President Judith Carder sets the New Year tone for our Region and updates us on some key events taking place.
As we start a new year I’d like to wish everyone my best wishes for a very happy and healthy 2022. Thank you all so very much for your wonderful cards and letters of support which really lifted my spirits.
This reaffirms how incredible Soroptimists are and the importance of really looking after each other. Never has my theme of ‘’Progress not Perfection’’ seemed more appropriate.
The pandemic continues to affect our everyday lives, but in true Soroptimist style we are not put off from pursuing our goals through PAC work within our clubs. It seems we will still need to embrace Zoom technology for a while yet, and we have adapted to this new way of working so well whilst not forgetting to look after members who do not have this facility.
Zoom has enabled us to connect with Soroptimists all over the world. So many of us were able to attend the International Conference and we have the advantage of joining club charters to welcome new members . How wonderful too that we can hear inspirational speakers from far flung places to connect with Friendship Links more easily. These are all steps in the right direction and examples of ‘’Progress not Perfection.’’
In January we have been busy running the Regional Photographic Competition. Although I’ve yet to see any of the entries, I’m told by our three Elected Members Val, Jenny and Mel, that there’s a wonderful breadth of subject matter and some really imaginative interpretations of our theme “Progress Not Perfection. It was a challenging subject but as always members have risen to the occasion admirably and I’m very excited to see the photos at the March Regional Council/PAC Meeting on 5th March.
The three winners will receive their prizes from International President Maureen Maguire at the Regional Conference on 14th May at Brocton Heath Golf Club. We’re very fortunate to have Maureen as our opening speaker in a programme which includes some very well-known and regarded speakers indeed!
So please save the date and look out for more information on our website and social media. The programme and booking details will be going out to all Clubs within the next couple of weeks.
Although I have the honour of being your Regional President for this year, we are ALL an essential part of the MCR team. I would like to emphasise the importance of valuing and respecting each other and to work not only as a team within your clubs, but within our region itself, always in an open, honest and transparent way.
With the worrying issue of dwindling membership, all of this becomes even more important.
Membership is an area we all need to focus on with laser-like precision in 2022. I encourage all Clubs to sign up for the membership seminar on Saturday 2 April 2022 at 14.00 BST on “Taking Membership into the Future”. It will be run by Chevonne Agana, Director of Membership. Please register your interest in attending by emailing selina@sigbi.org. An agenda and the link to the Webinar will be sent out the week before the event to those people who have registered.
Referring back to my talk at the Change of Insignia, remember the words of Helen Keller: ‘Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.’
In friendship
Judith