My Account
Little did Brian Tuck know that when a former colleague decided to move to Warkworth, in Northumberland, the decision would come to influence his own destiny. After a lifetime career as an industrial chemist in England and Scotland, Brian Tuck took early retirement in 2003 with the view of taking life easy. His plans included having more time to garden, sail, tramp and travel. But life had other things in store. A daughter’s decision to settle in NZ set Brian and his wife Glenna to thinking of the possibility of emigrating. They weren’t keen to live in a city, so decided to checkout Northumberland’s namesake, eventually settling in Warkworth (NZ) in 2004. Just seven years later, Brian is now the District Governor for Rotary District 9910 and working harder than ever …
I’d joined the Rotary Club of Gryffe Valley, in Scotland, six years prior to leaving for NZ so the week we arrived in Warkworth, I went along to the local club meeting in the hope of making some acquaintances. The first thing I was asked was whether or not I wanted to go sailing that weekend! We also joined Christ Church Anglican Church, and both the church and Rotary helped us to settle in and feel like part of the community. Glenna and I love travel, so we’re looking forward to visiting all 40 clubs in District 9910 over the next 12 months. The district stretches from inner Auckland to Kaitaia, as well as Norfolk Island, New Caledonia and Vanuatu. The interesting thing we’re noticing already is how different each club is. Some are quite traditional, while others have dispensed with a lot of the formalities such as the national anthem and the toasts. A new club in Whangarei meets for cocktails straight after work and is alternating its meetings with project work every other week. It’s this sort of autonomy that gives Rotary its strength.
Rotary is an organisation that has been around for more than 100 years, so it’s a pretty well-oiled machine. You receive a lot of training and support as District Governor Elect, which culminates in a full and final international training week in San Diego. Still, that doesn’t mean there isn’t the odd hiccup. At a recent club visit, my laptop died right in the middle of my slide show presentation. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it has reinforced the value of taking along a printed copy of the slides. I wish I’d taken public speaking more seriously at school or perhaps joined Toastmasters 40 years ago! The job of District Governor involves a lot of committee work, which to be honest, doesn’t finish when your year as DG is over. You come into the role gradually and it’s the same when you leave. This ensures that the smooth running of the organisation is maintained. My ‘inbox’ never seems to be empty these days, but a big part of my role is communication and keeping District 9910 clubs informed. I also help deal with any issues that might crop up within a club, network with the nine assistant governors, oversee the monthly newsletter, and liaise with other district governors around NZ.
I grew up in Bournemouth, a holiday town on the Dorset coast, where service was always a part of the fabric of my family. My mother was a member of the church women’s guild and Dad was a church warden. When I joined scouts, he got involved as a parent-helper and eventually went on to become District Commissioner. After finishing high school, I moved to London to study chemistry at King’s College. The next eight years were spent at university, firstly completing a BSc in chemistry and then a PhD in organic chemistry. From 1966 to 1968 I was a postdoctoral research fellow and assistant lecturer at the University of South Wales and Monmouthshire, in Cardiff, where I was involved in research into the structure of natural products from plant sources. Then finally I got a job! I effectively stayed with the same company –Ciba Geigy in it various forms – for my entire career through mergers, takeovers and de-mergers. The quest was to find new chemical entities that could be used in a marketable product. For example, in the case of antibiotics, we were looking for chemicals that worked more effectively and were less toxic. The sorts of products coming out of the company were things like new dyestuffs, corrosion inhibitors and pharmaceutical products. Although I can’t say I was involved in bringing anything new to the market, the work did give me the opportunity to do a lot of very good and interesting chemistry. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that this has added to the huge body of knowledge we now have about synthetic organic chemicals.
My last position with the company was in Paisley, Scotland. Glenna and I were on our own again by then, with our two children – Philip and Jacqui – both off finding their own way in the world. Philip became a lawyer who now works in IT in Atlanta in the US, while Jacqui followed in my footsteps and became a chemist, although she now works as an accounts manager in Auckland. Glenna and I made some lovely friends in Paisley where we lived in a beautiful Scottish village, just 20 minutes from Loch Lomond. Life was still very traditional; the Laird’s wife gave French lessons and you joined clubs to meet people. As a result, we found ourselves in the local dramatic society and the photography club. I also got to do some sailing, mainly on the Clyde, which I love and also became a Munroist. To claim this title, you have to climb every mountain in Scotland above 3000 ft – 288 in total. It took me 10 years and I got to some pretty remote places, but it was a great sport.
One thing I have to say is that I can’t imagine being DG without Glenna’s help and support. We met when we were only teenagers and in three years time, we’ll have been married for 50 years. She accompanies me to all the meetings and helps out with some of the more time-consuming jobs. It would be an extremely difficult job without a committed partner. There are still some clubs that have remained men-only, but most clubs are now mixed.
Rotary is in the process of change because like many other groups, it isn’t attracting new members like it used to. The only clubs that are growing are based in India and Japan. My hope is that during my term as DG we begin to see that trend reversing. Rotary is an organisation that is founded upon the idea of service and fellowship, and it would be a terrible loss for communities everywhere if it became less effective. Although clubs develop autonomous service programs, Rotarians worldwide are also involved in a campaign for the global eradication of polio called PolioPlus. Since the 1980s, polio rates have fallen to now just 1000 cases a year, mainly in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nigeria. Since 1947, the Rotary Foundation has awarded more than US$1.1 billion in humanitarian and educational grants, which are initiated and administered by local Rotary clubs and districts worldwide. If we’re to continue this really important work, then I believe it will involve re-connecting with the right sort of people; people who share Rotary’s goals but who may possibly not be able to afford the time to attend a weekly meeting or the expense of a weekly meal. Rotary should be about engagement not attendance, and most clubs seem receptive to this idea. The challenge, however, will be move out of our comfort zone and put this new style of Rotary into practice. Somehow we have to show members of Generations X and Y the value of what we do.
