RYPEN

 
RYPEN - Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment
We are pleased to announce that RYPEN will take place this year over the weekend of 19 - 21 May at the Vertical Horizon Centre at Tarata near Inglewood, under the management of Inglewood Rotary.
The Rotary Club of Taihape is to be congratulated for their running of RYPEN over the past 25 years and building RYPEN into a programme that is highly valued by our young people and our Rotary Clubs.  We are grateful to Taihape Rotary for being involved in the decision-making for the next Club to run RYPEN and for ensuring a smooth transition, with special thanks to Jan and the late Bill Byford. Just as we were finalising this Newsletter the sad news arrived that Bill Byford, PHF and Sapphire pin, passed away on 26 January.  Bill was the face of RYPEN as its dedicated leader for well over a decade.  An obituary will follow in a future communication.
 
At his visit to Taihape Rotary last year, DG Martin presented the Club with Paul Harris Fellow recognition for their sterling work on RYPEN over many years.
We were very pleased to receive Expressions of Interest from the Rotary Clubs of Inglewood and Levin.  These were considered by DG Martin Garcia, DGE Mitchell Brown, DGN Marion Johnston, AG Richard Wishnowsky (Rangitikei) and President Graham White and Jan Byford of Taihape Rotary. 
We thank both Clubs for their proposals, which impressed us with their very high level of quality given the limited amount of time available for their preparation.  We decided that it would be best to focus on just one RYPEN course in 2017 as the management of RYPEN transitions from the Rotary Club of Taihape.
We decided that there would be advantages in RYPEN being run by a Club for two to three years before being handed over to another Club, in a way similar to how RYLA is managed.       
It was very difficult to decide on one proposal as both Clubs presented quality proposals, supported by enthusiastic members and offering a range of modules in high quality facilities.  In a finely balanced decision we selected the Rotary Club of Inglewood to run RYPEN for the next three years. 
Our thanks go to Assistant Governor Richard Wishnowsky (Rangitikei) who will be coordinating the transition of RYPEN from Taihape to Inglewood Rotary, AG Mel Cook (Taranaki 2), Inglewood Rotary President Dennis Eales and also our District Youth Service Chair, John Granville, who will have governance oversight.
More details about Vertical Horizon can be found at http://www.verticalhorizon.co.nz/