march 2010 - round table · round table events calendar (april - may 2010) ... national conference...

What’s happeningFor more events, check out the RTI Website athttp://www.rtinternational.org/Events/tabid/59/Default.aspx

Round Table Events Calendar(April - May 2010)Regional RTI Events in red-bold

02-04/04/10 AGM - RT Zambia - Ndola, Zambia08-11/04/10 AGM - RT Tunisia & Sahara Quad Tour 201015-18/04/10 AGM - RT South Africa - Hartenbos, Western Province16-18/04/10 AGM - RT Switzerland - Luzern17/04/10 RT Italy - 2nd National VP meeting - Bassano del Grappa20-23/04/10 Pre Tour - RT Iceland23-25/04/10 AGM - RT Iceland - Reykjavik23-25/04/10 AGM - RT Belgium - Lessines-Ath - 60 years old24/04/10 RT Italy - National golf tournament - Vicenza29/04-02/05/10 AGM - RT Morocco - Casablanca29/04-02/05/10 AGM - RT Denmark - Holstebro - 70th Anniversary30/04-02/05/10 AGM - RT USA - Washington DC30/04-02/05/10 AGM - RT East Africa - Baringo Island Camp, Kenya30/04-02/05/10 AGM - RT Luxembourg06-08/05/10 AGM - RT Arabian Gulf - Bahrain07-13/05/10 Mass Tour - RT Sweden07-09/05/10 RT Italy - National football championship - Ancona08-14/05/10 Edelweisstour - RT Austria09-13/05/10 RT Mauritius Dodo pre AGM Tour13-16/05/10 AGM - RT Africa Region and RT Mauritius AGM13-16/05/10 AGM - RT Sweden13-16/05/10 Euro 65 – De Panne, Belgium14-16/05/10 AGM - National Conference - RTBI - Harrogate 201014-16/05/10 AGM - RT Austria - Vienna - RT14 40th Anniversary14-16/05/10 RT Italy - National motorbike rally - Viterbo17-20/05/10 Pre Tour of the RT Finland AGM - Helsinki to Vaasa20-23/05/10 Afro Euromeeting 28 - Selestat, France21-23/05/10 Euro 15 - Bolzano, Italy21-23/05/10 AGM - RT Finland - Vaasa24-30/05/10 Euro 2 - Lefkosia, Cyprus27-30/05/10 Euro 1 - Tallinn, Estonia28-30/05/10 AGM - RT France - Dole - 60th Anniversary

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March 2010

Rikus Badenhorst

Round TableInternational

President

”Live Round Table”

1

Message from the RTIPresident:Live Round Table!

Dear Brothers in Round Table

Welcome to the March edition of the RoundTable International Newsflash.

First of all, I find myself on a daily basis,thinking of how proud I am to be a Tablerand how fantastic it is to be a member ofthis dynamic organisation. I receive hundredsof e-mails and the occasional phone call everyday with issues concerning Round Table andas far as I can see, the spirit of Round Tableis strong and very much alive all over theworld.

I need to say a very big thank you to theRound Table International Board members,who assist and support me and each otherevery day. Gilles, our Africa Region Chairmanand Secretary accomplishes a mammoth taskevery month to compile and edit all thecontributions for the Newsflash, apart fromhis other duties as Regional Chairman.Romesh, our treasurer and the Asia PacificChairman makes sure that all aspects of theRound Table International finances are takencare of, and still finds time to look for waysof making Tabling better in his region. Daniel,our Membership and CS officer is looking atextension on a daily basis amidst his busytravel schedule to sub-regional and othermeetings and Steve, our Vice-President keepson working on our website and still makehimself available to fill in for travel whenother board members are not able to. I amextremely proud also of our RTI Boardassistants: Nicos Zevlaris – Website, AlexAbela – Accounts and Dave McKay –Newsflash Design, to all of you, as we crossthe half-year mark of this RTI year, a verybig thank you for your dedication and support,your hard work and commitment humblesme every day.

I have had the privilege of attending a fewlocal Table meetings and fundraisers in SouthAfrica this month. The first weekend in Marchwas the Area AGM of the Northern CapeArea, hosted by RT Augrabies 273. The townof Augrabies is situated on the banks of theOrange River, and is named for thespectacular Augrabies Falls. The 800 km drivefrom Cape Town was made shorter withthe company of Johan “Woof” Lindeque,the RT Southern Africa Vice President-elect,

Solidarity with Anja BastaOur brother and friend, Anja “Basta” Razafitsalama, from RTTamatave 3 (Madagascar), suffers from permanent kidneyfailure. His health recently deteriorated and his life is in danger.Currently, he survives with dialysis purification, worth EUR300 each, three times a week. According to his last diagnosis,the only solution for him to recover from this illness is kidneytransplant which is very long and costly surgery (worth aboutEUR 140,000 in France). At the very least, his family and friendseek to organise sanitary evacuation to France for furtherdiagnosis and treatment.

You may direct financial support to thefollowing bank account, quoting “SolidaritéBasta”:

Account Name: Association AmboaraIBAN : FR76 3000 3022 0100 0509 0092 180BIC Adresse Swift : SOGEFRPPTogether we can save his life, our friend'slife

[email protected]://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108587129160785

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and in no time we arrived in Augrabies. One of the mainreasons I went, was to help celebrate the 20th anniversaryof the “FFFF’s” tour. FFFF’s is the acronym for “FriendlyFellows From Far” and celebrates the close relationshipbetween the Northern Cape Area and the Natal North CoastArea – with each area attending the AGM of the other everyyear. The boys from Natal North Coast travelled some 25hours by coach from Durban, and looked a little bit worsefor wear when I met them at the Augrabies Hotel on theFriday afternoon. With the arrival of Franken Stassen (PastRTI Pres) from Johannesburg the weekend started in allearnest, and great fellowship was had by all who attended.We had an excellent party on the Friday evening (the redwine in this Area is very strong!), a great meeting and tourto the Fall’s and local vineyards on Saturday and a veryenjoyable formal dinner on the Saturday evening. The roadback home was made much shorter with many fond memoriesof a great weekend (which meant I was sleeping while Woofwas driving!)

The second weekend in March was dedicated to attendingthe Western Province Area AGM weekend. This was veryably hosted by RT Belville 65 on a wine estate. The entertain-ment was fantastic and we had a very constructive meeting,we even got raided by a local Ladies Circle club on Saturdayafternoon!

Sunday the 14th of March was Round Table International day,and all the Tablers who still had some energy left after theweekend joined me in celebrating RT Day and my 40thBirthday at the clubhouse of Belville 65 along with family,friends from the UK and visiting Tablers/41’ers from Austria.I am extremely grateful to all the Tablers who worked hardto make this day very special, I will never forget it.

A very special thank you to all clubs and Associations whoused this day to celebrate Round Table. Thank you also toall who have purchased our special RT Day Pin, we have, thusfar, sold more than any year before. Please feel free to contactme should anyone still want one of these pins, we will gladlyplace more orders on your behalf.

Last weekend I assisted in convening a very special fundraiser– The first Round Table Cannonball Run Cape.The RoundTable Cannonball Run is a marriage between “The AmazingRace” and a treasure hunt, where participants use their ownvehicles to follow a series of cryptic clues over a weekend.The event is aimed at showcasing some of the hosting regionsscenery, local tourism attractions, the work Round Table doand fun. For the first Round Table Cannonball Run in theCape, we had 15 cars entering, from a few Lamborghini’s,Ferraris, Chev V8’s, Porches to a VW Polo. Apart from all

the fun we had conveningthe event; we also managedto get all the contestants tovisit the “Little Angels Homefor Abandoned-DisabledChildren” in Somerset West,my hometown. It was a lifechanging experience to seethe look in the children’seyes when competitorsoffered joy-rides in theirsupercars. After a handoverof mattresses and specialbeds to the value of Euro4000, I don’t think any of ushad a dry eye – once again,the power Round Table hasto assist those in need amazeme. The weekend was amajor success with funds inexcess of Euro 6000 raised,but equally important, localtelevision airtime in excesso f Euro 45000 wasgenerated with the RoundTab le brand ing veryprominent during the wholeevent.http://www.cannonballrun.co.za/

I am looking forward tovisiting RT Southern Africa’sAGM in mid-April, wherewe will also have our 3rdRTI Board Meeting, RoundTable Belgium’s 60th AGMat the end of April andRound Table Denmark’s70th AGM in the first weekin May. I will also be visitingthe RTBI AGM in mid-Mayand the RT France 60thAGM at the end of May. Ireally look forward to seeingold brothers again and, ofcourse, meeting new familymembers along the way –see you on the road!

Till next time – Keep onLiving Round Table

YiT

Rikus BadenhorstRound TableInternationalPresident


RTI Vice President’s Report onRT Faroe in formation

RT Iceland have been hard at work helping to setup an RT club in the Faroe Islands. These islandshave a long tradition of ties with Iceland and infact some of the population is actually from Iceland.

In mid February 2010 the RT Iceland board advisedus that a contingent of their members togetherwith the whole of their National Board would bevisiting the Faroes in order to meet up with theprospective group so as to show them how theyrun meetings and give them a better understandingof what RT is all about. They invited us to join

them in order to show support for this fledgling group.Considering that RT Iceland were due for a visit from theRTI Board as per the established rotational visits, we jumpedat the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone! The RTIBoard decided that the Islander from Malta should be theone to visit the Islanders of the Faroes and Icelend. We wouldbe able to understand each other better especially whencomparing the size of our populations and the similar problemswe face being cut off from the mainland.

I landed in the Faroes on Friday the 5th March – my fatherwas not too impressed i was missing his birthday for thesecond year in a row!! – expecting to find myself in a freezingland, but found it to be comfortably fresh only. All the boysfrom Iceland had already spent the afternoon at a Brewerytasting a varety of Beers so i had to catch up on the alcoholintake to get to their mental state. We met in a nightclub/restaurant and eat a great steak then continued the nightdrinking and in some cases trying to sing. Following my wholeday of flying i decided to call it a night at around 2am knowingthat we were in for a long day on Saturday.

Saturday started late with a great drive around the town ofTorshavn . It turned out to be a really interesting place withgreat scenery wherever you looked. Trondur Skaalum, theChairman of RT Faroe Islands (in formation) was a great hostand drove us around quite a bit till it was time to head backto meet the rest of the group and get on with the formal partof the weekend. The meeting started off with the Icelandicguys describing and showing us how they hold their meetings.This included each one of us having 30 seconds to give ashort description of ourselves. This helped for us all to getto know each other. The meeting went on to discuss thesituation in the Faroe Islands and the progress the guys aremaking with getting Round Table running properly. Being thatwe met on a Saturday afternoon meant that a number of the

p r o s p e c t i v emembers couldnot attend thismeeting, but onthe positive side,someone we mett h e p r e v i o u sevening, joined usand enjoyed ther e s t o f t h eweekend with us!

Sunday was spentdriving round theislands to enjoythe beautiful wild countryside and learning aboutthe history of these islands. On the whole ibelieve we will have a good table in the FaroeIslands soon and hopefully will be followed by afurther two clubs within a short period of time.Birnir, Trondur and his brother are already realtablers at heart so i am sure they will soon havethings working well so that we can have a Chartersometime in 2011. They also already know howto organise a good event without letting costsput people off. I look forward to being back inthe Faroe Islands in the near future to celebratethe official Charter of RT1.

Meanwhile, the second scope of my visit was tocatch up on the situation with the Icelandic tables.It is commendable that considering the financialsituation in their country, they are still findingthe time to work on extending Round Table intonew territories! From my discussions with theIcelandic Board i was pleased to learn that RTin Iceland is going very strong and is actuallygrowing well. They naturally are finding it difficultto travel to many countries but their nationalboard is doing all it can to ensure that they arerepresented well at all the major meetings.

My weekend finished with another whole daytravelling back to Malta. The worst part of thesetrips home is spending hours waiting at airports.This time i spent five hours in CopenhagenAirport and another two in Brussels! Any chanceof a private Jet in the future!!

Stephen Ganado - RTI Vice President

Happy RT Day 2010!

Dear Rikus, dear Tablers!

On behalf of circlers all over theworld I wish you all a very happyRTI day Sunday March 14th.

Remember Ladies Circle iswalking with you side by side!As ”You’ll never walk alone!”

LCI president KjerstiNorwegian LC president and LCI president

lifting RT Madagascar president.LCI president Kjersti and RTI president Rikus

in India, August 2009

Steve Ganado

Round TableInternationalVice President



Extension Corner -Rechartering RT Spain

“Spain – Who knows people in Spain ?Please use your connections in order toget Spain moving. Potential motherAssociation is France, Daniel Forsbergand Antoine Ferrer will discuss this issuefurther. Werner (RT Germany) willcontact Antoine in order to check withthe legal aspects in Spain.” - This is whathas been discussed on Friday 20thNovember 2009 in Haifa Israel, duringthe EMA IRO’s meeting.

Once upon a time, there was a Round Table in Spain… Yesa round Table had existed in Barcelona for a few years, butit didn’t work out and it quickly closed. Now we are back,working hard to raise a Table in the last country of the “oldEurope” which hasn’t got his Round Table Association yet.By now, 3 towns are in the pipeline: Madrid, Valencia andBarcelona.

Madrid is probably the town where the Round Table Spainwill start again this year. Thank to the international mobilization,three great guys living in Madrid, friends of Belgium, Frenchor Swedish Tablers, were approached and are all willing to

join Round Table as their friends told them howfantastic it is to be a member of this great family.I’m exchanging emails with them quite often andI’ve planned to meet them on May 8, and untilthat date, I hope they will have recruited moreprospective members on their own and thanksto leads received from existing RT Associations.

Valencia has two guys ready to start working onit, but I think they need at least a third to reallyshare different point of view and so begin tothink, work and recruit new potential Tablers.Barcelona, unfortunately, is more on stand-by.Many Tablers said to me that they will send methe e-mail of guys living there, but nothinghappened yet.

Come on guys help me and we will all meet soonfor Round Table Spain chartering ceremony.

Yours in International Tabling

Antoine FerrerPast Area 11 Chairman, RT FranceArtic Ceremony member since [email protected]

Antoine Ferrer

Past Area 11Chairman, RT

France

Tom Albrigtsen

Past Round TableInternational

President 2004/05

Dear Tablers,Welcome to the future !

A future so bright it is unbelievable. You want it all and youwant it now. So why don’t you just go for it. That is whatTablers do.

I would love to see you all embrace our history and searchour roots. Where are we coming from and why was RoundTable founded? Too many have lost their way and haveforgotten that Round Table is a way of life, not just a hobby.

Round Table can be part of your family life, your spare timeAND your professional life. Our busy life style must beintegrated into Round Table. To grow Round Table we must

Special RT Day Column:Past RTI Presidents

address the lack of integration between RoundTable and our profession and our work place.You know it must be done, but are you able todo it?

Every Tabler has a duty to visit the Round TableWorld Meeting at least once in their tabling life.Some of us cannot get enough - see you in Dubai!

I wish you all a great celebration of Round TableDay!

Tom AlbrigtsenRound Table International President2004/2005

In President John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, he providedwhat is quite possibly one of his most famous quotes: "Asknot what your country can do for you -- ask what you canyou do for your country."

Now replace ‘country’ with ‘Round Table’ and if you thinkthat you are having a great time tabling as a floor member,think again! Nothing beats the fun and the privilege of servingthis great organization, whether at Club or National level orbetter still, serving an office within Round Table International.

If you like making friendships that will last a lifetime... If youlike experiencing the rich membership diversity of RoundTable over three continents... If you are made of the rightstuff and not afraid to rise to the challenge of giving somethingback to Round Table, why not consider running forInternational Office?

Enjoying Round Table makes you a better person as youinteract, learning and sharing with other like-minded men.Serving Round Table is a different story altogether. It makesyou appreciate Life’s blessings, surmount common prejudice,discover your humanity and your giving nature and touches

inner recesses and corners within you that younever knew you had.Beware! Serving Round Table can be a lifechanging experience... If you dare rise to theoccasion to serve, I promise you that you willnever be the same person again but I also promiseyou that your experience will not only changeyou but it will touch many other lives that crossyour way too.

If you feel something isn’t quite right about youand you wish to do more with your life, nowyou know at least one other worthy option andcatalyst for a long lasting and impacting changein your life.

Make a difference to your life. Serve Round Tableand become a better man. Take my word for it! It’s true.

Simon CusensRound Table International President2005/2006

Simon Cusens


President 2005/06


What is the best way tocelebrate our RoundTable Day?Remember L’Aquila?

I was asked by RTI Secretary Gilles tocontribute a short article for the specialedition of the RTI Newsflash. I wentthrough all my reports from the last2 years as Vice President and Presidentof RTI and only one really stood out.Only one such report could fit sucha special edition to celebrate our aimsand objects.

It is very difficult to put on paper how I felt and what Iexperienced when I landed in Rome on the 17th of April2009. Sad one can say but at the same time I felt I had amission ! Antonio picked us up from the area of the SpanishSteps one hour late of course due to the unpredictable Romantraffic. Somehow I did not mind this time. L’Aquila was ourdestination and a 2 hour drive away from the Eternal City.The scenery was fantastic with the Apennine Mountainscommanding the horizon endlessly. We have been in Italymany times but never had the chance to travel to this rangethat carves through the length of Italy. It was clear from thejourney and the scenery that nature was in command here.

Just outside L’Aquila we met the rest of the Round Tableteam. National Secretary of Round Table Italy AntonioScipione which comes from Round Table 66 in Chieti andChairman of Round Table 54 in Pescara Roberto Ardizzi.Soon it was clear that we were entering a disaster zone witharmy, police, civil defense and firemen everywhere. Someareas of this ancient city seemed to be un-affected but soonwe faced the first tents and then more tents and then thefirst ruins appeared. After a while traffic which was heavystopped altogether.

We waited patiently for more than 1 hour. The city wasfull of service personnel and yet it was silent. Traffic startedto move again. We reached the official entry point of thecity and here we were told we had to go back. Only theresidents could go in and only with fire brigade escort. Butwe were determined so we asked to see the officer incharge. We explained what we were doing there and thatwe came to help.

We said we are Round Table and the Round Table logo wasvisible not only in our jackets but also in our determination.Soon the officer in charge realized that we were serious andsigned our license to enter the City with special escort. In15 minutes our fire brigade car was ready and we were alsoallowed to use our cars with one of the firemen riding withus as well. At first I did not realized why was all this escortneeded but once we entered the city it was clear.

Cracked pavements, cracked walls and broken up roads andthen empty shops and empty houses some seemed to be ina reasonable state and others in complete ruin. From timeto time one could see a man or a woman standing outsidetheir houses with a lost expression in their face. We had thesame expression. From time to time we also saw parked carscompletely destroyed from the huge rocks landing on themfrom a height of 10 or 20 meters. Other cars were destroyedas the covered parking simply gave way and landed on them.

We reached the perimeter of the historic centerof L’Aquila and we were allowed to stop get outof the cars and walk for a while. Only one wordcan describe the city and that is ghost town. Thefour firemen that escorted our Round Tableteam had several days of continuous work ontheir shoulders and that was clearly marked intheir faces. Yet we were continually remindedby them to walk in the middle of the narrowstreet that was leading to the centre. The dangerof falling rocks was clear and present. As wewalked the same scenery with shops and housesruined. Soon our escort asked us to stop as no-one was allowed beyond this point. One canonly imagine what lied ahead that we could notbe allowed to see.

We returned to the area we parked our carsand then headed to another street. The firemeninsisted that we see this road as well. We walkedover a road (bridge closed to cars) that at theend of it there was a huge crack from one sideto the other and soon we realized what thefiremen wanted us to see: a new hotel inshambles; in complete ruin. It was most stickingto see this ruin in the middle of other multi storybuildings which seemed untouched by the wrathof nature. Our next and final stop was the cityhospital which was about 2 km from the citycentre. Here the police presence was even moreand not even the firemen were allowed in. Thehospital seems to be standing but when youwatched closely the building was obviously unsafewith cracked walls and ruined staircases.

Our mood wassomber but at thesame time I feltthat Round Tablewas given theopportunity to dosomething goodfor the affectedarea and it did.R o u n d T a b l eI n t e r n a t i o n a l ,Round Table Italiaand many RoundTable Associationsaround the worldtook this opportunity and have done somethingto help this unfortunate city. A few days ago Iwas very happy to receive the design for theCommunity Center that will be built in L’Aquila.This is in addition to the initiative of 41 ClubItalia and the 4 Clubs 1 Vision idea.

Tablers, 41ers, Circlers, Agoras and Tangentsthis is the best way to celebrate Round TableDay March 14th 2010. Thank you for anexperience of a life time and letting me workwith my heart for Round Table.

Yours in Table

George M. PsarasRound Table International President 2008/2009

George M. Psaras


President 2008/09


Round Table Lilongwe 32Fun family day was had at the Shack,with lots of friends of Round Tablejoining us for a mini sports day (about40 of us in total) with lots of gamesfor the kids and lots of games forthe adults. We then had a brunchand carried on with the fun andgames.

YiT

Sergio Pinto -Chairman

Round Table Blantyre 20Sixty- seven member countries ofRound Table International usuallycelebrate this day on 14th of Marchand this year Round Table Blantyre20 celebrated by cheering the sickat Q.E.C.H with a donation of soupand buns to 1,000 patients. Tablerspersonally went from ward to wardhanding out the soup and buns.

Blantyre Round Table 20 also wenton a 50/50 donation with ArkayPlastics and donated the plates and

cups to the 1,000 patients. The hospital was verygrateful for this donation. The media was alsopresent to cover this special day event..We latermoved to the Block where a great fellowshipwas had and ended the day on a good note.

Francis Timms -Chairman

Round TableDwangwa 6914th March is the International Dayfor Round Table and RT Dwangwa69 celebrated this day by makingdonations of baby blankets andassorted baby cloths to motherswith newly born babies at NkhotaKota District Hospital.

Receiving the donation, the DistrictNursing Officer, thanked RoundTable Dwangwa 69 for the donationsand asked for more considerationon other departments within thehospital and other clinics all overthe district.

In response, the Chairman, D. Mvula RoundTable is always happy to help where possibleand will not stop raising funds to assist the lessprivileged of our society.

After the donations, Tablers as per traditionwent to Sitima Lodge to enjoy some refreshments.

D. Mvula - Chairman

Special RT Day Column:Table ActivitiesOn the occasion of RT Day 2010, RT Central Africa, RT Eastern Africa,RT Southern Africa and RT Zambia share with us some of the activitiescarried out on 14 March 2010. A special thanks as well to RT Nicosia 1for its outstanding contribution to this column.

Gilles DebertRT Africa ChairmanRTI Secretary and Newsflash Editor

Round Table Equator 28Saturday 13th March 2010 was a unique day for the Tablersof Equator Round Table No. 28 (RT Eastern Africa) whodecided to celebrate the Round Table Day differently by‘Giving’.

The Tablers at their Dinner meeting carried out a smallfundraising amongst themselves to purchase food stuff, pencils,

books, footballs, goodies etc. for a children’shome called ‘St Teresa’s Childrens Home’ situatedin Kisumu.Tablers gathered at the Cosmopolitan Club at2.30 p.m. and headed to the Children’s home.The Home comprises of young orphaned childrenfrom the Baby age to around 6 years of age andhas about 70 children. The Home is owned andmanaged by the Catholic Dioceses of Kisumuunder the supervision of a senior sister.

On our arrival we were welcomed by the littlechildren who anxiously waited for the treat. TheSister took us around and showed us the learningfacilities and the accommodation which was verybasic.


Round Table Burg 167It was overcast when we stopped in the middle of nowhere,not far from what looked like a fairly new farmhouse withneatly trimmed lawns, sticking out like an oasis in the desert.Walking down the muddy driveway, it was like approachinga little piece of paradise as the fine misty rain started itsdescent...

Around 20 Tablers of Drakensberg Area, accompanied bywives and kids, walked this short path to the Swart MfoloziCare Project, located in the most rural bush, about 64 kmfrom Vryheid in Northern KwaZulu Natal. We came togetherhere on the morning of Sunday 14 March, not only incelebration of Round Table day, but also to hand over some150 food parcels to the project leader, Sister Margret Braun. Sister Margret, along with two more Sisters from theCommunity of Christusbruderschaft in Germany, have beenworking alongside the local Chief, Inkosi Dr DV Zondo, andmembers of ELCSA SED Vryheid since 2005, to uplift andsupport the Empangisweni Community. Apart from deliveringmuch needed food parcels to mostly child-headed families inthe area, they offer many more services, including life skillcounselling, HIV/AIDS counselling, assistance with schoolnecessities and general personal empowerment and supportservices. The area they serve is roughly 300sq km in size,with around 6 000 inhabitants. The unemployment rate is

The Chairman of EquatorRT 28, Tb. Mital Shahpresented the items to thech i l d ren who ve rythankfully appreciated ourvisit.

The Tablers spent therest of the afternoonplaying with the childrenand sharing their thoughts.It is very sad that mostchildren lost their parentsthrough HIV/AIDs and

some were abandoned on birth by their mothers – very sadthat these little children have to pay the price of ‘pleasure’.

It is very evident that in ourlittle world, there is a lot ofsuffering because of poverty,disease, bad governance,corruption, greed, lack ofeducation & planning etc.and we as Round Tableshould unite and fight thisto make our world a betterplace not necessarily throughmonetary value but throughprofessional approach andbasic awareness!

Gugu PanesarPresident RT Eastern Africa

RT Zambia Area One Celebrates 83 Yearsof Round Table Existence

Saturday 13th March, saw Tablers from Area one flock to Kitwein readiness for the commemoration of Round Table Day.

The organisation was being spearheaded by a committee put

very high, due in part to thelimited variety of industriesoperating in the area.

In the short time we visited,Sister Margret shared talesof their joys and sorrowswith us. They encountermany obstacles in theirattempts to assist the ruralpeople, not least of whichare the various governmentdepartments that offer littleor no assistance to thesepeople at all. As we sit therelistening, it is hard to imaginethe type of spirit it requiresto fight these fights everyday, and we marvel at the kind of love that thesefour ladies must carry in their hearts.

And in Sister Margret's own accented words,she echoes a sentiment that lies close to everyTabler's heart: "it is hard to do this work, butwe are really very happy when there is a success".

As we said our goodbyes, and returned back tothe dirty vehicles half hidden in the long grass,we were sad to leave, but very happy to havebeen there.

Yours in Table

George van Vuuren - Chairman

Mornay le Roux (Area IRO), George van Vuuren(Area Treasurer), Franz van Zyl (Area Chairman),

in place by the Area Chairman. Daniel Kaundaheaded the committee which included GregMilambo, David Kabika and Kennedy Kabaghefrom RT Kitwe 2, Abraham Bweupe and AzellBanda from RT Ndola 3, Phasion Chiwara andVictor Kalenga from RT Itawa 16.

On the day for the march, Tablers assembled atKitwe Square with almost all Tables in the arearepresented. The Boys Brigade Brass Band wason hand to provide marching sound as we onceagain exhibited to the world that we are amovement that will stand the test of time. Thestart off point was Kitwe UCZ Church justopposite the Edinburgh Hotel. From there,Tablers marched down Independence Street to


the Roundabout and cameback straight up and thereafter proceeded back to theKitwe City Square. After aninteresting march where wewere continuously inter-acting with the public anddistributing fliers, we finallywent to join our informationdesk which was set up nextto the Kitwe Post Office.

Apart from the informationdesk, we had medical

personnel on hand giving free medical check-ups to the public.Response from the public was overwhelming and over twohundred people had been attended two in a space of twohours. Tablers also took turns, ensuring they did not feel leftout in checking their blood pressure levels. When the medicaldesk was being set up, no one could really tell what the turnout was going to be. Within minutes of organizing the desk

we already had a queue of more than 10 peopleanxiously waiting to be attended to.

For over 83 years, Round Table has continuedto bridge the gap between the privileged andless privileged in society by providing a serviceto people who would not normally afford it. Theoverwhelming turn out in Kitwe for free medicalcheckups just show how much a lot of peoplecannot afford proper medical services. RoundTable in Zambia through Area One this yeardedicated some time to interact and serve thecommunity, continuing on the principles on whichour great movement was founded.

Another year gone and Round Table still moveson ! Let us keep on serving!

Abraham BweupeRT Ndola 3

RT Nicosia 1 RT Day Activities

I would like to inform you, as RT Nicosia 1 what we areplanning to do for RT day.

1. The circulation of 20,000 RTI brochures to 20,000 homesin Cyprus via an insert in Politis Newspaper on the Sunday14th of March 2010. The cost of circulation was sponsoredby the newspaper itself.

2. This week as Chairman of RT Nicosia 1, I have given aninterview to the same newspaper. A full page article willbe published on the issue of the coming Sunday 14th ofMarch 2010. This article will include the history of ourclub, the community service we deliver as Round Table,what is Round Table and what it offers to its members.Politis newspaper is the 2nd largest national newspaper inCyprus.

3. The organization on the 13th of March of our main eventin Nicosia which attracted 250 people from all over Cyprusand was supported by ten companies. The objective of theevent was to celebrate the RT day and to support thenational charity of RT Cyprus and support our local charityfor Spastic Children. The event is expected to raise EUR10,000 for charity.

4. Also a meeting was planned and already took place witha speech from the Mayor Nicosia.

5. I would also like to share with you what we did in orderto attract younger members in our club. We have askedall the current members of our club to introduce someyoung people and we organized a special meeting at hotelto present what Round Table is. At this meeting not all themembers of the club were present, currently our club has26 members.

We have done this on purpose because we wanted themeeting to have less participants in order to be easier topresent to the prospective members what is Round Tableand what we are doing. We also wanted these prospective

members to get to know usbetter and if the participants ofthis meeting were around 15would be more convenient.

This meeting was attended by 5new prospective members, the5 Tablers introducing theprospective members, the Boardof RT 1, our Honorary PresidentCostakis Maratheftis, GeorgePsaras & Demetris Shouer. Apresentation regarding thehistory, the aims & objects ofRound Table, what we are doingas RT Nicosia 1, what is ourcommunity project was deliveredby Demetris Shouer usingmultimedia tools. After thepresentation a discussion wasmade around a Round Table.

The presence of our honorarypresident Costakis Maratheftis &George Psaras was very useful.Since the prospective membersunderstood that these twopersons that are also verysuccessful and very well knownin Cyprus by their professional capacity are verynear the Table and willing to act as mentors tothe new members. Mr. Maratheftis is a very wellknown architect in Cyprus and Mr. Psaras is themanaging director of the biggest Actuarial Bureauin Cyprus. Afterwards we had dinner with ourguests and it was a very good opportunity to getto know each other better. The feedback we gotfrom the Tablers that introduced them was verypositive, and all the prospective membersattended another two meetings.

I personally feel that this approach is verysuccessful to attract new members and especiallyyounger ones that will substitute the Tablersthat will retire.

Yours at the TableIosif KorellisRound Table One Nicosia - Chairman

Politis- 14/03/2010OK, most of us can’t read Greek, but

trust us, it’s all about RT

Round Table

LEFKOSIACYPRUS


RT Africa Chairman report on visitingRT Madagascar

I couldn’t attend the RT Madagascar AGM the two consecutiveyears I had planned to due to an annual work seminar 10,000km away from Madagascar the week just before (and since Idon’t have the budget to fly other than economy on regularairlines)... As RT Mauritius President 2008/ 2009, I had beenclosely involved with RT Madagascar applying and getting FullMembership to RT International in 2009, so I really wantedto pay them a visit several years after my last call inAntananarivo (Tana). The Round Table Day week-end seemedthe opportunity I was waiting for.

Tana – 6 years afterThe flight from Mauritius is a short 1h30 direct hop, so I wasquickly in Tana, met at the Ivato international airport byNational IRO Bachy (Alexandre Dupré, for his mother only),National Secretary Rija Ratsimbazafy and Tiana Rambeloson.Not a lot of things had changed since last time I came herein 2004, except maybe for the free visa and the significantlyfaster immigration lanes (always appreciable). It was thebeginning of the afternoon Friday 12, so we all went for apizza lunch (it seems that pizza are more popular in Africathan it is in Italy) in a nearby restaurant owned by the exTabler who convened Indaba 2001. We spent the afternoonchating about Table subjects ranging from local Table life tointernational news, and a few Three Horse Beer (THB) laterand a pit stop at Bachy’s house to drop my luggage, we wereready for the evening program.

ExtraordinaryGeneral MeetingFrom the three active Tablesin Madagascar, two are incapital city Tana and thethird is in Tamatave, on theeast coast, a good 7 hoursaway by road (in fact, onlyabout 250 km away, but youcan’t really drive fast).

The National Board hadplanned a joint businessm e e t i n g a n d a n

Extraordinary General Meeting (hum, it reminds me of myvisit to Kenya in August) that evening, which only Tablersfrom Tana could attend due essentially to the cost of flightfor Tamatave’s Tablers to join in. Before getting there, westopped at Lalaina Rajohnson’s bar in town – and I can confirmLalaina is not only a long time and dedicated Tabler, he alsodoes very decent mojitos).

The meeting venue was RT Madagascar President NicolasGregoire’s house in Ambohibao, and it was well attended byover 20 Tablers, some 41ers, and several prospective members.The main topics on the agenda were the amendment of theNational Constitution to change the AGM date (and therforeretirement date for Tablers), and the adoption of a new RTMadagascar logo in line with the RTI branding guidelines. Themeeting went smoothly in an excellent atmosphere (andexcellent food as far as I remember) with the next nationalAGM moved to the first half of April 2011 (the week endimmediately before ARTSA 2011) in order to matches theAfrica region period of AGMs, and a new logo compliant withthe international branding guidelines adopted (you can see itin RT Madagascar article later in this edition of the Newsflash).

Integrating RT Madagascar back into theAfrica regionI was given the floor by the Chair during thecourse of the meeting, and the topic of myintervention was centered around the importanceof RT Madagascar for the diversity and dynamismof our region. Madagascar chartered its firstTable in 1995, the National Association is turning15 this year and used to count up to 5 Tablesfor a few years, they organised an Africa RegionalMeeting in 2001, and recently run a EUR 50kproject with the Akany Solofo orphanage. RTMadagascar managed to do all this without a lotof international exposure, save their privilegedand continuous relationship with motherAssociation RT France. Over the last few years,new exchange were initiated with neighbouringIndian Ocean islands Reunion and Mauritius (atripartite fellowship MOU signed in 2006), andan inter-table twinning concluded between RTTamatave 3 and RT Saint-Pierre 291 Réunion Island.But as far as the AfricaRegion was concerned, RTMadagascar more or lessdisappeared from the radarfor several years. I have beenaround in the region longenough not to see RTMadagascar follow the sameexit path as WARTA (WestAfrica RT Association – nowRT Senegal), once a memberof the Africa Region, butwhich left due to distance and language reasons(the Africa Region is entirely English speaking,save Mauritius which uses French as much andMadagascar of course). The geographic locationof Madagascar makes the distance argumentredundant, and thanks to a new generation ofTablers, the language barrier could be moreeasily overcomed. RT Madagascar is now a fullmember of RTI and decided to take an activerole in the Africa Region – they have bid to hostthe RT Africa Regional meeting in 2012, and Iwouldn’t be surprised to see a Malagasy Tablertaking the top job in the Region and sitting onthe RTI Board in a not so distant future.

Chilling outThe Friday evening endedquite late in a Tana discowith Bachy and Lalaina, I amnot 20 anymore so neededa quiter Saturday to recover.Bachy decided he neededsome adrenaline and headedus to an international-classgo-kart race track about 35km out of town (basically inthe middle of nowhere !).T h e r e , h e c o u l ddemonstrate his pilotingabilities v/s Rija, with Nicolas,Tiana and myself taking bets.

Back in town, this was timefor a foot massage at Big

Gilles Debert

Round Table AfricaChairman andRound TableInternational

Secretary

“Live Round Table”

Bachy versus Rija

Bachy chilling out after the race

Swapping Banners with RT MadagascarPresident Nicolas


Foot, a special treat Bachyand Nicolas seem to enjoyquite often.

RT Day 14 March 2010The next day Sunday, RTMadagascar held a family gettogether at the „Club duCAR“ sports and leisureclub, not far from the Ivatoairport (I had to leave by 2pm to catch my return flight– thank you for the attentionguys). The day was attended

by a dozen Tablers with wives & kids, 41ers and Circlers, ina very relax and friendly atmosphere by the pool and a tastyhot & cold buffet. OK, no PR was done to promote RoundTable, but considering the institutional crisis that the countryis been going through for over a year now, you guess peoplehave other significant concerns, like keeping their businessafloat or just keep their jobs... In fact, considering the uncertainenvironment, the performance of RT Madagascar is evenmore commendable !

RT Day with RT 1Cyprus

A week before RT Day, Iwas in the departure loungewaiting to start my trip tothe Faroe Islands when ireceived a message from mygood friend Past RTIPresident George Psarasinviting me on behalf of RT1Cyprus to celebrate RoundTable Day with them thefollowing weekend.

Whilst feeling very honoured with this invitation i told himI needed to clear it with Chantal, my wife, since she waspassing through a hard time following the loss of her father.(Thank you once again to all those who messaged with theircondolences) George immediately told me i should get heralong as he was sure it would do her good to get away fora few days. After a quick call to Chantal i rushed to book theflights before boarding my plane, incurring a call from aboveto get to the gate immediately!So a week later, we were back at the airport heading for theother sunny Mediterranean island to enjoy the company oftrue friends. RT1 Chairman Iosif Korellis picked us up fromthe beautiful new Larnaca airport terminal and whisked usoff to our hotel to freshen up for dinner with George, Renee,Nicos Zevlaris, Petros Stylianides, Hassan and a few others.This was the start of a weekend of great food and wine......andthe end of my diet!

Saturday morning was the start of a long day. George andHassan picked us up and we headed into the Troodosmountains to enjoy the great scenery and visit the villagesincluding the place we had that great outdoor dinner duringthe RTI AGM in Cyprus in 2007, Omodhos. The tour continuedto a small restaurant in the middle of nowhere, where weenjoyed some amazing meze which we just couldn’t stopeating! It turned out that George has been coming to thisplace since he was a kid so he definitely knew where he wastaking us. Thanks to Georges’ calm driving (Chantal was

Before leaving, I re-iterated the message to seeRT Madagascar more visible in the region in thefuture and how important their contribution is.I am confident this already experiencedAssociation, which has overcome its firstgeneration change with founder members gone,will meet the challenge of its time !

Many thanks to Bachy and Nicolas for hostingand organising it all, to Rija, Lalaina and Tianafor the extra serving of fellowship. Also, a veryspecial thought for Dominique, RT MadagascarVP, who couldn’t attend the week-end as he hadto fly his 7-day premature daughter to Reunionto receive emergency and life-saving medicalattention. I look forward to seeing you soon inMauritius and Dubai, where I know you areplanning a large delegation !

YiT

Gilles DebertRT Africa Chairman & RTI Secretary

definitely relieved I was not driving!), and Hassan’sability to make us laugh every minute, we had awonderful relaxing day.

The RT Day celebration dinner was beingorganised in our hotel so we had time to relaxbefore heading down to meet the 200+ guestsamongst whom were the Italian Ambassador anda Cypriot member of Parliament. The Italianthemed event was well organised with greatfood, wine and entertainment, including a fashionshow and a beautiful Ferrari on show! It wasgreat meeting all the Cypriot Tablers and naturally,exchanging pins with them. The event kept goingto the early hours of the morning with lots ofdancing and merry making. It was a great way ofraising awareness about Round Table and at thesame time bringing the members together foran enjoyable evening.

It was a great pity that we were heading backhome the following morning, but not before Iosifdrove us down to the coast to visit some otherparts of Cyprus. The Cypriot efforts to publiciseRT did not stop at the dinner but they alsoorganised a full page article in one of the mainSunday newspapers together with an insert ofthe RTI Brochure. What else could we ask for!

Chantal and I would like tothank RT1 Cyprus andespecially George Psaras fortheir fantastic hospitality. Itwas a great way to celebrateRound Table Day and alsothe perfect antidote Chantalneeded to take her mind offher unhappy thoughts!Thank you very much andkeep up the sterling work!

Stephen GanadoRTI Vice President

Steve Ganado

Round TableInternationalVice President



RT Madagascar - the way forward

For over 10 years now, RT Madagascar has managed to makea significant impact in the “Red Island”. A decade of sharedfriendship has allowed us to promote the RT values dear toour hearts and to implement projects that have made adifference, projects in which we have reached out to peoplefrom other cultures and backgrounds. In doing so, we havealso managed to maintain the energy of our clubs and renewour membership base.

In true Round Table spirit, RT Madagascar works constantlyto integrate Tablers from various backgrounds and origins.Debates and discussions of all kind occur among young leadersso that they can open up and thrive both on a personal andprofessional level.

Today, RT Madagascar relieson more than 50 activeTablers spread among threeclubs: Table n°1 and n°2 inAntanan arivo, Table n°3 inTamatave, on the Easterncoast. These 3 clubs worktogether to strengthen theirfriendship, integrate newmembers and preserve theRT spirit by holding thebimonthly Table meetings.RT Madagascar has alsodeveloped internationalcontacts with clubs all over

the world, notably –but not limited to- France, La Ré'8eunionand Mauritius. Also, despite the delicate situation in thecountry currently, Tablers have done their best to help thosein need of assistance through social action service projects.

To sustain those projects over the years, RT Madagascar hashad to overcome the challenge of members’ renewal. Therehas been a particular focus on this goal for the past 2 yearsas almost half of the first genera tion Tablers reached the agelimit between 2008 and 2009, a period during which RT

Madagascar has neverthelessbeen able to increase thenumber of its members.Remarkably, the average agein our clubs is now less than30, thus guaranteeing for thenext few years the future ofthe RT movement and thefuture of the projects thathave been initiated.

2009 was also a landmarkyear for RT Madagascar.Thanks to the initiative ofour National IRO, who attended the RTI GeneralMeeting in Alkmaar, Madagascar is now a fullmember of RTI. In addition to having gainedvoting rights and making new contacts in theTablers’ network, this new status has greatlyexpanded RT Madagascar’s horizons, especiallyfor the young Tablers who may now enjoy theopportunities to travel internationally, discoverthe RT world and make new friends.

Regarding projects, in 2008 we teamed up withthe RT France National Board to stage our mostbeautiful act of friendship to date: with the FrenchTable’s financial assistance, the Malagasy Tablershave supported and funded the construction ofthe Akany Solofo orphanage. This project is thesymbol of 3 victories for RT Madagascar: theunwavering friendship with RT France -afriendship that has persevered throughout theyears, the culmination of a constant and fruitfulsupport of the orphanage for the last 10 years,and, above all, a gesture from the heart with andfor the 300 children that we hope may one dayjoin our ranks.

Friendship, perseverance, heart: 3 victories thatare, and must remain, the foundation of the‘Malagasy’ Round Table spirit for the years tocome.

Dominique MoncheauxVice PresidentRT Madagascar

Cheque donation by RT France at AkanySolofo Orphanage

Akany Solofo kids

Lenny Gabriel, the latest inducted Tablerin Seychelles RT 2... whose heart waswith Table since he was 18 months

Lenny tells us his story: “Five weeks after I was born, mymom started noticing that I was constantly turning blue andhad difficulty breathing. So the following Monday, my momwent to the doctors. I was put under observation for oneweek at the Victoria hospital. Tests showed that I had multipleholes in my heart and several improperly formed valves.Unfortunately surgery was expensive and not available inSeychelles. I was thus placed on a waiting list by the Seychellesgovernment for overseas treatment.

A year went by and nothing happened. I was getting more

and more ill. Times were desperate. On thegovernment list, only one child had gone in thatwhole year and I was 5th on the list! It was clearthat time was running out. My parents decidedto look for alternative help.

The Director of Medical Services at that timesuggested that my parents seek help from theSeychelles Round Table which my parents dulydid. My dad made contact with Mr. JamseedPadiwalla who was Seychelles RT 2 Chairman atthat time.

Round Table accepted and fervently began todo their research which led them to contactCape Town Round Table in South Africa. It so


happened that the Father of the Chairman of the Cape TownRT was the head of the Cardio-Vascular unit at the Children'sRed Cross Hospital in Cape Town. Upon hearing of my direneed he quickly agreed to help. I was given priority above allelse.

We were quickly flown to Cape Town, tests were done andon Day 2, surgery was performed. The operation was asuccess and after 3 weeks I returned to Seychelles.

RT Cape town paid for all medical expenses and transportation.Accommodation was provided by RT Cape Town members.My parents stayed at the homes of various Cape Town Tablersduring those three weeks. They have remained great friendsup till now and constantly write each other long letters everyChristmas season.

I am now fully fit. I can do all sports; in fact I’m one of thosepeople that love to do exercise. I have no complicationwhatsoever. I am fitter than most people. If it wasn’t for my

scars most people wouldhave never known.

It was only this year at age26 that I heard of RTSeychelles’ involvement inmy surgery. I had alwaysthought my parents paideveryth ing or wheresponsored by their company.As soon as I found out, I feltan urge to join Table. Iwanted others like me toget a second chance. Afterall if it wasn’t for Table Imight not have been heretoday!”

Lenny GabrielSeychelles RT

SRT2 Chairman Ashvin inducting Lenny underthe watchful eye of Andy.

members the chance to embrace life to the full.’ You justread the first 2 sentences on our RTI website.

Unfortunately that is not going to make it in New York City,where running Round Table 1 New York over the past 20years has been a challenge, to make an understatement. Onemight assume that the Big Apple, reaching 18.8 million people,is a comfort zone for growing a Round Table club.Unfortunately, the opposite is rather true. Just google ‘thingsto do NYC today’. I often refer to it as Gotham’s Competitionfor Events and Friendship.

Despite the amazing efforts of 2 great Tablers (Irfan Ahmadand Michael Nagykery, who deserve a RT Lifetime AchievementAward) keeping the RT flame burning for over 20 years,RT1NY and RT USA has never reached the hearts of Americanyoung men. Tabling in the US has seen its ups and downs,mostly defined by the number of overseas expats/Tablersthat were in the city for a number of years. The most recentexodus of expats out of New York and job losses as a resultof the financial crisis left our team with even more challenges.Unfortunately we had to let go some of our best guys,returning to their home countries in 2009.

We keep on going, and with success. It seems that we arenow on the right track. Our Table here in NYC has beengrowing strongly, while conserving the quality of membersand prospect members. Adding new strong Tablers obviouslyrequires a strong, recogniseable and consequent club structure,in sync with our key Table countries in Europe, Asia and

Africa. A structure thatprovides guidelines and awell-built infrastructure forthe future. Why? Becausewe believe that we reallyunite people from all overthe wor ld and formfriendships with a capital F.and are we different fromthe Tables overseas? Let’suse the words of VincentVega in Pulp Fiction. It is allabout the same thing asoverseas, but it is all just alittle bit different.

How many Clubs unite Hungarian, Pakistani,English, Belgian, Swedish, German, Romanian,Indian, Dutch, Finnish and French Tablers?Obviously we are all friends, but we never reallygrew up together like most of you. In many casesat home, the Table we joined or grew up withis a Table of longtime friends and also a longfuture ahead. A Table of many cultures and a`non-existing past` of friendships with anuncertain, in many cases, short future ahead. Apool of guys, trying to make it happen here. Andif you can make it here…

My fellow NY Tablers are all part of one of themost unique Table in (without any doubt) thegreatest city in the world. I‘ve lived in many areasin the world, but I can tell you, NYC beats all.Not because of the city itself, but foremostbecause of its people, warm, resilient, and withouta doubt entrepreneurial in its true meaning:people who change the world. Friendship,community, ...NY is just the materialization ofwhat Tabling is all about. That is why we’ll succeedin the future winning the hearts and spreadingthe soul of our organization, Round Table.

Olivier SmekensChairmanRound Table New York No.1

A little growthstory from theBig Apple

‘Fun, friendship andtrying something newand exciting, that's whatRound Table is all about.From sports to arts andnights out at restaurantsto family social events,Round Table pridesitself on giving its


Round Table ItaliaCarnival 2010 inVenice: I wasthere!

A great party! A greatmoment of friendship! Anda great moment for theTablers! I like to rememberthe Pisani Moretta R.T.I.event in Venice with thesewords: a beautiful soiré'8eewhere we have met Tablersfrom countries and clubs allover the world.

Round Table is a great way to serve and a great way to spendthe best years of our lives, in friendship, sharing ideas, projectsand services: I was very happy to see again the friends that Ihave met, in these years, in the Round Table events.

Approaching the Palazzo on the Canal Grande is really breath-taking experience: you see the lights of this magic town thatlooks at you, shining in the night and in the water. The galadinner, in costumes, created a unique atmosphere and bringus all in the 18th century with shining candle lights all around.

At the end of the dinner we have had a funny time with livemusic played “all night long” by the band and by the VillageGirls group: it was really great!

Late, in the night, we cameback to the hotel (transportsand accommodation wereexcellent) and spend sometimes talking about thebeautiful time and thinkingabout the tomorrow tourof the “calle” and the“bacari” in Venice.

People says that “Venice isa unique and internationaltown”. I would like to saythat “Round Table is aunique and international wayto live in friendship and fun”.I hope to see you all onMarch 4, 2011 Venice Carnival: as we did lastyear, as we have done on this February and aswe'll do again next year!

Thank you to Round Table, Ladies Circle andClub 41er/ Old Tablers from Austria, Belgium,Denmark, Estonia, France, Wales, Germany,England, Morocco, The Netherlands, Romania,Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, and Israel.

Daniele Bedogni :RT 12 RiminiCarnival promoterandPaolo Tonini: National Happenings OfficerRound Table Italy

RT Suomi Finland AGM 2010

Fellow Tabler’s,

10 years of prosperity and peace has made the coast rich andfat. It's time to break that harmony... hide your daughters,kegs of rum and wives of gods, for the Trolls from the West.Tablers are coming for you !

Welcome to Odin's raid to Vaasa Finland. This frenzy willmake every sister lady and brother Tabler rich of new andunique experiences. Meet others like you and have a greatfiesta in good company. Once promised by our IRO we arechallenged to arrange Pre Tour prior to AGM. Pre tour willtake place in 17th - 20th of May. Tour will start from Helsinkion Monday and journey to Vaasa on Thursday. Moreinformation will be published on our website as details aretortured from the slave committee. This tour will have limitednumber of donkeys to carry you.

Once your ship has landed to Vaasa you will have fully bookedweekend in great company. Did we mention that Ladies CircleFinland is having 50th birthday? Let me tell you a secret... 2/3registered participants are ladies...

Here’s the menu:

Thursday 20 May: • Golf, practice• Dark Side of Vaasa-tour

Friday 21 May: • RT Golf invitational• National board meetings• Alternative program for international guests on world heritage area• Odin’s Feast –party (Pohjola-ilta)

Saturday 22 May: • Annual General Meetings (LCSF 50th jubilee meeting)

• Banner Lunch• Alternative program for international guests on sea• Gala dinner & party

Sunday 23 May: •Head hangers Ball & Farewell

So pack your vessel full of fellow Tablers andhead for Vaasa, Finland, for great event full ofRound Table spirit, entertainment, good foodand plenty of drinks.

YIT

Markus FormaConvenor AGM2010 Vaasa, Finland

Programme Gastronomie et vins

Dates Place

23 May Evening Arrival at Montceau TGV, Diner (gastronomique) with tabler from south burgundy at a red book star’s restaurant

24 May Morning Wine tasting in Chalon’s Coast, 3 starr restaurant

24 May Evening Wine tasting in Beaune’coast & diner with Beaune’s tabler and wine maker

25 May Day Beaune’s city visit, lunch then wine tastingin (côte de Nuits)

25 May Evening Diner in Dijon at a well known’chief with local Tabler

26 May Day Visit of Dijon, lunch, then wine tasting in Arbois, visit of a distillery & diner in Pontarlier

27 May Day Visit of (fruitiêre), lunch the diner in Montbeliard with Tabler

28 May Morning Lunch in a red book star’s restaurant &arrival in Dole


RT France 60thAnniversary AGM Pre-Tour

Drink & eat well in Burgundy-Franche-ComtéWhat is more of the French culturethat drink good wines, share goodmeals and have fun ? To pay tributeto the 60th anniversary of this oldlady called Round Table, we haveorganised an amazing course withinthe RT France Area 6 to make youdiscover our values.We invite you to a visit from ourred book’s chefs to the little goodlocal tips. You will taste wine in vatfrom the well known «Grand Cru»to the delicate fine wines from littleburgund’s wine growing villages.

You will meet Tablers and buffs who make leave our land,our values and who lightly wear the colour of friendship.

Tablers from Burgundy & Franche Comté gathered to sharewith you what is dear for them: LOVE LIFE, LOVE FRIENDSHIPAND SHARE WINE, FOOD & GOOD TIME

BURGUNDYOf course Burgundy is about Great wines Montrachet,Meursault, Pommard, Volnay, Beaune, Nuits St Georges,Vosnes Romanée, Gevrey Chambertin, Chambolle... but alsoabout a lot of appellation from Macon Coast, Chalon, Beaune,Nuits... Burgundy isn’t only about wines, it’s also a matter ofmeat, cheese, great restaurants and the seat of the famousburgundy’s dukes. But before everything, Burgundy is aboutgood old fashion way of life. It is this diversity that we offeryou to share with the Macon, Montceau les Mines, Autun, LeCreusot, Chalon, Beaune, and Dijon Round Tables. You willbe hosted in each Table for memorable meal, you will meetproducers, wine makers, red book stars’ chiefs, buffs, andloads of new friends...

FRANCHE-COMTEFranche Comté is of course made of cheese growing placesand old wineyards from Chateau Chalon to Arbois. FrancheComté is also good Tabler, warm people and a deep «joiede vivre». You will see gorgeous landscapes, great forest, themont of Jura, wild lakes and also some typical products asPont anisé, Cancoillotte, Morbier, Vacherin, Boîtes Chaudes.You will discover how good wine accommodates with cheese.But above all, Franche Comté is about remarkable men whowill be really hard to beat at partying & clubbing and believeme, many have already tried!

795 Euros per personwith accomodation, meat and wine.

LIMITED to 30 persons

Jean Michel BALIGAND [email protected] France Area 6 IROhttp://agmdole2010.com


Swiss Mad Cow Tour -RT 31 Euromeeting 2010

Hi everybody!

You are looking at the official flyer for the RT 31 Euromeetingin Switzerland.

Here you will find all the important, not so important andtotally useless information that you need to know about thisfun and unique event.

As usual, there will be the main RT Euromeeting on theweekend and the Pre-Tour that will take place the days before.As the more experienced Tablers among you know, the Pre-Tour gives you the fantastic chance to get to know the areathat you are visiting, some of its social and cultural aspectsand most of all your fellow Tablers. So don’t miss it!

Place & Date:We will be based in Zurich Switzerland. This is where theEM main event takes place on the weekend and from wherewe start the Pre-Tour. You can fly in, take the train or car.The earlier you know how and when you get here, the better.Please let us know, so we can plan the pickups. You will behosted by the Tablers, but if you prefer to stay at a hotel,please let us know. Kids are of course welcome.

The following dates are fixed and should be included in allyour calendars:• Pre-Tour: 6th - 10th of June 2010• EM Main Event: 11th -13th of June 2010

Pre-Tour Program:

Saturday 5 June• Individual arrival in the morning or the afternoon• Checking in with your hosts• Barbecue at the «Züfrisee» at 17:00

Sunday 6 June – Thursday 10 JuneWe have arranged a Pre-Tour that includes trips to severalinteresting locations and some cultural highlights of Switzerland.We will be in the alps but also in the city, so you can climba rock, and you can go shopping, partying, drinking... Oh well,we think you get the picture. Here is a glimpse of some ofthe program:• Hiking in the alps, also for the not so sportive, and spending

a night up there• Experiencing some Swiss traditions like Hornussen• Visiting a cheese factory• Boat trips and barbecue at the lake of Zurich• Etc.

EuroMeeting Main Event:

Friday 11 June• Individual arrival in the morning or the

afternoon• Checking in with your hosts, first visit of the

surroundings• Official Welcome-Party at the legendary

Cabaret Voltaire at 18:00

Saturday 12 June• The Underground to Underwear

ExperienceUnderground Tour: Visiting the city’s underbellyUnderwear Tour: Shopping & sightseeing in afancy neighbourhood

• RT Banner Exchange at 18:00• Gala Dinner in the evening

Sunday 13 June• Farewell Brunch• Transportation Service to airport and

trainstation

Costs:We tried our best to keep costs low. Unfor-tunately, it will not be the cheapest RT Euro-meeting you will ever attend, but certainly thecheapest vacations in Switzerland you ever took.The costs are:

1000 Euros(per person for Pre-Tour & EM main event)300 Euros(per person for the EM main event only)

The respective amount is to be prepaid inadvance. There is an earlybird reduction of 10%if you pay before the 31st of January 2010. Kidsunder two years don’t pay anything, kids fromtwo to twelve pay half price.

Please transfer the amount, after you have filledin the online-registration form for the event thatyou wish to attend according to the instructionsbelow. The transfer is to be made to Zurich RT31’s bank account, which is:

UBS IBAN: CH 97 0020 6206 P076 9723 0To the Attention of: Round Table ZCH 31,C/o Axel Foelster, Zollerstrasse 24, 8703Erlenbach

Moritz Nauer - RT Zurich 31Euro 31 Convenor

16

Credits:

Editor :Gilles DebertOn behalf of the RTI Board

Graphic Design:Dave McKayMac DesignsRT Southern Africa

Contributors : (with thanks !) -Rikus Badenhorst, Kjersti P. Irgens,Steve Ganado, Antoine Ferrer,Tom Albrigtsen, Simon Cusens,George M. Psaras, Sergio Pinto,Francis Timms, D. Mvula,Gugu Panesar, George van Vuuren,Abraham Bweupe, Iosif Korellis,Dominique Moncheaux,Lenny Gabriel, Daniele Bedogni,Paolo Tonini, Olivier Smekens,Markus Forma, Jean-MichelBaligand, Moritz Nauer

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Some commentsreceived to date A Belgian polar bear was reported inTromsø during Hakapikken 2010, witha copy of the RTI Newsflash in hand...Stijn, please note this is an endangeredspecies (the polar bear)

march 2010 - round table · round table events calendar (april - may 2010) ... national conference...

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