IFFR’s 2024 AGM was held by zoom on Thursday 13 June with around 70 members “present”.
World Secretary Ian provided the financial report. Because the funds currently held in the World bank account for the running of the organisation are particularly healthy at the moment, it was agreed IFFR World would not seek the $5 per member annual subscription from the sections for 2025.
Members agreed to the (former) Scandinavian Section being renamed the Nordic Section, and to an expanded territories list covering all its countries, dependencies and autonomous regions. The bylaws have been amended accordingly.
I shared the news of the IFFR Flyer of the Year Award, IFFR’s highest recognition award. This year it had been presented at the IFFR Gala Dinner in Singapore during the Rotary International Convention jointly to John Ockenfels and Peter Teahen for their around the world Flight to End Polio. Overcoming mechanical, meteorological and medical challenges, their success mission has now seen them raise over $2m!. It was my pleasure also to award a Presidential Citation to IFFR Australia Section Chair Rob Hannemann for being an excellent IFFR Ambassador – facilitating the 2023 Flyway and generously supporting IFFR members from around the world.
We reviewed the events held round the world recently and those planned for the rest of 2024. We also celebrated that as we approach the end of the 2023/24 Rotary Year, we have just slightly more members of IFFR than we had two years ago – mainly due to the success of IFFR Hong Kong growing its membership to become the largest section. And so we remain one of the largest, most diverse, most active and most international of all the Rotary Fellowships.
And finally – we introduced the new leadership team under incoming World President Mike McFarlane, who will be taking office at the start of the new Rotary year.
As ever, it was a pleasure to see so many members joining us from all around the world, at all times of the day – or for those in Hong Kong, in the middle of the night.
I formally handed over the reins to World President-Elect Mike McFarlane at the end of the meeting – although the celebration of handing over the Presidential Chain of Office will take place at the Gala Dinner in Copenhagen, during the Nordic Section meeting which forms the start of the IFFR European Quickstep Flyaway at the beginning of July.
