It is difficult to take one snippet of time and make it representative of the past, present and the future, but this record is a cameo of the Rotary Club of Sandton that was as pertinent a couple of decades ago as it is today and no doubt will be for many years to come.

The maxim of service through fellowship remains as strong now as it was in the club's founding year of 1970.

Those intervening years of fellowship has enabled the community, the country and indeed many other parts of the world, to be that little bit better off because the Rotary Club of Sandton helped in some way.

From the hundreds of young people who have been guided through the minefield of their early years, to the seniors whose twilight years are now secure, the Rotary Club of Sandton has been there for them. The record speaks for itself and it would be easy and somewhat justified, to quote all the achievements of the past thirty plus years, but self praise is no substitute for that youngster who grabbed your hand with his sticky little fingers and said thanks mister'. Neither is it a substitute for the elderly man, who for the first time in his life is able to understand what food labels say after years of buying because he recognised the pattern on the packet.

Sandton Rotarians are like that; their reward is the benefits their work brings to others. This may be difficult to understand in a materialistic world and perhaps that is why many people do not become Rotarians, but then who are the real winners?

The Rotary Club of Sandton has effectively spread the fellowship it enjoys through a network of other Rotary, Interact and Rotaract clubs it has founded and has also shared the talents of its members with other Rotary Clubs through district officers and committees.

It has been my pleasure to be a member of the Rotary Club of Sandton for the past 34 years, and that's a lot of fellowship! Times and members have changed but whilst the focus remains on service through fellowship, we will all remain winners.

PETER DUPEN

Past District Governor.