When asked to describe himself in four words, community-spirited was first on the list for District Governor John Prendergast of District 9980. He has been involved in community groups since he left school, starting with the Marist Rugby Club and moving into school and church organisations. Even his work as chief executive at the Community Trust of Southland is about community. “It’s who I am and why I work here – it’s a good fit.
This job enables me to work and have that community involvement at the same time. I strongly believe people live in a community, not on a community and it is so important to encourage people to engage in their community.
“Rotary is part of that and in our district one in 275 people is a Rotarian so we are engaged; we are just not good at promoting Rotary.” The second word, but in fact his first priority, is family and his wife Donna and three daughters are right behind him in his Rotary journey. “Rotary is just part of our life, it fits in with home and family.” Oldest daughter Meg will go with him on some of his Dunedin visits as she is at university. “Part of the attraction there might be the meal of course!”
“Everyone in the family really enjoys Rotary when they attend events, but they see me as the Rotarian.” John likes to be involved in things and engaged is the third word he uses to describe himself. “If I agree to get involved, then I make a conscious decision to be engaged and to enjoy what I am doing. I suppose I am an enthusiast about things, and I do like to try to make a difference,” he said. John joined Rotary 20 years ago after being asked by the then Kingswell High School principal Gay Hughes. I was flattered to be asked, as Rotary had a good reputation and I knew you couldn’t just go along, you had to be invited,” he said.
Rotary is about fun, enjoyment and the opportunities, both outward and internally,
for him. Outwardly, we do some amazing things in the community and internally there is a lot of self-development you can get through the organisation. If I had known about how much
public speaking there was I would have never joined as I was petrified about speaking in front of a group. Now through the simple things of grace, introducing or thanking a speaker, I am relatively comfortable about speaking in front of large groups and even MCing events. Some people say they can’t shut me up now!”
The opportunities he has had through Rotary have been beyond the club as well, as he has led a GSE team to California, led an Australasian RYLA team to Gallipolli and now is District Governor.
“My time on both the GSE and the RYLA trips made me realise how valued Rotary is in many communities. At Gallipolli, because we were Rotarians, the Australian team leader and I were in the official party for the celebrations, sitting beside then New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Prince Charles. That would never have happened if I was not in Rotary.” Rotary is a good fit for John, as he believes the organisation as a whole has integrity, something he feels strongly is important. It is also the fourth word he uses to describe himself.
There are things that need to change in our district, but they are on the margins and he believes it is really important to not focus just on them and forget what is good.
“If I can do one thing this year, it is to ensure Rotarians in this district feel good about being Rotarians. If we don’t then why the hell would anyone join us?”
