Handover Night: Thank You, President Tiziana!

Tuesday, June 25, was a very special meeting as we said goodbye to our outgoing president, Tiziana Richiardi, and welcomed our new president, Christian Göttker. It was incredible to see that 57 people had signed up for the meeting! It resulted in us having to move to the 3rd floor of the hotel, to a much bigger room. You could really feel the atmosphere in the venue as all the attendees were seated.

The first half of the night was an emotional farewell. Tiziana shared her journey through the year of being president. It was particularly surprising to hear that Tiziana was initially nervous about public speaking, given how confidently she speaks in front of us all. Tiziana had many people she wished to thank and awards to give out. Each awardee received a special certificate and a cactus plant! It was immense to see Tiziana’s level of gratitude. Her video detailing her journey had the soundtrack ‘I will survive’. There was a clear message to be grasped from this song. Whatever fears we have, we will overcome them. Tiziana had demonstrated this well during her presidency. We were also overjoyed to see Tizana awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF +2) – a fitting way to conclude her time as president.

Then she handed it over to Christian, who gave us a powerful speech in which he paid tribute to Tiziana and laid out his vision for the Rotary Club. It was a real delight to hear Christian’s carefully thought-out ideas, and Rotarians were left in doubt that Tiziana has a highly worthy successor here.

Other highlights of the night included the induction of Kevin Gouldman, who had the rare honor of being inducted by two presidents! Also, it was incredible to see how many people wanted to ring the bell when it came to Happy Money. In the end, an awesome 11022 RMB was raised for Yushu Middle School. The money will go to help them buy some much-needed desks and chairs.

A wonderful night was had by all. We thank our IPP, Tiziana, for all her hard work and dedication. We wish our new president, Christian, all the luck in the world as he begins his presidency. It is exciting to see what this new Rotary year will bring.

Written by Secretary Rohit