What an exciting year it has been for the Rotary Club of Ryde! From a PR perspective, I couldn’t have asked for a better year.
The biggest news was of course our involvement in building the school in Borjegai, Afghanistan. Such a good news story enabled us to get front-page billing in the Northern District Times, with a huge photograph and a headline “Ryde’s New School – 11,700km away”. Just recently, we landed on page 4 of the Sydney Morning Herald. We also got press in Rotary Down Under, thanks to PDG Alex Sawyer’s support and perseverance.
John Booth and his Weekly Times team has been an incredibly generous supporter of our Club this year, giving us numerous cover stories and column space galore, for The Tree of Joy and Red Shield Appeal, School Public Speaking Competition and our big Graffiti (Paint Vandalism) program, headed up by the dynamic PP Charles Kilby.
I have to say, much of this publicity had me running on autopilot this year, such is the momentum and influence the Club seems to have in the area these days. I have had so much support by each Club member driving each event that they run, my job was a breeze!
While the press juggernaut forged onward – whether I was manning the helm or not – I was able to put a great deal of my efforts into the new Club Website, which launched on 12 August 2010.
Since launching, our Website: www.ryderotary.org.au – has had 5,000 visitors and has attracted all kinds of interest. Old friends have made contact, people have applied to give presentations to our Club, applied for scholarships, asked for support, offered to help out and asked about joining. With continued attention, updating and maintenance, the Website can only become a more and more valuable asset to the Club. I am very proud to have been in a position, both as PR director and as part of my chosen vocation, to have been able to facilitate this for the Club, of which I am equally proud to be a member.
I have to say a huge thank you to Adrian Hallet, my right-hand man, who is now stepping up into the PR directorship for 2011–12 – and rightly so. He is a one-man PR machine. With his trailers and signage, tools and gadgets. Adrian is always there to help. He makes 110% look like a cop-out. He is always out there – on the ground at events and programs, flying the Club banners and stamping our name clearly around the city.
I thank the Club for having faith in me this last year and look forward to seeing what Adrian is going to deliver, as I focus exclusively on the Website and online marketing for the Club in the year ahead.
