District Conference 2012
President- Elect, Capildeo Beharry, and Secretary-Elect, Wendy-Ann Joseph, attended the 20th PETS, Assembly and Conference of District 7030 (herein referred to as PETS) which was held over five days on Monday 2nd to Friday 6th April 2012 aboard the cruise liner, the Celebrity Millennium, on which we embarked at the Port of Miami. This was the first time that this District’s PETS was held aboard a cruise liner.
Rotarian Jamir Ousman also attended and was appointed to the position of Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms, and he played a very important role at the PETS. Rotarian Patsy Chankersingh also accompanied the other Rotarians but went as a holidayer.
During this time the liner cruised from the Port of Miami to Roatan Island, Honduras, where it docked for a few hours. Many Rotarians took the opportunity to tour the island which has a history of various colonizers. The languages spoken are English and Spanish.
From Roatan, the vessel sailed to Cuzumel Island, off the Yutacan Peninsula, Mexico, where it docked. While some Rotarians remained at Cuzumel, many took a smaller vessel (water taxi) to the mainland. This is a lovely beach resort with white sands, blue waters and many hotels. From here, Rotarians went on various tours. Rotarians Capil, Wendy and Patsy visited a very ancient and impressive site of the Incas, the Tulum Ruins. From here, we sailed back to Cuzumel and took the vessel back to the Port of Miami.
As obvious, this PETS was organized not only to transact Rotary business, but also to provide an opportunity for Rotarians to relax, have fun and to fellowship. Many wonderful opportunities were available onboard the liner – various restaurants, cinemas, theatres, casinos, duty-free shops, pools, sun decks, bars and live entertainment, dance halls, etc. Needless to say, all Rotarians enjoyed themselves.
Now, for the more important business part. At the commencement of PETS, and regularly, we were reminded that the RI President-Elect for 2012-13 is Sujuki Tanaka of Japan and that his theme is Peace Through Service. Various references were made to his printed speech which elaborated on Peace and the link with Peace Through Service.
The three strategic priorities for the new year were reiterated, viz. (1) Support and Strengthen Clubs (2) Focus and Increase Humanitarian Service (3) Enhance Public Image and Awareness. The six main areas of focus were also stressed on, viz. (1) Peace and conflict prevention/resolution (2) Disease prevention and treatment (3) Water and Sanitation (4) Maternal and child health (5) Basic education and literacy (6) Economic and community development . The new grants model pertaining to the Annual Program Fund (APG) was also explained, e.g. the annual contribution to this Fund is split 50/50 to the District Designated Fund (DDG) and the World Fund (WG). The DDG gives grants for Foundations programs of its choice, whilst the WG funds Matching Grants, 3-H Grants, Ambassadorial Scholarships, Group Study Exchanges, etc.
There were presentations by various senior Rotarians, including the District Governor-Elect, Rotarian Dr. Stephen Ramroop, and RI special representative, Rosemary Aragon, on Rotary International’s future plans and goals and other related topics. Various breakout sessions were held at different but close venues. These breakout groups discussed their individual allotted topics (from 5 to 10 minutes) and then short verbal presentations were made by the groups’ leaders. There were learning from the discussions and from the presentations. (For our French speaking Rotarians friends, translations were done in French by a very popular female Rotarian from Cayenne (French Guyana).
The Conference was held on the last day, Friday 06th April. This is like the annual general meeting of the District. The District Governor, Rotarian Lara Quentrall-Thomas, presented her report and informed Rotarians of her travels to the various clubs in the District, of the warmth and sincerity of Rotarians she visited and of the great humanitarian and other works done by these Rotarians. Presentations were also made by certain clubs on impactful projects and their methodologies which could serve to inspire other Rotary Clubs in the District.