cancers by producing leaflets on the ten major cancers. These were distributed all over Great Britain and Ireland by local Rotarians.
The RIBI Conference in Bournemouth was one of the best attended for several years and it was here that we launched the first RIBI Young Citizen Awards with the BBC News Channel.
Peter Offer
President of RIBI 2006/07
