It was a night when the stars came out to walk the red carpet at the Rotary Oscars- the glitzy Changeover night for the Rotary Club of Somerville at the Apothecary, Howick.
The A-listers were at their glamorous best as trigger-happy paparazzi got their best profiles.
The turn-out was great as the suave presidents– past and present–from neighbouring Rotary Clubs including Rotary Club of Pakuranga, Highbrook, Howick, Pohutukawa Coast, East Tamaki Botany and Auckland South along with Rotary Club of Somerville club members, family, friends, past members attended the ceremonial installation of the new president.
District Governor Gary Langford with wife Jan made quite an entrance and said they loved the vibrancy of the club members.
Andrew Harvey, the MC for the evening, kept the tempo upbeat as American saxophonist Fred Baker and his talented daughter Maila set a beautiful tone for the evening.
Past President Lisa James gave a quick round-up of the year, followed by the district governor handing over the ceremonial chains to the current president Farida Master, and the new board of directors being introduced.
A jazz dance performance by 11-year-old Millie Rowe from Neverland Studios added a special touch. Millie is heading to the US in two weeks for the World Hip Hop championship.
Adding to the fun factor were the well-orchestrated Oscar Awards hosted by Rotarian Leone Dunn.
A movie quiz hosted by Nivzer and Ferzeen Dadabhoy had district chair for Rotary Foundation Jenny Herring’s team and the Times Media team competing hard for the prize, which was eventually won by board member Bini Homavazir.
The month of July marks the onset of a new year in the Rotary calendar. There is a change of guard as a new president and board of directors take on the responsibility of planning service projects and fund raising to make a difference in communities worldwide.
Currently the 114-year-old Rotary International has 1.2m Rotarians working on the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.
