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Our 500th Meeting is coming up in May 2025
3 May 2025
Officially at the helm! A personal look back at Installation Night (with a few minor hiccups!)
Officially at the helm! A personal look back at Installation Night (with a few minor hiccups!)
How does it feel to become President of the Wokingham Catenians? Newly-installed President Stefan shares his experience:
Well, Monday was the big night! After a little bit of pre-meeting jitters – you know, the kind where you mentally rehearse your after-dinner speech about a hundred times and hope you don't accidentally call everyone by the wrong name – I officially took on the role of President. My internal monologue about priorities and potential speech disasters was so intense, in fact, that I completely overlooked something rather crucial: paying for the event myself! Thankfully, that little oversight has since been rectified (phew!).
I have to say, the support from everyone was absolutely fantastic, even before the meeting got underway. There were some genuinely lovely good wishes, which definitely helped to settle my nerves.
And then came the installation itself! It was a really special moment, made even better by the good-natured banter that kept everything feeling casual and enjoyable whilst also allowing me to appreciate the significance. It's moments like these that remind you what a great bunch of people make up the Wokingham Catenians.
Those who know me a little might not have been surprised that I felt the need to emphasise our Catenian fraternal connection: Having only days before returned from a funeral of a friend that drew dozens of people from an old friendship group and experiencing the shared grief but also how we were immediately drawn back to each other and looked after each other reminded me of the overwhelming importance of being connected - exactly what being Catenians is all about!
The Circle are 'my people' and I am grateful to be part of it!
Richard installing me as President, and then me installing Nickson as VP
The dinner conversation was a pleasant surprise too. I'd half-expected to be completely consumed by presidential thoughts (and the nagging feeling I'd forgotten something…), but I actually managed to relax and have some genuinely good chats. Maybe the pre-dinner nerves had worn me out!
Then the big moment: my opportunity to set out my intentions and hopes for the year ahead:
I am keen that we have some events that involve all generations and really get the next generation(s) involved - our children and grandchildren. I would like them to grow up as part of our Catenian family.
I would like even more of our events to be fully open to our parishes; I would like us to think of ourselves as 'servants of our communities' rather than an inward-looking bunch who only dine together.
Finally, my chosen charity for the year: I have been a supporter of the Corpus Christi Africa Fund for a while and, with the help of Jeremy, we have identified a really good opportunity to make a difference to the students of Our Lady of Nazareth school in one of the very poorest parts of Nairobi, enabling teenagers to gain extremely valuable computer skills that will help lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
On that last point, we kicked off our charity fundraising with a raffle, and I'm thrilled to announce that ticket sales amounted to over £350! A fantastic start to our efforts. A big 'Thank you' to all who contributed to this success!
All in all it was a surprisingly smooth evening and I enjoyed myself, and I hope everybody else did too. Who knew being President could be this much fun (so far, at least!).
To top it all off, I was really touched to receive a couple of emails afterwards from members expressing their regret that they were unable to attend, and offering their support for the year ahead. Those little gestures really do mean a lot.
So, here's to the year ahead! I'm feeling energised and excited to get started. Thanks again to everyone for such a warm welcome. Let the presidential adventures begin!
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