President’s Message 25 September 17

I noticed after our meeting last week that a
number of our members spoke to our
guest speaker Tony Shields, perhaps
enquiring about the collections of stamps
or coins gathering dust in their cupboards?
If anyone does happen to find a lost
treasure it would be nice to share that
story with the Club. I might even dig out
my own collections, but I am not holding
my breath.
As President, I receive lots of emails from
RI and from other Clubs. Today one
arrived from the Bequest Society of RI. A
Rotarian can make a pledge and have it
recorded. Personally I think that a better
option might be to consider a bequest in
your Will, whether it be to a specific cause,
such as Polio Plus or ONJ or to something
at our Club or District level. In my practice
when I take instructions from clients who
are trying to decide how much to leave to
a particular person or cause, I advise them
to consider their wealth at the present date
and then determine an amount or a
percentage for the gift on that basis, rather
than trying to look into the future. A gift of
say $20,000 from your net wealth may not
make much difference to your family, but it
might make a big difference to a Rotary
cause. I always also advise my clients that
they should review their Wills perhaps
every 5-10 years. I encourage you all to do
just that and to see if there is room to
consider Rotary.
President Tony