Our guest speaker on Thursday 1st August was Dave McKissock, South Island District Governor. Although well 
known to several members of our Club, he gave us a brief introduction as to who he was and 
what inspired him. He is called ‘The energiser’. A very keen sportsman in several sports, rugby, 
soccer, cricket, motor sports and volleyball, more recently a referee in volleyball and refereed in 
19 international games. He was a qualified diesel mechanic and then switched to teaching and 
eventually started his own careers advisory business placing people with disabilities in work, a 
job he did for 19 years.
Dave outlined the International Action Plan and encouraged us to be champions of the Plan. 
While acknowledging Rotary numbers are in decline he believes small subtle changes can make 
a big difference. Dave outlined his goals for his time as governor. Bold yet achievable.
Rotary’s impact nationally and internationally in bringing about positive change in peoples lives 
and communities is impressive. Dave encourages us to tell those stories. He shared 3: stories 
entitled “The Magic of Rotary.” The water filtration units for schools and hospitals in Kiev, which 
9999 District donated the money for that project, the ‘Interplast’ project with Dr McGlynn. He 
operated on a young girl whose mouth was on the side of her face. She is now married with 3 
children. The last story was about the Water filtration units for the Dominican Republic. The 
international president for Rotary Stephanie Urchick turned on the tap and clean water flowed 
out. After turning the tap off, 2 little boys pulled on her skirt asking her to turn on the magic 
again. So for us let the magic begin.

 

Dave enjoyed meeting everyone, and visiting the club's project sites at West Harbour and Rotary Park with members Gordon, Peter and Neil.